It's difficult to describe the wondrous adventure that awaits you when you journey into Minnesota's beautiful BWCA for some canoe camping!
We will travel by canoe up to 5 miles per day, camping on different lakes, portaging our equipment from one lake to another. It is moderately strenuous but well worth the effort!
Wild Hearts will provide all of the necessary equipment, food, guides and transportation from the Twin Cities area.
Our plan is to launch from the Gunflint Trail, spending the first night in a bunkhouse and launching the next morning.
We generally leave the Twin Cities area around 9am on Wednesday and return approximately 7pm on Sunday. Transportation is provided from the Twin Cities to the launch site off of the Gunflint Trail, which is East of Grand Marais. The drive is about 5 hours. We may stop in Duluth and/or Grand Marais for food and souvenirs.
Wild Hearts will provide all of the equipment, food and guides.
You are responsible for:
We will paddle about 4 - 6 miles each day and will camp in designated campsites each night. We like to get into camp before 2pm so that we have time to set up camp and then relax or explore. Some folks will take advatage of the time to do some fishing. We will probably eat dinner around 5:00pm, with your guides doing all the cooking while the participants will be tasked with set up and clean up. The food will be plentiful and delicious! We also provide snacks for your enjoyment throughout the day. For water, we will filter all drinking and cooking water (or boil if necessary).
We will have the opportunity to have campfires both in the mornings and evenings. At times, we will take advantage of this time together to have conversation as a group.
If you desire to fish, you may do so if you have a current Minnesota fishing license. Great fishing can be had from either the shoreline or from the canoes! Some folks ask about swimming; this is usually not recommended as the water is usually fairly cold and the shoreline is generally very rocky and can be dangerous.
Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns. Participation packets will be available approximately one month prior to the trip. We will also schedule a group Zoom meeting with participants approximately 2 weeks prior to the trip.
Important stuff will show up here when needed and when available! Check back often if you are going on an adventure with us because there could be some really, super-important stuff here. No, really, it could be the kind of stuff that decides whether you have a great trip or not like... oh, a list of things to pack, for example. That could be crucial. Actually, there's no "could" in that... it's definitely crucial.
I started Wild Hearts because of a longing to reach out to those who have struggled with substance abuse and other destructive life choices to help them rebuild relationships with their families and with God. My desire to do this through wilderness experiences comes from a life-long love of the outdoors nurtured by my parents’ many family camping and canoeing trips. I now share this passion with my wife of 40 years, Pam and our four children, Diana, Andy, Jake and Nikki. I am also blessed with 10 grandchildren that I can share the beauty of God’s creation with!
I am an experienced outdoorsman and have led numerous trips to the Rocky Mountains, the BWCA, St. Croix River, the Appalachian Trail and many of our state parks and forests. Along with wilderness adventures, I love kayaking, backpacking, hiking, mountain biking, CrossFit workouts, watching movies and playing the occasional video game. I am also a commissioned pastor with The River Fellowship.
