Coarsegold/Oakhurst, California. 3 trips. 1st trip, 2007, age 61, group of 4, trekking, 7 days. 2nd trip, 2008, turned 62 during trip, solo, trekking, 8 days. 3rd trip, turned 63 during trip, solo, base camping, 7 days.
Last year (just after turning 64) I towed the tent trailer to British Columbia instead of going to the BW. This year, age 65, I plan on towing the tent trailer to Yukon Territory and Alaska in order to work on my fishing bucket list. Possible BW trip in September if I can talk my son into it. Weeklong true solos may be in my past.
I'll tell you where. Someplace warm. A place where the beer flows like wine. Where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. I'm talking about a little place called Duluth.
"Now days these kids take out everything: radar, sonar, electric toothbrushs" Quint
South central Michigan, about 50 miles south of oldgentleman, actually. 25 trips to BW or Quetico, one to Temagami, two to Algonquin, since we started in 1971. I trip with my husband, Spartan1.
Central Wisconsin(where the ginseng grows) Trying to fit in my first trip this year between full-time job, almost full-time college student, and full time dad. Where there is a will there is a way I guess.
quote daddyomolly: "Central Wisconsin(where the ginseng grows) Trying to fit in my first trip this year between full-time job, almost full-time college student, and full time dad. Where there is a will there is a way I guess. " I remember looking down at the ginseng plots from Rib Mtn when we lived near Wausau!
SE MO at the eastern edge of the Ozarks. 965+ miles to Grand Marais one way. Been going since '84 and have lost track, but it has to be 30-40 something since I used to make 2-3 trips a year for awhile. Even earned the name "Wilderness Webb" from friends I used to take up there. Have backed off due to medical issues and now have only made 3 trips since 2004. But I love the BWCAW, and would live there from May-October if I could! TW
"Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." Mark Twain
Northeast Okla., (Nowata)about 45-50 miles north of Tulsa. first trip in Sept. '83, total about 50 trips...been in all open water months, prefer May and Sept./Oct. The best thing that ever happened is when I started bringing a flyrod
"Blessed are the cracked because they let in light."
quote daddyomolly: "Central Wisconsin(where the ginseng grows) Trying to fit in my first trip this year between full-time job, almost full-time college student, and full time dad. Where there is a will there is a way I guess. " Central Wisconsin (where the cranberries grow). 30 miles straight south of Edgar. 2 1/2 months to number 9.
A short drive north of Madison, WI. First trip in 2004. Waited too long for that first visit. Have been back every year but one - following brain surgery the neurosurgeon felt a month and a half wasn't enough recovery time........he was right. That was a long summer.
May waters rise to meet you.
May wind and current be always at your back.
May the Good Lord paddle with you,
And may yours be the lightest pack.
"Old Nashville still has a song and dance, and the Florida girls still wear no underpants.
And we all get drunk at the football game, yeh the new south, thank God is still the same" Hank Williams, jr
quote SunCatcher: "Reside in Norfolk, Nebraska 2 BWCA 1 Woodland Caribou Provincial Park (Solo) Go HUSKERS!
SunCatcher" SunCatcher,
Many many moons ago I had a gig in Norfolk at a bowling alley. Can't remember the name but it seemed to be on a main drag. Maybe you bowled there while I was singing Mr Bojangles??? :-)
We all have to believe in something. I believe I'll go paddle.
quote Jeriatric: "Coarsegold/Oakhurst, California. 3 trips. 1st trip, 2007, age 61, group of 4, trekking, 7 days. 2nd trip, 2008, turned 62 during trip, solo, trekking, 8 days. 3rd trip, turned 63 during trip, solo, base camping, 7 days.
Last year (just after turning 64) I towed the tent trailer to British Columbia instead of going to the BW. This year, age 65, I plan on towing the tent trailer to Yukon Territory and Alaska in order to work on my fishing bucket list. Possible BW trip in September if I can talk my son into it. Weeklong true solos may be in my past." Check out Liard Hot Springs.
Many trips in the late seveties and early eighties. Then late in the eighties I got real busy with my business and paddling was limited to the cabin lake. Two years ago I did a may trip with a friend and I've been canoeing pretty steady ever since... Six trips in the past two years with four planned for this year. My trips are usually ten days.
I live on the Iron Range... only a hundred miles to Ely.
I've been on 6 canoeing trips to the BWCA. My first trip was in 2005, the summer after I graduated high school (I'm only 23). My first solo hiking/camping experience was to George H. Crosby Manitou State Park. I was there 4 days and didn't see anyone until I hiked out. I'm planning my first solo to the BWCA this year along with a couple of group trips.
Richard "Bear" Brown-----
"I would rather give someone one photograph they can't live without than one hundred they can live with." anonymous
Lake of the Ozarks region in central MO. No, I've never been to Party Cove and have no intentions of ever going. I'll just stay here on the farm, thank you.
If summer is tourist season, then why can't you shoot them?
I've taken 12-13 trips to the BWCAW and border lakes over the past 10 years.
quote OneMatch: "quote SunCatcher: "Reside in Norfolk, Nebraska 2 BWCA 1 Woodland Caribou Provincial Park (Solo) Go HUSKERS!
SunCatcher" SunCatcher,
Many many moons ago I had a gig in Norfolk at a bowling alley. Can't remember the name but it seemed to be on a main drag. Maybe you bowled there while I was singing Mr Bojangles??? :-)" I think it was Kings Lanes and they had a Dance Hall also, My neighbor used to own it. small world
Dad Always said "We don't Always catch fish...but we ALWAYS have a good time"
quote boonie: "Another West Virginian! Morgantown. Six trips, three of them solos." I was gonna ask if he met you yet. I spent my formative years (grades 7-10) in Charleston (GWHS)... still have many many friends there and it will always hold a piece of my heart.
From all over (MN, IL, MO, NJ, WV, MN, NC, VA, MI, CO, Germany, Italy, VA, MN). Been back in MN now for about 17 years and call it home.
About 15 BW trips, 5 with adults, 10 with kids.
Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. -Thoreau
Finland, Minnesota. We were Finland before the country was Finland. Haven't been going a long time but I make multiple trips each year now. Probably have done 30 hiking trips and about 20 canoeing trips.
He's a rolling stone, and it's bred in the bone; He's a man who won't fit in.
Duluth, MN. I made 1 trip to the BWCA and 3 to the Quetico in High School. Moved away, started a career and family, and moved back 3 years ago. I made 3 trips in the last 2 years, and hopefully at least one trip this summer ... as long as the expected family addition this summer doesn't ruin my plans!
"Hold on, I think I can get in without getting my feet wet."....SPLASH...
Farmington Mn, trips planned for 2011, May 6 days, June 16 days, Aug 10 days, Sept 5 days, Oct 9 days. In the last 9 years I have been there for 25 times for a total of 154 days.
It's not the speed, but the grace in which you arrive.
quote gbuskk: "quote Jeriatric: "Coarsegold/Oakhurst, California. 3 trips. 1st trip, 2007, age 61, group of 4, trekking, 7 days. 2nd trip, 2008, turned 62 during trip, solo, trekking, 8 days. 3rd trip, turned 63 during trip, solo, base camping, 7 days.
Last year (just after turning 64) I towed the tent trailer to British Columbia instead of going to the BW. This year, age 65, I plan on towing the tent trailer to Yukon Territory and Alaska in order to work on my fishing bucket list. Possible BW trip in September if I can talk my son into it. Weeklong true solos may be in my past." Check out Liard Hot Springs." Planning on it. By the way, it was the site of a fatal black bear attack.
quote OBX2Kayak: "North Carolina's Outer Banks, a sandbar near the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. 1,600 miles to Ely." Going to Ocracoke... Again! Love the OBX
NW Indiana where Superfund sites outnumber people.
"It's easy to grin when your ship comes in and you think you've got the stock market beat...but a man worth while is a man who can smile when his shorts are to tight in the seat", Judge Smails.
Twenty miles north of Madison Wisconsin. This spring will be my seventh trip. have gone every year for the past six years, wish I lived a few hundred miles closer.
small town in southeastern north carolina. while i've paddled all over the southeast and south-central united states, i've only made 3 solo trips to the bwca 10 to 15 days each.
quote Basspro69: "quote Jackfish: "Green Bay, WI... Otherwise known as Titletown USA. Home of your 13-time World Champion Green Bay Packers.
As for number of trips, it's over 20. Kind of lost count." I hope one of the moderators deletes this particular post, its making me ill :-)" LOL... you're the man, BP. Thanks for the chuckle.
It's only a spot on the map... until you go there.
I have planned to go on 3 different occasions and something has came up each time. Were planning on June 2012( fingers crossed) camping and fishing is the interests and the overall solitude and scenery!
quote basser31: "I have planned to go on 3 different occasions and something has came up each time. Were planning on June 2012( fingers crossed) camping and fishing is the interests and the overall solitude and scenery! "
I go for the solitude and scenery, and have always gone in Sept, so I can't tell you much about June or fishing. I can tell you it's a long drive if you plan on driving up and I can give you some information about that when your planning gets serious.
Warsaw In, where most of your artificial hips and knees are made! I have made 10 trips into the beautiful BWCA. I wish I would have started at a younger age.
Great trout fishing in your area. I try and get up your way a few times a year to enjoy the trout streams.
Curt
"It's easy to grin when your ship comes in and you think you've got the stock market beat...but a man worth while is a man who can smile when his shorts are to tight in the seat", Judge Smails.
quote wawasee: "Warsaw In, where most of your artificial hips and knees are made! I have made 10 trips into the beautiful BWCA. I wish I would have started at a younger age."
Wawasee,
Warsaw, IN not too far from where I work...Valparaiso IN. Maybe we should try and get a wingnight going in our area.
"It's easy to grin when your ship comes in and you think you've got the stock market beat...but a man worth while is a man who can smile when his shorts are to tight in the seat", Judge Smails.
Glenwood,MN Right on Lake Minnewaska. Taken 12 trips and one solo in '09.
Joy is a great teacher, but so is dispair. Wonder is a great teacher, but so is confusion. Hope is a great teacher, but so is disillusionment. And life is a great teacher, but so is death. To deny yourself any of those in any aspect is not experiencing life totally.
Mora...East Ctrl MN, 4 trips, 3 planned for 2011 :)
THE EDGE, there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over. - Hunter S. Thompson
Just on the other side of 294 from Canoe42- Libertyville, USA.
Our first trip was 10 days in June 2009, ran back for 5 days more in July and another 5 in late September of the same year! In 2010 We did 5 days over Memorial day weekend, a week in August. This year we will be there breaking ice May 17th for 5 days and will either make another 5 day trip in August or late September.
We have spent about 30 years in the woods, on trails and in canoes though... Many AT hikes in CT and MA when I was in college 1-2 Adirondack area hikes A few weekend canoe/camping trips on the Pere Marquette in MI Canoed/camped the Everglades for a week 75 mile hike through the backcountry of Yellowstone 2 one week long hiking trips on the Conasaga River/Chattahooche National Forest, GA Hiked and camped the Black Hills for a week A few 4-5 day hikes/camping in Daniel Boone National Forest 2 week long trips canoeing/camping on the 11 Point River/Mark Twain National Forest Shawnee National Forest for a few days Dozens of weekend camping trips to IL, MI, WI state parks when the kids were little- Sand Hill, Mississippi Palisades, Chain of Lakes, Kettle Morain....
Grew up in Aurora, Il just west of Chicago but Minnesota has been my home for 17 years and I have lived all over the state... Currently reside in Excelsior. Been on about 12 bwca trips; second solo scheduled for next month.
grew up in Akron OH (Go you Zips!), lived in upstate NY for many years with several stops in Alaska along the way. moved to MN 22 years ago - I'm taking my 27th BW trip in mid May - Sag to Seagull loop through Ester/Hansen/Knife/Ogish.
grew up in Roseville, MN college @ UMD in Duluth MN live in St. Paul, MN dozen of BWCA canoe trips, solos, with friends, and with dog(s) I wonder how people remember the exact number of trips they have taken...I usually go 5-10 times a year for the last 10+ years
I'm from Blaine, MN. I started going to BWCA in 1965 (Perent River) with my father and uncle. Missed a few years in between now and then for family stuff. Probably 25 - 30 trips since then. I might be missing a few.... it was the 60's - 70's ya know..... :-)
Watch out for that rock!!!........ Oooo.... That's going to leave a mark...
quote airmorse: "quote wawasee: "Warsaw In, where most of your artificial hips and knees are made! I have made 10 trips into the beautiful BWCA. I wish I would have started at a younger age."
Wawasee,
Warsaw, IN not too far from where I work...Valparaiso IN. Maybe we should try and get a wingnight going in our area."
Seriously? I said "fort wayne", but didn't think too many people would know where Columbia City is. This must be a highway 30 thing?
Northern ILL - 60 miles west of Chicago It is an embarrassment of riches but probably close to 100. Lead 6-7 trips a year for 10 years during my last few years of high school, through college and for a few years after graduation. Have made 30 or more trips since. 60/40 split between BWCA and Quetico. Hope I have quite a few more left.
Born and raised in Ellwood City Pa. Now reside in suburban Spring brook Wis. 30-35 trips in the Dub, 1 in the Q. Some backpacking in the Catskills, Alleghenies and Smokie Mtn's.
quote rentschler: "quote OBX2Kayak: "North Carolina's Outer Banks, a sandbar near the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. 1,600 miles to Ely."
Shocked... I've been to Ocracoke for the last 13 years. Someday hope to retire there."
You better retire soon, before it washes away. (Actually, Ocracoke is one of the few places expected to survive for a while. The rest of the Outer Banks will be under water.)
"I go because it irons out the wrinkles in my soul" -- Sigurd Olson
Hi, I'm from Terrace Bay, Ontario , Canada Made my first trip in 1990 to Knawnipi through Cache lake. Have done approximately 22 trips to the Quetico, Lets protect these amazing and beautiful places.
quote bruceye: "Born and raised in Ellwood City Pa. Now reside in suburban Spring brook Wis. 30-35 trips in the Dub, 1 in the Q. Some backpacking in the Catskills, Alleghenies and Smokie Mtn's."
Suburban Springbrook, thats funny!!!!!! Would that make Gleason a metropolis?????
Wheaton, IL. I have made two trips to Ely, MN. I've always stayed with good friends that rent a cabin at the Moose Track Adventures lodge. ( It wasn't called that back then when I went)
From St. Paul MN’s East Side. Born at the hospital two blocks north of the state capital building. Currently a homeowner in the east metro suburbs who spends much of the summer in and around the Superior National Forest. Been in or through the BWCAW 17 times.
quote tobiedog: "bruceye from Ellwood City, PA- I was born and raised in New Castle, PA. Maybe we should meet at Forbush frozen custard on 65! Nothing like it!"
Holy Smokes Tobie! It is indeed a small world. I was just there 3 wks ago. ( funeral for a friend who was living in Mahoningtown) What I remember most about New Castle aside from the fact that your HS. football team used to and probably still does,kick the snot out of us. But that death trap rollercoaster ride at the now abandoned, Cascade park. We laughed hysterically when we drove by there this time out.When did you move away? I graduated from Lincoln High in 77 and hit the road in 80. Thats the short story.