PUSHING BOUNDARIES IN THE BOUNDARY WATERS
By John Keefover of Keefography
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Recently Voyageur Canoe Outfitters invited me up to photograph the Boundary Waters Canoe Area on a fully outfitted canoe trip. I was thrilled for the opportunity! I’ve done a bit of backpacking, but not many canoe trips. I brought my good friend Justin Ridlon along with me who’s much more experienced on the water and another photographer as well. Even though I had hardly any experience with canoes, Voyageur Canoe Outfitters made it a breeze getting out there. I’ll talk more about the “breezy” part of it later... I can’t recommend VCO enough if you’re interested in paddling in the BWCA and don’t have the equipment for it. They’ll get you situated and find a good route for however long you want to be out there!
Voyageur Canoe Outfitters canoe at our campsite on the South Arm Knife Lake during our only sunset where it wasn’t storming. VCO hooked us up with one of their Wenonah Kevlar Canoes.
We planned our trip at the end of July during the New Moon phase hoping to capture some Milky Way photos with completely dark skies, and reserved our permit to enter the Wilderness Area. Unfortunately we only got 1 clear night out of the 4 nights that we were up there. It was pretty much raining, windy and overcast the whole time. It definitely wasn’t the conditions we were hoping for going into it for photography, but the weather up here is wild and unpredictable. Without any cell phone service you’re kind of in the dark on what to expect. It is nice to just completely disconnect though! We definitely wish we had more time to afford us bad weather days and to explore more. Here’s how the rest of the trip went:
We finally made it up north all the way to the end of the Gunflint Trail to Voyageur Canoe Outfitters. We checked in at the office with Cassidy & Alena making sure our permits were in order, purchased a fishing license, and got a refresher course on Leave No Trace. Then Matt broke down our route, directing us to some of the highlights and good campsites in the area. We went over all of the equipment they’d be outfitting us with and then we swapped some of that out for stuff that we have in our own kits that we’re used to. We went to our rustic bunkhouse where we’d be staying the night before heading off early in the morning and drank a few Voyageur Brewing Company beers. That’s when a big summer storm rolled through out of nowhere! The lightning was constant and close. Thunder was earth shattering and shaking the little wooden bunkhouse. Wind was blowing the trees all around outside the windows. The power flickered off and on a few times before finally completely going out. The storm started to pass and some of the VCO crew came out to inspect things. There were multiple downed trees. Most notably one fell right on a work station crashing down on one of their canoes. We were thankful that we were staying in the bunkhouse and not out on the water yet.
Inspecting damage in the morning after the severe thunderstorm. It took out power at the Outfitters for hours and blew down many trees, including this one onto one of their canoes.
We woke up at 6 AM and headed over to the VCO patio for all you can eat pancakes & coffee. A different Matt from the VCO crew got all of our gear and the canoe together and shuttled us over to a drop off point where we were able to avoid an early portage and just get right to paddling! It was smooth sailing until we got around the palisade on Seagull Lake. That’s when we were deep in it. We were now in open water and the wind was fierce. We paddled hard directly into the wind through 3 foot white caps. Two canoes passed us going with the wind and we wished each other good luck. We barely got around the point on Miles Island while paddling as hard as we possibly could, and the waters were looking much more intimidating ahead. There was a cove with a marked campsite to our right so we veered into it to take shelter and wait out the weather. We scoped out the campsite and shortly after the people we passed earlier came upon us saying they almost flipped their canoe, losing a paddle and some gear in the lake. We were going to try to craft them a paddle or suggest tying up to their other canoe in the group so they can all paddle back together. They went to go talk it over with the rest of the group and I later saw a canoe leaving the island with only the back person paddling so I hope they made it back alright.
Waves just off of shore from Miles Island on Seagull Lake. This was towards the end of our first night when they started to subside a little bit. They were coming in steady all day.
The wind was not changing any time soon. We explored the other side of the island protected from the wind. There was moose poop everywhere, as well as blueberries and raspberries. Justin did some fishing in the calmer waters and we came across a Ruffed Grouse watching over her 3 chicks. Dark storm clouds started rolling in now so we went back to the site and decided to set up before the rain came. We ended up napping for a couple hours... Surprised I was able to with how loud the wind was. When we woke up it was starting to die down a little bit, but it was also getting late and not worth risking it in the dark so we decided to stay the night there. We had planned to go so much farther on our first day but it just wouldn’t have been smart to push it. We cooked up a big ole hearty steak and mash potatoes dinner over the fire paired with a growler of Voyageur Brewing Company Boundary Waters Brunette. By the time we finished eating it was sunset, but dark and overcast still so we didn’t get much for Photography. We went to bed hoping for clear skies at night for Milky Way and for a better day tomorrow. I fell asleep to the calls of loons echoing around the lake.
I woke up at 1:30 AM to a clear night sky above. The stars were beautiful! The BWCA is classified as a Class 1 on the Bortle Scale meaning it has some of the darkest skies on Earth. There were millions of stars, and the Milky Way was clearly visible soaring overhead. I woke Justin up, and we got some good Milky Way shots. Back to bed so we can still get up and out of here early to make up for lost time.
The Milky Way as seen from Miles Island on Seagull Lake during the New Moon phase in July. No moonlight paired with a Class 1 Bortle sky gave us this magnificent view!
We got up at sunrise and packed up camp. We skipped breakfast, but made coffee for the morning paddle. It was an overcast day, but there was absolutely no wind and the sun wasn’t beating down on us so that was nice. Especially after yesterday. The first portage was a busy spot with multiple groups coming through. Someone called it the Alpine Highway as it’s one of the more travelled routes and goes into Alpine Lake. We got some good advice on places to avoid or to check out along our planned route. We all also exchanged experiences during the big storm and the waves as we walked passed each other. There were multiple reports of flipped canoes. Glad we played it safe.
Justin on our first portage going into Alpine Lake from Seagull Lake. We exchanged storm stories with the other groups we ran into on this busy 105 rod portage.
We paddled through Alpine lake which has lots of recent bear activity and camp site closures because of it. We didn’t see any bears but we saw 3 loons fighting each other while 2 bald eagles flew overhead. One dive bombed the water and latched onto a fish, swimming with it onto shore! It was so cool to see, but too far away for photos. Sometime you just have to appreciate the moment as it’s happening.
We kept on paddling. Many miles, lakes, and portages. We were trying to make up for lost time waiting out the wind and waves yesterday. It seemed that’s what everyone else we ran into was doing as well. Everyone got grounded by the wind. On one of the portages we heard what sounded like a mighty waterfall. We finished carrying our gear and doubled back to check out the trail. It led us down to one of the most beautiful waterfalls I’ve seen in Minnesota! The water at the base was crystal clear and had almost a turquoise color to it. The rain we had gotten mixed with the overcast sky really saturated all of the greens from the leaves and moss. We hung out in the waterfall for a bit taking some pictures and a much needed break.
An absolutely gorgeous waterfall on the portage going into South Arm Knife Lake in the BWCA. The waters at the base of the falls were a crystal clear turquoise color, and there was lush green moss everywhere with thick, old growth cedar trees.
Finally we decided to finish off our day in the South Arm Knife Lake. We paddled hard all day without a solid meal and just snacks to make it to where we originally intended to camp this night. We got into a campsite, and prepared dinner right away. Well in this case brunch. At 6 pm... We cooked up some thick cut bacon and eggs for a sandwich on English muffin with a side of sausage links. I don’t know if we were just starving or if that was one of the best meals we’ve ever had! The sky finally cleared up for a beautiful sunset as well! After doing some camp chores it was time for bed.
The view from our campsite on the South Arm Knife Lake. Finally we were gifted with a nice sunset!
My 1:30 AM Milky Way alarm interrupted a deep sleep. I looked out of the tent and saw stars so I went to set up, only to find it was actually really cloudy and foggy so no luck. That’s ok though I was tired and went back to bed for another wake up call for sunrise. It came quick... I looked out the tent to a completely dark sky. Went back to sleep again and woke up to the sound of rain hitting the tent. It rained all day. We made breakfast this time and packed up camp, setting off in the rain.
The portage off of The South Arm Knife Lake was full of elevation, roots, rocks, massive old growth cedars and another absolutely beautiful waterfall with mossy rocks and downed trees crisscrossing the waters. We were planning on going into Cherry Lake but a group on this portage dubbed it the Heart Attack Portage, so considering the weather and how tired we were from the day before we decided to just start paddling for camp on the north side of the island on Ester Lake with a great view of massive cliffs.
Another waterfall located on a different portage off of South Arm Knife Lake. All of the rain really saturated those greens.
Since we had skipped some meals yesterday trying to make up for lost time we had lots of food to eat. We feasted and tried to get out of the rain. Even with bellies full of food and hot cocoa it was miserable with the wind blowing sideways and completely ignoring our rain shelter. We both retreated to our tent and hammock and went to bed early. We set ourselves up for a pretty easy day tomorrow depending on the weather again. We’re only a few hours from our destination on the Minnesota/Canada border at American Point. There we’ll be getting picked up by the Voyageur Canoe Outfitters boat shuttle.
Dark, moody skies above the cliffs across from our campsite on Ester Lake. Those clouds brought storms all day long.
Again I set my alarms to get up for Milky Way and sunrise and again we were denied both with dark, overcast skies... it was kind of a bummer but that’s what happens in landscape photography. Seeing our pictures you might think we’re always in the right place at the right time. It’s not always the case though. Often times we revisit a scene many times until we get the conditions we’re looking for and sometimes you just don’t get them at all!
By the time we set off from camp the wind died down and the sun came out revealing a beautiful blue bird sky! Go figure the nicest weather of trip is the day we’re leaving... Only 3 portages were left and one of them was through Monument Portage right along the Canadian Border. There were 3 monument markers signifying where the borders were. One long stretch of paddling awaits us until we reach American Point. That was our meetup point with the Voyageur Canoe Outfitter water shuttle. We reached the point right at the pickup time and Tim and Sally from the VCO crew were pulling up with the boat. It was perfect timing from both of us. It sort of felt like cheating flying over the waters of the BWCA in a motorized boat, but I didn’t mind at that point.
A view of the Minnesotan/Canadian border on Monument Portage. 3 monuments mark the border along the portage.
Going into the trip I had very little experience on the water. Afterwards I had much more confidence paddling, surviving and navigating the lakes by map and compass. We met people from all over the place enjoying it as well. Kansas, New Orleans, Chicago, Michigan, Wisconsin and of course, Minnesota. All ages were also out from kids to grandparents and so many dogs! There’s lots of history up there. You can feel it surrounded by the old growth forests and well traveled waterways. We need to protect these waters and one of the country’s most pristine Wilderness Areas for everyone to enjoy for generations to come.
Justin & I paddling through Ogishkemuncie Lake. This photo was taken by father & son, Dave & Scott Greymont, who we met ahead of us on a few portages. They mentioned they would be camping on “Ogish” so it was nice to see them as we paddled by! Dave emailed me this photo after the trip.
Some photos shown are available for prints here:
Trip Report from backpacking the 42 mile long Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Trail. It follows sandy beaches and dramatic cliffs along Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.