Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness: The Whitley Way

Warning!!! 

This post is long and contains a lot of detail. If you are a paddling or camping gear head or think you might want to travel in the BWCAW some day, then read on. If you are simply here to see where we have been and to look at the pretty pictures, you might want to skip this one.


People often ask us about the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). They ask us specific questions about a variety of topics, and I try to answer their questions, but I'm never really able to convey the essence of our experience or what we do there or how we do it. To that end I thought I would describe our methods. There are many other methods, theories and practices, but this is the Whitley Way.

The Basics


First a little basic information: The BWCAW is a unit of Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota. It encompasses a little more than a million acres and over 1000 lakes. It is a premier destination for wilderness canoe camping. The BWCAW is bounded to the north by the Canadian Quetico Provincial Park which has similar characteristics and is similarly managed as a wilderness canoe destination. While similar, Quetico only gets about 10% as many visitors as the BWCAW. It is said to be more remote than the BWCAW, however, based on our single visit to Quetico in 2003, I would disagree. We saw almost as many people in Quetico as we typically see in the BWCAW. And it's much more expensive. When we went to Quetico in 2003 it cost $10 per day per person, and likely costs more today. For a 2-week trip that adds up to $280, plus there are some customs expenses. The BWCAW charges a modest reservation fee (optional but recommended) and a single entry fee for each person. For the two of us that totaled $28 this year. Quetico is nice, but the value is just not there. We won't be going back to Quetico for a while.

Fresh fried fish, hash browns and re-hydrated vegetables

In order to enter the BWCAW you must acquire an entry permit. There are approximately 80 designated entry points. There are a finite number of permits issued daily for each entry point. For example, at Mudro Lake where we put in this year, 6 permits are issued each day. That means only 6 parties may put in there each day. However, once you enter you can stay in as long as you wish, go anywhere you want and take out at any other entry point. Parties are limited to nine people and 4 boats. Once in you must stay at one of the 2000+ designated camp sites. Each camp site is marked on the maps and features a cast iron fire grate and a pit latrine. The “boonie”, as we call it, is a luxury as well as an important sanitary feature. Most camp sites have a very nice view of the lake. Any particular lake may have no campsite or 30+ campsites.

Dorcas on a smooth portage

Our History

We first visited the BWCAW in 1997 and have been back every year since, except for one year when we paddled the Allagash River in Maine instead. We usually put in in late August or early September. Usually the bugs are gone by that time of year, and it is fine fall weather. Initially, we would put in for about one week (we were working, ya know?) but increased the length of our trips as time went on. We now put in for 14 days. We would probably stay in longer if we could carry more food. Most parties we talk to seem to stay in no more than 4-5 days. We also travel much farther to get here than most folks we see. About 80% of the people we talk to are from Minnesota. Perhaps another 15% are from Wisconsin and Illinois. I don't think these folks really appreciate their treasure. They seem surprised that we would drive so far to visit the BWCAW. Every year we are anxious to get back. I expect we will continue to return each year as long as we are able.

Wayne cooking country ham on the fire grate, grits and coffee

1997 was a big year for other reasons. That was the year Dorcas and I met. Our second “date” was a trip to Siler City to buy a Kevlar Mad River Explorer. Wayne and Lynda had already invited me on their BWCAW trip that fall, and I had been looking for a lightweight boat. Wayne went with us, but he had not yet met Dorcas, and she had not been officially invited on the trip (although I had already asked her to go), so she was sorta on trial. We all did a couple of river camping trips that summer. She apparently passed Wayne's muster, because ultimately he let her go on that 1997 trip. Actually I think Lynda was happy about having another lady on the trip. In 1997 I also adopted Izaak. We didn't take Izaak that first year, but he did go every year thereafter until his death in 2007.

Our Boat

The single most important piece of equipment is your canoe. You just won't get very far without one. You certainly won't have much fun without one. A very few number of folks use kayaks, but they aren't very practical here. They are difficult to portage and don't hold much gear. The BWCAW is one of the last remaining bastions of the canoe as kayaks take over the rest of the world. Long live the open canoe!

Our loaded Bell Northwind canoe, showing rod holder

In 2002 we replaced our Mad River with a Bell Northwind in Black Gold lay-up. It is a Kevlar and carbon fiber hull that weighs about 53 pounds and is 17.5 feet long. That is actually heavier than many kevlar boats up here, but this is an expedition model and is quite a bit tougher than most. Perhaps 90% of folks here rent kevlar boats from local outfitters. This is advantageous because you can beat the crap out of them and drag them over rocks and throw them off cliffs, and it doesn't really matter (note to self: never buy a used rental boat). A few folks use aluminum boats, and I don't really know why. I guess it's because they are cheap. Weight is important. Unfortunately, the lakes do not all run together in one continuous body of water where you can paddle directly from one to the other. They are often separated by rocky creeks, rapids, log jams, waterfalls, mountains and other obstacles. This necessitates a maneuver known as a portage. More on that later. Our boat is equipped with fishing rod holders, a padded portage yoke, spare paddle and a spare fishing rod. It also has knee pads made of closed cell foam. I started out paddling whitewater and still kneel in the canoe much of the time.

Our Gear

We carry the majority of our stuff in four large packs. The heaviest is the dreaded “food pack”. The food pack consists of a Duluth Pack Camp Kitchen. The Duluth Pack company has made traditional north woods canoe gear since the beginning of time; for well over 100 years. It is hand made in Duluth MN using heavy canvas and leather materials and stout copper rivets. Our Camp Kitchen has had several modifications. First, a haul loop was added to the back center near the shoulder straps to help lifting and loading into the boat. We tie a rope to the haul loop when we hoist the pack up our bear line. Second, grab loop handles have been added to each side of the bag near the large outer pockets, which enables the bag to be carried more easily by two people. Both of these modifications were performed in the factory in Duluth. Third, and most importantly, it has been outfitted with a stainless steel liner box. Wayne owned a heating and air conditioning business, is skilled at working sheet metal and has kindly made me several such boxes. The box provides shape and rigidity to the pack, makes it more water resistant and helps keep the critters out. I haven't weighed my loaded food pack in several years; it's just too depressing. The last time I did weigh it several years ago, it weighed over 80 pounds, and there is no reason to believe it has gotten any lighter. We pack all the food in the food pack for our two-week trip. More on food later.

Dorcas on a smooth portage trail

The next heaviest item is the “pack basket”. Actually it is a Duluth Pack Cruiser Combo #3. That means it is a 20” pack basket inside a Duluth Pack #3 Cruiser Pack. The pack basket is a traditional canoe pack, used for as long as canoes have been used. It is lightweight and tough. The Cruiser pack provides a means of carrying the basket, protection from the elements and from abrasion and adds some exterior and interior pockets. The pack basket has also been modified by the factory to add padded leather shoulder straps and a waist belt. The pack basket carries most of our “hard” camping gear, such as stove, fuel, Outback oven, cook set, cups, folding saw, bear spray, liquor and diabetic supplies in a hard case. It also contains other small soft items such as rain tarp, bear line kit, inflatable PFDs, first aid kit, emergency kit, Dorcas' hammock, laundry supplies, toilet paper, soap, towels, etc.

The next heaviest bag is the “dry bag”, a Sealline Pro Pack, a heavy-duty waterproof dry bag with shoulder straps and waist belt. This bag contains the tent, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, pillows, clothes bags and loose fleece items, and is always carried directly to our tent site.

Lastly is the “net bag”. The net bag is a light-weight mesh backpack with a heavy vinyl bottom made by Stahlsac. This is where we carry items that don't care if they get wet, such as Camp-Rest chairs, water bucket, water bottles, sandals, water shoes, boat sponge and spare straps and lines.

In addition to these four major packs we each carry a personal dry bag. I use a Watershed Ocoee duffel and Dorcas uses a Mad River thwart bag with a lightweight waterproof liner. In these bags, we carry those things we may need while on the water: rain gear, cameras, binoculars, GPS, walkie-talkie/weather radio, paddling gloves, sunscreen, extra toilet paper, notebook, etc. There is also a tackle bag consisting of a small medium sized fanny pack.

Finally, we pack a pair of 5.6' medium action spinning rods loaded with Spiderwire, a tough braided fishing line and a pair of Bending Branches Black Pearl carbon bent shaft paddles.

Whew, what a load!

Other paddlers we see use a wide variety of gear. A few use Duluth Packs, but most use a combination of various dry bags, nylon cordura portage packs and traditional hiking back packs and day packs. Some use large plastic barrels to carry and store their food. A few poor souls pack everything into large trash bags. Most folks have way too many small loose items to keep up with.


Portaging

Remember those non-interconnected lakes? OK, now we have to carry all this crap from one lake to the next. The quality of portage trails can vary widely. Some are as smooth and level as a country road (rare!). Others are steep and rocky. Some are thick with tree limbs and brush. Often there may be a log or tree across the trail. Some are so weedy and thick with trees and limbs that you have to make a 3-point turn to get through some bends with the boat. Some are wet, muddy and slicker than snot on a rock. You just never know what it's going to be until you do it. As Forrest Gump said “Life is like a box of chocolates ...” Portages also vary greatly in length. Portages are traditionally measured in “rods” an archaic surveying measure that equals 16.5 feet. I don't know why rods are used. It could be that that is the approximate length of a canoe and provides a good visual reference for the distance. More likely the timber companies used rods when laying out tracts and the tradition remained. In any case portages can range from 5 rods or less to more than 400 rods. Do the math; it can be a long carry. Most portages we see are between about 40r and 180r. If the terrain is difficult the 40r portage can be more difficult and take longer than the 180r. A good landing at the portage path can go a long way towards making a portage easier. Some landings are smooth sandy beaches (rare) where you can paddle right up, step out and unload the boat while standing on hard level ground. Others are rocky, wet, muddy and/or steep. There is no easy way to get yourself out of the boat, much less the gear, without leaning over the water, balancing on two rocks and/or dragging the boat up across the rocks. This is when it would be nice to have a rental boat.

Portaging the canoe

Most people really dread the portages. While we don't actually look forward to them, we do appreciate the break it provides from the paddling. Paddle a while, take a nice hike in the woods. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Some are fairly pleasant, but some can be grueling. Most are somewhere in between. I don't think Matilda ever met a portage she didn't like.

A rocky portage landing

We always double portage; there is no other way considering our load. This means we haul one load of gear over, walk back to the start and then haul the final load. I think most BWCAW visitors do the same, although we do occasionally see folks who single portage. On the first load I always carry the boat and the net bag. Dorcas usually carries the SealLine dry bag on her back with her thwart bag on her waist and the paddles in her hands. After a leisurely return, I carry the food pack on my back and my Watershed bag in my hands. Dorcas carries the pack basket on her back, the tackle bag on her waist and the fishing rods in her hands. If it is a particularly long or brushy carry, Dorcas may put the paddles and the fishing rods in a lightweight bag and carry them all together. The secret to portaging, other than a proper mind set, is organization. We have combined all our gear into as few a number of bundles as possible, and we each have specific items we are responsible for. It is amazing how many times we see folks discussing who carries what at a trail portage, when we know that to have gotten where they are, they had done several portages already. It is fun to find the neat things those people leave behind, because no one was specifically responsible for that item, or they just had too many loose items.


Our Clothing

Our clothing is pretty much standard issue hiking and paddling attire. We plan for temperatures to range from about freezing overnight to the 90s during the day. We also expect wind and rain. This means mostly synthetic fabrics with lightweight long undies, zip-off hiking pants, nylon/polyester camp shirts, fleece outer wear, Gore-tex rain gear, hiking socks and a bathing suit. I pack two sets of shirts and pants, Dorcas packs three sets, but we do usually do some laundry during the trip. We wear rubber-soled Bean Boots while traveling, sandals or Crocs while in camp. Bean Boots are great while portaging. They provide good support and are good in the mud, but if you step in water over 10” deep, they get wet. Most other folks we see seem to use tennis shoes and sandals, rather than boots.


Our Food and Meals

We eat really well on our trips. No twigs and nuts for this group! Early on while camping with Wayne and Lynda, we developed a practice where one couple would plan, carry and prepare the evening meal at a camp site, then do the breakfast the next morning at the same camp site. This couple essentially “owned” the kitchen at that camp, while the other couple relaxed and enjoyed the service. The next evening, at the next camp, the other couple would do the meals.

Hash browns with summer sausage on the fire grate

Our food consists of a variety of commercially available dry products as well many things we have dehydrated ourselves. We also carry a lot of salted and cured meat products that don't require refrigeration. Rules prohibit cans or glass food or beverage containers,. We use salmon, tuna and chicken in foil pouches. We often will pre-prepare a lot of our meals. For example, our oatmeal will be pre-measured, and fruit, brown sugar and spices already added, with the amount of water to be added written on the bag. Then all the parts for a whole meal will be put in a bag and labeled.

Salmon cakes, hash browns and veggies

We do a lot of our own dehydrating. We make beef jerky from lean ground beef. We dehydrate frozen mixed vegetables, homemade chili and canned spaghetti sauce. We dehydrate ground beef, mushrooms, and tomatoes to add to a number of dishes.

A fluffy buttermilk pancake

Typical meals include:

Breakfast:

Grits, stewed dried fruit, country ham or side meat.

Spiced oatmeal with summer sausage.

Pancakes with country ham or side meat.

Lunch:

Peanut butter and jelly on bagels

Pouch tuna or salmon on pita

Jerky, gorp, summer sausage w/crackers and cheese

Dried soup mixes while in camp

Cookies, candies, nuts

Dinner:

Chili w/cornbread

Spaghetti with sauce and bread or bread sticks

Beef stroganoff

Chicken and rice or chicken and dumplings

Salmon patties (from pouch) and mixed vegetables

Camp fire pintos

Red beans and rice w/summer sausage

Fried fresh fish w/hash browns and mixed vegetables

Deserts: marshmallows, s'mores, cookies, muffins, brownies

Dorcas enjoying salmon patties, hash browns and veggies

We cook using both the iron fire grate and a pair of lightweight backpacking stoves. Wayne and Lynda carry a large cast aluminum frying pan that is great for use on the fire. We use it to cook fish, ham, summer sausage, side meat and hash browns. We also use the grate to keep food warm while cooking and serving. Lynda carries a lightweight backpacker frying pan for use on the camp stove. We also carry an 8” Outback Oven for baking. The Outback oven is functionally an ultralight Dutch oven that can be used over a camp stove. We make biscuits, cornbread, and muffins and brownies, all from supermarket mixes. 

Lynda's s'mores on flour tortillas

On our first evening of the trip, hopefully before we have done too many portages, we will grill a steak on the fire. The first morning we will have bacon and fresh eggs. We try to salvage a leftover egg or two for recipes later on that call for an egg.

Pancakes and country ham

We eat way too much on our trips, and each year we vow to carry less food. I think part of the problem is we are preparing for the other couple, so we want to make sure they aren't disappointed and won't go hungry. Of coarse, they are thinking the same about their meals. Each year we promise we will add at least one new menu item to the meal plan, but for reasons I can't explain, it rarely happens. I think basically we are just “rut” people. Or maybe we are simply traditional.

Summer sausage in hash browns and stewed dried fruit

Fishing

The BWCAW is a world class fishing destination. We fish, but not as hard or with as much vigor as many who visit here. The majority of our fishing is trolling as we move from lake to lake. I will usually cast into a promising weed bed or rocky hump as we pass by, if Dorcas will let me. While this is not the most effective fishing approach, we usually manage to catch some fish every day. On layover days we will usually go out and fish a little more seriously, fishing the banks and weeds pretty hard. I usually use a spinner bait, because it is not prone to catch many weeds or snag on the rocks, so I can fish where the fish are. It seems to be very effective. If we are in deep water with no weeds we may use a diving lure with treble hooks, something like a rattletrap. We would likely catch many more fish if we would sit in one place and jig along the bottom, but that's pretty boring. Most years we have no trouble catching enough fish for 3 fish fries and that's usually plenty. We primarily catch northern pike, small mouth bass and walleye. All are fine eating fish.

Dorcas washing the dishes

Our Camp

We are always looking for so-called 5-star camp sites. There are a number of factors we use when rating and selecting a camp site. Good tent pads, a good landing, a good kitchen, a good scenic view and a good bear line tree are all important. The most important factor, however, is that the camp site is vacant! We usually try to make camp before too late in the afternoon, no later than 4:00 if possible. The earlier you camp, the more choices you have. If you wait too late, you may have no choices at all and must paddle to the next lake or back track to the last lake. BWCAW rules say you may not share a camp site with another party. We carry walkie-talkies so we can scout multiple camp sites simultaneously and discuss our findings before committing.

Hoisting the food packs on the bear line

Before landing at our camp we bail water from the lake. We have never treated our water here, and so far, we have had no problems. We pick a spot that seems to be a deep part of the lake and well away from shore and dip our water from as far below the surface of the lake as we can reach. We fill our water bags and jugs and use the water for drinking and cooking.

"The Boonie" a rare lidded model.

When we make camp we usually just sit and rest for a while and maybe have a happy hour. Happy hour usually consists of crackers and cheese or nuts and an 80 proof adult beverage. After we have reached the requisite state of relaxation, we start some camp chores.  Dorcas unpacks the dry bag, and sets up the tent, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, etc. My chore is to hang the bear line, which is always an adventure. The bear line consists of a 75' Spectra climbing rope, slung over a stout limb at least 20' high. The other end of the line is tied off to a tree about 30' away. Pulleys are hung from the line so we can haul our two food packs up and off the ground. The rig must be strong enough to support two 80 pound food packs, at least 8' off the ground and 6' from any trees. We have killed a tree or two in the process. I'm not really sure how important all this is. In all our years in the BWCAW we have only had one confirmed bear in our camp. The biggest concern is probably mice and squirrels. A few mornings we have woken to find our packs and the supporting tree on the ground, but we have never had a critter in our food packs. At some point everyone goes out in search of fire wood.  We carry a saw and a small axe so we can make small split cook wood.

An unidentified paddler using the "boonie"

Every camp site has a cast iron fire grate usually with rocks stacked around it to make a nice hearth. There are usually a number of logs around the hearth for sitting and some flat rocks for setting cups, pots etc. The ladies aways like to find a flat dish washing rock, well away from the water where they can set up the dish pan. Tent sites may be back in the trees, or out on the shore. If it is not likely to be too windy or cold we usually prefer an open site.

On our first trip to the BWCAW we went with Wayne and Lynda, who had been paddling in the BWCAW for several years before our first trip.  Wayne is a bit of a Northwoods paddling traditionalist had developed his own style over the years.  We subsequently were greatly influenced by the "Wayne Way".  Had Dorcas and I gone for the first time by ourselves, I expect we probably would have adopted a style that is more lightweight and more in tune with our backpacking roots.

Our Mentor: Taught us the "Whitley Way"