The Distant Howl of Wolves

Put in at Lake 1

It was unseasonably hot and muggy in Minneapolis in mid September 2004, when my wife Vicki and I stepped off the plane with fellow SDPA friends Rob Brager, his wife Elayne Berman, and Michele LaRue and her husband, Tom Hardy. We soon met up with my friends from Boston, Cynthia and Kevin O’Grady, and within minutes our outfitter arrived to drive us to Ely, four hours to the north.

 Our group had come to canoe for 6 days in the Boundary Waters, a 15,000 square mile maze of lakes and rivers that separate Minnesota from Canada. Rob, Vicki, and I had a wonderful trip to this area in 2000, and I was happy to be back.

Vicki

After a relaxed night at the Ely Lodge our outfitter Doug Jordan drove us to his camp, where we packed our gear bags, picked up our 17 ft canoes, and headed for the put in, a half hour away. As we paddled away from shore I was concerned because a strong wind was blowing, making forward progress difficult, and we weren’t even in open water yet! An hour later my fears were confirmed as the open water paddling was becoming more and more difficult. As soon as a canoe lost forward momentum, it was blown sideways. If there were rocks in the area, the situation became precarious.

Kevlar boats at rest

Tom Hardy

The most intimidating part of a wilderness canoe trip in the Boundary waters is finding your way. Though we had maps and compasses, we found we could become disoriented very quickly as the terrain all looked the same. Islands often looked like peninsulas and visa versa. We were lucky to have my wife Vicki and Tom Hardy as our navigators along with Rob Brager and his Global Positioning System. There were no signs in this lake area, as the forest Service was determined to keep the area as wild and pristine as possible.

We were looking for two consecutive portages, and soon, as if on schedule we paddled to them. They were short, and we quickly moved our gear and canoes over the land and reentered the water. By then the wind had become even stronger, and we paddled quickly to a nearby campsite. Following a dinner of steak and chicken the rain started, and we retreated to our tents. It rained all night with intermittent thunder and lightening. The winds tore at our tents, and at one point I heard the distant howl of wolves.

Sun going down

The next morning was clear with little wind. After breaking camp we headed for a second lake. A wrong turn placed us in a different lake than we had planned, but since we were returning by the same route, it didn’t much difference. When we discovered our mistake, we were by an attractive campsite overlooking the water, so we decided to make camp and relax after the harrowing afternoon the day before.

Our group

That evening the rains came again, delivered by strong winds. Tom Hardy and Kevin had rigged up a series of tarps so we could eat with out getting soaked. For 18 hours it poured, and we had little choice but to stay in our tents and read or sleep most of the day. The strong winds made canoeing dangerous, and patience was called for. As a group we decided to break camp and leave early, if the weather broke. The next morning it was cold with a slight wind and no rain. We didn’t even bother to cook breakfast but rather jumped in our canoes and headed out of the wilderness. Though we had two more days scheduled to be on the water, out wet gear and the uncertainty of the weather conditions dictated we leave. Has the day been sunny, as it was to be two days later, we would have staid, dried out, and then paddled to the take out.

The trip out was very difficult, as the winds once again blew hard. For hours we pushed our canoes to go in a straight line until we came to the mouth of the river, which would take us home. Upon arrival Rob, who had done a masterful job, bringing us home via GPS, and I hitched a ride into cell phone range. We called out outfitter, who drove us back to the Ely Lodge.

pristine water

For the next couple of days we rested, toured the shops of Ely, jogged, and paddled the hotel’s canoes on a local lake, when the weather was good. As I reflected on the trip one afternoon, I realized it had been fun and successful in spite of the adverse conditions. The group had worked well together, and everyone had cooperated and pitched in. I thought we had used good judgment and been flexible, when conditions changed. We had learned to become more efficient each day. We learned to put tarps over out wood to keep it dry, and to leave our bear ropes up, so that we could attach our food each night, rather than throwing up new ropes every day over high tree limbs.

Trips like these are valuable because they give people the chance to exercise their values in stressful conditions. After building a robust fire in a rainstorm, Rob Brager continued to do camp chores, assisting different people along the way. He didn’t have to do this, but he did. I knew that my friend Cynthia O’Grady would rather be in many other places than the Boundary Waters, but she never complained, and she was always ready to help out and do more than her part. Paddling into unknown weather conditions on cold, overcast, windy days took courage on all our parts, and we needed to be alert and smart in how we managed our boats. We were all pushed to extend our limits.

partial group

Our drive back to Minneapolis was fun. I loved to hear Doug tell stories about past trips and people. He talked about moose and bear and wolves. He talked about the land and the lakes, and the storms he had known. As we approached the airport, I looked to the north and secretly vowed I would return to the wilds of the Boundary Waters.