Posts by Clearwater Staff

I have lived in the north woods of Minnesota for almost 15 years now exploring the woods and waters from Ely to the Gunflint Trail and everywhere in between.  The secluded wilderness paddling and camping within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Quetico Provincial Park is where I have spent most of my free time throughout the years, though the...

  The aurora borealis are one of natures most spectacularly awesome sights, and people are always trying to capture them on film.  We have talked about the fickle nature of the phenomenon in the past (The Northern Lights and Your Chances of Seeing Them) and how getting to see them is essentially like winning natures lottery.  So many things need...

OCT 6 Another steely cold day greets us as we emerge from our tents. At least it’s calm. By mid-morning we are cruising towards our first portage. After spending a day weather bound we are looking forward to covering some ground. We eye the 1200 meter portage between Trant and Kahshahpiwi, knowing not the toll it will exact on us....

Recently I have been attempting to temper unrealistic expectations of fall travel on the water in the Quetico-Superior wilderness.  While many of the photos and stories of perfect conditions you hear about on social media and in the news are very likely, the reality is that the weather in autumn is extremely fickle and good days should be cherished.  Over...

It seems like every place in the world has locals that love saying “If you don’t like the weather just wait five minutes.”  I cannot say why they do it because in most cases and places its not even close to the truth.  Is it some misguided meteorological pride?  Maybe it’s just really easy to make that comment when it...

The air surrounding you is thick with a stagnant, almost viscous humidity and the sky above is a wide open blue that houses a glowing white orb of radiating pain that has not moved for what seems like hours.  The lake underneath you amplifies this pain by reflecting a mirror image of the menace in the sky and you apply...

Whether by circumstance as a result of multiple similar occurrences or as a result of myself being in a generally more reflective state I find myself asking why more often lately.  As this specifically relates to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area I wonder why the million acres of woods and waters in Northeastern Minnesota was designated as a space that...

  Over the years of travelling throughout the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Quetico Provincial park I have seen many interesting things.  Recently the possible existence of ancient dolmens being constructed as a means of navigation or otherwise in the wilderness has me wondering about the legitimacy of their origins.  A dolmen is a megalithic structure that typically sees one...

With fear of alarming too many of you with my previous post about how fast the summer flies by I just want to say we do get out and enjoy ourselves from time to time.  Having one of the worlds best wilderness areas right at our doorstep to explore means we can head out on a whim for the afternoon,...

I once heard somebody compare the speed of a life to driving down a highway.  The years go by at the rate of an occasional side road as a youth, then like power poles, and eventually they fly by as quickly as fence posts.  It may be more a matter of perspective and memory but it sure does seem like...