Posts by Clearwater Staff

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...

A night spent camping in the Boundary Waters can’t be beat.  The time and effort put into hauling all of your gear and canoes multiple portages and lakes deep into the wilderness is made up for by the time spent next to a crackling fire at the end of the day enjoying good food and even better company.  Nothing will...

The views from what is known as the Gunflint High Cliffs are some of the best in the area, and they are also some of the easiest to access.  An expansive 180 degree vista to the west and north is what you will find after making the trek up from Gunflint Lake along a network of ski trails and sunsets...

“I never want to do anything like that again” were the words I spoke to my father after my first paddling day trip into the Boundary Waters at the age of 14.  Growing up we would stay at cabins on lakes around Ely and fish out of motorboats and the concept of the adjacent wilderness was absolutely foreign yet captivating. ...

“A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”  -Wilderness Act of 1964 The Wilderness Act of 1964 created a legal definition of wilderness in...

It’s amazing how fast things change in the north woods.  After a seemingly unending, unchanging six months of white the transitions that occur during the first few weeks of spring are startling and can be hard to keep track of.   The changes are not just those of the natural variety.  While the woods are exploding with an unwavering fecundity that...

After an interminable winter that came on early and didn’t give up without a fight the ice is finally out, the green up has just begun and the open water season is here up in the great north country.  There is truly a love hate relationship with winter up here and it is front loaded.  Those first flakes that fly...

Today we finally broke our ties with Fall Lake and Ely by paddling 12 miles out to Canadian Point on big Basswood. The day brought mostly sunny skies, temperatures in the mid 50’s and light winds. It was a perfect day to be in a canoe. A 90 rod portage became a 200 rod portage as we maneuvered gear around low water and...

We paddled in the snow today, definitely a first for me. Making our way off of Eden Island early we made it to the portage into Beaverhouse in under an hour. The portage out of Quetico Lake seemed ancient, as it was littered with old water heaters and frames from what must have been Model-T’s. Beaverhouse is an enormous lake. We were relieved to...