Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
Northern Minnesota holds some of the cleanest, wildest, and most inspiring wilderness in the United States. Throughout the summer of 2021, I set out alone to embark on a 30-day adventure to traverse one of America’s most beautiful landscapes called the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Preview: In the 30 days that I spent alone, I encountered a severe thunderstorm with 75MPH winds that caused trees to snap outside my tent, a foot infection, 2 hornet stings, a bear in my camp at night, someone having a seizure in a portage, hazy mornings from (what ended up being) massive wildfires in the area, and much much more.
You will read about all of these moments during my solo traverse of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness below! Also, if you stick to the end, I have a few extra resources for you.
Day 22: Adapting
I traveled quite far today because my goal is to have a week where I can stay in one place.
I think of it as instead of traveling to see the land, I want to stay in one place to practice and learn to live with the land.
Now about the day- I had 7 portages total and some of them were decently long (160 rods). I also saw a lot of Bald Eagles today which is always exciting!
I also thought a lot about HOW MUCH can change in such little time. The first time I ever spent the night outside alone was up here when I was 12 years old.
It was a life-changing night for me as I learned to appreciate the difficult but rewarding moments that wilderness brings to us!
Day 23: New Chapter
Today is the final day of my “traverse” objective. Throughout my 30 days, I wanted to traverse the wilderness area which I had already done. Now I want to stay in one spot and live with the land versus traveling to see it.
I paddled hard all day long until I got close enough to where I was going to start searching for base camp for the next few days.
Around 6:00, I began looking for the perfect campsite. I passed up a couple of good ones because they just didn’t feel quite the way that I wanted them to and I’m really glad that I did because, at 7:00, I paddled up to a dream campsite.
It has some open areas, sunset views, enough dense coverage for a storm/wind, quite a few different edible berries and plants, and an easy canoe access area.
Going to bed really happy tonight!
Day 24: 75mph Wind, Major Storm
Part One: I was sitting in my tent prepared for a major storm, but I was not expecting this. Out of complete calmness, the most powerful force of wind entered my campsite. Originally, because I’d never experienced this, my first thought was that there was a tornado.
As my tent was collapsing down on me, I heard trees falling down, and gear breaking, and saw my canoe go airborne (thankfully I always tie it down).
Needless to say, this storm was the worst one I’ve ever been in. The most powerful wind/lightning I ever felt. It truly shows the power of the wild.
I was praying that I chose a good enough spot to avoid any trees if they were to fall- as this kills people every year in the wilderness.
Immediately when I recognized the severity, I prepared in case my rainfly blew away. I put on my rain gear and a few warm layers to avoid hypothermia in case I didn’t have shelter to wait out the storm.
If something were to happen to my rain fly, I could become wet and hypothermic really quickly. I felt prepared and it didn’t happen.
Later- I was able to learn from my Aunt/Uncle/Momma that there was a major storm with 75mph derecho that came through my area- causing major destruction to objects in the path.
I am actually glad I experienced this as I know I’ll encounter worse on my future expeditions.. and at the end of the day, this journey is in preparation for my 3 month Yukon River expedition.
Glad to see the sun again!
Day 24: Part Two
The storm has calmed down so I was able to video the strategy that I took to ride out this major storm. Here are some methods below to minimize risk during storms:
- Ready in my rain gear to avoid hypothermia in case the rain fly gets blown away.
- Sitting on my life jacket+ as much as I can to insulate myself in case of a lightning strike- if hair starts to rise on your arms then get into lightning position. (Best way to avoid lightning is to choose a campsite in a selective manner)
- Select a campsite away from dead trees.
- Have a positive attitude in dangerous situations.
Day 25: Camp Cleanup
Today was quite a beautiful day based on how it was last night.
My original plan was to go out and fish all day to catch some Walleye- However, it ended up being way too windy with white caps everywhere. An empty canoe would blow me around a little too much!
So instead, I took care of all of my gear from the major storm last night. I spent the day cleaning, drying, and fixing some of my gear.
My canoe didn’t take any damage even though it went airborne in the storm- it has truly treated me really well!
Quite a lazy day!
Day 26: Animal In Camp
Last night while I was getting ready to sleep, I woke up to loud huffing noises from about 20 yards outside of my tent. It definitely sounded like a big animal and I’m not sure if it was a deer or a bear.
I shouted a couple of times and heard it shuffle away from me! You’re never alone out in the wilderness.
Today was another ridiculously windy day out on the water so I had to avoid it. Instead, I fished from shore and caught a couple of Pike. I’ve been enjoying the switch-up to a base camp.
Day 27: Hornets
Today was the first day where the wind is calm since I’ve been here at base camp. However, this came with a drawback because as soon as I woke up I recognized hundreds of hornets flying around my camp.
I found out that I’m camped near a nest and have just not recognized this because they haven’t been out because of the wind.
Then around 8:00 am, I felt this tight pinch on my thigh and then saw a black and white bald-faced hornet fall down- then fly back up and sting me again.
Getting stung twice today is a bit stress-inducing because I’ve never been stung by a hornet(not sure if I’m allergic). Going into Anaphylaxis would not be a good thing to encounter alone in the wilderness.
Luckily hours went on and the only symptom I had was a sore and swollen leg- I ended up finding the nest and have been able to avoid making the hornets mad. There were times when they will land on me but as long as I don’t move they won’t sting!
Nothing more to worry about!
Day 28: Future
Knowing that I’m almost done with this adventure has caused my thoughts to begin planning my next. My love for extreme wilderness adventure is an obsession of mine- it’s my life.
I have a lot of ideas brewing in my mind and many trainings that I’ll be taking. So much to look forward to and everything to be grateful for.
Now let’s finish off strong!
Day 29: Final Day
It’s 8:00 pm and I’m spending the evening sitting next to the mirror-like water watching the sun go down. Today has been quite a perfect day aside from some storms in the afternoon. It’s an odd feeling knowing it will be my last time waking up to the caramel-colored water, howling loons, and the many bald eagles surrounding me.
I feel that I’ve experienced quite a bit during this adventure- including some negatives and a whole lot of positives. This wilderness area has taught me more than I could ask for in life and this is just the beginning of an exploration for me.
Day 30: Done- But Just Getting Started
Just like that, my 30 days alone in the wilderness come to an end. This adventure marks a step closer to my overall goal to ultimately become one of the world’s greatest modern-day explorers and change the world for the better while I’m doing it.
Around 3:00 pm, I paddled out of the wilderness area to be greeted by my mom, dad, aunt, and uncle. It was a moment that I felt truly grateful for. Not many people get to share special memories with their family members and I will never take that for granted. Without all of them, these 30 days wouldn’t have been possible!
For anyone who followed along on this adventure- it means the world to me. I keep a note of all of those people who support me in my early adventure days so that I can be sure to give back to them in the future. So thank you so much- I won’t forget it.
This adventure allowed me to have multiple new and life-changing experiences that I’ll now have in my mental toolbox for my next extreme adventures and expeditions.
This is a long-term (60 years+) project for me and we are just getting started.
Boundary Waters Resources
Suggested Reading:
Wild Berries & Fruits Field Guide of Minnesota, Wisconsin & Michigan by Teresa Marrone
If you find interest in wild berries, this book is an awesome, small pocket guide that is easy to carry yet descriptive and organized. The book is color coded so you can easily identify an unknown berry. You also can look and see the range of fruits in the book.
Suggested Maps:
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Map Set by National Geographic
This map set includes both the East and West half of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. I felt that these maps were AWESOME, and other, more detailed map sets that you can purchase were overkill. They include portage routes and cover the entire area of the Boundary Waters.
Other Resources:
SEEK: Seek is an app that works without service to identify plants from around the world. I personally use this app all the time and enjoy its accuracy of it. Plus, as I said, it works without any cell service which is huge.
Thanks for checking out the final week of my 30 days alone in the BWCA wilderness!
Here are a few more related articles:
- Week One: 30 Days Alone In The Wilderness
- Week Two: 30 Days Alone In The Wilderness
- Week Three: 30 Days Alone In The Wilderness
As always, if you have any questions or comments, please direct message me on socials. I’d love to hear from you!
Hey there! My name is Tanner and I specialize in outdoor survival, bushcraft, expeditions and adventure travel.
