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 15: HALFWAY THERE
Here is a photo of another fall that I took today. I was trying to carry the canoe between those two rocks when a sudden gust of wind took it sailing. A canoe is not meant for that.. Ha!
I felt a bit bad for my canoe but I’ve learned that Kevlar is a lot tougher than I originally thought!
Today marks the halfway point of this journey. Time goes by incredibly slowly in the micro but then feels like it flies by in the big picture of things. I know that soon I’ll be looking back and thinking about all of these nights I spend alone by the great northern lakes.
So cheers to the next time I drop my canoe!
Day 16: MENTAL GAME
Today was another normal day of constant portages and paddling until sunset.
Tonight I’m blessed with another incredible sunset. Just me alone in the wilderness and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be!
It’s a short one today but goodnight!
Day 17: CAMPING WITH A MOOSE
Around 6:00 pm, all that I had left was one bend in a river until I arrived at camp. Just before the river began to turn directions, I made eye contact with a beautiful, but considerably young, moose!
I am camping at the same spot that I did a few nights ago. (My route overlaps for 2 days). Except for this time, I’m obviously not alone. When I pulled to shore, I noticed the Moose tracks all around camp that weren’t there two nights ago when I camped here.
It’s one of my favorite feelings to share the wilderness with other animals. Moments like that are ones that are forever hard to forget.
Day 18: BEAR AND SEIZURE
Today was quite a day.
Early in the morning, as I began paddling I noticed an odd-looking black lump up a hill about 75 yards away from me. It looked somewhat like a bear to me so I decided to paddle to shore and get a better look.
Turns out, once I got next to the shore, it was just a burnt tree stump- glad that I wasted calories to see it haha! However, the second that I realized this, I saw two triangular ears pop up from the brush about 20 feet in front of me.
Next thing I know, a black bear sprung up from his nap and barreled his way up the hill to get away from me. It was quite an ironic bear encounter and he got up so fast that I almost tipped my canoe as I thought he was coming at me ha!
Now later in the day, as I approached a portage I recognized a kid collapsed on the ground. I quickly hurried over to offer my Wilderness First Responder training- (a certification that everyone should have and that I was glad to have at the moment).
The two guides and I did what we could in order to help the kid who looked to be having a seizure. After a couple of hours of dealing with the problem, the kid made a full recovery. Luckily, someone had his specific doctor’s phone number (due to past medical history) so we were able to contact them using a satellite device.
I think it should be common practice to have a doctor’s phone number on a satellite phone or texting device. If you spend time in the wilderness, having the connection to a doctor if need be could save you- or someone else’s life! If you get anything from this post, I hope this is it!
Day 19: TRAVEL
Well, it’s hard to come off of a day like yesterday and have much to talk about.. ha!
Today was a normal day of paddling, portaging, and making good distance.
Portaging is significantly easier now with my gear being much lighter. Also, I’m probably getting a bit stronger which helps! Days end up being just as challenging though- as I just paddle farther!
Another day of being alone out here in the wilderness. I can’t believe I’m almost 2/3 of the way through.
Day 20: LIGHTNING AND WIND
I woke up early to get a good start as I wanted to push long and hard for the day.
About 2 hours into my paddle, I was welcomed with a huge crack of thunder and a lightning strike right near me.
It startled me quite a bit as it was actually pretty good weather. Needless to say, I hustled to the shore to wait it out.
After a couple of hours, the rain and wind calmed and I began paddling again. The weather window closed again around 3:00 when the wind picked up to 30mph gusts.
It was too windy to paddle so I ended up setting up camp early. The weather wasn’t on my side today but I can’t complain because I’ve been blessed with such great weather otherwise- and I also have the most incredible campsite I’ve seen out here!
Day 21: 11 PORTAGES
Since I got a half day of rest yesterday I planned on traveling long and hard today.
After nonstop paddling, and 11 portages total, I got to my camp around 6:00 pm
It was a lot of traveling but honestly, I felt really great all day long. Had great energy, portages seemed to fly by (even though I had 11), and ultimately I’m at the point where this is beginning to feel like my normal day-to-day life.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about Tanner’s Trails and what I want to do with the brand in the future. I care about this so much and it’s become a lifetime project for me- really excited for the future ideas.
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 week three 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 Four: 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.