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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum Listening Point - General Discussion Those Northern Lights |
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05/20/2017 01:40PM (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
I don't know how many times I have woke up in the boundary waters and someone I passed said "Did you see the lights last night?". I answer with a grumbling "No".
I remember one night I thought my eyes were just wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night blurry and seeing things as unfocused colored lights danced on my tent ceiling.
Anyways, wont be seeing them tonight. They are forecasted to be visible in Wisconsin,
but it continues to rain. The next time I do see them is gonna be a treat.
I remember one night I thought my eyes were just wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night blurry and seeing things as unfocused colored lights danced on my tent ceiling.
Anyways, wont be seeing them tonight. They are forecasted to be visible in Wisconsin,
but it continues to rain. The next time I do see them is gonna be a treat.
05/21/2017 03:39AM
Being a "Night owl," I've been fortunate. I've also had a few other guys that had never seen them until taking a trip with us. Something special, I've stayed up almost until dawn watching them. I remember one time laying out on my Thermarest the whole night at a little lake in Northern Wisconsin in the Landglade County area when the Aurora had a good "Southern" show. I remember thinking I put the tent up for nothing (LOL)
"Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." Mark Twain
05/21/2017 04:08PM
Some them late Thursday night /early FRI on Crooked. At times-- they were nearly overhead.
The two loudest sounds known to man: a gun that goes bang when it is supposed to go click and a gun that goes click when it is supposed to go bang.
05/21/2017 04:54PM
I've shared this story on a trip report before but it's pretty neat. 4th day of a 5 day September BWCA trip we were dealing with around 20-30 mph straight line winds, gusts up to 40 or 50 mph. Thankfully it was a sunny day and the wind was at our back, but the wind was still incredible. We rode the swells for many miles with an inch of space between the top of the waves and the gunnels. When we got to Seagull the wind was just too much, so we grabbed the campsite right by the Alpine portage and were windbound there all day. I got a little stir crazy. I was stressed and worried about not being able to make it across Seagull the next day. I prayed. I knew God was in control of this. I calmed down.
The wind blew all the clouds away. That night we were treated to a glorious starry display and an incredible northern lights show that lasted for about 15-20 minutes or so. Had there not been wind, we may have picked a different campsite without a northern lights view, or there could have been clouds. It was a faith building experience both for me and the guy I was with.
The wind blew all the clouds away. That night we were treated to a glorious starry display and an incredible northern lights show that lasted for about 15-20 minutes or so. Had there not been wind, we may have picked a different campsite without a northern lights view, or there could have been clouds. It was a faith building experience both for me and the guy I was with.
aka HermitThrush "Such sights as this are reserved for those who will suffer to behold them." -Eric Sevareid
05/21/2017 06:14PM
Saw them on Kett in the Q this past Monday evening (May 15th). I've seen the lights in other places but never in the BW or Q. There was even a shooting star or two that night.
"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”
05/21/2017 08:17PM
There's a secret to seeing the aurora-
You have to be outside.. in the dark... and look up.
Simple, yes, but that explains the rarity. Most people are sleeping at night. Or if outside have campfires and flashlights to see daytime things. Of course sleeping is important, but in the wilderness you do what you want and there is no getting up for work the next morning.
One of my favorite things to do is to sit up at night by the water after everyone has gone to bed and sip hot tea or bourbon. The outdoors becomes a different place at night- I have enjoyed bats, owls, stars, auroras, beaver, meteors and many other things that my trip companions never got to see.
You have to be outside.. in the dark... and look up.
Simple, yes, but that explains the rarity. Most people are sleeping at night. Or if outside have campfires and flashlights to see daytime things. Of course sleeping is important, but in the wilderness you do what you want and there is no getting up for work the next morning.
One of my favorite things to do is to sit up at night by the water after everyone has gone to bed and sip hot tea or bourbon. The outdoors becomes a different place at night- I have enjoyed bats, owls, stars, auroras, beaver, meteors and many other things that my trip companions never got to see.
"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread; places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul" -John Muir
08/05/2017 09:01AM
Any hints on taking those great photos, besides being awake of course(!)?
If we aren't actively working to protect our planet, we are acquiescing to those who run their life as if their personal WANTS are the only things that matter. John
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