BWCA Trip Report - 1990 Expeditionary Canuck Boundary Waters Trip Reports

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Trip Reports

Trip Report - 1990 Expeditionary Canuck

Author

Text

4Lakes

09/28/2010 10:17AM

New Trip Report posted by 4Lakes

Trip Name: 1990 Expeditionary Canuck

Entry Point: Other

Click Here to View Trip Report

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Mort

09/28/2010 10:55AM

4Lakes, IMO you really need to include pictures along the way as you go. They would add so much more to your report, and make it come alive in the readers eye. Just a suggestion.

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4Lakes

09/28/2010 11:05AM

Yup, will do, but digital cameras were not around back then, so I've got to get them scanned! I'll get on it! ;)

Andy

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4Lakes

09/30/2010 11:17AM

Alright, finally getting some pictures added. Wish I had more, but it was actual film then, not the endless space of flash memory...

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4Lakes

10/01/2010 02:36PM

Another part added. And if you like bug pictures, well, there is a classic one in this part...

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bapabear

10/01/2010 09:40PM

Heckuva trip. Would love to try a trip of this length sometime but know I won't so am enjoying your report.

My superhero name is TYPOMAN. Writer of wrongs.

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Beemer01

Moderator

10/02/2010 06:18PM

Epic journey.

I'm in awe.

"You're not serious about wearing sandals on this portage.... are you?"

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Unas10

10/03/2010 05:55AM

What were the circumstances that allowed an 18 year old the opportunity to partake in such an adventure?

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4Lakes

10/03/2010 08:20AM

Unas, this trip was through Camp Manito-Wish , an independent YMCA camp which is located in Boulder Junction, WI. This camp is a canoe-tripping camp. The "Expo" as it is called, is the pinnacle of Manito-Wish's Outpost program and is by invitation only and participants must show capabilities on prior outpost trips, usually in a two-week trip followed by a 4-5 week trip.

http://www.manito-wish.org/

Incidentally, I have journals from those two previous trips as well!

Camp Manito-Wish

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arctic

10/03/2010 11:17AM

The two YMCA camps near the BWCAW (Widjiwagan and Menogyn) also do extensive tripping in the Far North. My niece just did a month-long paddle on the Kazan River, up to Baker Lake.

BTW, I paddled a chunk of your route in 1988 when three friends and I paddled from Reindeer L, UP the Cochrane R., over the Height-of-Land into the Kasmere/Thlewiaza watershed to Nueltin, NE to Baralzon L, thence down the Wolverine and Seal Rivers to Hudson Bay. Then we paddled the Bay to Churchill.

“Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.” -Edward Abbey

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4Lakes

10/03/2010 09:10PM

That's very cool arctic. It was an amazing trip. The memories of that trip still are incredibly vivid, much more so than my other trips.

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jcavenagh

10/08/2010 05:48PM

Holy Cow! What a trip! A trapper you could be when you retire, no? Oui! Shall we call you Pierre? Can't wait to see the rest.

LNT - The road to success is always under construction. http://hikingillinois.blogspot.com/

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4Lakes

10/26/2010 02:29PM

Alright, for anyone still reading, I apologize for the delay since the last update! Just haven't had time to get photos scanned! I have some new scans though, so two more installments are posted.

Andy

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jcavenagh

11/20/2010 09:01PM

Thanks. Waiting on parts 9 and 10. Interesting how the tone of the writing changed as the trip progressed. That says a lot about how you were feeling. I think we can sense how the bleak environment pressed upon the group.

LNT - The road to success is always under construction. http://hikingillinois.blogspot.com/

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Koda

11/20/2010 10:36PM

Andrew, I've just started reading this report; it may take me a while. Meantime, I wanted to mention that we're neighbors in Stoughton. Small world!

Dave

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Koda

11/21/2010 09:03PM

OK, I read the whole thing. OMG, what an incredible journey!
I wanted to get some practice with Google Earth so I mapped the trip. Here's a low-res version. Let me know if you'd like the high-res.
The path is necessarily straightened because it quickly became hard to guess at your actual route. (And now I know a lot more about working with G-Earth.)

One line in the trip report stuck with me: "This is a hard land."

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jamasina

12/08/2010 11:29AM

Thanks 4Lakes. I really enjoyed this report and I hope you'll come back and complete the last 10 days for us! My daughters, sister and nephew are Manito-wishers and I know that these Outpost trips can be truly life-defining.

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jcavenagh

12/16/2010 09:39PM

4Lakes - A lot of folks are reading when you are ready to finish this...thanks

LNT - The road to success is always under construction. http://hikingillinois.blogspot.com/

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Amok

12/17/2010 02:40AM

Welcome to the boards! I hadn't noticed this report earlier, I'll be reading it once I get some down time ...

Trust, but verify. The Lord will provide !!!!

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strom2127

12/17/2010 03:49AM

through part 3. all I can say is WOW!

"Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more."

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jcavenagh

12/17/2010 02:32PM

AMOK - Read the trip report when you have a chunk of time. Like Koda, I followed the trip report on Google maps, except I haven't figured out Google Earth. I had many hours of fun reading and plotting the course. I suspect several others also plotted the trip as they read.

This report is one of the best canoe trip reports on any website I've seen. One can almost hear the wind howling across the tundra and feel the rawness of the troupe as they make their way doggedly to the Hudson Bay.

LNT - The road to success is always under construction. http://hikingillinois.blogspot.com/

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SevenofNine

12/23/2010 10:29AM

quote jcavenagh: "4Lakes - A lot of folks are reading when you are ready to finish this...thanks"

Great trip report. I second that motion.

The best part of this journey here is further knowing yourself - Alan Kay

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phisherman

01/09/2011 07:04AM

4Lakes...thanks for taking the time to post this amazing journey. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the report over the last two days!

"Think, think, think!" W.T.P.

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SevenofNine

01/12/2011 02:01PM

Great read, awesome trip. Thank you for sharing your story. I look forward to part 10.

The best part of this journey here is further knowing yourself - Alan Kay

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Bushwacker

01/14/2011 10:05PM

All of the sudden, after reading this, the toughest routes through the Quetico look like the local park by comparison. I wonder if that solo tripper made it out OK? I was surprised no bears along the way.

"...not all those who wander are lost..." JRR Tolkien.

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jcavenagh

02/18/2011 10:44AM

Anyone heard from 4lakes recently? Don't leavce us abandoned just a few miles from the goal!

LNT - The road to success is always under construction. http://hikingillinois.blogspot.com/

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4Lakes

04/04/2011 02:14PM

Wow, uh, first, I apologize for being away so long. Life kinda got in the way. Second, thanks for all the kind words. The report wasn't getting alot of feedback at first so I kinda felt that it wasn't really what a lot of folks were interested in reading here.

Update, the text is all finished, but am waiting to post until I can get the rest of the pictures scanned. I will redouble my efforts to get this up and finished!

Andy

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phisherman

04/04/2011 04:01PM

4lakes...I can't speak for others but I can't adequately express how much I enjoyed reading about your adventure. I actually introduced my son to the Manito-Wish website in hopes of vicariously taking a trip via him (he's 14). I'm looking to finishing "the journey".

"Think, think, think!" W.T.P.

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phisherman

04/04/2011 04:05PM

Sorry, omission typo! I'm looking FORWARD to finishing "the journey".

"Think, think, think!" W.T.P.

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4Lakes

04/06/2011 10:17AM

Part 9 is up.

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snapcrackpop

04/06/2011 02:18PM

Unreal!
I can't belive you made it out alive. I'm impressed.

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aebrooks

04/07/2011 08:34AM

Awesome detail. I'll need to take some more time when not at work and read it more thoroughly. thanks for putting the time in to that trip report.

Knowledge is realizing that the street is one-way, wisdom is looking both directions anyway.

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4Lakes

04/11/2011 11:10AM

Alright, the report is finally done! Part 10 is posted. For those of you who survived reading it in its entirety, thanks and I hope you enjoyed the read.

-Andy

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jcavenagh

04/12/2011 04:37PM

Awesome. I mean that in the literal sense. This report and the trip it relates inspire awe in me.
Thanks, Andy.

LNT - The road to success is always under construction. http://hikingillinois.blogspot.com/

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phisherman

04/12/2011 07:00PM

Andy~thanks again for taking the time to pen the entire journey. I wonder which was longer...writing the report or the actual canoe trip? That experience can never be taken away from you. I for one am envious!

"Think, think, think!" W.T.P.

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snapcrackpop

04/12/2011 11:12PM

You should get an automatic two trees for that report!

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4Lakes

04/13/2011 10:17AM

quote phisherman: "Andy~thanks again for taking the time to pen the entire journey. I wonder which was longer...writing the report or the actual canoe trip? That experience can never be taken away from you. I for one am envious!"

Phish,

I kept journals on all of my longer trips. I was the only one on any of my trips that kept a journal, and I'm glad i did. As someone asked in another thread: "who keeps a journal as an 18 year old?" ME!

The time consuming part was taking the writing and typing it into digital form, editing as I went!

I do have the journal from a 33 day trip I did as well, alas, only half the pictures made it.

@snapcrackpop: Thanks.

Andy

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520eek

05/11/2011 02:59PM

YESSSS....!!! Nice report! I have been reading little bits each day at work during lunch! This is very nice of you to post such a lengthy report...thank you!

I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it!

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Alan Gage

05/16/2017 06:10PM

Came across this trip report while messing around with the 'way back machine' and wanted to bring it forward for others that had missed it at the time. Wonderful trip and fantastic reading.

Alan

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boonie

05/18/2017 09:13AM

Thanks, Alan, I plan to read it when I get a little more time. If I read it before (and it sounds a little familiar), it's been a long time and will be a good read.