Boundary Waters, Trip Reports, BWCA, Stories

Woodland Caribou Provincial Park - "First Solo" I am Blessed !
by SunCatcher

Trip Type: Paddling Canoe
Entry Date: 08/08/2010
Entry & Exit Point: Other
Number of Days: 6
Group Size: 1
Trip Introduction:
Part 1 of 12
I am Blessed !

Woodland Caribou Provincial Park Red Lake, Ontario Canada Solo Canoe Trip Bell NorthStar Canoe Carbon /Kevlar 41 pounds (solo seat) 2 paddles, 1 crazy creek canoe chair, portage yoke, life jacket 1-50 lb equipment pack & 1-20 lb food pack & 1 Thwart Bag (3 lb)

Introduction: 

It all began here… I never had an inkling of a solo trip until I started conversing with you all and read multiple trip reports about your journeys. Thank you all for the inspiration! Then there was the trip to Madison, WI to Canoecopia in March and sitting in on some of the speakers, as original plan was somewhere in the BWCA and then I set my sites on Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario and then I went to this pair of speakers at Canoecopia with Kiporby, daughter Lauren, Izzy and his wife Pam. After sitting there taking in all the beauty of the slides Martin Kehoe and Doug Gilmore (Park Supt. of WCCP) presented, I left in knowing this was my place my dream trip. My plans were starting to culminate and a dream was inspired of Woodland Caribou Provincial Park (WCPP) West of Red Lake, Ontario Canada. So the dream was bubbling and boiling in my mind since that day in March. Then four folks on the BWCA website, kanoes, Kiporby, gbusk, and whiteh20 went on the journey to the far North and came back with stories of beauty beyond comprehension and of a land of solitude and utter purity. 

So the story begins…………

To start of with I actually dedicate this trip to the memory of my Father Don Kolterman who put the first pole in my hand at an early age and sparked the fire for a love of the outdoors, camping, fishing, hunting and he was a mentor and my best friend and always wanted us kids to live our dreams…so I headed off, after much planning to live one of my dreams.

Day 1 Friday August 6th, 2010 and Day 2 Saturday August 7th, 2010

I left Norfolk, Nebraska at about 3 pm and drove to my son Nick’s in Sioux Falls. He made me some SD walleye on the grill and hash browns on the grill with a salad. Played with my grandson (2.5 yrs old) and enjoyed a couple brews. I told the kids I would be leaving about 5 am or when I woke up…well I woke up at 2 am and away I went up I-29 headed for Winnipeg, Canada. I watched the Sun come up and stopped to take a picture. I hit the Canadian border at 8 am sharp on Saturday. I was on a mission. I made it to Red Lake, Ontario Canada late afternoon and checked into the Howey Bay Motel. They have a restaurant and bar on premise (Phew). I had dinner and a couple beers and went to my room contemplating my journey. My mind was rushing a thousand mph, and it was hard to go to sleep, even after a 12 hour drive and 970 miles (one way).