Grandpa opened my bedroom door at five-thirty sharp, raring to go. Jesse was already up, and like his grandfather was quite excited. It amazes me how much these two are alike. It also fills me with joy because I know Grandpa's life is almost over, and I will have to say good-bye sooner than I would like to. He is my best friend, and I don't know what I will do without him in my life. God has already provided for that deep need of male spiritual fellowship in fashioning Jesse, my brother and future sole mate, to be just like my incredible grandfather. I am eternally grateful and treasure these things deep in my heart.

I got dressed and walked upstairs to the kitchen. Grandma was busy bustling around in the kitchen. “You’re all going to be having a big breakfast at the Village Inn a little ways out of town. I’ve got a little snack to hold you over until you get there.” She laid out some toast, donut balls, and apple juice. I was excited but ate heartily despite the butterflies in my stomach. After finishing my plate off, I hauled my duffel bag upstairs to the garage so Grandma could get it loaded up in the trunk. Grandpa and Grandma had been working on that task for a while. I headed back downstairs to grab a couple more things.

I came back upstairs to find Jared had arrived. “How’s it going?” I asked as I greeted Jared. I hadn’t spent much time with Jared. I was present at his wedding, and he and his wife, Mom’s cousin Mandy, had visited us once at our home in Washington, but that was it. I was looking forward to this time to get to know him better. “It’s going great!” Jared responded. “I got up early this morning to drive over here. Mandy will be by to pick up my car later today.” “How is Mandy doing?” I asked. Shortly before this, Jared had found out that he was going to be the father of twin girls. “She’s getting over her morning sickness and is feeling much better. We’re so excited to be parents.” “I’ll bet!” I replied. “Do you need a hand with your things?” “Sure, let’s go get everything,” Jared said as he headed out the door. Grandpa and I followed Jared out to his car. He handed me a fishing pole and a pillow, and grabbed a fully loaded backpack from his trunk. After ensuring that he had everything he needed, he locked the key in his car.

By this point, the cousins had walked over from their house. Mike and Becky drove the van around to Grandma’s driveway. “Sleep well last night?” I questioned Amy. “Yeah, I did. I’m really excited!” “I am too!” Rachel put in. “Did you get all of your stuff packed, Becky?” I asked her. “Yes, I did, but I was up pretty late.” “You got all the directions figured out, Mike?” Grandpa asked. “I sure do,” Mike said. “First stop is Village Inn.” “Everybody come over here,” Grandpa stated. “I’d like to do a quick devotional before we hit the road.” We all gathered around as Grandpa read from that day’s entry in Our Daily Bread. Grandma was standing with us too. I love how Grandpa brings God into everything. “Jared, would you mind praying for us?” Grandpa asked. “Sure!” Jared responded. We all bowed our heads. “Father, we’re all so excited for this trip! We’re all looking forward to seeing your beauty and getting to know you better. We are coming to the wilderness fully expecting to meet You there. Protect us, fill us with Your love, and help us all to grow closer to each other. Finally, we pray that you would give us traveling mercies on the road today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” Jared prayed. “Amen!” we all echoed. We all then said good-bye to Grandma. “Thanks for helping us get all ready. I love you!” I said as I gave Grandma a hug. “Have a good time!” Grandma said.

We all made our ways out to the car. I was so excited that I could barely contain myself. “Woo-hoo!” I whooped. Becky was standing right next to me and jumped. “Whoa! Joseph, you really scared me!” Becky said. She understood, though.

I climbed in the passenger seat of the Buick LeSabre, and Ryan hopped in the back seat. The adults had worked out a driving system for the trip, and Mike would be driving the Buick up to the Village Inn. Mike led the way down 62nd Avenue, through Brooklyn Center, and down Interstate 694 to Interstate 35. I selected some John Denver music. “What are you trying to do, bring back memories from my childhood?” Mike joked. “Yep,” I responded with a smirk. “I don’t get to listen to him much.” Mike made the turn onto the highway, leaving Becky and the others in the van trapped by the long red light. Mike assured us that Becky knew where she was going, so we continued on, talking, laughing, and joking the whole way. After clearing a morning traffic jam, we started onto Interstate 35 with Becky again right behind us. We lost no time arriving in Wyoming, Minnesota, where the Village Inn was. Piling out of the car, we descended on the restaurant and were soon seated at our table.

After we ordered, Grandpa stated that he had a few things to say. “I’m really excited that we’re all going to go on a canoe trip this summer,” Grandpa began. I could tell by his voice tone and body language that he was excited. “One of the things I always tried to foster in my groups was teamwork,” Grandpa continued. “To accomplish that, I as the leader have assigned roles to everyone in the group. Joseph, you and Mike will be in charge of the navigation. You’ll be in charge of finding the portages and getting us to our campsite every day.” I nodded confidently. “Becky will be in charge of the cooking, and Amy and Rachel will be helping her,” Grandpa went on. “Jared loves to make fires, so I’ve given him that role. Rachel has figured out a system that will rotate all of us around so each of us will be with a different person each day, so she’ll be in charge of that. Jesse will be in charge of making sure that all of our water bottles are filled. He’ll also carry the fishing poles over the portages.” Jesse quivered with excitement at his new responsibility. “Joseph, Ryan, Mike and Jared will be in charge of portaging the canoes, and everyone else will help portage the bear barrels, packs, and other things.” I nodded, not so confidently this time, thinking about those seventy pound aluminum canoes. I knew I could do it, because I had endurance, but at the same time I knew it would be hard. “Those are your responsibilities. Of course, when you’re done with your responsibilities, you can help someone else with theirs. The point is to foster a spirit of helpfulness and cooperation so we can all work together as a team,” Grandpa concluded.

Becky handed us each a trip journal and a red bandanna. I laughed, catching the allusion to Growing Inside Outside immediately. In that book, Grandpa’s group had named themselves the “Red Duffers.” Our food arrived promptly and we all ate heartily. I stuffed myself with eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and hash browns. Mike and Jared paid the bill, and the rest of us made our way out to the vehicles. “There’s a great rest stop outside Duluth that we can stop at if you need it,” I said to Mike. “I was just there yesterday.” “I’ll keep that in mind,” Mike responded as he hopped into the van.

Returning to Interstate 35, we headed north towards Duluth. Becky was now at the wheel of the Buick. As we drove north, we took the time to catch up on each other’s lives. We hadn’t talked about many things other than the trip in a long time. Ryan was off in cyber reality with his game boy, so he didn’t say much. After about two hours, we pulled into the rest stop in Duluth. “That sure went by quick!” Becky commented as she parked the car. We all climbed out and headed out towards the view that I had admired just the previous day. From the overlook, you could see the St. Louis River headed through the Duluth harbor, under the lift bridge and into Lake Superior. I could see green trees stretching out, line after line, as far as I could see headed towards the Wisconsin border. “Wow,” Mike gushed. “Rachel, get a picture of that!” Rachel pulled the camera out of her purse and began taking pictures of the view with Mike directing her. “This is beautiful!” Grandpa said. “Haven’t you ever seen this view before?” I asked. “No,” Grandpa responded. “This is the first time I’ve ever been here. I’m glad we pulled off to see this.” “Everybody over for a picture!” Becky called. We all gathered around and took a couple of pictures. Then, Amy had a great idea. “Let’s all stand on this rock wall and take a picture of ourselves in the glass window of the rest stop!” We thought this was a good idea. Soon the picture was taken and we all headed in and used the restroom before pulling back onto the highway. Becky was still driving, and as we were not finished catching up yet, we passed the time doing that.

At Duluth, we headed onto State Highway 61, which hugged Lake Superior’s North Shore. We drove through Two Harbors, Silver Bay, and Lutsen headed towards Grand Marais. The North Shore drive was stunning and picturesque. On the right hand side, Lake Superior stretched as far as you could see. Tall green forests of aspen, birch, and white and red pine stood majestically on the left hand side of the road. We drove through tunnels that had been blasted through the hard cliffs of the coastline. In no time at all, we were entering Grand Marais, Minnesota. “I can’t believe how quick this drive is going by!” Becky said as she shook her head in disbelief. “We’ve been driving for over an hour since the rest stop.” “It’s because we’re both talking so much!” I responded. We laughed. We drove down the hill into the town of Grand Marais and pulled off by the Gunflint Trail intersection. The adults had a discussion while Grandpa and the rest of us kids wandered over to take pictures by the sign marking the road. We found parking at the Grand Marais harbor.

I looked out over the lake. The pebbly beach stretched up to the large boulders that formed the lake shore. Superior herself was a beautiful azure and on that side of the harbor was unusually calm. A rocky outcropping covered with pines and deciduous trees sat a little ways out from the shore. I could still see the rolling grey fog drifting in a thick layer over the horizon. “Isn’t that beautiful?” I said to Amy. “It sure is!” Amy responded. Rachel snapped a few pictures. Jesse stood there wide-eyed as well. As we stood there, an old-fashioned sailing ship (which I later found out was Hjordis, North House Folk School's schooner) emerged from the fog and began sailing towards the shore. We all stood in awe and watched it for a while before heading towards downtown Grand Marais. Grandpa treated us to a delicious lunch at Sven and Ole’s Pizza, and then we headed for the gift shop.

As I pulled open the door to Lake Superior Trading Post, I knew what I was looking for: a full-size canoe paddle. I was grateful to Grandpa for giving me the inspiration for this trip, and I wanted to find a paddle for him as well. After browsing the store, I found a rack of wooden canoe paddles. I selected two and purchased them along with some post cards. Emerging from the store with my purchases in hand, I headed down to the beach, where Amy, Jesse, and Grandpa were skipping rocks. Setting down my purchases for a minute, I joined them. Heading back to the cars, we drove over to the gas station and filled up the gas tanks in both cars. At this point, Becky went over to the van and Grandpa and Jared joined Ryan and me in the Buick.

We headed out of Grand Marais and began driving up the Gunflint Trail, the road that connects State Highway 61 to the lake country of the Boundary Waters. Jared had turned on some stand-up comedy, and we all spent a good hour in stitches. Once we got tired of that, we alternated between listening to music and talking. I started to focus more on the beauty of the Gunflint Trail. The small two-lane highway wove its way like a ribbon through the thick green forests of the true North Woods. On each side of the road were some of the thickest woods I’d ever seen in my life. The white pines, red pines, aspen, birch and maple stood majestically shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm, forming a thick green wall of life rising up from the glacial moraine and humus of years gone by. Puffy white clouds drifted across the sky, obscuring the sun and then drifting away. Periodically, we would see glimpses of a lake through the trees. The northern woods of Minnesota had a beauty all their own, and I loved them at first sight.

“You know, a friend sent me this great quote when he heard I was going to the Boundary Waters,” Jared commented as he was driving. “What did it say?” Grandpa asked. “It went like this: 'Such sights as this are reserved for those who are willing to suffer to behold them.' I thought it was really appropriate.” “That’s a great quote, Jared. It’s true, too. I’ve said over and over again that the Boundary Waters is beautiful, but the trip itself is no picnic. We’re going to work, but it’s all worth it,” Grandpa responded. “I’ll keep that in mind as we travel," I added.

“Look at the burn area!” Ryan supplied. We all looked out the windows to see an area that flaming tongues of fire had devastated several years before. I could see the lacerated trunks pointing like columns towards the blue sky, and fallen timber lying on the ground. “How sad,” I mused. “Look, though, it’s growing right back,” Grandpa mentioned. “The fire cleared off all the dead growth to make room for all the new seeds to sprout and grow.” I could see that he was right. A whole new layer of trees was rising up underneath the dead trunks. In a few years, there would be no sign that a fire had ever been there.

We soon re-entered the forest, and I caught a glimpse of a large, beautiful lake as we crested a large hill. I didn’t get my camera out fast enough. “That lake was gorgeous! Which one was it?” I said. “That was Gunflint Lake,” Grandpa replied. “We’re not far from the outfitters now. We should be there soon.” My heart started to beat with excitement. After passing through another burn area, we saw a sign for Seagull Canoe Outfitters and Cabins. We made the left turn off the Gunflint Trail and pulled into the parking lot. Our adventure was commencing. Seagull Outfitters

Hopping eagerly out of the car, I immediately started looking around at our surroundings. We were parked in a large gravel lot that was the central hub of operations for Seagull Outfitters. To my right was the dark green building that served as the store room and gift shop for the outfitting enterprise. Large stacks of Kevlar and Royalex canoes sat in piles just waiting to hit the water, and tarps were stretched out to dry on a tall rack. Several canoes sat to my left on boards, drying out from a thorough washing. Straight ahead was the dock, floating in a long narrow waterway which I immediately concluded was the channel heading out to Seagull Lake. I could see the entrance to the channel quite a distance away.

I looked around at the setting. It was clear that this place had just barely escaped one of the forest fires, which had been within yards of destroying it. You could especially see the impact on each side of the channel. On the right side of the channel timber still stood untouched, but stripped, charred trunks protruded from the earth on the left side. Behind us you could see a similar effect. It was beautiful in its own way, because of the life that emerged from death; the death and resurrection so obviously evident in the way this world works. I was still grateful that most of the Boundary Waters was unaffected; leaving undisturbed virgin forest sitting just a paddle away waiting for me.

We did not stand there long before a young lady walked out of the main building with a smile on her face. “Tom Hall?” she asked, looking at my grandpa. “That’s me,” Grandpa responded. “I’m Mellie, and I’m going to be taking care of you all today,” she stated. We all shook Mellie’s hand and greeted her. “Did you have a good drive up?” Mellie asked. “We sure did,” I responded. “The North Shore and the Gunflint Trail were gorgeous.” “Well, if you’re all ready, we can get your permit for you and then go over your complete outfitting.” We all followed Mellie through the parking lot to a small green building, which she explained was the routing house. Entering the building, we all sat down around a table. I took a moment to look at the building. Fishing trophies hung on the walls, and various equipment samples sat around the room. A small TV sat in one of the corners.

“Let’s get started by showing you the required video that will lay out some good wilderness ethics,” Mellie said. We all watched and passed the short oral test that followed with flying colors. Grandpa signed our entry permit. Mellie then produced four maps. “These are for you to keep,” she explained, “one for each canoe. This one here is marked up based on data that other paddlers have brought back.” “That’s really impressive!” Grandpa said looking at the map. “Who marked that all up?” “I did,” she replied. I leaned in to look at the map. I could see that our outfitter had indicated good and bad campsites and good and bad portages. She had also marked out where bass, northern pike and walleye were generally located. “Awesome!” I thought. “Deb suggested that, for your first night on Saganaga Lake, you take this campsite here if it is open,” Mellie suggested indicating a spot a little farther down than the spot I knew Grandpa had stayed at in the past. “It’s nice and big with lots of room for your tents, and there’s a sandbar located right over here.” “That’s great! We’ll look into that.” Grandpa responded. “We also wanted you to recommend a good site on Seagull Lake. I’ve paddled through Seagull many times but have never camped there. We’d like to be a short paddle from you guys to make for an easier last day.” Mellie pointed out an excellent campsite on the northeast side of the lake that exactly fit our bill. She also pointed out a couple of good camp sites on Ogishkemuncie Lake as well, and indicated a few portages for us to avoid.

Looking at a paper covered with notes (which I figured out contained all of the information regarding our outfitting), Mellie went over all of our equipment with us. “Your Duluth packs have been placed in your rooms at the paddlers’ lodge, where you will be staying tonight. There’s no one else staying at the lodge tonight so feel free to spread out if you need to,” Mellie told us. “We’ll be sending you with two large white gas stoves. They’re a little fussy, so I’ll track down our staffer Brad and he’ll show you how to get them started. He’s also a great fisherman, so he can answer all of your fishing questions.” She then went on and left no stone unturned making sure we knew everything we needed to know about our equipment. She showed us how to assemble our camp saw and operate the water filters they were sending with us.

Then, Mellie went over our food menu with us, which Grandpa and I had discussed and selected previously. “We’ll be packing you a steak dinner with potatoes for the first night,” Mellie began. “On the second night, you’ll have brats, and then beef Stroganoff on the third night, followed by chili on the fourth night. We’ve got all your breakfasts and lunches squared away as well, with plenty of snacks to hold you over in between mealtimes. We’ve enclosed nine loaves of bread for you to make sandwiches with. All of your food will be placed in three bear proof barrels.” This surprised us pleasantly. I had told Deb we were big eaters, and clearly she had taken me literally. “Wow!” Jared said excitedly. “I wasn’t expecting much in the area of camp food, but I guess we’re going to live like kings out there.” “You sure are,” Mellie said. “This is top-of-the line stuff, too.” “Mellie, I’m really impressed with your great people skills. You’ve done a great job getting us all squared away. Thank you!” encouraged Grandpa. We all chimed in. Grandpa is always encouraging people, setting an incredible example for me to follow. “You’re welcome!” Mellie responded, smiling.

After answering some of our questions, we all left the routing house to get a lesson on how to operate the white gas stoves. Brad joined our little group under a shelter that was located right next to the main outfitting building. Like Mellie, he was very professional and courteous with us greenhorns. We received a full demonstration on stove starting. Mellie also found life jackets and canoe paddles appropriate for our sizes. “Can you recommend any good fishing techniques?” Grandpa asked Brad. “I’m especially interested in a good fishing knot. I still knot my line the old fashioned way, with seven twists.” “I’ve got a great knot that I use that has never slipped on me once,” Brad responded. “Do you want to see it?” “Sure!” Grandpa replied. Brad demonstrated the knot, and then Grandpa tried to do it and didn’t get it. I could tell Brad was a good fisherman, since he clearly had the patience for it. As he demonstrated the knot again, Jared whipped his phone out and took a video. “Nice one, Jared,” Ryan said. “I figure we’ll need to see it again sometime soon.” Jared stated. “What kind of bait would you suggest using?” Grandpa asked. “We came fully equipped with all artificial bait.” “I’d suggest using live bait. They’re really hitting well on leeches right now.” Brad recommended. We arranged to buy a lot of leeches and a leech bucket from the outfitters and add it to our bill.

“Thank you, Brad, for your patience and your courtesy. Where are you from?” Grandpa inquired. “I’m from Webster, Wisconsin.” “No kidding! I have a cabin on North Sand Lake near there. Where in Webster do you live?” “We’ve got a farm with a huge vegetable stand in front right off of County Road A,” Brad responded. “You’re not going to believe this, but I’m one of your regular customers! Your corn is delicious!” Grandpa laughed. He and Brad began discussing their other mutual acquaintances from the area. What a small world that was.

Jared, Grandpa and I walked into the outfitting building to settle up the final bill. Jared had to buy his fishing license, and Grandpa had to pay the final fee to the outfitters. I looked over the items in the store and bought a small souvenir paddle. I then went and joined Grandpa as he made the final payment. He and I were the only ones to see the final cost of the trip. The trip cost a lot, but Grandpa paid it with a smile. He is a giver. Through his whole life, he has given to whoever crosses his path. I want to live my life generously just like Grandpa because I see how much joy it has brought him. Grandpa is one of the happiest people I know. “This is a bigger deal than I thought it was,” I thought to myself. “This better be worth it.” Little did I know that this trip would change my life forever, turning out to be well worth the cost, and then some. “Thank you, Grandpa,” I said as we left the building. “You’re very welcome, Joe,” Grandpa responded. “It’s my pleasure to do this for all of you. I’m really excited.” Grandpa didn't have to tell me that he was excited. I could see it. As we walked back towards the car, I could see the little spring in his step and the joy in his eyes.

Before leaving us, our ever-helpful outfitters recommended a good place to eat dinner about twenty-five miles back down the Gunflint Trail. They even told us about a spot we could stop at to see moose on the way there. Now that our briefing was done, we had a short conference. We were all pretty hungry and tired, so we decided to eat out first and then organize our equipment in the paddlers’ lodge. Piling back into the cars, we made our way back down the Gunflint Trail. “I’m really impressed with the service at Seagull Outfitters,” Grandpa said to Jared, who was driving. “Deb sure knows how to hire good people. Mellie had great people skills, made good eye contact, and was so professional and courteous.” “You got that right,” Jared responded. “I still can’t get over how much food they’re sending along.” “We’re not going hungry, that’s for sure!” Ryan said. “This is a great operation,” I put in, “and if I ever come back up this way, I’m going to outfit with them.”

We arrived at Trail Center Lodge and Restaurant, a rustic looking building sitting just off the Gunflint Trail. We were seated promptly and received great service. We all ordered burgers and fries. “I’ll have a Mountain Dew,” Jared told the waitress. “Enjoy it, Jared. You’re not getting one of those for a while,” I teased. “I’ll do that,” he laughed. “Could you get me a chocolate milkshake, light on the chocolate?” Mike requested with a little smirk on his face. We all looked at each other and laughed. Mike always tries to order this dessert at every restaurant he can. And it has to be light on the chocolate every time. Of course, we had to wait for our meal. Ryan, filmmaker he was, did not waste any time. Producing the video camera, he filmed the first entry in what he called his Boundary Waters “vlog”, standing for video log.

“Hi everybody, this is Ryan,” Ryan said to the camera. “I’m awesome. You won’t be seeing much of me, because I’ll be filming.” Turning the camera towards Amy, Ryan went on. “This is Amy.” “Hi, I’m awesome too.” “This is Jesse,” Ryan said, pointing the camera at my brother. “This is all a new experience for him.” I was next. “This is Joseph,” Ryan stated. “This whole thing is his fault.” We all laughed. “This is Grandpa,” Ryan continued. “He’s in charge of everything.” “You betcha!” Grandpa responded. “This is Mom. She is also in charge of everything. And this is Dad.” “Chocolate milkshake, light on the chocolate,” Mike interrupted, taking another sip of his favorite dessert. “Right. This is Rachel.” “Hi!” Rachel said. “And finally,” Ryan concluded. “this is Jared.” “He’s really in charge of everything,” Becky laughed. We all laughed with her, but her words were prophetic in a very real sense.

Ryan put the camera away just as our food showed up. We ate as much as we could, and then headed back up the Gunflint Trail. Back at the outfitters’, we parked our cars and hauled all of our clothes up the tall flight of stairs into the paddlers’ lodge. We had a lot of stuff. When all of our gear was spread out over the lodge, we began the difficult task of squeezing everything into our Duluth style packs. A Duluth pack is a canvas backpack specifically designed to fit in a canoe. It has no frame, allowing for maximum efficiency and comfort. We were using canvas packs constructed in the same style as the classic Duluth packs. The outfitters had also left our sleeping bags in our rooms. We rolled them out on the bunks, so we were all set for bed.

Having nothing to do at this point, I played my little banjo for a while, and then walked out on the deck, which overlooked the Gunflint Trail. The sun was setting through the trees, so I watched that and took a picture. We all walked over to the bathroom in order to take care of our personal hygiene. It would be the last time I brushed my teeth for five days. Making our way back to the paddlers’ lodge, we all retreated to our rooms. I plugged in my camera to charge it. Ryan, Jesse and I stretched out on our bunks and were soon fast asleep, preparing for the day to come.