Hello there! My friend Mary (37) and I (28) are seeking others to join our group of two. 1 +1 = 2 + you and a friend = 4 + any more!

We are first-timers to the BWCA so, as of right now, we are seeking to hire a guide with a group, but are open to go w/o one if there are some that feel confident in their experience. We are flexible to prioritize what the group wants once we find other groupies, but would love to fish out hearts out and sight-see some fun landscapes.

Looking to go 6 -7 days.

Open to other dates but these weeks would work well for us to be paddling:

July 5 - 13
August 10 - 17
August 25 - September 1

Feel free to send me an email, I've been looking for additional trip partners and your late Aug dates would work. ethanhoffert@yahoo.com

Be sure to post this in the Trip Partner Finder forum as well.

Thanks!

Hi,
I am looking to do a trip and saw you were looking for a partner. I will be up to MN sometime the end of August or beginning of September, as I heard it is less buggy. Only one of the outfitters offers guided tours for solos but they can’t tell me exactly where they are going. Another suggested looking at the message board for another person to partner with. My wife is not keen on me doing a solo.

To give you some background on me: I am a retired science and computer teacher and have been canoeing and camping over 60 years. I also taught rowing and canoeing years ago. Although I am 71 I’m in pretty good shape and athletic. I have no issue getting around. I have done white water rafting at Ohiopyle, PA and white water canoeing in Upper Michigan. I hiked Rainbow Falls in Great Smoky Mountains National Park this past August. This would be my first trip to the boundary waters.

What is your experience? I am open to the later August or early September. I have been looking at routes but am open to someone with experience suggestions.

Let me know if you are interested.

I've done a lot of solos there (about 15) and will be there in the last half of Sept. I can give you any number of suggestions for routes along with detailed information depending on what you are looking for, how long your trip is, and how much you are willing to travel. Feel free to email me. My wife has never been keen on my solos, but is more comfortable since I got an Inreach and send a daily "OK" message.

I live in north-central WV not far from Ohiopyle and have rafted there.

Thanks for the info. I grew up not far from you, near Uniontown.

Ely side or Gunflint side? How much paddling and portaging are you planning on? Do you have a preference on base camping vs doing a route?

You might want to say a little more about what you are looking for in a trip to get the best match. Some people might be up for anything, but others, like myself, only get interested if it matches up with what we had in mind.

Also, I would recommend against a guide. If you group up with someone else that has gone before, you'll be just fine. The only thing a guide would do for you, unless you are paying them to do your camp chores, is point out some fishing spots and they don't need to come with you to do that. Talking to people on this forum will also help prepare you for what to expect.

One other resource you might consider is going the women's forum on this site. There are a lot of experienced, knowledgeable paddlers in that group that would be happy to help you folks put with advice and find you partners that match up well with your skill sets and trip parameters.