The current thread about machetes and hatchets got me thinking. I don't carry either but I did once buy a small ax from LLBean to take on a northwoods trip. This may sound weird, but for me, even then, it was sort of the romance of the northwoods, thinking like a voyageur as I imagined it. Same reason I took, and still take, a pipe. I never smoke at home but I always take a pipe up north. Maybe I just want to look like Sig.

Truth is my love of the northwoods is why I prefer Birch trees, log cabins, campfires, woodstoves, driftwood, loons, buffalo plaid shirts, a certain type of hat, canoes to pontoons, and on and on and on.

There must be a thousand things I prefer in life simply because I associate them with my experiences in the north. What a great place!

If I am looking for a Stocked Lakes like Mountain, Secret, Lost, Unknown etc... I find that lots have rabbit trails that go "Now you see me... Now you don't" as they are not maintained especially if they are Helicopter Fry Stocked Kettle Lakes perched on top of a mountain . As I go I break branches when going through a grown in section turning around frequently to make sure that I can see where I have been. Even without tools you can leave enough sign to back track paying special attention to trap line trails that have a y intersection or T- Off section with extra broken branches.

Always knowing where you have been is especially important when you are alone and constantly turning around to make sure you can see where you have been is a life saver as well as being reassuring to your self which will help to keep you calm and stop you from making the mistake of getting lost in the Boreal Forest which can happen quite easily and is preventable.

I've always had a fascination with the Northwoods, even as a little kid who never had seen them. I would build dioramas of boreal forest scenes when I was like 6-10 years old. I credit a National Geographic story about Jim Brandenburg for sparking that interest. When I finally made it there in person, I fell in love with the place entirely. Now I start to miss it as soon as I head home from a trip. If you asked me why I love the place so much I'd have a hard time articulating it, but I'm sure most of the people here understand.

I met Jim Brandenburg shortly after moving to MN from IA. (He bought a vehicle from me back in my automotive sales career days.). Jim was largely responsible for me taking my first Northwoods adventure: a 2-week Outward Bound Dog Sledding adventure out of Homeplace outside Ely. With Jim's encouragement, a small idea became a passion and a plan. That first trip, nearly 40 years ago, set me on an adventure's path.

I've backpacked considerably more than I've paddled (paddling is a concession to aging) so today, every time I lace up a pair of hiking boots, it takes me to the BWCA, Isle Royale, Porcupine Mountains or other northern locales.

OCDave: "I met Jim Brandenburg shortly after moving to MN from IA. (He bought a vehicle from me back in my automotive sales career days.). Jim was largely responsible for me taking my first Northwoods adventure: a 2-week Outward Bound Dog Sledding adventure out of Homeplace outside Ely. With Jim's encouragement, a small idea became a passion and a plan. That first trip, nearly 40 years ago, set me on an adventure's path.


I've backpacked considerably more than I've paddled (paddling is a concession to aging) so today, every time I lace up a pair of hiking boots, it takes me to the BWCA, Isle Royale, Porcupine Mountains or other northern locales. "

I wish I could have met him. I still have that issue of Nat Geo, and look at the article sometimes. His photos captured the essence of the Northwoods better than any other photographer I'm familiar with.

Trail blazing would have been difficult for the NA prior to the use of trade items made of steel having only your hands, stone tools and fire to clean a portage. The Fur Trade would have changed Trail Blazing making it easier to blaze with a hatchet or axe to make visual signs and a saw to remove dead fall. This would make NA Saddle Points easier to explore for the Map Makers of the Fur Trade from the Chicago Portage (easy) to Grand Portage (hard) to Methye Portage (harder). More intricate markers like "Lob Sticks" (Pine or Spruce with mid branches removed ) were required especially on lakes with lots of islands like Rainy & Lake of the Woods where voyageur could become lost. Pictographic images were probably used to convey information in a particular spot like Fishing for Sturgeon or Hunting for Bison. Inukshuk traditional stone markers Meaning in the likeness of a human would be the more common in the Arctic but probably saw use in Woodland, Parkland and Grassland as tribes migrated between the summering lands like Grand Portage /Isle Royal (Minong Mine) to Fort Charlotte / Ely MN and beyond to hunt Woodlands (Parklands Bison) or beyond to hunt Grassland (Prairie Bison).

Regarding bringing an ax on a trip. I’ve been giving this a lot of thought lately and I understand the reasoning for bringing one as it is something that people associate with the north woods, much like a campfire.

I was talking to an outfitter last week about the permit issue happening with cancellations. They told me that no-shows went way up during the fire ban we had this spring.

It was at that moment that I understood how important a campfire is to a group camping in the BWCA even if it serves no purpose other than the act of having the fire. Mankind has been sitting around a fire since we could walk, it’s in our genetic make-up.

The ax is also part of who we are whether you are conscious of it or not. It was a tool that helped us survive.

In the past of have said that an ax is not necessary and a fire is just a simple pleasure. While I still feel that way, I also know that they are PART of what makes a trip to the woods everything that it is.

Tom

My love of the northern boreal forest is thanks to my dad. He took me on multiple fishing trips to a small single portage lake near Sioux Narrows, ON when I was a kid and I was hooked. I have been lucky enough to spark that same love of the north in my own kiddo. She and I head to Wabakimi in a couple weeks...

Romanticization is a hell of a drug.

As someone who usually only travels into the BWCA on shoulder seasons when it's chilly and dark rather early, a fire is nature's tv. It calms the nerves and warms the air. I'll bring a small hatchet and foldable saw. Agreed that being coherent and aware of sharp objects is key.
Also bring up other trinkets that just sort of feel campy whether or not I use them. A compass. Extra carabiners. Little flint firestarter. etc. Maybe they add to the northerness vibe when I'm nesting before I head into the BW more than providing any actual value when I'm at camp.
Maybe I need to pick up a good old fashioned wooden pipe.

LiquorPugs: "As someone who usually only travels into the BWCA on shoulder seasons when it's chilly and dark rather early, a fire is nature's tv. It calms the nerves and warms the air. I'll bring a small hatchet and foldable saw. Agreed that being coherent and aware of sharp objects is key.
Also bring up other trinkets that just sort of feel campy whether or not I use them. A compass. Extra carabiners. Little flint firestarter. etc. Maybe they add to the northerness vibe when I'm nesting before I head into the BW more than providing any actual value when I'm at camp.
Maybe I need to pick up a good old fashioned wooden pipe. "

+1

While not always, I have several times brought along different types/syles of fire starters to investigate and practice. I am sold on properly found birch bark and get giddy if I can create a usable fire with one match. I take pride on being able to make a fire with what is around me and in various ways. It's the small things in life that bring me great pleasure. :)

Agree with everyone on the dangers of hatchet use. For me and most I camp with, the hatchet and the saw help pass away the time. We do our best to practice good techniques, and so far so good.

By no means am I a woodsman, but like LiquorPugs and others, the Northerness of my trips is enhanced by the hypnotics of a proper fire...as much for me, as a nap in a hammock, listening to the birds at 4:30 am and staring at the stars in silence.

Traveler: "The current thread about machetes and hatchets got me thinking. I don't carry either but I did once buy a small ax from LLBean to take on a northwoods trip. This may sound weird, but for me, even then, it was sort of the romance of the northwoods, thinking like a voyageur as I imagined it. Same reason I took, and still take, a pipe. I never smoke at home but I always take a pipe up north. Maybe I just want to look like Sig.

Truth is my love of the northwoods is why I prefer Birch trees, log cabins, campfires, woodstoves, driftwood, loons, buffalo plaid shirts, a certain type of hat, canoes to pontoons, and on and on and on.

There must be a thousand things I prefer in life simply because I associate them with my experiences in the north. What a great place!"

Well said Traveler. The BWCA largely defines who I am. 55 years in a row and counting. On a nice pleasant evening, there is no place I'd rather be.

It's funny, one member of our aging group, who recently came with us a couple times, just switched to a pipe. I had told him my grandpa always smoked cigars. Sometimes he didn't even smoke them, but just had half of one in his mouth, and he kinda sucked on the soggy end. I always thought it was gross.

Someone talked Grandpa into switching to a pipe, which was much more pleasant for all of us, and more, I don't know, regal/sophisticated whatever. Although, that doesn't really fit a redneck, pig packing plant worker from York Nebraska. He was one of those guys that would just sit around in his work boots, work pants, and a white mucle t-shirt, half shaven. His idea of the perfect evening, was sitting on the bank of a river fishing for catfish. Still better with a pipe.

Either way I had told my friend about it, so instead of smoking lots of hand rolled cigarettes, he split time with a pipe this trip. It looked good on him.

tumblehome: "It was at that moment that I understood how important a campfire is to a group camping in the BWCA even if it serves no purpose other than the act of having the fire. Mankind has been sitting around a fire since we could walk, it’s in our genetic make-up."

I haven’t made a fire during my solo trips, summer and winter, for several decades. It’s only when traveling with someone who wants one that I have to change seating location occasionally. ;-)

Your comment is insightful and appreciated here.