In the Summer of 2016, Boy Scout Troop 927 from Jackson Township, Ohio took two treks (16 total scouts and leaders) to the Bissett Manitoba Northern Tier Canoe Base. My son and I were in a group of nine (six scouts, two adult leaders, one guide) that spent eight nights and nine days in Atikaki Provincial Park canoeing, camping, and fishing our way from Scout Lake to Sasaginnigak Lake and back covering 86 miles. Our sister trek was also a group of nine (five scouts, three adult leaders, one guide) that started and ended at the same Scout Lake but ventured to different lakes within Atikaki and managed to log 100 miles on their adventure.

We selected the Bisset Northern Tier Canoe Base in Manitoba as opposed to the Atikokan base in Quetico Provincial Park Ontario or the Ely Minnesota base in the BWCA primarily because our original group sizes were such that we were just a little too large; the Manitoba base allowed for groups of up to 11 people.

When recruiting scouts for the trip, I discussed the option of going through an outfitter vs. going through the official BSA Northern Tier program. The major selling points for the self-guided option were:

1. Extra slot will be available for a scout (Northern Tier requires each trek to include an interpreter)

2. The total cost for a BWCA self-guided trip would be somewhere between $400 and $500. The cost including travel, hotels, and BSA fees for our NT Bissett trip was ~ $1350/person driving up from Ohio.

3. I did not feel that we needed an interpreter as I've been leading BWCA & Quetico trips since 1991 and have plenty of experience with taking kids and rookies.

4. If we self-guided, we could put two scouts/canoe instead of the three scouts/canoe which is standard for Northern Tier canoe trips.

As it turned out, we opted to use the official Northern Tier program, and our interpreter was a definite highlight of the trip. While I know that the boys would have had a great time letting me arrange a BWCA trip through VNO or another Ely outfitter, it is clear to me that going through the official Northern Tier program and using their interpreter added greatly to our trip.

Our interpreter, Brian, got along great with each of the scouts on our trek, and every one of them looked up to him. Getting to canoe for the day with Brian (vs. me or Cindy) was a definite highlight for the scouts. I was extremely impressed with how Brian was able to provide the scouts with positive feedback along with some very difficult to hear constructive criticism. Without a doubt, there were some outstanding life lessons taught and learned this trip thanks to our interpreter. On the way home after the trip, our most senior Eagle Scout on the trip told me, "I want to be a Brian” and planned to investigate making scouting a professional career based upon what he experienced during the trip.

Here are a few thoughts after spending a couple of years planning and then finally executing this trip:

1. I am glad that we went through the official Northern Tier program even though the cost was more than double what we could have done through an outfitter.

2. The float plane ride from the Northern Tier canoe base in Bissett, Manitoba into Atikaki Provincial Park was a definite highlight for the scouts.

3. Manitoba adds significant logistical issues (passports, travel time) and cost (float plane, extra hotel stays, etc.), but it was an awesome experience worth the added burdens.

4. My initial research indicated that the BWCA gets 250,000 visitors/year, Quetico sees 25,000 visitors/year, and Atikaki sees roughly 2,500 visitors/year; based upon these numbers I expected the park to be ultra-remote. While we saw very few canoes at the Manitoba base, we saw fly-in fishing camps and/or floatplanes just about every day.

5. It’s good to share some pictures and videos with the scouts and leaders to set the expectations. Even after doing this, a couple of our scouts were a bit overwhelmed the first couple of days with the amount of paddling/portaging/work involved in the trip.

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Thursday, July 07, 2016

DAY #1

START DAY: Canton, Ohio

END DAY: Eau Claire, Wisconsin

We met at the Lake Cable Clubhouse and took a group photograph at 5:21 AM before loading our three vehicles full of scouts & scout leaders to start our drive north from Canton, Ohio. The caravan stopped at Maumee, Ohio to pick up Cameron to accompany us to Northern Tier; Cameron was a former Troop 927 member for years before his family relocated to Maumee.

Cameron’s family prepared an outstanding breakfast for our entire group before we reloaded the vehicles and continued onward towards Canada.

We had lots of uneventful driving through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin before we arrived at the Knights Inn Hotel in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. I drove my Ford Econoline van with Cindy in the passenger seat and Matthew, Cameron, George, and Joey in the back of the van. When not sleeping, the scouts entertained themselves by telling many stories.

The boys figured it would be a significant time savings if we did not need to stop for bathroom breaks and started a challenge to “fill the jug” before reaching the hotel in Eau Claire. The scouts successfully accomplished their goal! After checking in at the hotel, we hit a local pizza place and then crashed for the evening.