Day 0: Travel Day
Wednesday-Thursday June 4-5, 2025
Andrew and I pause for a quick photo in the driveway before beginning our journey. I have a wealth of Tumblehome podcasts, a book or two on tape, and a lifetime’s worth of dumb stories to share with him on the drive when the time is right, but I can see right away that the early hours of this drive will be lonely ones. Shortly after my customary “YEEE-HAAAAWWW!” Into the pitch black night as I accelerate down the on ramp, Andrew falls into a deep sleep. I make a couple of stops at the first two gas stations to fine tune my canoe straps, and then settle in for the night shift.
Looking back over my life
Spent most of it tongue-tied
Pullin’ my belt tight
It’s just me and the stars tonight
~Caamp, “By and By”
Driving straight through the night is not the best way to do things, and I know it. However, I’ve come to see this night drive as a very fitting kickoff to a trip where I purposely defy the small, predictable, conventional world I live the rest of my year in, a symbolic act of saying “This week is different!” It untethers me from the frenetic buzz of constant texts about sports practices and group chats, and for the first time all year, I have time and space to think. About what? Not much, and it is wondrous.
Andrew’s quick departure into dreamland makes me think about how long and hard he has worked today and throughout the year to make this happen. Whether learning new knots for the tarp or how to use his compass and map, whenever I’ve chiseled out the time to teach him something new or asked for his help, he’s stepped up to the plate without complaint. In spite of not fully knowing what he was getting into, he bought into the vision I set forth for this trip, and committed to doing whatever it took to help make it happen. On top of all this, he (and all of our kids really) work so hard during the school year to stay on top of their academic and athletic commitments. His discipline and obedience fill me with gratitude. I’m thankful for his help, thankful that we get to share this dream trip together, thankful for his maturity, and most of all thankful that I get to be his father.
When I’m feeling alert, I listen to an hour or two of Jordan Peterson’s “Twelve Rules for Life,” a book I’ve read multiple times. Someday I look forward to sharing more of this book with Andrew, but for now, the best thing for me to do is to just keep reading and sharing the lessons learned with him, either verbally or by example. Another book I spend time listening to is Des Linden’s “Choosing to Run” which details her running career and surprise 2018 Boston Marathon victory. I make several stops to stretch my legs and buy coffee through the wee hours of the morning, and soon enough we are passing Des Moines, where I always see the first hint of light in the eastern sky. Andrew fully wakes up a couple hours later as the sun finally rises in north central Iowa. I’m not feeling too great, but my spirits are buoyed by having Andrew to talk to. We listen to a podcast or two together, eventually settling on the opening rounds of Tumblehome’s “Lurenament,” which comically pits various fishing lures against each other to see which one is the best for Boundary Waters fishing. Nothing could be more perfect listening material for our trip!

As daylight fully arrives, I take advantage of the waking hours to catch up with a few friends. I extend a belated birthday wish for a friend whom I haven’t spoken to in years, then another who I speak to more regularly but always has great interest in my canoe trip. After passing Minneapolis, we make a stop in Hinckley, MN for the first-ever White Castle hamburger experience for both of us. Neither of us are very impressed, but are glad we tried it! In Cloquet we stop at Wal-Mart to stock the cooler with supplies for tomorrow’s lunch on the water with our fishing guide, and somehow get out of there in 30 minutes flat.

The drive up the north shore always takes far longer than I remember, with Andrew catching another solid nap and me catching up with one more friend that I haven’t spoken to in ages. He wakes up near Gooseberry Falls and we listen to more of the “Lurenament,” laughing pretty hard at how “stick of dynamite” pulled off a couple early upsets. At long last, we reach Grand Marais, and more last-minute details make their way onto the agenda. We fill the gas tank, buy a couple more groceries, and make a customary stop to drop off a token of appreciation to Adam, one of the Tumblehome hosts. In the past three years, I’ve never been able to meet him, but this year, wonder of wonders, it works out. Adam graciously takes plenty of time to talk to us in spite of us interrupting his work day, and it truly makes our day. He says that the bugs have been pretty terrible, but that means we should have zero issue catching fish. In spite of my past lack of fishing success, I feel the familiar surge of pre-trip optimism that all fishermen know well. Four years ago, a single Boundary Waters trip was just a wild-haired idea that I couldn’t shake. Now, with a great deal of help from this BWCA.com community and Adam’s podcast, I am leading a trip with my son. It’s a dream come true which makes meeting Adam on this day all the more special.

After a photo with Adam, we get back into the car and park at the library for the customary photo in front of the Gunflint Trail sign. At long last, we are headed up the Trail, this once-mythical road that Andrew has heard me talk about countless times. I mention that I’ve always wanted to see Clearwater Lodge but never stopped, so with time on our side, we turn off onto Clearwater road and follow it to the lodge. I especially wanted to see the giant lake trout that hangs above the fireplace so Andrew could see what a lake trout looks like. After about 2 minutes inside admiring the fish, we head back up the road and continue west on the Gunflint. Both of us are exhausted yet filled with anticipation. I am nearly consumed with worry about whether our site will be suitable for hanging both of our hammocks. As we near Sea Gull Lake, a car is pulled over near a boggy area and I don’t think much of it until Andrew shouts “There’s a moose out there!” We backtrack and get out the binoculars and spend five minutes watching the bull moose in the bog. This is the first moose I’ve ever seen up here, and my first bull moose sighting ever. A few years ago, Andrew and I saw a cow moose with two calves while mountain biking in Colorado, so perhaps the moose is our new spirit animal.

We continue up the trail and make a wrong turn for Trail’s End campground when we see the signs for the boat ramp. After 15 minutes of general confusion, I continue on further up the Gunflint Trail past the turnoff for Wilderness Canoe Base for a few minutes and find the campground. I made this exact same mistake last year, but now it won’t happen again!
When we pull up to site 25 at Trail’s End, I am greatly relieved. We have plenty of well-spaced trees for hammocks, and even a nice elevated view of the Sea Gull River. If someone were camped in site 26, it would’ve made setting hammocks slightly more difficult for us, but could still be done. As it is, no one is there so we have plenty of space and privacy, and I couldn’t feel more relieved. This is all going to work. But of course I can’t rest in this satisfaction for long. The car is a rat’s nest of coffee cups, snack wrappers, and all the inevitable detritus that accumulates during a 15 hour road trip. We drag our worn-out bodies through the task of setting up camp, and after a bit of fumbling with the tarp and one of the strap buckles, our hammocks are set. I begin prepping supper while Andrew readies our fishing gear for tomorrow’s guided fishing day on Saganaga. As soon as we finish supper we hit the hammocks and are asleep within seconds.

Stats—> Miles: 964 | Total time: 18 hours | All stops (10): 2 hours, 43 minutes | Gas mileage: 28 mpg | Sunrise: Ellsworth, Iowa, 5:50 AM | Minnesota state line: 7:13 A.M.