The Boundary Waters’ best-kept secret? It’s the people
As an outfitter, I’m always asked what’s my favorite part of the Boundary Waters? Surely I have some unnamed lake full of brook trout, or a far and remote campsite with rootless tent pads and perfect trees for bear-hangs? There has to be something that I’ve experienced that no one else has. And there is something - the people.
Outfitting has given me the opportunity to see the cross-section of those who visit the Boundary Waters, and they come from near and far. Many of our guests drive up from the Twin Cities on Thursday evening after work, stay the night, and head out on the water for a quick two night excursion before driving back home on Sunday. Other groups are made-up of friends from the East coast and West Coast, reuniting here in a place that means so much to them. There are those from all over the world who come here because they can’t find something like this anywhere else. I’ve had couples from Italy and families from India walk through my door, ready to explore this place they had heard of. An old friend recently visited from New Zealand, coming back to see his family with his Aussie partner, and he made sure to bring her to Clearwater Lake to show her the cliffs. My friend Takeshi from Japan has visited every single National Park in America, but this is the one place he has seen again and again.
This is a place that people can’t help but come back to.
My family has guests who have been coming north since before I was born who I now get to help. There are people who come every year, that is how much the Boundary Waters has meant to them.
But everyone gets to start somewhere, and there has to be a first. I have had the chance to teach brave kids to start fire with flint and steel - with parent supervision - and adventurous octogenarians how to pick a canoe up for the first time in their lives. This January I had a first - a young couple reserving their first family canoe trip before their baby was even born.
Part of outfitting is helping everyone find what they are looking for. Some who visit are here for the fishing and fishing alone, so early June it is, mosquitos be what they are. Others are here in September because of the lack of bugs. There are those who thrill at the chance to paddle from sun-up to sun-down, as my dad continues to do. And some paddlers come to the Boundary Waters for quiet mornings, staying in the same place with their book and their hammock.
We all explore in our own way – there’s something here for everyone.
The tall pines and clear waters, the solitude and the stillness - these are things that have earned a place in our hearts, and may be what drew us here for that initial push-off into the forest. But ultimately, we are all here, from near or from far, for the first time or just another time, because the Boundary Waters means something to each of us. We all have different entry points, but we are all in the same canoe.
The BWCA is a refuge for people and the planet. It is one of the last remaining places to go for solitude and disconnection from the busy world.
Every dollar you give before November 20 will be TRIPLED. Become a part of this movement and help make sure the Boundary Waters is preserved for generations to come.
Make a 3X gift.
For the Wilderness,
Ben Seaton
