Donde no hay lizards…
A data sheet on Northern Minnesota and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA)
![[Image: 58355_web.jpg]](https://wiimg-wildernessinquir.netdna-ssl.com/web/58355_web.jpg)
This is not the exotic poosy paradise many guys may be seeking. This is a data sheet for those of us who aren’t afraid of being beyond cell reception, where the only way you’re going to eat at night is by making you own dinner, the only way to sleep is by getting your tent set up, and the only way in our out is based on your own skill hiking and canoeing. I know some dude is gonna ask, “How’s the situation for game?” This is rural, backwater, Northern MN. All the goods up here got locked down right after they graduated high school, the rest are snow cows. I'm writing this for those of you who find solace in getting away from it all, or who want to test your skills, enjoy canoeing, hunting, fishing, or hiking. Let me know if I can give more specific advice about entry points, gear, or whatever.
A note on all these places: Stay away during the fishing and hunting openers. Everybody and their mom (literally) is out there running around firing at everything that moves and there isn’t a lake that doesn’t have a couple boats on it.
Winter comes early up here and stays late. I’m talking snow staying on the ground well before Halloween and melting as late as May. And when I say snow I mean five feet deep with towering drifts. Temperature varies wildly during the summer (from 90F to 37F when I was up there last week((late August)). During the winter expect fatal temperatures - the MN record was -60F (-51C) just to the south in Tower.
Remember before heading up this way that there is no cell service in a lot of places. Don’t count on it in case something happens to your vehicle. Don’t count on someone coming your direction for quite a while either.
The towns worth going to:
Lake Vermillion/Cook: One of three towns to have the local grocery store Zup’s. Vermillion has some pretty good fishing guides that can keep you from stopping on some uppity prick’s private island and help you navigate the 40k acres of lake and shoreline. The guys leading these tours have been living and fishing on the lake their entire lives and know more about the area than anyone. If you want to shell out the big bucks you can spend a small fortune on renting a cabin on the lake, but it’s only worth it if you go in with a couple guys and you have a fishing/hunting trip prepared. The town now has a McDonald’s and a Subway, and the McD’s is open 24/7, so there’s that.
You can catch everything in Vermillion - Rock, Large & Smallmouth bass, Northern Pike, Lake Trout, Walleye, Bluegills, Crappie, Muskie, Rock. Really the same goes for any lake in the region. Everybody has their favorite spots, and I do mean everybody. Ask around town if anyone has a recommendation. Also, if you've never heard or seen loons before, get acquainted with them before you go. Black ducks with red eyes, they'll swim under the water and pop up next to your canoe because fuck you, that's why.
![[Image: p449982525-3.jpg]](http://www.peterdubajphotography.com/img/s2/v60/p449982525-3.jpg)
Soudan: The Soudan Underground State Park is actually pretty interesting. Go explore 2341 ft. below the surface of the earth and check out the dark matter underground laboratory established down there. Pretty cool, but the bats get everywhere, so look out for those. There’s nothing else here worth looking at.
Ely: Get your gear at Piragis. They have maps, canoes, paddles, life jackets, and all the licenses you need. I suggest a kevlar canoe, 100x lighter than your grandad's canoe which makes the portages so much easier, though they can take less of a beating, so be careful near rocks and rapids. Pretty sure Piragis owns about half the damn town as they have an outfitter, supply/gear store, bookstore, and they’re attached the the fanciest restaurant in town - the Chocolate Moose. (The $25 walleye is way overpriced considering you can catch plenty yourself an hour away, but when you get out of the BWCA it is nice to have a proper meal IMO.)
The only other restaurant I’d bother with is Sir G’s Italian. The hotels still advertise air conditioning and color tv, if that gives you an idea of what the town is like.
You can book a dog sled trip in winter.
Grand Marais: Stop through Sven & Ole’s for their Minnesota famous pizza, and while you’re there grab a yellow and blue bumper sticker to blend in
My Sister’s Place is one of the only places on earth that still serves locally caught fish (not from a fishery).
The Trading Post is worth wandering around in, even if you don’t plan on buying anything.
![[Image: showcase.jpg]](http://photos.captureminnesota.com/photos/QBG6BbxQcLl8LGXlQ1QW5A/showcase.jpg)
BWCA:
Note: There are no stores, restaurants, or hotels up here. Don’t bother asking about what women are like here, because the only ones you’ll find are a bunch of butch dykes you’ll see on portages or the lizards you bring in yourself. If you go in winter I’d go as far as to bring a radio transmitter with you, the local rangers monitor a few frequencies and you might need their help. I’d rather be prepared for disaster in -20F temps, but that’s just me.
You can pick up your permits at Piragis, a DNR/Ranger Station, or any other outfitter. They cost about $25 all together +fishing
I’ve gotten canoes from Piragis for two or three people at about $150 all together for the canoe, paddles, etc…
One of the last few places in America where you are not the apex predator. The boundary waters are a specially designated area where motors cannot go. No power tools, ice augers, or generators. The Forest Rangers maintain snowmobiles and a couple float planes for emergency rescues and observations, but other than that you the only transportation up here is either on foot or by canoe/kayak. Snowmobiling in the winter can get you a $200 fine and/or your sled being confiscated. Happens to people every year, not worth it.
Personally I’d recommend bringing extra warm clothes regardless of the time of year, an extra paddle, and a patching kit for your canoe if it's kevlar. Not that you’ll need any of those, but I’d rather have it and not need it than fuck up my canoe on one of the random rocks sticking out of the water and be miserable the entire time you’re up there. You can hunt (deer, moose, bear) up here, but I’m not sure what the hell you’d do unless you somehow plan on hauling the damn thing out on a canoe while managing to keep it fresh and keep every predator for miles around from scoping you out.
I’m just about the only person who hasn’t seen a bear or a moose in the BWCA. I’ve even seen wolves, which are much more rare. It's one thing to hear them howling in the night, it's another all together to see them nearby then hear them howling in the night just down the lake from you. Bear attacks do happen up here, but they’re amazingly rare. Just remember to put your food/trash between two trees - 12 feet up and 6 feet out.
Animals you might run into:
Mountain lions (If you've never heard one scream, be ready to shit your pants the first time you do)
Timberwolves (not the team)
Coyotes
Black bears
Lynx (again, not the team)
Bobcats
Moose
Fishers
Deer
Otters
Mink
Red Fox
Raccoon
Tons of birds and fish, keep your eye out for bald eagles snatching fish out of the water. The water is usually clear enough that you can see panfish swimming along beside your canoe.
During winter you can often see the northern lights (again, I never have, but I seem to be the only one).
Watch for deer and moose on the roads. Don't hit a moose, whatever the fuck you do. Don't swerve to avoid deer, ram those fuckers head on instead of becoming a statistic. Deer hit by cars in MN are fair game to anyone with a hunting license.
Questions? Thoughts? Things I forgot to include?
A data sheet on Northern Minnesota and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA)
This is not the exotic poosy paradise many guys may be seeking. This is a data sheet for those of us who aren’t afraid of being beyond cell reception, where the only way you’re going to eat at night is by making you own dinner, the only way to sleep is by getting your tent set up, and the only way in our out is based on your own skill hiking and canoeing. I know some dude is gonna ask, “How’s the situation for game?” This is rural, backwater, Northern MN. All the goods up here got locked down right after they graduated high school, the rest are snow cows. I'm writing this for those of you who find solace in getting away from it all, or who want to test your skills, enjoy canoeing, hunting, fishing, or hiking. Let me know if I can give more specific advice about entry points, gear, or whatever.
A note on all these places: Stay away during the fishing and hunting openers. Everybody and their mom (literally) is out there running around firing at everything that moves and there isn’t a lake that doesn’t have a couple boats on it.
Winter comes early up here and stays late. I’m talking snow staying on the ground well before Halloween and melting as late as May. And when I say snow I mean five feet deep with towering drifts. Temperature varies wildly during the summer (from 90F to 37F when I was up there last week((late August)). During the winter expect fatal temperatures - the MN record was -60F (-51C) just to the south in Tower.
Remember before heading up this way that there is no cell service in a lot of places. Don’t count on it in case something happens to your vehicle. Don’t count on someone coming your direction for quite a while either.
The towns worth going to:
Lake Vermillion/Cook: One of three towns to have the local grocery store Zup’s. Vermillion has some pretty good fishing guides that can keep you from stopping on some uppity prick’s private island and help you navigate the 40k acres of lake and shoreline. The guys leading these tours have been living and fishing on the lake their entire lives and know more about the area than anyone. If you want to shell out the big bucks you can spend a small fortune on renting a cabin on the lake, but it’s only worth it if you go in with a couple guys and you have a fishing/hunting trip prepared. The town now has a McDonald’s and a Subway, and the McD’s is open 24/7, so there’s that.
You can catch everything in Vermillion - Rock, Large & Smallmouth bass, Northern Pike, Lake Trout, Walleye, Bluegills, Crappie, Muskie, Rock. Really the same goes for any lake in the region. Everybody has their favorite spots, and I do mean everybody. Ask around town if anyone has a recommendation. Also, if you've never heard or seen loons before, get acquainted with them before you go. Black ducks with red eyes, they'll swim under the water and pop up next to your canoe because fuck you, that's why.
Soudan: The Soudan Underground State Park is actually pretty interesting. Go explore 2341 ft. below the surface of the earth and check out the dark matter underground laboratory established down there. Pretty cool, but the bats get everywhere, so look out for those. There’s nothing else here worth looking at.
Ely: Get your gear at Piragis. They have maps, canoes, paddles, life jackets, and all the licenses you need. I suggest a kevlar canoe, 100x lighter than your grandad's canoe which makes the portages so much easier, though they can take less of a beating, so be careful near rocks and rapids. Pretty sure Piragis owns about half the damn town as they have an outfitter, supply/gear store, bookstore, and they’re attached the the fanciest restaurant in town - the Chocolate Moose. (The $25 walleye is way overpriced considering you can catch plenty yourself an hour away, but when you get out of the BWCA it is nice to have a proper meal IMO.)
The only other restaurant I’d bother with is Sir G’s Italian. The hotels still advertise air conditioning and color tv, if that gives you an idea of what the town is like.
You can book a dog sled trip in winter.
Grand Marais: Stop through Sven & Ole’s for their Minnesota famous pizza, and while you’re there grab a yellow and blue bumper sticker to blend in
My Sister’s Place is one of the only places on earth that still serves locally caught fish (not from a fishery).
The Trading Post is worth wandering around in, even if you don’t plan on buying anything.
BWCA:
Note: There are no stores, restaurants, or hotels up here. Don’t bother asking about what women are like here, because the only ones you’ll find are a bunch of butch dykes you’ll see on portages or the lizards you bring in yourself. If you go in winter I’d go as far as to bring a radio transmitter with you, the local rangers monitor a few frequencies and you might need their help. I’d rather be prepared for disaster in -20F temps, but that’s just me.
You can pick up your permits at Piragis, a DNR/Ranger Station, or any other outfitter. They cost about $25 all together +fishing
I’ve gotten canoes from Piragis for two or three people at about $150 all together for the canoe, paddles, etc…
One of the last few places in America where you are not the apex predator. The boundary waters are a specially designated area where motors cannot go. No power tools, ice augers, or generators. The Forest Rangers maintain snowmobiles and a couple float planes for emergency rescues and observations, but other than that you the only transportation up here is either on foot or by canoe/kayak. Snowmobiling in the winter can get you a $200 fine and/or your sled being confiscated. Happens to people every year, not worth it.
Personally I’d recommend bringing extra warm clothes regardless of the time of year, an extra paddle, and a patching kit for your canoe if it's kevlar. Not that you’ll need any of those, but I’d rather have it and not need it than fuck up my canoe on one of the random rocks sticking out of the water and be miserable the entire time you’re up there. You can hunt (deer, moose, bear) up here, but I’m not sure what the hell you’d do unless you somehow plan on hauling the damn thing out on a canoe while managing to keep it fresh and keep every predator for miles around from scoping you out.
I’m just about the only person who hasn’t seen a bear or a moose in the BWCA. I’ve even seen wolves, which are much more rare. It's one thing to hear them howling in the night, it's another all together to see them nearby then hear them howling in the night just down the lake from you. Bear attacks do happen up here, but they’re amazingly rare. Just remember to put your food/trash between two trees - 12 feet up and 6 feet out.
Animals you might run into:
Mountain lions (If you've never heard one scream, be ready to shit your pants the first time you do)
Timberwolves (not the team)
Coyotes
Black bears
Lynx (again, not the team)
Bobcats
Moose
Fishers
Deer
Otters
Mink
Red Fox
Raccoon
Tons of birds and fish, keep your eye out for bald eagles snatching fish out of the water. The water is usually clear enough that you can see panfish swimming along beside your canoe.
During winter you can often see the northern lights (again, I never have, but I seem to be the only one).
Watch for deer and moose on the roads. Don't hit a moose, whatever the fuck you do. Don't swerve to avoid deer, ram those fuckers head on instead of becoming a statistic. Deer hit by cars in MN are fair game to anyone with a hunting license.
Questions? Thoughts? Things I forgot to include?
If you are going to impose your will on the world, you must have control over what you believe.
Data Sheet Minneapolis / Data Sheet St. Paul / Data Sheet Northern MN/BWCA / Data Sheet Duluth
