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Dredged up this old photo, circa late 1980’s. Me in the stern and my buddy (whom I still canoe camp with) in the bow. This was our maiden voyage in an aluminum canoe we salvaged. It was folded over in the middle in flood waters. Cut out the damaged midsection and bolted and caulked the two...

In summer with sunlight til 9pm and warmer temps a campfire is optional. Other times of the year if you’re not tending a fire are you just sitting in the cold darkness waiting for bedtime? That feels weird to me.

A gun is simply a tool. Whatever way you choose to protect yourself you need to be proficient (ie train) with that method. That said how many of you who carry bear spray actually fire off a can occasionally? Do you really know how to deploy it quickly? Do you really know it’s effective...

Most people (especially young people) never believe they can(will) lose control of their body. I learned this lesson the hard way. As a kid we were playing down at the river in spring just after ice out. Buddies took off in the canoe and left me on the opposite shore. Not prob, I’ll just...

Stick stove Small, simple fire for cooking and ambience.

Thinking of doing a loop around Sylvania next year and got some questions. Sounds like all campsites by reservation. Assume it’ll allow booking a campsite tor a single night if you are planning a loop? Vehicle needs a Ottawa National Forest window sticker? Sounds like these some other fee...

Yeah, you’re likely correct. Blue barrels started as repurposed olive barrels if I recall. Company I work for does some contract molding and we molded some of the BearVault brand canisters….just the polycarb blowmolded bodies. Pretty tight margins I imagine after tying up $60k just in one mold.

If ever bear hunting in the BWCA I guess you could just set up a tree stand over a blue barrel. The problem bears will get thinned out, plus meat from a bear fattened up on granola bars, GORP and Mountain House meals is probably delicious. :)

Why hasn’t someone made a bear canister the size of a small blue barrel? That way you can repurpose a barrel harness you probably already have. Would also be nice if someone bothered to make these with a seal to contain odors and keep water out. They also should have a way to attached a...

Camper murdered DNA on beer can helped lead to suspect in brutal campsite killing: Sheriff A Montana man has been charged in the killing of a fellow camper that was so brutal it was initially reported by a 911 caller as a possible bear attack. Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, of Basin, Montana...

Stopped carrying an axe long ago. Just never processed wood that necessitated that capacity. I carry a ka-bar knife. Still small enough to use for knife stuff but beefy enough for light chopping and batoning down bigger sticks. Always bring a saw for safety. If I don’t it’s too tempting to...

I know it’s a requirement in Quetico, and possibly Sylvania and other areas but how many of you voluntarily removed hooks/barbs from your lures? Never thought I’d do it myself but found myself clipping barbs last summer. The bass on this one lake were so plentiful it was getting exhausting...

Yeah, or at least Outdoor Competence But according to the Dunning-Kruger there’s a fascinating relationship between competence and confidence.

Just watched some BWCA video from some ‘adventure’ YouTubers that apparently aren’t very wilderness savvy. They brought 4 fuel canisters along but three were used and had less fuel than expected. A third of the way through the trip they had 3 empty canisters. They were rationing the final...

He does often use a bent shaft paddle. I’ve never used one so I don’t know if it’s possible to J-stroke with one.

Interestingly enough the YouTuber Matt Posa I mentioned in a previous post paddles like this. Baffling how an extremely seasoned tripper hasn’t just instinctively developed a more efficient technique.

This is what I was wondering myself. How many trippers have grandiose expectations and leave humbled. During covid times everyone figured they’d try some outdoor recreation. Lots of these places got slammed with first timers Suppose some found a new passion, others dumped a lot of money on...

Guess this comes down to peoples personalities. On one side you have those that don’t think too much about things and figure they’ll improvise along the way. Then you have the opposite side who overthinks and obsessively plans every detail. I fall into the later group. I don’t want surprises...

A few years ago a casual acquaintance asked me about doing a BWCA trip because he knew I was into canoe camping. I started asking questions about his plan and it was obvious he didn’t have one. The more I asked it was apparent he really had no clue what he was doing. He wasn’t a regular...

Done a lot of endurance sports…marathons and triathlons. Carbs and sugars for quick energy. People in Ironman triathlons will slam handfuls of plain potato chips and wash it down with a Coca-Cola. Need that salt, carbs and sugar. Back on topic… anyone try some MRE’s? What’s good and...