Welcome to the BWCAW blog of Ely Outfitting Company and Boundary Waters Guide Service!

See our websites at ElyOutfittingCompany.com and BoundaryWatersGuideService.com.

We are a Boundary Waters canoe trip outfitter, Quetico outfitter, and guide service in Ely, Minnesota. This Boundary Waters blog shares photos, stories, humor, skills, and naturalist insights from guiding in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).

Most entries are from our founder and head guide, Jason Zabokrtsky. He is the Boundary Waters Blogger.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

900 Miles by Dogsled in the Northwest Territories


On Monday, April 11, four Minnesotan adventurers and twelve sled dogs wandered in off the ice of Great Slave Lake. Their arrival in Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories marks the end of a 900-mile trek by dogsled and ski. Dave and Amy Freeman along with Ellen Root and Van Conrad began on the banks of the Mackenzie River at Norman Wells, Northwest Territories on February 7.

While traveling through the northern wilds of Canada, they were fortunate enough to see wolves on the prowl, a herd of caribou, and wolverine. In addition to their time in the woods they stopped in various First Nations communities along their route. Their visits to Tulita, Deline, Gameti, Whati, Behchoko, and Yellowknife were filled with excitement as the expedition team gave presentations and dogsled ride at local schools.


This is the third stage of a much larger expedition. In April of 2010 the Freemans launched the North American Odyssey, a 3-year, 11,000-mile human- and dog-powered expedition, with the purpose of calling attention to North American waterways and wilderness. The expedition serves as a call to action, urging people to simplify their lives, reduce their carbon footprints, and get outside to enjoy nature. Their message has been heard by about 70,000 school children from around the globe so far.

These students are actually following the expedition team's every move through the internet. Whether they are traveling by kayak, canoe, ski, or dogsled, Dave and Amy update an education website: www.WildernessClassroom.com. This is where students, teachers and parents interact with the expedition team. A second website, www.NorthAmericanOdyssey.com, serves as a blog for adults to follow the adventure.


The odyssey will continue after the snow melts. For now, Dave and Amy are returning to the U.S. to conduct school presentations. In June they will resume canoeing south through central Danada, kayak across the Great Lakes, finishing up by following the annual whale migration down the Atlantic Coast, to the Florida Keys.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Women in the Boundary Waters Wilderness: Canoe Trips for Women and Families


You're Invited! Come hear Boundary Waters Guide Service's own Kate Ford speak at A Day For Women in Rochester, MN, at the Mayo Civic Center this Saturday, April 9. This show features all things geared toward women. And, I contend, what better activity for women and their friends and families than a Boundary Waters canoe trip?!

We will be at our booth in the Grand Lobby during the 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. show. At 1:30 p.m. Kate presents a seminar entitled Women in the Wilderness: Boundary Waters Canoe Trips for Women and Families. Women benefit so much from the Boundary Waters wilderness experience, and in this seminar, she will explain all the reasons why, debunk the reasons why not, and elucidate the how-to. Lots of pretty pictures will be shared, too!


The show is free to the public. More information and directions to the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester can be found by clicking here.

Please come on by and be sure to say hello and get more information. See you there!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Some Bald eagles around Ely, MN, are sitting on their eggs now.

But further south, near Decorah, Iowa, a Bald Eagle pair are tending to their newborn young. Two eggs just hatched, and there is a third egg that has not hatched. See them live, on a really great web cam, right now!



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