The plan was unveiled a month ago by my friend, Garrett – a day trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. It had been years since my last visit to the BWCA so I said, “Sure. Count me in.”

Garrett found two more adventurers, Dale and Cody, who said the same. The plan was in. The scene was set. All I had to do was show up and hope for good weather. Easy peasy.

The day began at 4:30 am which is very early if you aren’t in shape for such. Within a few minutes my eyes uncrossed, my teeth were combed and coffee brushed. It was time to pack up the food, water, ibuprofen and fishing gear. By 5:45 I was out the door to begin a series of rendezvous starting with a drive to Garrett’s place then a drive to meet Dale and Cody at the boat landing on Vermilion.

Before we could start canoeing, we ferried the canoes atop racks mounted on two fishing boats to the Trout Lake truck portage located a few miles north. From there, our boats were trailered to Trout Lake where we then motored north across Trout Lake to our disembarking spot and the canoe part of the trip was about to begin – woo hoo!

I’ll abbreviate here a bit to save time (and energy). We unloaded the canoes from the boat racks, loaded the canoes with our gear, paddled to the first beaver dam, got out and pulled the canoes over, paddled to the next beaver dam to do the same, proceeded to the sandbar to drag across that, then pushed through two hundred yards of thick marsh vegetation and more sandbars to the beautiful shores of Little Trout Lake. By this time, I was thinking we had accomplished enough for the day, perhaps it was time to head back now if we expected to catch the evening news but that was not to be.

It might be helpful to know that if you’re planning a trip to Little Trout Lake, it isn’t all that little actually. After fishing a bit near our entry point, Garrett suggested we fish near an island on the far side of the lake. I thought to myself, “Huh? It must be two or three miles across open water!” For the record, my canoeing experience has been mostly on rivers, small rivers, where I can touch the river bank with one hand and nearly spit to the other side all while comfortably cruising downstream. Good grief, we were almost in Canada by now and he wanted to go farther north? What if I had a medical emergency? What if a storm kicked up? What if we swamped the canoe? What if we lost cell coverage? Me thinks these are worthy questions but Dale and Cody showed no visible signs of concern, so I went with the program not wanting to be the only wimp in the group.

We crossed over to the island and to our joy began to catch some fish – walleyes and a couple of decent pike. The weather was warm and the breeze gentle. My ham sandwich was delicious but could have used more mustard. I had been in the canoe for nearly six hours continuous without serious complaints from my body. My two-hour kidneys could hardly even believe it. Then, as has often been the case this summer, dark mid-afternoon clouds broached the horizon accompanied by a rumble of thunder. Radar weather (Hooray for cell coverage!) showed a storm would be upon us in an hour. It was time to move out which included a paddle across the lake, then of course, the sandbars, beaver dams, unloading gear, lifting canoes onto boat racks, loading boats with gear, travel to the portage, travel to the landing, unloading gear, trailering the boats, loading gear back into the trucks and heading for home. Out of character, the storm predicted missed us by a slim margin.

From this story, you may have surmised that a trip into the BWCA is not always easy but for those so possessed, it’s worth it. It weeds out many from the fray making for an experience not found in many places anymore. Perhaps that has much to do with the charm of the wilderness – one is taking “the road less travelled” as suggested by American laureate, Robert Frost. When (or if) my neck, back, and shoulder muscles fall back into place, I like to think I’ll feel the road less travelled is worth it also.

In the end, the experience showed our group may have, at least, a small cut of what it took to be a voyageur, or a mountain man, or one of the resourceful native peoples of centuries past. It was an adventurous day out of my comfort zone but it was just one day. It didn’t earn me the Daniel Boone Adventure Club merit badge by any stretch. In fact, I was happy as a clam to be home again on the couch after a hot shower and a couple ibuprofen. I even got back in time for the evening news. It was a good day.

Leo is retired and lives in rural Cook with his wife, Lindy. He is the author of three books, She Won’t Mow the Daisies, The Cabin Experience, and Life Over Easy. Leo can be contacted by email at llwilenius@gmail.com.