Greetings! 

This morning I received one of those calls that makes your day. I picked up the phone to answer some questions about portage packs. The customer on the other end of the line asks a few questions and we compare packs together. In the middle of trying to make a decision about which pack best meets his needs he says, "my Dad almost threw your catalog away, but I told him, no, wait, I went canoeing up there in Ely as a boy scout in the seventies."

Then he tells me about his trip, and how great the fishing was. He can still recall many parts of the route, down to the smaller details, like where the ranger stations were and how high the cliffs were that they passed. He remembered that their group excelled in paddling and portaging and they were able to get deeper into the wilderness than their guide expected. We talked about how they trained for the trip by carrying canoes around back home and about how heavy those aluminum canoes were back then. You could tell that with each memory he drew upon, the desire to return to the canoe country grew stronger.

"The Pike up there were big," he kept saying. Boy was that a good way to start the day morning for me. He ended up placing a nice order, and it sure was fun for me to listen to someone reminisce about a long-ago trip. It was easy to put myself in his shoes at 14 or 15, seeing the wilderness for the first time from a canoe, coming round the bend of a northern river and seeing a bear swimming across. Trolling a big red and white daredevil spoon and hooking up with huge pike, struggling to get in into the canoe without tipping and looking up to see a moose and her calf up ahead. Falling asleep under the stars. Listening to those haunting cries of loons flying overhead. Battling mosquitoes and winning. Eating fresh fish by a warm campfire on a cold spring night.

Our water might still be hard: frozen over with the last vestiges of winter ice, but we're planning trips every day. The Boundary Waters has remained protected all these years and paddling access to 2000 lakes connected by rivers and portages still holds all the potential for adventure that it did decades ago. A canoe trip can be one of the most memorable and affordable family vacations or trips with friends that you will ever take. It can be challenging and rewarding, humbling and uplifting; the wilderness teaches valuable skills and brings campers closer together. Best of all, it becomes part of us, physically, mentally and spiritually, confirming that time in the woods is time well spent.

See you on the water! Call Adam or Drew today to start planning a trip that you'll remember forever!

From the End of the Road,  

• NEMO tents, sleeping bags, and sleeping pads
• Big Agnes sleep systems
• Sierra Designs tents
• Granite Gear portage packs
• MTI PFDs
• Crazy Creek canoe seats
• Wenonah, Bell/Northstar, and Souris River ultra light canoes
• GSI cook kits
• MSR and Primus Stoves
• Cooke Custom Sewing food packs and ultra light tarps
• Wenonah carbon paddles

**We do NOT skimp on equipment.  We believe you should have only the best for your canoe trip, and remember, we get new gear every year. ** 

  

The same goes for the food included with Full Outfitting.  Take a look at our menu HERE.  We have lots of options and work individually with each group to ensure that the food for your trip matches the quality of the gear that we provide.  We send a nice mix of fresh and freeze dried food picked out specifically by your group.  Finicky eaters, diet restrictions?  No problem.  We will work with you to make sure you don't have to "suffer" through camp food.  We believe the food should enhance the trip--having dinner around the campfire should be a delicious treat after a day in the wilderness and we will make that happen.

 

Full Outfitting is $100 per person per day -- no confusing charts or equipment packages.  We only have one Full Outfitting package at one great price which includes only the best, lightest gear available.  For more information follow the links below:

• Full Outfitting
• Gear List
• Menu Choices

Call Drew or Adam at 800-223-6565 to put your reservation on the books today.  Don't forget, we offer discounts to large groups!  See our reviews on Tripadvisor. 

 

With the evening temperatures in the single digits and 36" or so of ice on the lakes, springtime can still seem like only a dream.  Then again sunny skies, longer daylight hours and shrinking snow depths does give one hope.  Scientists tell us that birds use a variety of signals to start their northern migration and this year is no different than any other.  As usual some of the earliest arrivals are Common Crows and Bald Eagles.  Many of these hardy individuals have been in and around the Ely area for a month or more.  Recent sightings among the smaller species have included American Robins, Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles.  Among the early visitors to area bird feeders have been Dark-eyed Juncos and Purple Finches.  The real hotspots in the early spring are open water areas on local rivers.  Common Goldeneyes are numerous with new arrivals joining those few souls who over-wintered in Ely.  Wood Ducks, Mallards, Hooded and Common Mergansers as well as a few Pied-billed Grebes have also shown up, along with a few of the majestic Great Blue Herons.  Those of us looking will welcome back old friends as spring gradually overtakes winter and a new season of growth reappears.

While the canoe industry has faced an upstream battle of late - including flatlining sales losing ground to the rec kayak and SUP markets, and 2014's discontinuation of Royalex material - that's not stopping at least one veteran boat builder from getting back in the hull-building game.

After a seven-year hiatus, former flatwater and downriver canoe champion Ted Bell is building canoes again for his newly formed Northstar Canoes, based in Princeton, Minn.

"I'm super happy to be back building boats," Bell, 57, said. "I'm doing what I love to do."

Bell is entering the arena again in a market that's treading water. According to analyst group Leisure Trends, canoe sales dropped 3 percent in 2013 to $15 million, continuing a similar trend that has plagued the industry for the past five to 10 years. All the while, several other paddlesports sectors are growing. According to the same study, sales of rec kayaks (including fish kayaks) rose 6 percent in 2013 to $152 million, while their fish kayak subset rose 34 percent to $48 million. While these boats are eating into canoe sales, they're not stopping Bell from dipping his blade into the market's waters again.

Bell sold his long-running Bell Canoe Works company to ORC in 2006, initiating a non-compete clause that ended in 2013. Building boats in his garage for the past several years, he decided a year ago to re-enter the commercial fray, teaming up with friend and business partner Bear Paulsen to bring a line of high-performance composite offerings.

Click HERE to continue reading.

Join us for wilderness walleye fishing at its best.  This time of year the walleyes will be schooling up, and we know where to find them.  There is nothing quite like enjoying the quiet serenity that only the Boundary Waters can provide, fishing pole in hand while on top of a school of walleyes.  Feast in the evening on the day's catch--fresh as you can get it.  Escape from your everyday routine and lose yourself on a fishing adventure that you will never forget.

The trip includes all the permits, gear, food, and canoes for your canoe trip.  A hotel room will also be provided on the nights of July 12th and 18th.  If you like walleye fishing in the Boundary Waters this trip is for you! 

Call Drew or Adam at 800-223-6565 for more details. 

"Hi Drew. This was one of our "best-ever" vacations and we all wanted to thank you for your quality guidance, expertise and dedication. Our party of four from California flew to Minnesota in mid-September. There would be a lot of firsts: 1st trip to MN, 1st time to Lake Superior, 1st experience with Piragis, 1st extended canoe trip and 1st time to Quetico Provincial Park. It started with an idea to do a canoe trip to the Boundary Waters area which led us to Piragis - our first good decision with many more to come on our 9 day trip. Everyone at Piragis was so helpful in making our trip unforgettable from start to finish, leaving us with experiences and memories we are still bragging about.

Our first day began with a float plane ride and drop-off at Beaverhouse Lake. Nine days and 25 lakes later we would end our journey at Prairie Portage. We so enjoyed the whole adventure; the "different kinds of good weather", stunning fall colors, every stroke of the paddle, the portages and wildlife (with the exception of the elusive beaver we spotted one wolf, 2 cows & 3 bull moose - one of which we got to watch swim across Shade Lake, lots of eagles and other fun- to- watch critters. How cool!

Thanks again for helping us to have a most memorable trip!"

Rick, Denise, Derek and Joel

 Call Drew or Adam at 800-223-6565 to set up your adventure today!