I had heard about the canoeing Mecca of the continent was located near Ely in the state of 10,000 lakes so decided to take a detour from the big lake and scope out the interior. For an hour and a half I drove a narrow winding road through low pine/birch forests with no one to keep me company on the road. However there were signs that a type of life existed here in the arrowhead region of Minnesota. ATV’s and snowmobile trails were laid out everywhere. The trails even had their own signage.
Ely was like an oasis, an outpost, in the middle of a forest. And true to form every fourth vehicle had a canoe strapped on top of it and signs greeting you to BWCA – Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
The Forest Service Visitor Center drew me like mosquito to a warm body. Superior National Forest is the managing agency for BWCA and has a pretty rigid permit system that lake paddlers have to conform to. On the Canadian side of the Minnesota border is a counterpart partner in the form of Quetico Provincial Park. When combined with BWCA an infinite number of voyager routes are created through the amazing chains and web systems of lakes. The Forest Service just completed a first class campground at a popular put-in point plus a new 12 million dollar visitor center. The counterman said that Superior National Forest/BWCA is to the Forest Service what Yellowstone is the Park Service. This region was the service’s crown jewel.
After talking to the candid Forest Service officer, I stumbled onto a mini festival downtown with artists and wares for sale. The spotlight for the festival was on the small logging show with two national champions competing in five different events. It brought back the memories of going to the Deming Log Show the first weekend in June where it played in front of hundreds of people over three days. I doubt if it is still happening due to the major drop in the timber industry in my corner of the world.
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