• spring kayaking on Brule Lake with ice
    Articles,  Trip Reports

    Spring(?) Kayaking on Brule Lake in the BWCA

    This spring has been slow in coming. In northern Minnesota, we’re between 14 and 20 days behind median ice out, and it’s wearing a little thin on the nerves. This week some of the bigger lakes in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness finally started to go out, so with that in mind, Jeffrey and Michelle Forseth of Sea Kayak Safety and I went to paddle on Brule Lake. The put-in was completely ice free and it was 50°F, so we figured that we were golden, but as we paddled east along the shore, we started to run into ice and soon ice coated as far as we could see,…

  • Now a Word From Our Sponsors. More After the Break.

    Sanborn canoe company with a canoe and paddles in the image.
    RockyTalkie Rugged Backcountry Radios shows a radio.
    Hilltop Packs logo.
  • News

    Sulfide Mining Near America’s Most Used Canoe Wilderness Area

    I live near the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) and on the shore of Lake Superior. Both locations are among the most pristine locations in the world. When paddling on Lake Superior, I can see what seems like forever into its depths–it looks cleaner than a swimming pool. On the inland lakes, I can paddle for weeks without seeing any of the adverse effects of mankind. There is no pollution to be seen. The wildlife is abundant. Fishing is world-class. When camping in the BWCA, the only sounds heard are the natural sounds of a clean healthy wilderness: the howl of a wolf, the call of…

  • Subscribe to get paddling tips, reviews, and stories delivered to your inbox.


    Or if you use a RSS Feed Reader subscribe via our RSS Feed.