BOUNDARY WATERS

The Boundary Waters are a paradise for canoeists and anyone who wants to really get away from it all, especially in the off season when there are few other people to encounter. If you go in mid October, when I first explored this vast wilderness, you will rarely encounter other humans, but you well may see wildlife few other people get to observe.

The fall colors in the BWCA are not particularly exciting, just yellow popples and green conifers, but the weather can be as capricious as you will seldom experience. We had several cool, sunny days, a couple of cool, overcast days, and one day where is was sunny and warm for about five minutes, then it rained for another five minutes, then back to sunny for another five minutes. It was like this all day long.

We put in on Brule Lake, a large lake at the end of a long, deserted road. Our first day's paddle got us to a campsite on Lower Cone Lake, the first of three cone lakes with easy portages between them. A longer portage got us to Davis Lake, which we had to ourselves for several days. A dinner of fresh Northern Pike, moose tracks in the portage trail, and the most changeable weather I have ever experienced were the highlights of our stay here.

During the entire time we were in the boundary waters, we only saw one other party of canoeists. I understand that there is plenty of competition for campsites during the summer. If unspoiled wilderness is an attraction for you, then the boundary waters have plenty of areas where you are bound to find it.