Wenonah – Where Canoes Are Born

We picked up new Wenonah kevlar ultralight canoes at the Wenonah Canoe Factory in Winona, Minnesota, this week. Owner Mike Cichanowski (above, left) greeted us. He grew up in Winona, on the banks of the Mississippi. He’s a paddler at heart and has inspired innovation throughout the canoe industry. His company is now the largest…

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Patriotic Urban Paddling

People often ask what we Boundary Waters guides do on our days off. My response is that our days off look a lot like our days on. For example, Kate and I are in DC visiting friends (it’s the Ely “mud season,” after all). But, you can’t keep us away from getting our paddling fix…

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Hudson Bay Recap

We’ve returned happy and healthy from our Hudson Bay dogsledding adventure. Every spring, after the Minnesota dogsledding season ends, Wintergreen Lodge leads dogsled adventures to various destinations such as the North Pole, Greenland, Svalbaard, other Arctic locations, and the Rocky Mountains. Eight of our Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge guides left Ely by truck and dog trailer…

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Windbound

We are in the midst of an all out gale. Winds blowing upwards of 35 mph have stopped us in our tracks. Air temps are about 10F, but the wind chill has pushed temps into the deep freeze. Blowing snow is piling up in drifts around the dogsleds and we have hunkered down at an…

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Hudson Bay!

The weather has remained ideal. The sun continues to shine brightly and we are slathering on sunscreen. The wind has calmed today. The scenery is changing rapidly. As we move further north, the trees are getting smaller and smaller, and fewer and fewer. The efficient traveling conditions allowed us to log 25 miles today. Our…

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Covering Miles

We covered a lot of ground today – about 23 miles by dogsled and ski. We are passing through some brushy areas with small trees. The snow collects in these areas and can mean deep, fluffy, difficult to get a dogsled through, conditions. The dogs bottom out in the deep snow and the sled starts…

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