25 Tips for a Better Boundary Waters Canoe Trip

Drawing from his experience of paddling hundreds of days through the Northwoods, Pete Marshall, Communications Director at Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, goes over 25 tips for a better Boundary Waters canoe trip.
This presentation was part of Canoecopia 2021.
In addition to extensive trips in the BWCA, Pete has canoed over 8,000 miles through remote regions of Canada, including two expeditions that have lasted over 120-days. These are some of the tricks he has learned during the course of his travels.
Want more? Download your free "Friends' Guide to the BWCA" at www.friends-bwca.org/bwca-guidebook
Resource sheet for 25 Secrets for a Better Boundary Waters Trip
1.Paddle correctly
For an article that really breaks down the physics and science of a successful canoe stroke, George Arimond’s guide to Canoe Stroke Efficiency: minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream...
2. Knots
The two knots essential knots for traveling in the Boundary Waters (in my opinion) can be found on page 41 and 41 of Friends' Guide to the Boundary Waters: www.friends-bwca.org/bwca-guidebook
7. Go in the shoulder season!
Here’s a great article by Bear Paulson about hiking in the Boundary Waters over Thanksgiving: www.friends-bwca.org/blog/bwc...
8. Nuun tablets - These are flavored electrolyte tablets. An easy, low calorie way to flavor your water and replenish with electrolytes
10. Peanut butter is truly a god send. Use it on Oreos for dessert, snack bars during lunch, mix it in with your oatmeal for a rich, creamy flavor, even in mac and cheese… it’s hard to go wrong.
11. Perishable Food does have a place in the BWCA. Root vegetables - onions, potatoes, carrots - can last a while without refrigeration. Same with vacuum-sealed cheese (though once you open it, eat in a couple of days). Bring a bag of salad and steak for the first night on trail!
14. Use Outfitters - for a list of outfitters, check out: www.friends-bwca.org/bwca-out...
15. EmberLit Stoves are the lightest stoves on the market and collapse to about the size of a wallet. emberlit.com/collections/stoves
19. Pee bottle. Women use it in combination with an FUD - female urination device -
Keep in the vestibule or just outside to avoid and unpleasant messes
21. Bug tarp. Both Nemo and Cooke’s Custom Sewing sells a great screened tent that is a sanctuary from the bugs in camp.
23. Some challenges to spice up your BWCA trip.
- A Voyageur Morning - Break camp, build a fire, cook a hot breakfast, with a hot drink, do the dishes and hit the water in under an hour. This involves a lot of coordination and planning the night before, for instance, stashing wood under the canoe and making sure things are ready to go.
- Night paddling. Clear, calm nights on a big lake are optimal. In the summer, when campsites are scarce, it’s best to paddle out from a basecamp. Pay extra attention to your course before you head out and keep yourself on map. Night time is an easy time to get lost!
- Build a fire in the rain. You can do this!
Question? Email me at [e-mail]
Or visit www.friends-bwca.org for more resources on how to get the most out of your Boundary Waters trip and how you can help preserve this jewel of a wilderness.

[@losratitos8277]

#19-The Pee Bottle...get a wide mouth Nalgene bottle and LABEL it either by colour or with some duct tape..the wide mouth helps to keep the spillage from poor aim under control and the lid is tight and efficient..the other positive aspect of the P bottle is that you won't have to spend a 1/2 hour killing bugs in your tent that you let in when you go out to P in the middle of the night...tip #26- eat dinner several hours before sunset...during the summer bug season, the bugs tend to be rather dormant during the day at camp and don't start their murderous frenzy until the sun goes down...have your camp pre-prepared (chores done etc...) so that all you have to do when you come back from an evening fish is get in your tent and go to bed...selah

[@bryanpyle4274]

Pete! That was Fantastic! Thanks for sharing. My favorite was #25. How true it is. I lay awake many nights dreaming of being so lucky as to be eating lunch on a rock in the rain while being hemmed in by mosquitos. A nice round hump of a rock with long glacial striations - maybe up on a hill with a good view of the lake. Yes indeed. Thank you.

[@hawiianpwr]

Great video, made me even more excited to go on our trip in a couple of weeks!

[@jimfromoregonusa9899]

Very well done and very informative...thanks!

[@cliffjacobson2667]

Nice job, Pete! Best to you.

[@petermarshall7373]

Thanks Cliff - say a couple weeks ago I finally got up to do the Frost River Route. Came in from Sawbill - pretty spectacular and since it was April, had it all to myself. I see why it's your favorite!

[@DaveFredkove]

First off, I just wanted to say great job. Very articulate, nice pace and pleasant to listen to. Also, informative and enjoyable! Getting stoked for our next annual trip. Been going for 25 years. Gonna employ a few of your tips. Thanks 👍🏕️😊

[@spencer1854]

Appreciate the info very much!

[@davidlanghoff]

Great information. Thank you.

[@Joe-nu8ek]

Just returned from boundary water trip and wish I had watched this video before I went, I would agree with everything!

[@tho0505]

Great video, I watch this yearly before my BWCA trips for reminders. I'll hit 5x to the BWCA this summer

[@randyw9266]

Awesome video, thanks! Going first time this year, at 68 y.o.!

[@itomba]

My wife and I are going for the first time at 65 in September. Have you gone? How did it go?

[@randyw9266]

@@itomba It was awesome!! Rowed across about 10 different lakes in 3 days, beautiful weather, lots of wildlife (saw a moose and a bear), and beautiful campsites, including one on an island we had all to ourselves! Would highly recommend it!!

[@itomba]

@@randyw9266 Sounds excellent, we leave in a month, hoping it is not too cold for my wife.

[@dejavu666wampas9]

For anyone doing this at our age, spend 6 months slowly toughening up, so you can carry heavy packs and canoes. Otherwise, day two-three, you’ll not feel like getting up and enjoying the wilderness. It’ll take a couple of nights to get tired enough to sleep well. Expect it. Decaffeinate yourself. Day 2-3 will suck otherwise. Or bring coffee. Also, think about the Canadian Quetico National park, instead of BWCA. It’s harder to get permits, and harder to get to, but much more wild. Lots fewer people. Better fishing. Fewer rules regarding where to camp, NO outhouses. At least the last time we went, but it’s been a while.

[@stewstryker]

Excellent video with lots of great tips. #1 was spot-on for so many paddlers! I chuckled at #4 when I spotted that he's got a copy of "Fifty Shades of Grey" showing through the window of his Seal Line thwart bag! LOL!

[@Msellman25]

Ive had a lot of bwca trips. Many went perfectly, many were beautiful. I have had a few trips not go well, keeping in mind that anything can happen i have always carried the mantra "embrace the suck". Its amazing how this mantra can change your perspective when it starts to rain or break your fishing line. Any little setback i accept as a challenge.

[@avahon]

Great video!

[@FriendsOfTheBWCA]

Thank you!

[@davem3708]

Don't forget a camp chair. 2 pairs of shoes. Benadryl is also a big one

[@katyjean862]

Benadryl saved our last trip. I will never go without it!

[@kampkat6089]

😀Specifically:What types/brands of shoes do you use

[@patrickdobbels2342]

Silk long long johns are great too.

[@joelbrown3935]

Thanks Pete, glad to see you finally finished Lolita. What will be next on your reading list?

[@qwut9544]

I don’t keep my cheese cold. I like to bring a big block of Colby Jack and sometimes somer sausage. Both keep just fine at room temperature for more than a week. One tip is to keep it wrapped in a cloth of some sort. I use one of my bandannas.

[@chriswiseman]

Crocs, the ultimate warm weather canoe trip footwear. That’s all The footwear I bring. On the trails and into the canoe. Drys out fast and comfy and lightweight.

[@toby16custom]

Great tips, the only disagreement I have is the clothing advice in 18. Good clothing will enhance your experience more then almost any other gear. If you want to put some $ into something, hydration + clothing.

[@blackdogbite]

Excellent tips and advice. And most of this is applicable in other wilderness areas too obviously. I'll add a few (Blackdog's Dirty Thirteen) and I have a question for you Pete at the end. 1. Avoid cotton. At least have some non-cotton you can reach for if weather gets cooler or damp or wind comes up and you get chilly. When cotton is damp or wet, it will suck heat out if you and takes forever to dry. The more you get away from peak summer into shoulder seasons, the more important. Hypothermia can happen in the middle of the summer too! 2. Bring a first aid kit. You will not have access to medical help for days so be prepared. I would suggest that you don't just buy a premade crappy one but put some time and thought into it. A fantastic winter activity... Especially with kids. Get a Tupperware or little dry bag and start adding useful stuff of good quality.. not dollar store stuff. Ibuprofen, acetomenifen, triple antibiotic ointment, vitamin C packs, Immodium! (Look it up kids), big band aids, little band aids, butterfly strips, alcohol wipes, hydrogen peroxide, an ace bandage, big gauze bandages and self-stick medical tape, tweezers, cold pack, extra female products if needed, stuff for beestings... Check if anyone in the group is allergic, poison ivy care products... I like Domebro., Alergy meds, benedryl. 3. Think about signal flares and air horn 4. Plenty of line. (Nautical types use the term line instead of rope....la dee da!) you will need a lot of line for tarps...and other stuff around camp. Especially if some trees are kind of far away from where the tarp needs that last anchor or two. Don't cheap out. 550 Paracord at least. When wind picks up and if it rains and the tarp starts to collect water, thin guy lines will just snap. 4. Even if there are not bears in the area, hang your food, shampoos and toothpaste stuff up in a tree at night. Racoons and even mice will do a number on your food and chew holes in your nice dry sacks. If there are bears, well, then you REALLY have another level of seriousness. Use the PCT method of hauling food bag into a tree, look it up here. And you will need a much stouter line than you think. Both because that big sack of food is heavy and you are running the line over a tree branch so friction becomes considerable. 1/4" or 7mm climbing-type line at least. 3/8"/10mm better. 5. Shoulder seasons means little to no BUGS! 6. Research THERMACELL products like the Backpacker for relief from massive mosquito events at camp. 7. Small twig burning stoves are efficient and good for one or two people. With a larger group comes larger pots and more heat requirements and ability to get meals on the table fast. There are many very small and lightweight butane backpacking stoves that can support large pans, have very high heat output... The best will also function well at a simmer. Butane is good in good weather. As you approach freezing and go below that, butane will not vaporize and burn correctly. You will need either propane or Coleman gas stoves. Tip: if your butane canister stove does not bolt right onto the top of the canister....of it is connected to the fuel with a hose or fuel line, you can turn the fuel canister upside down in colder weather and "liquid feed" the stove...this will get you more functionality and heat output as the temperature drops. These types of stoves also tend to be more stable ... especially with larger pots. 8. Forget the big axe. For firewood a good bow saw is much better than even a hatchet... And much less dangerous than hatchets... Especially with non-experienced folks. An axe or hatchet gash wound is not only dangerous and debilitating but it's a trip-stopper. The Boreal 21 from Agawam is a FANTASTIC totally collapsible and ergonomic bow saw for firewood. 9. Have at least two methods of making fire. Bic lighters are good but won't function well when they are soaked, when it's windy or when temp approaches freezing. "Storm matches" in a waterproof container are good. Take both. And more. 10. There is indeed an amazing, and often expensive, array of outdoor products that all seem so cool and necessary. While Pete is right that much of this is not needed ..... Many generations did well out there without ANY of this stuff.... They can be very useful or make your experience enjoyable. If you find you are enjoying canoeing, kayaking and hiking, you may consider upgrading gear slowly.. getting some new good dry bags this year, and a backpacker stove next year, and a high quality sleeping pad the next year. Keep an eye out for sales at Sierra. 11. If you're going to get a knife , make it a good one. That doesn't necessarily mean expensive. Morakniv Companion is a fantastic fixed blade knife, available in stainless or carbon steel, for well under $20. An astonishing value and a very well-received and comfortable tool. Be careful about cheaper folding knives. If that lock doesn't hold, they fold... And that generally means stitches... And a trip-stopper. Learn how to properly sharpen your knives. 12. Snacks are good! Have each person in a family get their own snack bag at their feet. Pick out options for all the kids and let them each assemble their favorites in their own bag. The two gallon Ziploc work well, and smaller ziplocs for individual items inside that. 13. Speaking of Ziplocs.....any prepackaged food like Mac and Cheese or RiceA Roni... should be taken out of all it's cardboard and plastic, and put into Ziploc FREEZER bags. Cut the directions for cooking with a scissors and put only that in the Ziploc along with the food. Lastly Pete..... What do you recommend for pants and foot wear when it's April/May..... And September/October? If you are in and out of the water frequently for portaging or lining.... Are your feet soaked all day and what about tread/traction? Thanks

[@petermarshall7373]

Not going to lie...I'm going to steal a lot fo these ideas. Full disclosure - I'm really bad at selecting the right footwear. Somehow I always get it wrong and have the trenchfoot scars to prove it. That being said, I've settled on what I started out with as a teenager - well mink-oiled pair of leather boots and wool socks. The wool is a miracle fiber that keeps your feet warm when they are wet. and leather workboots give me the support my aging ankles need. Hate wet feet? Double up with a Tingly overboot and you should be set to go. As far as pants go, I would recomend any nylon pant with long undies underneath. Rain pants of course in case of rain. Happy trails!

[@jeremyb2880]

where do I get a big wall map like the one you have in the video?

[@FriendsOfTheBWCA]

We specially ordered it from Fisher Map company - call them up, they can probably get you one too - www.fishermaps.com/

[@Dakinehaole007]

Slowing down while merging on a Hwy. or kissing your sister...you just don't do it...HILARIOUS!!! I already love this video!

[@randyw9266]

@Darian Emerson don't care

[@WillieMakeit]

yeah I subbed up when he said that

[@fredluden2298]

Bring one or two smaller ratchet straps. I use them all the time since I decided to bring them

[@natecutting-educationallea5452]

Can you please drop a URL for a PDF of that map? Thanks!

[@Bluecat2525]

Thanks Pete. My daughter is going to do a very long trip this summer with a group in the Boundary Waters. I want to mentally prepare her for any insects she might encounter. How bad do they get (mid June to early August)? Any bug clothing, etc., recommendations are appreciated.

[@petermarshall7373]

It really depends ... the best thing to do is prepare for the worst! She should pick up a bug jacket - which people use on trips to the arctic, where the bugs are a whole other level. Though I don't use bug juice/ repellent, it does serve a purpose so send her a long with some Jungle Juice, which is 99% deet - toxic, yes, but wildly effective. As a dad I know how corny this will sound to a teenager's ears but...enjoy the bugs! They're part of the experience and something you'll never encounter in the comforts of civilization!

[@Bluecat2525]

​@@petermarshall7373 Thank you for your advice. "enjoy the bugs!" She's gonna love that one.

[@g.private9101]

Serious question, has anyone had any Bigfoot sightings in the BWCA?

[@theboyisnotright6312]

I've heard of it. I've never seen or heard anything personally.

[@michaelkramer1774]

we would always have each person choose there own main entree freeze it we would keep it cold and have it for the first nights supper

[@johnswanson3741]

My dad would say that you need to learn to deal with the "Elements". Mental attitude means a lot when things are not favorable.

[@mattlucas7407]

Peanut butter with Mac Cheese, how dare you sir!

[@patrickdobbels2342]

You can't beat a head of cabbage on a long trip.

[@robelliott4985]

P Marsh!!!!