Boundary Waters | Canoeing Minnesota’s Northwoods | Full Documentary

A 7 day canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) of Northern Minnesota! We are paddling the far west side of the park, about an hour outside Ely, MN. Our put-in is at Moose/Portage River (Entry Point 16).
Here is our route (EP 16 Moose/Portage River North - 18 portages): Moose River, Nina Moose Lake, Nina Moose River, Lake Agnus, Boulder River, Lac La Croix, Pocket Creek, Ge-be-on-e-quet Creek, Ge-be-on-e-quet Lake, Green Lake, Rocky Lake, Oyster Lake, Oyster River, Nina Moose River, Nina Moose Lake, Moose River.
Trip Date: September 1 - September 8, 2023
If you want to support me with a one-time donation to keep making more independent content, feel free to Buy Me A Coffee! buymeacoffee.com/beyondthetreeline
Drone Disclaimer: all drone footage was taken legally outside wilderness area boundaries. I will sometimes take creative liberties to add drone footage throughout the video for shot diversity, but all footage was captured legally.
#beyondthetreeline #bwca #boundarywaters #minnesota #canoeing #paddling #wilderness #camping #backpacking #fishing #moose #river #lake #northstar #novacraft

[@donspringer8222]

Best vacations spent with my sons. I recognize some of the camp sites. Nice trip!

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

That’s amazing! I got to take my dad up for the first time last year and it was such a great time. Lots of good memories come each trip up there! Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@williammartens1776]

Some of the only true wilderness left in the Midwest. Currently planning a trip here myself. Awesome

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

Indeed. It’s a very special place. I hope it stays that way forever! Do you have a route or entry point in mind? You got me thinking I need to start planning my next trip up there!

[@williammartens1776]

@@Beyond_The_Treeline I was thinking maybe 55? I'm an astrophotographer and that area is a bortle 1 sky. No light pollution at all!

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

@@williammartens1776 nice! That’s Saganaga right? I bet you get incredible photos in the BWCA! It’s some of the best stars I’ve ever seen.

[@arekay402]

these guys all high asf enjoying camping time w the bros im here for it

[@Bucksenator]

I love it lol

[@puddlejumper-sk]

Great little trip! You captured the serenity really well. Really liked the cocktails, will have to give it a try on my next trip. Cheers!🥃🥃

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

Thanks! That’s a great complement! So glad you enjoyed it. Yea the cocktails were fun! I had never done them on a trip before, but definitely a fun way to end the day.

[@iCanoe_]

Looks like another great trip. Always a joy to see the big wildlife! Cheers.

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

Thank man! Me too! That moose was a great surprise!

[@hannahwoldumragusa4291]

Thank you for sharing. It seemed like summer when you started out and fall when you returned back.

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

Thank you for watching! I’m glad you enjoyed it. It definitely felt that way! It was so unusually hot for September when we left but that cold front really changed things. And I was surprised by the colours we did get in the leaves. It was a beautiful time!

[@decoeric]

Great video! The BWCA is really the crown jewel of Minnesota. I am lucky it is only a couple hour drive for me.

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

Thanks! It truly is amazing. I can’t say I’m not a bit jealous you live that close 😊 Do you get up there very often?

[@decoeric]

@@Beyond_The_Treeline Yes! multiple times a year. We love to day trip and just get out on the water and paddle around, fish and just relax. For longer trips we love to go in at Sawbill, that area is beautiful. If you haven't give that one a try next time there are a couple really nice loops out of there.

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

@@decoeric that’s amazing! I have family in the Twin Cities so I get up to MN several times a year and to the BW at least once a year. If I’m lucky twice. Would absolutely love to live closer! Sawbill is beautiful! I did a May trip last year from Sawbill up through Cherokee and Long Island, out to Winchell, down to Brule, and back to Sawbill. Absolutely gorgeous. I love how you get a little of everything off Sawbill - rivers, small lakes, big lakes, etc. On my list for the future is doing the Louse River. But this fall I’m hoping to do a loop off of Poplar. I’ve done several trips off the Gunflint but not explored much of the eastern side south of the gunflint. Any recommendations for that or other routes I should do in the future? You have any trips planned so far for this year?

[@decoeric]

@@Beyond_The_Treeline HA, I am a creature of habit. I pretty much do the same old same old up there. Sawbill up to Cherokee, or over to grace or over to burnt. I am not very original. This year we just bought a little teardrop style camper, so we are going to spend a lot of time investigating the Superior National Forest campsites, especially the ones that butt up to the BWCA. So more day trips over for us this year. We will do a late season run out of Sawbill. I love going that first weekend in October when there are no quotas and you can just go. The weather can be cold, but we have done a trip leaving Friday and coming back Sunday and didn't see another person, plus no bugs! I am sure you have seen them, but one of our favorite things are the Pictographs on South Hegman out of the Ely area. That is a lovely day trip for us and I love the hegman chain. I would love to paddle Whale Lake near Eagle mountain but I can't find a good way in there other then a REALLY long portage which I am not sure I am up for. :-) Next time your in the TC reach out, will buy you a beer. Would love to hear more about your adventures!

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

@@decoeric sounds fantastic! That’s actually something I’d love to do if I lived closer is exploring the campgrounds and “off the beaten path” parts of the Superior National Forest. So have fun with that camper and let me know if you find any good gems! Oh that’s sweet! I’ve done one first week of October trip and absolutely loved it for all the reasons you just mentioned. That’s actually the timeline I’m thinking this year. Still haven’t locked anything in, but if I’m up that way we should definitely grab a drink at TC! I’d love to connect! I’ll have to check out some of those areas you’re talking about. Honestly I haven’t really explored any of the pictographs in the area and I really need to. And for the current, very rough plan, I’m thinking about coming up that first weekend of October and paddling that second week. So probably get up there on the 5th and head in on the 6th. I’d probably get out on the 11th would be my guess. So if timing works out for both us, we should definitely meet up!

[@edwardenglish6919]

It is nice to be young and strong on those portages. The Spirit of MacKenzie looked like a beast.

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

For sure! Yea she’s definitely not a lightweight haha 😂 Weighs about 85lbs. Great for river tripping and can take a beating well if it’s rocky, but a little gnarly on those portages haha.

[@adjustmode]

been taking fall solo trips for years including this area. fun to relive these exact same spots

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

Nice! I’ve been meaning to take a solo trip up to the BWCA. It’s a great place for that. I do the same thing. So fun to relive trips through other people’s videos! Thanks for watching!

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

Thanks for sharing your experience. You did a great job with natural audio, something most videos ignore, but so much of the wilderness experience…especially the birds, the wind and sounds of camp. We’ve canoed much of the BWCAW and a bit of the Quetico. We took your same trip in reverse in the ’80’s starting with Nina-Moose…I think we skipped that portage too…😅 Many interactions with moose over the years…and occasionally bear. I’m surprised you didn’t visit and photograph the pictographs on Lac La Croix.

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

Thank you so much for watching along! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thank you! I try to allow the sounds of nature to carry as much as I can. That’s a good portion of the experience while out there and I want to be able to capture as much of that as possible. I actually recently invested in some better audio equipment, so hopefully I can capture more of that in the future 😊 That’s great! The area is so beautiful. The BWCA is definitely a place I return to a lot. I’ve been wanting to make it up to Quetico. I’ll have to make it up there soon. Any recommendations for routes in Quetico? I’ve been looking into the Falls Chain a lot recently. Always up for suggestions! Haha skipping the portage definitely allowed for some good views and memories! That was my first bull moose to see in the BWCA. Very cool coming across them while paddling! I hope to see more. Ah the pictographs! Yea I totally meant to go looking for those and then forgot when we were out there. I’m pretty sure there are some on Rocky Lake too, so I missed them all haha. Next time I’ll have to be on the lookout more closely! Thanks for commenting! I always love connecting with others who are passionate about wilderness.

[@Rollinghillsfarmsmn]

⁠​⁠@@Beyond_The_Treelineunfortunately my Quetico experience is limited to border areas like Saganagons in from Saganaga at end of Gunflint. My brother has explored more, as well as Woodland Caribou Provincial Park which he prefers. Pictographs are ethereal. Spooky to sit in a canoe and put your hand on a 10 thousand year old red hand painted on rock. Go back. Publish more. Leave the can home😉.

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

@@Rollinghillsfarmsmn gotcha. Well if I make it up to Quetico, you’ll see a video about it for sure. Yea I’ll have to go back and look for the pictographs for sure. That sounds incredible! Thanks, will do! Yea, it totally slipped my mind about the can. I was so focused on not bringing glass that I totally forgot that cans weren’t allowed either 😬 Note for the future!

[@davidbangerter]

Wonderful video.. I have done well over 100 trips to the BWCAW. the grass you were canoeing through on the Moose River and Nina Moose River is wild rice. I guided a group on the very same route you took a number of years ago in June when the water levels were high and the mosquito count was high was well. I did take the 160 rod portage from the Oyster River in to Agnes however.

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! Wow that’s incredible! The BWCA really never gets old. It’s such a special place. Ah wild rice, that makes sense! Yea the bugs in June are no joke! I did a trip in June a few years back out to Little Sag and the noise of the mosquitoes coming out of the woods at sunset is something I won’t easily forget haha. That portage probably would have saved us a lot of time haha, but it made for some good memories. Plus, paddling through that wild rice were some of my favorite views! Thanks for the comment!

[@mccluskeyp]

Drones are prohibited in the BWCA. I think you can use them in the rest of SNF, but they are absolutely banned in the BWCA.

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

Yea completely aware of the laws for drones. No shots were taken in the BWCA, all in the SNF and I don’t even take the drone into the BWCA. I just take creative liberty for storytelling to intersperse the shots throughout the video. But I put that disclaimer in the description for anyone who’s curious :) Thanks for checking though!

[@conniewaite1371]

Excellent!

[@KyleOfTheNorth]

I need to get back up there 😭Nice vid boys

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

It’s a special place for sure. I hope you get back up there soon! Thanks for watching!

[@thesupercooladventureshow6080]

In regards to the "Gin Fizz"... Should of did a dry shake before adding the club soda. Could of added egg whites during the dry shake and save the yokes to mix with dinner..

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

Oh great idea! I’m no professional bar tender, so always appreciate a good tip for mixing. I’ve been meaning to bring eggs along sometime on these trips, so I’ll have to try the egg white thing. I’ve heard it adds a lot to the drink!

[@ronhargis9562]

Wow, I looked up on map, lake Agnes, Minn..you almost had me,, lol

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

Haha what lake Agnes were you thinking?

[@CheerfulGarterSnake-om8rp]

Get some good REEFER fir good health and enjoy a trip.

[@golfish8589]

I highly suggest a kayak paddle made by Werner. And put some weight in the nose of the canoe. 15ft solo canoes are too slow. I have actually done 5 solo trips in a 20'3" wenonah mn3. I ourchased a prism solo last year .. a good canoe but it keeps you in your toes. I will be trying a 18.5 minnesota 2 canoe as a solo next spring. Outfitters will sell some very nice lightweight paddles and canoes at the end of the season starting in August.. Its amaving how a moose can take a step into the woods and disappear. For spring and summer drops i recommende a Eureka bug free zone tarp. Get the large 12x12

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

You know, I’ve seen people with the kayak paddles. Never tried them in a canoe before. I could see them being useful when soloing, but I just love the way a traditional paddle feels and the uniformity it creates when you start perfecting certain strokes. But I might have to give a kayak paddle a try someday, especially for big water. Yea my 15ft is definitely slower. She’s more of my river tripper. I can maneuver it super fast which is nice, but soloing it on a lake is slow moving. Wow! 20ft is a lot of boat for one person haha. But I bet when you’re in the rhythm you’re just cruising! So that’s how I got my Northstar canoe, through an outfitter in Ely. It’s such a great way to buy! I think that’s the only way I’ll buy boats from now on. You can find some really lightly used ones too. I’ve heard the prisms are nice boats. I’ve not spent much time with Wenonahs, but I almost bought Northstar’s Northwind solo instead of the 17. I love the idea of having a solo boat but couldn’t justify the idea of not having the flexibility of either another person or more storage. Since you’ve paddled so many, what’s your take on the solo vs the 2-3 person canoes? Oh the moose was incredible! It is wild how they are so quiet and just blend in. And he totally just disappeared with a few steps. I was really thankful to see him. Ok, I’ve been wanting to look into some kind of bug net / tarp combo. Is that what this is? I’ll definitely check it out! Thanks for all the tips and for having a conversation! I love connecting with people about this stuff. What trips do you have planned this year?

[@KyleAnderson-bv7qf]

Enjoyed watching your adventure in the BWCA. Beings you were going in on a Friday before Labor Day weekend I figured you would have a lot of traffic from other canoers on a holiday weekend. Looked like you were alone, and campsites were pretty open?? I plan on going the same week over Labor Day weekend in 2024. What did the temperatures get down to at night? Thanks for sharing!

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

Hey thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it. Yea good question. It was fairly open. I’ve done the BWCA that Labor Day week a couple times now and I just try to plan a more remote route. We definitely passed a few groups around the entry point going in and coming out, but for the most part once we got to Lake Agnus and the route options really branched off, we really didn’t see many people. Just the occasional occupied campsite that we’d pass. So from my experience I’d just say to plan something that allows you get get further out from the high traffic entry points and you should be good. For temperatures, that week this year started out really warm during the days and the first couple of nights were in the 50Fs. As the week went on we were in the low to mid 40Fs at night. 40Fs at night is usually the temps I’ve dealt with up there that time of year. If you have any other questions let me know!

[@nimodafish7653]

Wow! Awesome video, great channel too! I'm planning a 2 week long canoeing trip to the BWCA this summer, I was wondering if i could contact you privately for some questions i had if its not too much trouble.

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

Hey thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! That’s amazing, you’ll have a blast! Totally, I’d be happy to connect more about it. Shoot me an email at [e-mail] and we can chat more. Looking forward to connecting!

[@collinhassing]

It was way too hot up there that weekend. How was it paddling that NW17 solo? I have one but its kinda a beast to paddle solo, I suppose if you trim it better it might be easier.

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

It sure was! I’ve been up there many times in September and did not see that coming haha. The NW17 was definitely a challenge at first to solo. Kneeling was the trick for me and that helped a lot. But I bet you’re right on trimming. I need to play with it more because I mostly just kept my packs up front, which helped a lot in the wind. But I should move stuff around and see how it changes. Good idea! I’ll play with that next time I’m soloing it.

[@Patrick-yh6vr]

What camera did you use for this? The quality is great!

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

Thanks! I really appreciate that! Glad the quality comes through. Actually it’s funny, but almost all my filming was done on a GoPro Hero 9. I’ve played with the settings a lot to try and make it not feel like an action camera. But the GoPro is just so convenient for water activities since it’s water proof. I do however have my eye on a Panasonic Lumix FZ300. They seem pretty great for this stuff too and I could get more up close zoom shots and stuff. I’ve had a Canon T3i Rebel for awhile too. So there are some shots from that in my videos, but I’m replacing that with the FZ300 because the quality isn’t that great and the stabilization is terrible.

[@kevinbrooks1104]

As a guy who has seen nothing but concrete and cinder blocks. I wonder if I could last a nite in the wilds of Minnesota. The shade of green is brilliant, I have to say that is some country. You and your boys are lucky

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

It is an absolutely beautiful state! Glad you enjoyed living vicariously. Well if you ever want to get out there let me know and I can give you some recommendations. Would highly recommend. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@golfish8589]

Call Mark at Anderson Outfitters in Crane Lake MN. He will get you everything you need and take you on a 2 hour /35mph boat ride and drop you off on the edge of the BWCA. On Lac La Croix. You can be dropped off anywhere a long the lake. If you are up for a portage. You can be dropped off at Bottle Portage. Hike into Iron lake. There are two big waterfalls you can visit. Or you can do a 15 minute paddle to the first campsite or paddle all day. Set up camp and relax. If you want good food for 5 days. Bring a cooler and ice. Bring a pair of shoes to get wet. And a dry pair for in camp Good rain gear. If Anderson outfitters doesn't have one get a Eureka bug free zone tarp/screen. If you go in June the mosquitoes will be intense at sunrise and sunset. The loons will call every evening at sunset. The bugs will go away about 45 min after sunset. You can make it as easy or as difficult as you want. You can rent a satalite phone or get an sos device. Let me know if you have any question. "Just do it" And bring a friend

[@user-wz2fv6kx5o]

Cans and bottles are NOT allowed in the Boundary Waters.

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

Yea my bad on the can. I totally knew that but it completely slipped my mind when I was packing that club soda. I’m a big stickler for LNT so you better believe we brought it all out and then some :)

[@user-wz2fv6kx5o]

So glad. Thanks! I've been tripping now for 40 years, so loving your videos.@@Beyond_The_Treeline

[@Beyond_The_Treeline]

@@user-wz2fv6kx5o well thanks! I bet you have some incredible stories! I love being able to share stories with others who love wilderness as much as I do. Do you spend a lot of time in the BWCA?