It takes a lifetime to find
The life like the life you had in mind
– Trampled by Turtles

We all awoke early on our last day, even our birthday girl. When we were putting together this plan there was a happy coincidence that we’d be waking up on Beth Lake on Beth’s actual birthday, and now the day had arrived, and soon the end of our voyage would be upon us.

The morning started out sunny and clear but quickly clouded over, covering the landscape in a shade of dull grey. We hoped for light winds as we packed up camp as one of the lakes we would be traversing was quite large (Alton Lake). The last thing we wanted for our final goodbye to the BWCA was to fight for hours against difficult waves. However, the weather gods smiled upon us, and although we had some wind on Beth Lake, the crossing of Alton was smooth.

Before we arrived at Alton we had one final portage to tackle. The day prior Mike and I had spent some time playing with compasses and maps to test our skills (we had Gaia GPS maps that we were mostly using). As we sat in the kitchen of the campsite we eyed various trees across the lake, and used our wayfinding tools to determine what landmark we should aim for in the morning. Beth lake was almost a mile across, but we still felt like we were aiming in the right general vicinity. Yet as we discovered, despite our aim being true, there was a jutting of land that blocked our ability to see the actual entrance to the portage. At least we were heading in the right direction!

Going around this area was simple and didn’t cost any extra time, just a little disappointment than we weren’t able to fully sight our final landmark. Thoughts of compasses soon passed as we tackled the second to last portage of the trip. This one was around a half a mile, but thankfully the terrain wasn’t terribly difficult. It was a relatively quick journey to the other side where we set in for a 2 mile paddle to our final short portage to Sawbill Lake.

Finishing a journey such as this brings a mix of emotions. The idea of leaving the previous days of simplicity, basking in the natural world, fought inside me with the feeling of accomplishment of completing a journey. Seeing a finish line inspires confidence and determination to drive hard to the end and collect the prize of endorphins for a job well done. I wanted to savor that feeling of satisfaction. We just transported ourselves through an untamed wilderness for 4 days with only a canoe, and the supplies on our back. No cell signal or YouTube videos. Just each other and our years of experience being outdoors. We were legitimately proud of how we tackled our first time in the BWCA, and we were excited to experience the comforts of modern life that were waiting for us at the end of the trail.

As we paddled north, lengthwise along the shore of Alton Lake, I took the time to look around. Sure enough there were some more loons waiting for us to stir up their breakfast. There were small, rocky, mini-islands that supported stubborn White Pine trees that didn’t know any better but to continue growing upwards, having already claimed every square inch of the tiny ground beneath them. And then there were the people…

The closer we got to our final portage, the more and more people we saw starting or completing their own journeys. A tiny 0.1 mile foot path between Alton and Sawbill lake was all that awaited us, but first we encountered a traffic jam. As we approached the landing the final inbound canoes had started their crossing, but a new canoe had appeared on their outbound leg. You could tell that they were just getting going on their trip as they were disorganized and shuffling things around multiple times before committing to launching into the lake. It made me appreciate how quickly we had developed our systems and how efficient we had become at our landings and departures.

While we waited we spotted a giant snapping turtle off towards the shore in the shallow water. She too was patiently waiting for us to move a bit further away so that she could continue on her journey further into the lake. The traffic jam wasn’t just for humans.

As the final canoe left the landing we approached and quickly unloaded our bags and moved our belongings out of the way. This tiny portage was the easiest one we had encountered yet. It was twice the width of every other path we had been on, and it was perfectly straight. In fact you could see the landing on the opposite side from where we put in. Because the portage was so short my wife (and Beth) offered to carry the canoes and Mike and I grabbed both bags at the same time. This meant that we were at the opposite end in about 5 minutes ready to hit our final lake. But of course, there was another traffic jam….

When we mentioned to an experienced BWCA person that we were doing our route in June they replied, “You’re going to deal with bugs and Boy Scouts.” Despite still needing to use a fair bit of bug spray, it was obvious that on our final day the Boy Scouts were going to be the bigger obstacle. As we waited for multiple boats, filled with young men seeking adventure, to clear from our launching point, we checked our maps one final time to confirm our heading for this last paddle. We stepped into the water, carefully placed ourselves into our canoe seats one last time, and turned to the south towards the final landing of the day.

And just like that, before we knew it, we had arrived. We pulled up to the Sawbill dock and disembarked for one last time. Mike and I got to experience one final portage to bring the canoes back up to the rental return. Thankfully we didn’t need to carry backpacks this time, which was a nice treat. We headed inside to finalize our rental transaction and just like that the adventure was summed up in two credit card receipts… $300 per couple for four days of adventure in a place mostly untouched by civilization.

Beth graciously purchased us a key to one of the shower buildings and within moments we were all standing in our little cubicles washing away the stain of dirt and sweat that had become one with our skin in the previous week. We luxuriated as long as we dared before putting on nice clean clothes, and heading back to the gift shop for one last memento to remember our time. For me, that was a BWCA cribbage board and a sticker of our entry point number.

As we walked around the outfitter grounds my wife made the comment, “It’s so loud here.” We had just encountered true remoteness, not silent by any means as the birds and squirrels made sure to make their presence known. But it was quiet to the sounds of our day-to-day lives, the sounds of engines and random voices nearby. Now we had returned, and abruptly discovered that everything was still as it was when we left, both a relief for the comforts of modernity, and sadness for leaving behind the peace and tranquility of a truly wild space.

Our journey home was uneventful, stopping for lunch in Duluth before going our separate ways. We arrived home and started the process of unpacking and cleaning all of our gear for our next outing. Dishes were washed, clothes were laundered, and one more shower was taken… for good measure.

Beth read a study recently that when a couple goes on an adventure together they strengthen their bond with each other. When two couples go on a trip together that bond strengthens even more. Coming home from an adventure such as this makes me content and pleased that I’ve reached a point in my life where I know, and like, who I am and what I’m about, More importantly, I’ve found a partner to share that life with.

Experiencing something like the BWCA is a gateway to contemplation for me. Thinking more inwardly about how I relate to the world, and examining the outward ramifications of our existence here in this life. I would never say that a single trip or adventure was “life changing”, that’s a rather cliche way to categorize things. However, this adventure filled a space inside my soul that didn’t know it needed to be filled. For that I am grateful, and I’m excited to consider what other adventure awaits, and what new spaces inside me will be filled as I continue to grow and become more and more of who I am.