The Wilderness Experience
Countless numbers of people have tried to explain the majesty of the wilderness, through accounts, poetry, and pictures. No matter how different the experiences or depictions, there is always a common tone, a common love and awe that comes through their work. In this section I have included quotes from both authors and wilderness explorers who have been moved by their experiences.
“Up North is a certain way the wind feels on your face and the way an old wool shirt feels on your back. It’s the peace that comes over you when you sit down to read one of your old trip journals, or the anticipation that bubbles inside when you start sorting through your tackle box in the early spring.
Up north is the smell of the Duluth pack hanging in your basement and the sound of pots clinking across the lake. It’s a raindrop clinging to a pine needle and the dancing light of a campfire on the faces of friends.
Up north is a lone set of cross-country ski tracks across a wilderness lake and wood smoke rising from a cabin chimney. It’s bunchberries in June, blueberries in July and wild rice in September.
Each of us has an up north. It’s a time and place far from the here and now. It’s a map on the wall, a dream in the making, a tugging at one’s soul. For those who feel the tug, who make the dream happen, who put the map in the packsack and go, the world is never quite the same again.
We have been Up North. And part of us always will be.”
-Sam Cook as quoted from his book "Up North."
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An account of paddling
“When I first started paddling I lifted my paddle high out of the water, pulled with my lower arm instead of using it as a pivot and did not feather the blade. Art gave us some pointers. I was in the bow; he, of course was in the stern the entire trip. He emphasized to me the importance of a bow paddler who could pull the canoe one way or the other to avoid rocks. The stern paddler just follows the actions of the bow paddler, since he is better able to see the hazards ahead. I felt very important.
As I went down the first set of rapids I reached for one side and then the other, but in my anxiety to react I never wet the paddle. By the time I reached to avoid a rock in one direction there seemed to be a rock on the opposite side, and I’d swing toward that one.”
-Justine Kerfoot from "Woman of the Boundary Waters" p.4-5
We traveled slowly and observed the wildlife along the shore. We looked at beaver houses and marveled at their construction, stopped for a leisurely lunch, listened to the call of the loon, and “soaked up” the beauty of this remote waterway. Like the Indians, we followed the shoreline closely and observed everything: a beaver chewing quietly on a poplar twig: a blue heron standing motionless hoping to be unobserved; a kingfisher perched on an overhanging limb; dropping on a rock left by an otter.
- Justine Kerfoot from "Woman of the Boundary Waters" p. 6
“To my tundra sisters,
We have spent the past 57 days together, and the past 55 on the trail. We have been through a lot together. Don’t ever forget what we have seen and experienced – the thick forests, rolling tundra, raging whitewater, still calm water, the wildlife, and the unique Inuit culture. Never forget the way you felt. Never forget the laughter, the struggles, the pain, the tears, the happiness, and the awe. This certainly has been an incredible trip. I believe in each of you and love you all very much.”
Katie – reflecting on her canoeing trip through Canada.
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“We went down river some more and were mid-rapid set when Leah saw a “ghetto-booty” making its way away from the shore. We all pulled over on a beach river left to regroup and look at the prints of a bear and caribou when our furry friend reappeared on shore river right. We all looked at him in the binoculars when we realized that he was watching us too. We shipped out the flare gun and shot it. Some of us stood around and dried ammunition while others watched the bear swim across the river. Then disappeared. Some polar bear facts we learned today: they can run up to 30 mph and swim up to 8 mph. They can dive and hunt seal and beluga whale, holding their breath under water for minutes. And finally that humans and polar bears are the only two animals known to hunt for pleasure.”
Day 39 as written by Rachel.
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But I don’t want to leave. I’ll always remember this place and long for it a little. Islands of gold and green, the wind in great branches, an owl’s all in the rainy dusk, the scent of our wood smoke drifting across the moonlight. It will be like a lost kingdom.
Florence Jaques from "Canoe Country." p.78
Works Cited
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