What We Carry Home from the Boundary Waters

This story was originally published on Osprey as Osprey’s Boundary Waters story in partnership with Big City Mountaineers. Please click here for the full article.

In Minnesota’s Boundary Waters, a group of young people discovered that a first outdoor experience can open the door to confidence, connection, and possibility.

By the time Allen saw his first meteor, the rest of the group had already seen several.

Beside a campsite in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters, five young people lay with their heads together on a log. Back home in Minneapolis, some said they might see only two stars at night. Here, the sky was startlingly full.

Each time a meteor crossed the sky, someone gasped. Everyone saw one except Allen. No one wanted him to miss it, so the group decided to stay until he did. Then a streak with a long, bright tail cut across the darkness.

“Wow!” Allen shouted.

It was one first among many during a four-day canoe expedition with Osprey, Community of Peace Academy, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and Friends of the Boundary Waters. The moment captured something essential about the Boundary Waters: it invites people to slow down, pay attention, and make sure no one is left behind.

At the put-in, the students carried a mix of excitement and apprehension. Most had never taken a canoe trip, and several had never camped outside. When they saw the packs, they wondered whether they really had to carry all of that.

The mood shifted as soon as the canoes left shore. Moving toward the first lake, a loon and her baby glided close to one canoe. The students saw the adult’s bright red eyes as the birds followed them silently for a short time. Soon there was a turtle, then a bald eagle. They were struck by how much wildlife surrounded them, just minutes into the adventure.

The landscape required a new kind of attention. On the first day, the group struggled to identify its campsite. By the end, the students were reading the shoreline and translating the flat lines on a map into the world around them – without GPS.

“At the beginning of the trip, one student said he would get lost using google maps. A few days later he was our navigator for the day and confidently telling us where to go.” 

Travel in the Boundary Waters is built around partnership. Each canoe needs two paddlers, and moving everything across a portage takes a shared effort. The first portage made that lesson real. The packs were heavy, and a canoe can weigh about 65 pounds. Ethan looked at one and told instructor Sav there was no way he could carry it.

“Let’s just try,” she encouraged him.

He did. At the second portage, Sav offered to take over if he did not want another turn.

“No, no, no,” he replied. “I want to do this.”

The weight of the canoe had not changed. Ethan’s understanding of himself had.

Nearby, Hazel worked to shoulder a heavy pack as Stephanie cheered: “We believe in you. You can do this!” Hazel kept going. “I’m going to finish it,” she said, “but this is really hard.”

Other firsts arrived through joy. Karbyn caught his first fish on his first cast. Kevin fell in love with canoeing. “I didn’t know I loved this,” he said, “and I love it so much.”

“It was one of my best experiences I’ve lived to see. Canoeing was super fun, and seeing the stars was great.” 

For Stephanie, the water offered another discovery. She had not known how to swim before the trip, yet she was one of the first to ask to wade in. Soon she was splashing with Hazel and venturing farther into the designated swimming area.

When Stephanie confided that she missed her mom, Sav reminded her that time away can become a chance to collect stories for the people waiting at home. “My mom would really like it here,” Stephanie said.

The Boundary Waters gave the group room to choose its own adventure. After a hard day, there was time to fish, swim, paint, explore, or rest. On the final day, efficient travel left an unexpected afternoon for swimming and a sunset paddle around two islands.

The students also began anticipating what the group needed. On one island, Sav heard Kevin remind the others not to wander beyond hearing distance. A skill the group had discussed had become something he could use to care for others.

For Sav, that widening sense of possibility is personal. She grew up in Tampa and did not learn that outdoor education could be a career until she was 26. As a Latina instructor, she values helping young people who share parts of her background feel welcome outdoors.

One student asked how Sav found this work and what he would need to do if he wanted a job like hers. The trip had introduced him to canoeing, camping, portaging, and a sky crowded with stars. It had also expanded his idea of what might be possible.

At the end, one student reflected, “I learned how to persevere through hardships.” That learning grew through carrying a pack, encouraging a friend, trying again, and waiting together until everyone had seen a meteor.

First experiences matter because people cannot love, protect, pursue, or return to something they have never had the opportunity to know. In the Boundary Waters, these young people found new strengths, new ways to support one another, and a new relationship with the natural world.

And when the next meteor appeared, they were all there to see it.

We would like to acknowledge Osprey for their long-term support of Big City Mountaineers programs across the country.