Nine Scouts, seven adult advisors, two crews, one incredible adventure. This summer, Troop 396 headed to Northern Tier High Adventure Base to paddle the Boundary Waters — over a million acres of interconnected lakes and rivers straddling the Minnesota/Canada border, and one of the most iconic wilderness canoe destinations in the country.
This wasn’t a car campout. Our crews loaded every ounce of gear and food for the week into their canoes and paddled more than 50 miles over 6 days and 5 nights, camping on remote lake shores each night. One day alone brought 11 portages — unloading canoes completely, then carrying gear and boats overland to the next lake. It’s as much a physical challenge as it is a wilderness experience, and our Scouts rose to it.
The trip almost didn’t happen. Wildfires in late July and early August threw the whole season into question, but the waters reopened just in time — and our crews were among the very first back out on the water. We caught great weather all week, with just one rain day to build a little character.
Huge congratulations to our Scouts and advisors for pushing through 50+ miles of wilderness paddling and portaging. We’re already dreaming about our next trip back to Northern Tier in a few years — but up next on the horizon: Sea Base in Florida, followed by a backpacking trek at Philmont.
Way to go, Troop 396!