Although I live and work in the Twin Cities, my heart is in the woods and has been for as long as I can remember. My parents purchased what would be become our family cabin on the edge of the Boundary Waters on West Bearskin Lake. At that time, the cabin was four disconnected bunkhouses. A wood stove provided heat in the winter and many windows let in fresh, crisp air in the summer. Over the years, the cabin was been renovated, remodeled and eventually has become where my parents retired. This month, I turn 36. I have been visiting this peaceful oasis since I was a year and a half old. Needless to say, I have a lot of memories from the Boundary Waters. No matter the season the Boundary Waters, it is a special place for my family and me.
WINTER
Winter brings a silence so deep you can almost hear the trees inhaling and exhaling. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are my two favorite winter activities. One winter when I was in college and home for winter break, my parents and I snowshoed to Rose Falls via the Border Route Trail. I loved traversing the United States-Canadian border. On one side the U.S., the other I could reach out and touch another country. The final stretch of our journey took us across Rose Lake, up the famous Stairway Portage and finally to Rose Falls. We were the only people on the lake. The only sound was the crunching of our snowshoes on the snow.SPRING
Spring brings the singing of birds and melting of snow. Lakes open up and streams and rivers flow again after months of being frozen in time. Spring also means the fishing opener. While in college I was able to be up north for the opener. My dad, brother and other friends would go to bed early the night of the opener and wake up at midnight to fish on Hungry Jack Lake for walleye. The next day would bring canoeing into Daniels Lake for trout. One fishing opener we battled, in rotation, snow, sleet, rain and wind. That weather must have been good luck for me, because that was the year I out-fished my brother. If I remember correctly, he did not catch a single fish. I caught at least three. We ate good that night. SUMMER
The days are longer, the nights shorter. One August, canoeing with friends back from Rose Falls (my favorite BWCA day trip), we got caught in a thunderstorm. The clouds above Duncan Lake looked like the black horses racing out of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings before the skies opened up in a downpour with thunder and lightning soon to follow. We hunkered down until the storm passed and we were able to make the final crossing across West Bearskin back to the cabin. By 9 p.m., we were enjoying malts at Trail Center Lodge on the Gunflint Trail.FALL
The days start to grow shorter, the leaves change and the air becomes crisper. Nothing better than an overnight camping trip on Seagull Lake. A trip to Seagull Lake would not be complete without a hike up the palisades. Seagull Lake has many inlets, islands and peninsulas. On one of these islands is the palisades. A hike up brings an unforgettable overlook, especially with the vivid colors of leaves changing and the wide-open sky.
The Boundary Waters is not a commodity waiting to be used. It is a place full of stories and memories. It is not a throw away resource. It is a place deserving of protection.
Susan Kelnberger lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, and work as a special education teacher in the east metro. Susan has been visiting the Boundary Waters since she was young when her parents purchased a cabin on West Bearskin Lake off the Gunflint Trail. Susan supports the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters because as America's most visited wilderness area the Boundary Waters offers visitors a place of stillness, a place to encounter and appreciate nature and a place to make memories.
