Along the Shore

Grand Marais guide passes the paddle

By Casey Fitchett

GRAND MARAIS—It’s time for a changing of the guard at a Grand Marais wilderness guiding service.

After years of working for and with local outfitters in Cook County, Mike Bartz’s trajectory changed five years ago when he decided to branch out on his own. Catering mainly to the visitors who wanted a taste of the wilderness without an overnight stay, his Border Lakes Guide Service began showing customers the Northwoods. Gaining traction through word-of-mouth referrals, Bartz guided groups of all comfort and experience levels to see the beauty of Rose Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Round Lake, Caribou Lake, and many more.

As more time passed with Bartz running the business predominately solo, he began to feel the weight of carrying more than just the canoes on his shoulders. After guiding about 500 individuals into the wilderness, he began to entertain the opportunities that arose to sell the company. After a bit of conversation, Bartz came to an agreement with prospective new owners.

“I’m really happy to see these young people grab this opportunity,” said Bartz. “It’ll allow them to stay in the Grand Marais area, which is what they want to do. They’re going to take it to the next level, but they have a really good base to work from.”

The passing of the paddle is officially underway. To ensure a smooth transition, the outgoing and incoming groups are spending time together both in the office and on the water. Bartz is passing along his knowledge of the routes, area flora and fauna, regional history of the area, and Indigenous culture.

The new ownership team includes two individuals from Grand Marais, Matea Acero and Sean MacDonell, and Jacob Rachuy of Hastings, Minn. Beyond camping, canoeing and being young entrepreneurs, they also spend their time biking, skiing, hunting, gardening, cooking and making Northwoodsy art.

“We have years of experience in the service and guiding industries in the Grand Marais area and pride ourselves on knowing almost every lake and backroad in the county,” explains MacDonell. “We want people of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels to find a way to enjoy the outdoors and see the value in preserving land for outdoor recreation.”

Grand Marais guide Mike Bartz recently sold his business, Border Lakes Guide Service, which offers visitors day trips into the wilderness. The new owners have renamed the business Border Lakes Tour Company. | SUBMITTED

As with Bartz, the incoming owners want to help facilitate the connections to the land that ultimately encourage people to protect the wild spaces. Of course, new energy brings about the likelihood of some changes as well. The new leadership comes with their own approach and preferences as they embrace the control of the company.

“We’re looking forward to bringing our own guiding style to the table without compromising on the quality of trips. We’ll be calling ourselves Border Lakes Tour Company to better reflect the direction we plan on moving in,” says MacDonell. “This summer we will continue to focus on canoeing and hiking tours, but already have other activities and guided tours in the works for next summer.”

The newly-minted Border Lakes Tour Company is focused on positive experiences that instill confidence in guests to keep returning to nature and the wild. They welcome anyone who wants to spend a day in the outdoors, especially families with kids. They recognize that each person comes to the northland with different expectations, goals and hopes. For them, creating smiles, encouraging a new worldview, and personalizing each trip are keys to success.

“Kids are so curious about the world around them, and we love to leave younger generations with lasting impressions of this place. Hopefully, they’ll come back to do overnight trips, attend summer camps, and really come to value this area,” explains Mac- Donell. “Whether a group wants a bit of a challenge or to sit back and enjoy the sights, we do our best to give them the outdoors experience that helps that particular group connect with the outdoors in the way that’s best for them.”

Beyond their excitement about taking customers on adventures, MacDonell, Acero and Rachuy are also looking forward to developing partnerships with other businesses in the area. They hope that other local entrepreneurs will reach out with ideas about how they can be more inclusive or create opportunities.

Learn more about the Border Lakes Tour Company and book a trip at: borderlakestourcompany.com.

Rock climbing is everywhere

By Eric Weicht

NORTH SHORE—I was mountain biking along the Duluth Traverse recently with a friend who is an avid rock climber. It was a blue-bird day, one of those days impossible not to appreciate, and during a break I asked him—where do people climb in Duluth?

We were right in the middle of the city— somewhere between Chester Bowl and Hartley Nature Center—and without missing a beat he turned around and pointed to a small cliff next to the trail that dropped off into a bed of ferns.

“We could climb right there if we wanted to,” he said, “climbing is everywhere around here.”

The North Shore may not have the notoriety of Yosemite, or the reputation of Red Rocks out in southern Nevada, but for those who know where and what to look for, there is lots of rock climbing to be had in our neck of the woods.

Taking a class or signing up for a guided trip is a great way to connect with the climbing community. | MATTHEW BAXLEY

The basalt cliffs that fortify the North Shore of Lake Superior between Duluth and Thunder Bay provide some of the best climbing in the Midwest, while exposed rock faces and glacier-carved boulders inland offer unique opportunities for climbing in a wilderness setting with the boreal forest as a backdrop. And then, of course, in cities like Thunder Bay and Duluth there are crags to climb right in town, boulders to creatively navigate just off the local bike trail.

Rock climbing is one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S., with gear sales ‘climbing’ year after year and new climbing gyms opening across the country at an unprecedented rate. Competitive climbing even became an Olympic event in the most recent summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Along the North Shore, the climbing “boom” can be seen in the number of established outdoor organizations like Camp Menogyn and the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center that have added climbing experiences to their summer programming, and the boom can be felt in how commonplace it has become to see people rappelling down cliffs at places like Palisade Head and Shovel Point in Tettegouche State Park.

The reality of climbing on the North Shore is that it is not a lack of options that keeps people from experiencing the sport, but rather all of the necessary gear and ‘knowhow’ that it takes to climb safely, responsibly, and with enough confidence to have a good time. Compared to other forms of outdoor adventure, rock climbing is particularly gear and knowledge heavy, and just knowing where to start can be a daunting task for first time climbers.

“The culture of rock climbing is rooted in community; it’s teacher-mentorship based,” says Matthew Baxley, a longtime wilderness guide based out of Cook County. “To get into it, you connect with people, ask to go with, and learn along the way. I think it is a beautiful thing about the sport, this culture of relationships.”

Taking a class or signing up for a guided trip is a great way to connect with the climbing community, and there are a number of ways to do that along the North Shore.

Vertical Endeavors—a Twin Cities based climbing company—has a Canal Park location in Duluth and Boulder Bear Climbing Centre brought 6,000 square feet of indoor climbing terrain to Thunder Bay, when it opened its doors in 2016. In addition to their modern indoor climbing facilities, Vertical Endeavors and Boulder Bear also offer a wide variety of events, classes and programs—both indoor and outdoor—for climbers of all skill levels.

If gear and knowledge aren’t the issue and you just don’t know where to go, Palisade Head (Silver Bay), Shovel Point (Silver Bay) and Carleton Peak (Tofte) are good places to start. Sawmill Dome along the Superior Hiking Trail is another great place to check out, with some of the best bouldering in Minnesota.

Don’t forget though, climbing is everywhere.

“From a climbing perspective,” says Baxley, “Carleton and Shovel Point are hard to beat, but there are so many great options. One of my favorite places that I guided was in the Boundary Waters—the Palisades on Seagull Lake.”

“[Seagull] is a great place to top-rope, do some lead climbing, and even deep water solo for something a little more intense,” continues Baxley. “I definitely never did that with guided groups, but I did it every now and then for fun. Everything up here for climbing is super scenic, I mean, it’s the Northwoods, but Seagull is one of my favorite places on earth.”

The island calls — The wonderment of Isle Royale

By Joe Shead

ISLE ROYALE—With the internet these days, it’s easy to look up Isle Royale and within minutes you can be an expert and rattle off all sorts of facts and figures. You can wow your friends by telling them Isle Royale is 45 miles long and 9 miles wide, but the national park actually includes more than 400 surrounding islands. And it’s well known that the island harbors a burgeoning moose population and that the waters surrounding it harbor some incredible, largely untapped fishing.

But there’s something inside of me that wants to slam shut my laptop and forget the facts and figures it can tell me—like so many others, the island calls to me and beckons me to launch my boat. Only then can you truly appreciate the island and all its wonders.

Visiting the island isn’t nearly as perilous these days as it was via canoe long ago, but you’re still taking your life into your own hands any time you try to make that 19-mile run from Grand Portage. Your boat must be in tip-top shape, with plenty of fuel. A backup motor and a tool kit are good insurance. Also consider bringing a marine radio. I don’t have cell service at the island. And I find it hard to relax on my Isle Royale adventures because my eyes are constantly on the sky. Any uptick in wind; any dark clouds and I’m on the throttle, heading for the mainland. In my boat, it’s a 45-minute run one way. I always say the best time to leave the island was 20 minutes ago.

If you’ve never taken a trip out to Isle Royale, you need to. Only then can you truly appreciate the island and all its wonders, including the Rock of Ages Lighthouse on the way. | JOE SHEAD

For most people, taking the ferry out of Grand Portage is the best option. Via the ferry, you can still experience the island in relative comfort and safety.

But why take the risk of exploring the island in your own boat? For one thing, it’s the sense of adventure I feel. For 45 long minutes, the boat flies across the surface of Lake Superior, pointed just to the left of Rock of Ages Lighthouse as I anxiously wait for that moment when I can slow down and finally drop a lure in fishy waters. Reaching the area of the island feels like meeting up with an old friend. It always warms my heart to see it up close.

The sight of emerald-green reefs below the clear-blue waters gives me pause. These are the places where ships have met their ends. They are also the places where lake trout lurk; especially in the places where emerald-green suddenly gives way to an adjacent black abyss.

Every trip to Isle Royale is memorable. I’ll never forget the time a friend and I had put out five fishing lines and before we could get our sixth rod in the water (in Michigan you can fish three lines apiece), we hooked a triple. We never bothered to put in more than four lines after that because it was too much work. We had our limit of lake trout in 42 minutes.

I’ll also never forget the time when I decided to anchor in shallow water and wade to shore just to say that I set foot on the island. My anchor got stuck under a rock in 6 feet of water and I had to jump into the 45-degree lake to free it. Needless to say, the experience took my breath away. And I never did set foot on the island that day.

Last summer I brought a fly rod along on the chance that I might encounter schools of herring in shallow water. In the sheltered waters near Cumberland Point, dimples on the calm surface caught my eye. Millions upon millions of herring swarmed in shimmering schools. Try as I might, I was unable to tempt one to eat a fly, but I sure enjoyed the show. I’ll never forget watching the immense school suddenly part as I watched a lake trout slowly cruise through. It was like something you’d see on National Geographic. Only it was right there in front of my own eyes.

If you’ve never visited Isle Royale, you need to. My words can ill describe this wild, beautiful place. You can only fully appreciate it when you’ve seen it for yourself.

The seven steps to survival

By Tom Watson

It can happen anywhere—becoming critically disoriented after wandering off a trail, losing vital gear after a canoe capsized or simply becoming camp bound in a remote location due to severe weather—just some of the many circumstances that can turn even a casual weekend camping experience into a survival situation.

The Alaska Marine Safety Institute developed a list of sequential steps to take when in a survival situation. Initially introduced to commercial fishermen and the U.S. Coast Guard, these “Seven Steps to Survival” are a prioritized sequence of actions that can help guide one through an emergency regardless of their skill levels—wherever, whenever caught in a survival situation.

THE SEVEN STEPS TO SURVIVAL: ACKNOWLEDGE AND ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE

It may be hard to admit that you’re actually in a survival situation. Your first action, once out of immediate harm’s way, is to stop, relax and gain your composure. It’s important to kickstart a positive mental attitude and realize and accept that you are in a potentially life-threatening situation.

A simple shelter—a pile of grass, leaves and foliage—can offer minimal protection against the elements. | TOM WATSON

DO AN INVENTORY

Depending upon what caused your emergency in the first place (capsized, severe weather, etc.) you may need to seek out a more secure/safe base of operation. Once you are safe, check/treat yourself and others for injuries, and scan the area for any potential resources you might utilize for shelter, tools, etc.

CREATE A SHELTER

Sure, fires are great, but secure a shelter first, even if it’s only make-shift for starters. If you are spending valuable time trying to light a fire and the weather suddenly deteriorates, having no shelter just makes things even worse. Learn basic shelter construction—from leaf/brush piles to lean-to’s to covered, framed-in structures. Once you have protection from the elements, you can get a fire going for warmth, cooking, etc.

MAKE SIGNALS

The internationally-recognized emergency single is a trio of lights (or three bright fires, three columns of smoke). Create these in a clearing or high point of land and construct them so they can be quickly and easily ignited when needed. Bright-colored clothing or gear can be waved overhead to draw attention, too.

FIND A SOURCE OF WATER, STAY HYDRATED

Locating the cleanest source of water can be a life saver. Learn how to make it safe to drink (treated naturally through exposure to sunlight or filtered through a vertical column of moss, charcoal and sand). Even wiping the dew off leaves or other surfaces with a piece of clothing (bandana, sock, etc.) until saturated, can be rung out to drink. Seek out a water source as part of your initial inventory.

Collecting morning dew off plants or gear is a quick source of drinkable water— just soak it up in a bandana and ring it into a container to drink. | TOM WATSON

EAT/FOOD

You need food for energy, stamina and even for its psychological benefits, but humans can go several days, perhaps a few weeks without it. Two axioms about survival food: If you don’t know what it is, don’t eat it and just because it’s edible, doesn’t mean it’s going to taste good.

PLAY!

It’s all about composure, staying calm and focused—maintaining your positive mental attitude. Your best survival tool is right between your ears.

These seven steps can be repeated as needed and acted upon accordingly. Regardless if your only forays into the outdoors are through participation in casual recreational activities, the more basic skills you have, the better you may be at coping in a survival situation. Simply spraining an ankle a half-mile from your public campsite could leave you stranded overnight without any protection from the elements. An accidental swamping of your canoe could mean you are stuck without a tent or gear pack.

These seven steps to survival are a basic list of sequential steps anyone can follow and repeat as necessary to help them deal with an emergency situation, regardless of how minor or extreme the situation.