Check out WTIP North Shore Radio’s, “Pack & Paddle,” featuring Scott from Bull Moose Patrol for wilderness tips you can use on your next outdoor adventure!
Listen as Scott chats with North Shore Radio host, Mark Abrahamson, about the differences between canoe camping and river canoe camping.
Pack & Paddle: River vs. Lake Canoe Camping Transcript
0:00:00.3 Mark: WTIP's new feature, Pack & Paddle, with Scott Oeth is up next. Scott is a registered Maine Guide, an Eagle Scout, and Minnesota Master Naturalist. He's an instructor for the Okpik National Cold Weather Leader school. He joins us now by phone to talk about river versus lake trips. Good morning, Scott.
0:00:22.6 Scott Oeth: Good morning, Mark.
0:00:24.6 Mark: You just returned from a canoe trip on the Flambeau River. Tell us about that. Where is it?
0:00:30.0 SO: Yeah, fantastic trip. Just got back late last night, still a little bleary-eyed, but it's in northwest Wisconsin and it's one of the major rivers that flows into the Chippewa, which flows into the Wisconsin, and just a really fantastic area with a lot of native and logging history. But the state of Wisconsin has done a wonderful job, and they have a state forest that protects about 50 miles of this wild river with on-river camp sites. Might feel somewhat similar to the Boundary Waters, but a little bit different in that it wraps up with a great section through a lot of class I, II, and III whitewater.
0:01:06.0 Mark: Now, we have so many lakes in Minnesota, 10,000 lakes. We've got Voyageurs National Park, BWCAW. Why do rivers?
0:01:16.8 SO: Yeah, I know, I know. The lakes are definitely our signature feature here in Minnesota, and I am a passionate lake paddler. I love it. There's nothing like a great Boundary Waters trip, but you know, there's something special about rivers too, I think, 'cause wondering what's around the next bend and going from point A to point Z. But really the difference, I think, for me is the current, the flow, and it can be a lazy river that kinda just carries you along, stepping up to faster water and whitewater. And it's just a next level of understanding the dynamics of the flow and the current and what that does with the canoe, and different river maneuvers and paddle strokes, and it just adds another element of fun to the paddling for me.
0:02:01.7 Mark: Now, the reality is the Boundary Waters does have rivers. One of my favorite rivers is the Frost River that goes to Little Sag Lake in the middle of the Boundary Waters. The foliage and the areas along the river are always so fascinating on those river trips.
0:02:18.4 SO: Yeah. I'm jealous that I heard you just got back from doing the Frost River. I haven't done that one yet, but it sounds fantastic, and there are rivers in the Boundary Waters. There's the Vermilion River, which is sort of adjacent to the Boundary Waters, Little Fork and Big Fork, which I did last year. And Big Fork's a wonderful canoe trip in Minnesota that allows you to do over 100 miles with on-river sites and some whitewater and a lot of the similar feel of the Boundary Waters but without the portages.
0:02:49.5 Mark: Now, talk about some of the best rivers for canoe tripping in our region.
0:02:54.9 SO: Yeah. Well, we've got some great ones. The state of Minnesota has a wonderful website, really well-developed river trail maps. And there's actually over 4500 miles of designated state river trails, and then there's a whole lot of other rivers outside of those designated river trails. And then next door in Wisconsin, same thing, thousands of miles of rivers. And if you cross the border to Ontario, I don't know if they've even counted how many miles they have. But in Minnesota, the Mississippi, of course, one of the world's most significant river systems starts here and you can paddle all the way to the Gulf, starting right at Lake Itasca and camp the whole way down, or you can do more sections, kind of Northwoods section or one of my favorites, the big bluff area down in the southeast part of the state. So we got the... Yeah, sorry, Mark.
0:03:44.3 Mark: I was just gonna say, for people that are used to just doing lake trips, say in the Boundary Waters or something like that, what are some of the differences? What are some of the things that they need to be prepared for for a river trip, possibly with rapids, as opposed to a lake trip?
0:04:01.0 SO: Yeah. Well, I think a river trip could be easier. You just throw your stuff in the canoe and go down a peaceful river and not have to worry about the special type of packing considerations in the Boundary Waters or the portages. So on the one hand, it could be easier, but I think any time you're doing a river, there's also the potential for greater danger. Even rivers that seem peaceful, their current in the flowing water can be very powerful, and so you really need to educate yourself. At least do basic research, look at the DNR river trail maps, potentially go with a good club trip first, or ideally, get some good training. Go with a guide because there is extra danger. Downed trees in the corners, even in some of the more peaceful rivers, those can create what are called strainers or sweepers, which the current can push you into, and there's real dangers there, on up to rocks and rapids and ledges that can create special situations. So do your research, understand water levels. Rivers can change a lot depending on whether they're high water or low water. That can make a river completely different from one day to the next. Always wear your life jacket and check the weather.
0:05:14.3 Mark: Great advice. The Boundary Waters is pretty well mapped out. There's many maps that tell you exactly where things are on lakes or on rivers. Are there maps for some of these river systems that you are talking about this morning?
0:05:29.3 SO: Yeah. The state of Minnesota has really nice maps for their designated state river trails. Ones that are not designated state river trails, you need to do a little bit more research, but in the northeast, the Cloquet River is a wonderful wild river, the St. Louis, the Vermilion, the Little Fork and there's... You can go right online and download really, really high-quality maps from the state of Minnesota. There's also some really good guidebooks. Paddling Northern Minnesota and Paddling Minnesota, those are good guide books. I try and write up and do helpful blog posts on some of these rivers as well, so it absolutely pays to do your research. Talking to locals can give you a lot of very good information about water levels, fishing conditions, things like that, but locals also aren't really always avid paddlers, so do your research, for sure.
0:06:21.9 Mark: Right.
0:06:22.4 SO: Before shoving off.
0:06:24.1 Mark: We're talking with Scott Oeth. This is a new feature called Pack & Paddle here at WTIP. You can follow his adventures at www.bullmoosepatrol.com.