Today, I’m going to go over everything you need to know to plan your next Boundary Waters Wilderness Canoe trip. The first time I did this I didn’t even know where to start. You don’t know what you don’t know. The permits, the rules, the canoes, on and on. What to bring and what to plan for.
This is part two of the family vacation to the Great Smokey Mountains, most of which was spent on the North Carolina side of the mountains, by far, the better side for anyone looking to get away from the crowds and find quiet seclusion, peaceful waterfalls, nice hikes, wildlife, small towns, interesting and unique places to visit, and swimming.
Compared to the overrun towns and trails of Tennessee, North Carolina holds a faction of the people, and has a better selection of trails, parks, waterfalls, and a wider variety of activities.
In the previous post, I gave the general overview of the entire trip, and I will work on another blog post going into more detail about each location in the Smoky Mountains, giving specific advice and tips about where you should visit with a family, or just someone looking for the best experience overall.
Enjoy this part 2 video, and more to come on the blog!
It can be overwhelming to visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with your family. You hear the stories and watch the videos of overly crowded roads and crazy people chasing bears. Yes, we saw some of that. But, it’s also true you can escape the crowds and have an amazing adventure in the woods, streams, trails, and mountains WITH your kids, and have one of the best family vacations ever!
Sometimes I sit in utter bewilderment and amazement at the dull throngs of families who sit all summer inside their houses, all staring their red and bleary eyes at the screens in front of them. When they do leave their castles of wood and drywall, it’s to fight the unruly crowds at the mall or to sit impatiently in line for a seat at the restaurant.
It doesn’t matter who you are are where you are, when you wander into the backwoods of any Wilderness area or a National Forest, you had better be prepared for whatever comes next. The problem is that most people think that what awaits them is nothing but rainbows and unicorns.
Well, this has been an exciting year and if you’ve been reading any of our recent articles you know that there is more than rainbows and unicorns waiting for you out in the woods if you don’t come prepared. In today’s article, we will explore lessons from another absolutely amazing survival situation.
This story starts with a 43-year-old man, one could call him an experienced Adventurer and someone who was well-traveled and used to remote wild places. He was on an epic travel adventure by all accounts, had just visited the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota, hit the Badlands, and was in the process of exploring the Grand Teton National Park … nothing too crazy for this adventurer who had spent time in Russia and even attended school in Germany.
Who would have guessed it? I mean, in today’s world, is it all that surprising? Not really. Yellowstone blew up. Of course it did. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, a rock … hmmm … it’s making the rounds of the interwebs that on July 23, 2024, a significant hydrothermal explosion occurred at Black Diamond Pool in Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National Park.
I think there are a few things better than a quiet summer Sunday, Lord’s Day than heading out with a friend or two to hear some sounds of nature and go fishing. Getting away from the hustle bustle and phones, head to somewhere full of bugs and weeds where no one else is willing to go.
It’s fun to listen to the birds, frogs, plans, and such. Even if you don’t catch anything it’s good for the soul.
The Average Flatlander heads out into the busy on a balmy 95-degree July day. We headed back into some abandoned gravel pit in this Part 1, looking for a monster lurking in the deep waters that have been forgotten and forlorn.
We find a bass, but not much else, the skeeters and heat about did us in.
The things that can happen to outdoor adventures never cease to amaze me. Years go by, books get written, stories get made into movies, and we all know better … yet it happens again and again, like clockwork.
I was recently in the far quiet north contemplating life on the shore of Lake Superior, of course, I had a book in my hands while I listened to the crashing of the waves. A wilderness survival book nonetheless. In fact this book was about some real-life survival stories, one of which happened a mear ~50 miles or so from where I was comfortably reclining on a sofa with a hot cup of tea and my book watching the sun go down over that Big Lake.
And then, much to my surprise, as I scrolled through my phone … I saw a story pop up of basically that exact same thing happening to someone many thousands of miles away in Colorado. It was just too good to be true. Two stories, thousands of miles apart, a decade has passed … yet the same thing was still happening.