Have you ever been in the backwoods … backpacking, camping, hiking, whatever … and you’re sitting there eating some nasty freeze-dried meal, or a MRE, or another stupid power bar? You start thinking about all the good food waiting for you on the other side of your trip.
Like pizza.
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!
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.
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.
Long week? Tired of the proverbial rat race? Are kids too addicted to their screens? Are you too addicted to your screen??
In case you haven’t been following the outdoor news, all you bush crafters, survivalists, and outdoor adventure enthusiasts have just been schooled by a 34-year-old hiker who became lost in the mountains of northern California … for 10 days … without food or water when he disappeared!
I keep wondering if we will see an Arc floating by. It seems we are always fighting one thing or another. One year it’s dry and forest fires blow smoke to our southern neighbors, or like this year it’s biblical floods.
In another unsurprising move for the state of Iowa in regards to our limited and already shakey natural resources, yet another pride and joy has slipped into a putrid state of disrepair and neglect. As if the degradation of our soil and water to a ridiculous state isn’t enough, we have to add this to the list as well.