Ken and Jared Take the Boys on a Boundary Waters Adventure

Our son-in-law, Jared, invited Ken to join he and their oldest two boys, Nathan (age 10), and Jacob (age 7), on a canoeing/camping trip in the Minnesota Boundary Waters National Wilderness Area. Ken had dreamed of going on such an adventure for approximately 20 years and so he jumped at the opportunity to be with some of his loved ones in such an incredibly wild place. They drove from Jared and Kristen's home in Appleton, WI. to the Boundary Waters on Wednesday, May 30th. It was a long drive, with rain falling much of the way. However, just as they arrived at the outfitter's property (Seagull Outfitters), at dusk that evening, the rains lifted and the weather improved somewhat. The outfitters were VERY good to work with. They had a bunkhouse onsite that they all stayed in Wednesday night, before getting up early Thursday to get loaded in the canoes and begin their canoeing adventure. The outfitters had bolted two aluminum canoes together, making a much more stable water craft than normal canoes. That craft was almost perfect for two men to take two young boys on such an adventure on the water. Although most of the trip was cloudy, with periodic rain and some wind, the weather turned out good enough to not dampen the fun of the trip too much until a strong east wind came up on the final day, when they had to canoe the 3-5 miles out of the wilderness area, back to the outfitter's property. It was a headwind for them and became too strong, creating waves that were high enough to cause Jared and Ken concern as to whether they would swamp the canoes, especially during the last mile or so, when the wind would have been coming at them from the side. They ended up being saved by a nice lady at a Lutheran wilderness camp, who saw them clinging to her dock and came to their rescue, giving them refuge from the wind and waves in the camp's relatively protected bay and providing a land-line phone so they could call the outfitter to come and tow them the last mile or so home, through the rough waters. The overall trip was a blast and total success as each person caught some fish. It was the first time Ken had ever fished for or caught both Small-mouth Bass and Northern Pike. The boys were in heaven, playing around the camp and exploring the little island that we were camped on. Jared was extremely patient with his companions and was impressively accommodating to Ken and the boys. Along with the fun fishing and being with his loved ones, perhaps Ken's favorite experience on the trip was hearing the pair of Common Loons that lived near their little island. Their lovely, iconic calls sounded across the waters and thoughout the many nearby islands for the whole time they were camped there.

The intrepid adventurers on the dock of Seagull Outfitters, just before loading in their canoes and heading out into Seagull Lake and into the Minnesota Boundary Water Wilderness Area. (L to R: Jared, Nathan and Jacob Mackrory, Ken Hinton.)

Jared, Nathan and Jacob, chilling at our island campsite.

Jacob and Nathan proudly show 2 of their Small-mouth Bass catches, which Jared shortly thereafter filleted and cooked for breakfast.

A picture of the picture-taking.

Jacob found one of the local dragon flies to be rather friendly.

Even with cool temps and cloudy skies, we still needed to slather some sunscreen on the boys.

Loaded and ready to head out.

The boys having fun getting acquainted with their new mode of transportation.

The Seagull Outfitter's dock, with their office and supply shack in the background.