Product Description

This is the second in the two-book series covering the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Offered are descriptions of nearly 200 miles along the Canadian border and over 1200 miles of canoe routes through some of the most beautiful country in the world. This book describes several routes from each of 25 entry points, covering distance, portages, difficulty, and Fisher maps needed. This volume comes with a 4-color foldout map of the region covered.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #306236 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Customer Reviews

A "Must Have" for planning your next BWCA trip
I have canoe camped in the BWCA since 1971 and have found previous editions of this guide essential for my trip planning. This well-written, newly-revised edition is even better. It contains the latest information on obtaining a permit for entry into the area as well as general information regarding the destructive storm that swept through the BWCA on July 4, 1999. The 2000 edition is slightly larger in size and with bigger print is easier to read. It is also about 70 pages longer than the previous book. The author has changed the format of the route numbers to better correspond to the entry points, making it easier to relate the two. There are updated photos throughout the book and some route recommendations have been changed. This edition is full of information to make your trip planning into the western region of the BWCA easy. It allows you to choose routes based on your physical ability (easy to rugged), fishing desires (it lists type of fish in 185 western region lakes), scenery (waterfalls, pictographs), time constraints (suggested routes for over 50 2-8 day trips), etc. It tells you how to reach each entry point and one of my favorite statistics, the popularity rank of each entry point (I like to find solitude as quickly as possible). This is trip planning guide, and does not provide detailed camping "how to" information, although the author refers you to reliable books on this subject. I recommend it and am planning to purchase the revised eastern region edition as soon as it is available.

Useful and Inspiring, Despite Instant Obsolescence
The Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota (BWCAW) -- 100 million acres of pristine lakes interconnected by overland portages and streams -- is the closest place to heaven I've seen on this earth. Journeying through it in a canoe, one is struck by its "cumulative grandeur" as a friend described it to me.

Many uninitiated visitors from out of state just arrive in Ely, get outfitted, and head out with little advance preparation. Most of them live, but this is not the way to experience the Boundary Waters. Along with books on the specifics of canoe tripping and camping, and back country cooking, you will want to research possible canoe routes in this indispensable book and its pendant, volume 2 on the eastern region. If you're planning a trip, keep in mind that trips out of Ely generally fall in the western region, trips out of Gunflint fall in the eastern region, but a single trip can easily wind through both regions.

This book provides specific routes that can be followed exactly or used as an outline for a trip you customize. Each itinerary gives helpful general information: suggested trip length; miles per day; number of lakes and rivers; and number of portages (overland routes between lakes); and difficulty level. It also tells you which Fischer maps will cover the trip ... but I prefer the McKenzie maps myself. Then comes a full description of what you can expect to encounter on the trip, highlights along the way, tips for avoiding pitfalls, etc. If you're new to this kind of wilderness experience, you should read several itineraries -- even ones you don't plan to follow -- to get a feel for the terrain. If you're a BWCAW veteran, then reading these itineraries will fuel your daydreams! (You may even learn something to make your next trip go more smoothly.)

The book also includes general information on planning your trip: BWCAW reservations and regulations, advice to trip planning, an introduction to the ecosystem and its attractions and dangers, recommendations for camping guides and other references.

A couple of caveats. When the blowdown of July 4, 1999, that leveled 1/3 of the trees in the BWCAW hit ... this book was just going to press -- a fact that is acknowledged in the Preface. Recovery of this vast ecosystem will take a century or more, and the landscape has been altered forever. Therefore, to a certain extent this book was obsolete before it was even published. Needless to say, not all descriptions and photos represent what you are likely to find in the hardest-hit areas -- although lakeshores, with more windfast trees, are in many places the only trees still standing, extending a curtain between the paddler and the devastation inland.

The other caveat, which should be needless, is that even if you have mapped out a specific route, you must be prepared to alter it in case of weather, low water in streams, or other unexpected occurrences. Be alert and adaptable.

Essential
I'ts hard to imagine going on a trip to the BWCAW without the appropriate Robert Beymer book. I refer to his books constantly when planning a trip, at the campsite, and even on the water; it never leaves my fanny pack except to be read. His information is clear and accurate (some of the rules have since changed). I even think his prose is pretty good. Highly recommended!