12/24/2000 --1/17/2001 Training trip
1/31/2001--2/06/2001  Grand Portage and the Pigeon River
2/07/2001--2/17/2001 South Fowl to Moose Lake
2/18/2001--3/8/2001 Moose Lake to Crane Lake
3/9/2001--3/16/2001 Crane Lake to Kabetogama

Posted:  3/16/2001 9 AM (20 degrees F)

Yesterday the sunrise revealed a beautiful, fog blanketed lake glistening in a bright blue cloudless horizon.  The sun warmed the tent and we were soon shedding layers in an attempt to stay cool.  After a relaxing breakfast we slowly prepared for departure.  I was trying not to think about the fact that we would not be putting up the tent again at the end of the day.  We could not have had a nicer last day.  The bright blue windless sky and warm temperatures made for carefree traveling.  Tundra assumed that everything was normal until we got to the car.   As we began to load everything in he started to get a bit worried, but in the end he jumped in the back and fell asleep for his ride home.  Last night I said good-bye to Tundra and left him with his family on Little Long Lake.  It was sad seeing his faithful eyes watching me as I closed the door, but I know his owners love him very much and take good care of him.  I will have to settle for visiting him on occasion.

As for the future Harriet and I are heading for Grand Marais to see some friends and do some river skiing.  It should be very fun and I will post some pictures.  We are going to ski a river called the Devils Track River.  There is a forty foot frozen water fall in the middle of the river that you have to rappel down.  Then we will be heading down to Chicago and then east visiting schools along the way and talking about the adventure.  I have a bunch of ideas about future adventures.   When I solidify plans for the next one I will let you know so that you can continue to follow along.  Thanks for following along and please continue to check in to find out about upcoming adventures and how my classroom visits are going.

Thanks,

Dave

Posted:  3/13/2001 5 PM  (34 degrees F)

Harriet and I just gobbled down a yummy chocolate cake with white chocolate frosting.  We are enjoying a rest day near Ash River, about twelve miles from our final destination.  The snow mobile traffic has died down and we have enjoyed a peaceful day taking pictures for a slide show I plan to present to schools after the adventure.   It has been fun thinking of all the things I do everyday like chopping wood, cooking, stoking the stove, collecting water, the list goes on and on.  Harriet's job is to take pictures of me in action so that I can present a day in my life on the trail.

Yesterday we came across a grouse sitting next to the trail.  We watched him for about a minute while I dug around for the camera with it less than five feet away.  As soon as I pulled the camera out it burst into the air and flew away, escaping before I could catch it on film. 

Tomorrow is our last full day on the trail.  We are scheduled to meet a reporter at 1 PM on Thursday which will conclude the adventure.  I don't want to leave this simple lifestyle that I have grown so used to, but Harriet is already talking about a shower so I guess the tent will have to be packed up for the time being. 

Posted:  3/11/2001  9 PM  (16 degrees F)

We enjoyed a beautiful day today.  The weather was warm, sunny, with a nice breeze at our back to keep us cool as we traveled.  As we packed up camp this morning a grooming machine drove by packing down the snow, leaving a hard smooth trail, which made for easy travel.  Tundra zigzagged from side to side enjoying the smooth surface.  It is quite a change from the solitude and hard going that I experienced much of the adventure.  This morning we came across a Mountain Dew Can that someone had dropped.  To our surprise and delight it was full and I enjoyed my first soda in over a month!

The scenery has been beautiful- large island studded lakes with some huge cliffs in Grassy Bay on Sand Point Lake.  Tonight we are camped on Namakan Lake.

Posted:  3/10/2001  9AM  (27 degrees F)

We woke up to a light snow fall and it continues to snow as we prepare to leave.   We are looking forward to getting on the trail.  Tundra happily gobbled down a pound of hamburger that Harriet brought for him.  He is ready to go after spending most of the last day and a half chained up.

Posted:  3/09/2001  1 PM  (40 degrees F)

Today has been a day of promotion for the Border Country Adventure.  I did an hour long radio interview with a Hibbing radio station this morning.  Two phone interviews with the Timber Jay, a local paper, and a paper from International Falls.  In fifteen minutes I am doing another radio interview with WELY the local Ely radio station.   Paul and Sara, the owners of Norway Lodge, located on Crane Lake, have been very helpful.  I have basically taken over their desk and have been using their phone all morning.  Paul has been calling different papers and radio stations setting up interviews.  I think I may have found myself an agent!  It has been fun and hopefully will get more people involved in the adventure.   I just checked the hit counter on the web site and last month it received almost 100,000 hits.  OB wrote a nice article about his portion of the adventure and you can read it at www.boundarywatersmagazine.com  .

I am still waiting for Harriet, she should arrive in a few hours.  I am ready to get back on the trail.  It was really strange sleeping in a bed last night.  I didn't really sleep very much because I could hear trucks driving by and noises that occur even in a small town like Crane Lake. 

If you didn't get a chance to read some of my latest journal entries you can visit them here or all of the journals are archived at the bottom of the page.  Enjoy the last week of the adventure! 

Archive: 12/24/2000 --1/17/2001 Training trip 1/31/2001--2/06/2001  Grand Portage and the Pigeon River 2/07/2001--2/17/2001 South Fowl to Moose Lake 2/18/2001--3/8/2001 Moose Lake to Crane Lake 3/9/2001--3/16/2001 Crane Lake to Kabetogama