Mike – mikeward.cool

Afterword

In the aftermath of the Krueger-Waddell Challenge, I made a pretty easy recovery. My body and mind bounced back almost immediately except my hands. On the final day, easily the hardest day while slowly trudging down the Pigeon River, I told myself that the trip was stupid and not fun. Even later that day, I […]

Day 6: Friday, September 9, Mountain Lake to Lake Superior

GPS Data: I woke up to rain on my last day. I closed my eyes for just a minute more. Couple minutes. 10 minutes and I jolted awake, not fully understanding how I could take my needed next steps while I could hear the rain. First step, unplug the air mattress, I told myself. Then, […]

Day 5: Thursday, September 8: Granite River to Mountain Lake

After a very bright moon glared directly into my tent all night, my phone alarm went off at 5:15 and I immediately checked the weather. On my phone app, meteorologist Hunter said a storm was rolling in and it’d be rain on Friday into Saturday. Then he wished the viewers a happy Friday. Happy Friday […]

Day 4: Wednesday, September 7: Basswood Lake to Granite River

GPS Data: My watch’s alarm went off early – 5am. The moon was bright all night. My sleeping bag was pretty moist. I could tell it was a little wet towards my feet. Ahhhh crap. Not good. I laid back down and shut my eyes just for a moment. I checked my phone – yep, […]

Day 3: Tuesday, September 6: Lac La Croix to East Side United States Point, Basswood Lake

GPS Data: I woke up to the sound of wind on the lake and my watch’s alarm beeping. I could tell it was pitch dark out so slept in a little more. I was mad when I roused a bit later – I gotta get my ass in gear here!! I figured that I could […]

Day 2: Monday, September 5: Namakan Lake to Fish Stake Narrows, Lac La Croix

Garmin Data: I had set my alarm for an early time for day 2 at 5:15am or so. When my watch started beeping, I realized immediately that I made a big mistake waking up that early because it was completely dark out. Without a rain fly on my tent, I could tell I was in […]

Day 1: Sunday, September 4: Sha Sha Resort to Depthfinder Island Campsite N7, Namakan Lake

Garmin Data: We woke up early at the Rainy Lake RV Park outside of Ranier/International Falls, MN in dewey conditions. Me, Em and the dogs roused awake to the 5am alarm and started slowly packing up our sleeping bags, tent, random junk and hit the road. Every surface was covered in a light dew. It […]

Prelude

I don’t know why paddleboard travel stood out to me, but after years of a growing desire and formulation of the plan, I set it in action and secured a permit for Little Vermilion River- the western entry point of the BWCAW – for September 5th, 2022. The Krueger-Waddell Challenge was allegedly spurred initially from […]

Brewhouse Triathlon Race Report

Race Date: Sunday, August 7, 2022 – 8:30am Another Brewhouse. I feel like I get pretty nervous or anxious before Brewhouse most years, almost like a dread. I was probably the least excited for the year’s Brewhouse than ever before. In the back of my mind I thought about bailing on the race altogether. I […]

Fall Lake

Date: Friday-Saturday July 22-23, 2022 Area: Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Trip Plan: Launch at Fall Lake near Ely, head through a couple lakes to Basswood Lake and follow the US/Canada border west for 35-50 miles, turn around and go back the same way. Day 1 – Get past Curtain Falls and camp where possible. […]

Big Ole Paddlefest Race Report

Race Day: Friday, July 15, 2022 – 8am My second year at Big Ole and fourth paddling race of all time started in a frenzy as I didn’t have a strap for my cell phone and 8 o’clock was only minutes away. I frantically searched through my car for the strap on the identical phone […]

Moose Lake

Date: Friday-Sunday June 24-26, 2022 Area: Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Trip Plan: Launch at the Moose Lake entry point in the BWCA, go straight to the US/Canada border, then travel east along the boarder to Lake Saganaga. Merge south to Trails End of the Gunflint Trail, then back west to Sea Gull Lake, Kekakabic […]

Author: Mike