by Melanie Collins
If any of you are like me, you love to look at maps. I love seeing where I've been and looking for places I'd still love to see. This is especially true with the Boundary Waters/Quetico. I've spent many hours staring at the overview maps in our outfitting area and looking for new lakes to visit and new route possibilities to explore. Now I've taken it one step further with one of the coolest free programs on the internet-Google Earth. Google Earth is a free downloadable software that provides satellite images of...well, Earth. To get the program, simply go to http://earth.google.com. You will need to download the program, and then you can pretty much just start playing. Densely populated areas have a much better resolution than small towns like Ely, but there is still an amazing amount of details available of the lakes in the Boundary Waters. One of my favorite tools to play with on the program is the "Path Tool." First I marked Wiliams and Hall Outfitters using the pushpin icon (you can find it by following this link: http://bbs.keyhold.com/ubb/showthreaded.php/Cat/0/Number/390560/an/0/page/0#390560). You may have to zoom out a little bit to get a better idea of the surroundings. Then under the Tools menu, I selected "measure". You now have the option to measure a line or a path. I like to use the path option. You can use the crossbars to draw in any path that you would like and Google Earth will tell you how many miles you've traveled. It is especailly fun to figure out how far you have canoed and portaged on previous trips, as well as a great way to start planning future trips. I'm still a novice at this, but I've had a lot of fun playing around and learning new things. As you get more advanced you will be able to save your own locations - like favorite campsites and fishing spots which can be entered in a GPS system and revisited and add pictures for other users to see exactly what you saw! Last summer I went out for an overnighter with some of my "city friends", and was so excited when a few days after returning my friend Ben sent me a Google Map picture of the lakes we canoed in, documenting our path and the island we stayed on! If you need a little Boundary Waters fix, this is a great way to get it!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
The Spirit of Trips Past
Written by Melanie Collins
I used to think every trip had a story, but I have since learned that every trip has many stories. Even the same event can be told with amazing variety, depending on whose doing the telling. One of the best parts of spending your summers at an outfitting resort is getting to be a part of everyone's summer vacation. I used to love picking someone up at the airport and listening to them tell stories of past adventures in the woods as we drove out to the lodge. It seems everyone gets a little nostalgic recalling his or her first canoe trips. Then as I watched our guests prepare to embark on the present trip, they would recollect the time so-and-so left the fish unattended and a turtle got off with supper, or what's-his name decided to play a prank by filling you-know-who's back pack with rocks, or the time the kids beat their parents in a race around the island. When people return from a week in the woods, its always fun to hear the fresh tales of who misread the map and who was crowned "king of the Fire Pit" this year.
As a new year begins, be sure to spend some time with the Spirit of Trips Past. Pass down your version of the story to your spouse, kids, co-workers, whoever will listen. Keep the legend of Uncle Joes' world record walleye alive! Some stories may be sentimental, like the story of the first time your daughter took a trip with you, or the last time you went with your grandfather. Other stories will be full of adventure, like the giant storm that you almost didn't survive. Still others are just plain nostalgic or comical. As you tell your story, others will tell theirs, and the stories will just get better and better and the memories will last longer and longer. There's no better way to pass on your enthusiasm for the wilderness, than to share the experiences that helped you get that enthusiasm.
Share some memories with the rest of us.
I used to think every trip had a story, but I have since learned that every trip has many stories. Even the same event can be told with amazing variety, depending on whose doing the telling. One of the best parts of spending your summers at an outfitting resort is getting to be a part of everyone's summer vacation. I used to love picking someone up at the airport and listening to them tell stories of past adventures in the woods as we drove out to the lodge. It seems everyone gets a little nostalgic recalling his or her first canoe trips. Then as I watched our guests prepare to embark on the present trip, they would recollect the time so-and-so left the fish unattended and a turtle got off with supper, or what's-his name decided to play a prank by filling you-know-who's back pack with rocks, or the time the kids beat their parents in a race around the island. When people return from a week in the woods, its always fun to hear the fresh tales of who misread the map and who was crowned "king of the Fire Pit" this year.
As a new year begins, be sure to spend some time with the Spirit of Trips Past. Pass down your version of the story to your spouse, kids, co-workers, whoever will listen. Keep the legend of Uncle Joes' world record walleye alive! Some stories may be sentimental, like the story of the first time your daughter took a trip with you, or the last time you went with your grandfather. Other stories will be full of adventure, like the giant storm that you almost didn't survive. Still others are just plain nostalgic or comical. As you tell your story, others will tell theirs, and the stories will just get better and better and the memories will last longer and longer. There's no better way to pass on your enthusiasm for the wilderness, than to share the experiences that helped you get that enthusiasm.
Share some memories with the rest of us.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Welcome to Our Blog
Hello Williams and Hall followers and to all the wilderness paddling folks out there. We have finally embraced the Brave New World and decided to jump into the blogging world. Over the coming months we hope to blog about all sorts of subjects e.g. wilderness canoe routes in the Quetico and BWCA, fishing topics, wilderness photography, gear, safe practices in the wilderness and hundreds more. Please add us to your Bookmarks and join in the discussions. I am sure you will be able to find a topic of interest.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)