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We paddled and portaged 1380 miles from Lake Superior to the Hudson Bay. We were the first all-women’s crew publicly documented to start from Grand Portage and make it to York Factory. Although this expedition was transformational for us, this was not just a long canoe trip but a journey of discovery and advocacy.
About a year ago, we heard the call of the Northwoods. Yearning to explore the history rooted in the land we would travel. We heard distant cries - the echoes of the voyagers, the lonely loons wailing, the fierce wolves howling. Abby, Olivia, Emma, and I felt drawn to the lakes and rivers draining into the Hudson Bay. We didn’t know back then how this story would unfold. We came to this trip almost as strangers, became one unit, and now, we all sit at home contemplating the weight of finishing an expedition. Just going back to work and school across the country. Now it feels unbelievable to be standing on solid ground after finishing.
Remembering
Sometimes the whole trip just feels like a dream. Now I am working on processing this experience and everything that happened along the way. When times were hard I found solace in writing in my journal almost as a sort of therapy. Then and now keeping a list of gratitude keeps me grounded in this experience. Revisiting those journal entries and writing today helps me remember what it felt like to be out there capturing the incredible joys and reflecting on the hardships.
Being out in the vastness of the backcountry makes you feel so small. The twinkling stars, the Northern Lights, the waves crashing on the shore, looking up at the old growth spruce towering over us, all these passing moments made me realize how lucky I am to be alive. How privileged am I to be here on this Earth. Even the smallest gestures like the motion of paddling, cutting through the water helped me feel connected to the environment and rich history of this wilderness. This is not a feeling I can recreate with a picture or my words. Every moment I was learning more about myself through my interaction with nature. Even the hard times I never want to forget. We definitely had some healthy fun out there battling fierce winds, deadly heat, frigid cold, incessant bugs and more. When the rain poured seeping through our rain coats and soaking us to the bone, when we got caught in a flash hail storm with only our tents as protection, when all we could do was huddle in our sleeping bags for warmth as the wicked winds raged around us.
I want to remember it all, especially the challenges we had to overcome. This trip is an example of sometimes you know it will be hard and you do it anyway. Like a quote from one of my moms favorite nonprofits “Things That Matter are Hard”. This trip mattered to us.
After we finished paddling every day it felt weird, knowing that day would never exist again, and knowing it was one more day closer to the end. Every paddle stroke was one closer to the last. We forged forward to one final destination but now I know the trip didn’t end there.
Advocacy
Everything was so breathtaking but once you catch your breath, you realize there is so much left to do. While the physical part of our trip is over and we made it to the finish line, our mission and purpose was about advocacy. At the end of the day, it was much bigger than just four girls and two canoes.
We partnered with Save The Boundary Waters to spread awareness of the threat of copper-nickel mining in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) and surrounding watersheds. Our route began in the BWCA, a place we all hold dearly in our hearts. We paddled and portaged through the entire Ontario/Minnesota border starting with a 9 mile portage starting at Lake Superior. For many of us, experiencing the Boundary Waters turned us from passionate nature lovers to radical protectors and advocates of these spaces with a renewed focus of getting people outside, especially underserved populations.
Another aim was to empower women in outdoor spaces especially in paddle-sports by being the representation we wished we had as young girls. We all got our starts in the outdoors as Girl Scouts. We were encouraged to be outside, learn from nature where the tenants of Leave No Trace were underscored in our early education to protect nature at Girl Scout camp. We were so fortunate to be supported by the GS Northern Lakes Canoe Base where Olivia and Abby were both participants and guides. Their goal is to bring young girls into nature out in the Boundary Waters. Trips by women for women.
We documented a lot of our trip to show people that it’s possible. A great way to make people passionate about a place is to show them and have them build a connection with it. Not only do we want to preserve these memories for ourselves, we want to expose these regions to others and show why they have intrinsic value but also provide resources like the GS base for people to accessibly get in the outdoors
Receiving the Bob Swanson Memorial Grant
When we got word that we would be the 2025 recipients of the Bob Swanson Memorial Grant, it was surreal and we could not believe it at first. Then after having an emotional conversation with Peterson about the impact of Bob Swanson as a person, we felt even more honored to receive this award. Initially when Olivia wrote the grant we didn’t ask for much, if we could just simply get a tent to give us shelter we would be more than happy. But being the Mother of Comfort, Big Agnes provided us with our entire sleep systems, full puffy suits, and sturdy basin chairs. We could not overstate the kindness and support we felt. The team was always attentive, helpful, and treated us with respect. We feel honored to be attached to such an honest and trustworthy brand. It put us on a good foot to be able to feel confident and happy with our gear from the start. More importantly, we felt connected to Bob Swanson and honored to carry his legacy with us on this trip. Planning for this trip we were very conscious of the quality of our gear, it had to survive with us over 80 days in the backcountry. We would have never imagined that we would carry gear of such high quality. Big Agnes made this trip accessible for us and supported our mission going above and beyond what we asked for.
