PAWS, the winter dog sledding program of Erik Simula’s Arrowhead Wilderness School, offers guided BWCA Wilderness tours and mushing skills courses through Bearskin Lodge on the Gunflint Trail (See www.bearskin.com for reservations) and Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply in Grand Marais, Minnesota (www.stoneharborws.com).  Erik has been guiding wilderness dog sled tours, in Minnesota, Alaska, and Finland, since 1984 using Alaskan and Siberian Huskies.

A nice comment from a recent guest:

From: Lois.Bergerson
To: esimula@hotmail.com
Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 16:39:25 -0600
Subject: Thank you again.

Hi Erik.  I got your email through the Arrowhead Journey link on the bearskin lodge website.

I met you a week ago today.  You took my 2 sons, Josh and Jake, and myself on a sledding excursion.  When I called to reserve the trip, I had no idea that we were to be led by such an accomplished and amazing person.  You gave us the experience of a lifetime.  It was a pleasure to meet you and all the dogs.  You have an incredibly calm demeanor and incredible control with the dogs.  Your caring shines through.

Yesterday, I went on line and read all about the arrowhead trip, including your blog (the staff at Bearskin told us about it being on line).  Erik, you are truly one of the most interesting people that I have met in my life.

Thank you for sharing part of your world with us.  We won’t forget it.  You are an inspiration!

Take Care!

Lois Bergerson Minneapolis, MN

Bearskin Musher & PAWS staff Adam Harju prepares for a BWCA Wilderness sled dog run into Alder Lake on a crisp, frosty January day in 2011.

The Arrowhead Journey – In the spring and summer of 2009 I paddled over 1,000 miles around the Minnesota Arrowhead Region in a birch bark canoe with my companion Kitigan, a two-year-old female Alaskan Husky sled dog.

I bought this dog as a yearling from musher John Stetson in Duluth, Minnesota in the spring of 2008.  She turned into a solid puller in my team as well as the heroic canoe dog af my 2009 Arrowhead Journey.

I named her Kitigan (Anishinabe/First Nation for garden/open field) in honor of my Ojibwe-Anishinabe friend Margaret Plummer-Steen, the gardener at Grand Portage National Monument, who grew up in the bush, mushing with her father’s trapline team; after the beautiful area of Kitigan, Ontario, near Kapiskasing, a favorite haunt of famous Canadian wilderness man, Grey Owl; and after one of my first, nearly identical, sled dogs named Kitigan acquired from mushing mentor Dave Olesen, in Reliance, NWT, Canada.  It’s an honorable name for such a remarkable dog.

Kitigan is a 45 pound female of Alaskan Husky and German Short Hair Pointer breeding.  I live in the woods, and all summer let my twelve sled dogs run free daily, which gave Kitigan valuable interaction with older dogs.  Her first winter in harness, she pulled in my dog team guiding BWCA (Boundary Waters Canoe Area) Wilderness day tours out of Bearskin Lodge, off the Gunflint Trail near Grand Marais, Minnesota.  Her small size, light coat, willingness to please, and gentle personality made her the right choice for this expedition.

Travelled by indigenous peoples for thousands of years using birch bark canoes in summer, waterways of the Arrowhead Region of Northeastern Minnesota, United States, bordered by Lake Superior and Ontario, Canada, is a premier canoe wilderness, and my home of 45 years.  A wilderness guide and canoe builder, I decided long ago to paddle around the perimeter of the Arrowhead.

We departed on Earth Day, April 22, 2009, from Grand Portage, Minnesota on Lake Superior, with Kitigan and an expedition outfit in my hand made 14-foot birch bark canoe.  My daughter Anna was graduating from Grand Rapids High School, on the Mississippi River, near the mid-point of the route, so I paddled to her ceremony, via the St. Louis and Savanna Rivers.  We arrived in Grand Rapids in time for Anna’s graduation then paddled home via the Big Fork and Rainy Rivers, and the international border route, arriving back home on Lake Superior on August 8th.

The first 150-miles on Lake Superior took 20 days, although windbound eight days, and was the most dangerous leg of the journey.  Kitigan and I both felt vertigo from rough seas and savored windbound, rest days.  She didn’t eat much the first week, but thereafter had a healthy appetite each day.  She ate Redpaw 32/20 kibble as a main diet, and also ate peanuts, dried apples, granola bars, wild rice and fish.  When it was below 40F, she routinely wore a wool blanket-coat and slept on my life vest for insulation.  We encountered shelf ice and April blizzards.  On Lake Superior beaches we slept under the open canoe, whereas the rest of the trip we both slept in a small tent due to insects.  A traditional birch bark canoe is all natural and extremely buoyant, being made of cedar wood framing, white birch bark for the hull, and spruce root stitching.  It handles, feels, and smells wonderful, however it leaks whenever rocks crack the pine pitch sealant on the seams.  For Kitigan, this meant getting wet and Lake Superior water is frigid.  I bailed water with a sponge, re-pitched seams daily or as needed, and elevated the dog off the canoe bottom with a boat cushion and laden poles to disperse cargo weight and allow dryer payload.  We learned to stay dry and warm.

During the canoe trip, Kitigan’s duties included guarding the food pack and outfit; packing her dog food, bowl, blanket, and harness while pulling me across portages; and holding the canoe in water by leash while I loaded or unloaded packs.  She also alerted and protected me by growling at black bears and on one tense occasion, a stalking mountain lion!

Kitigan helped line up rapids by pulling the canoe from shore in harness connected by a 30-foot rope.  I often ran on shore and deflected the loaded canoe from rocks.  Along clear riverbanks, I sat in the canoe and steered while Kitigan pulled us up current.  This gave her exercise and saved me considerable effort.  Critical moments in class I-II rapids wading upstream around sweepers required strenuous pulling in waist deep whitewater, partially swamping the canoe.  Difficulties were countered and we endured.  The ancient Savanna Portage across the continental divide, connecting Lake Superior to the Mississippi River, was the most strenuous section of the trip.  An excerpt from the trip journal:

ERIK’S JOURNAL: EAST SAVANNA RIVER

5/23/09   Day #32   45-65 o F   Calm   Clear/Sunny

Most remote section of East Savanna River.  Crossed (portaged around) hundreds of deadfall trees and beaver dams.  Lots of wildlife: geese, ducks, hawks, eagles, beavers, otters, mink, deer.  Lost four hours in afternoon by taking a wrong (confusing) creek and backtracking.  Saw two beautiful trumpeter swans, huge and white.  Made camp just before dark on the only high ground in sight.  After my tent was set up, a huge cougar (mountain lion) slowly approached, stalking me.  It came within 15 feet and crouched low, ready to spring attack.  Kitigan growled low and we had a stand-off for over a minute.  I remained calm, non-threatening, and held my ground, pistol in hand.  Finally, the cougar slowly turned away and left us.  Uneasy about sleeping there, I quickly, but quietly, took down the tent and packed up, listening very carefully at five second intervals.  As I secured my last Duluth Pack, I heard a large animal approaching.  What I at first thought was the cougar returning turned out to be an enormous black bear (I estimate over 600 pounds).  The Big Bruin came in loud and fast, scenting my food pack.  I retreated to the only nearby tree where I staged by packs and held Kitigan close on leash.  When the bear came within 20 feet I hollered “WHOA!”  The bear kept coming.  I fired a warning shot into the air with my .357 magnum and he stopped just 15 feet away from us.  He glared, swaying his huge head and neck back and forth.  I remained calm and again held my ground.  Kitigan growled, her hackles straight up!  After another lengthy stand-off, the big bear half-circled us, then reluctantly meandered off.

I quickly slogged my packs 100 feet through the swamp to the canoe stashed at the river’s edge.  Now dark, we were exhausted and very hungry and the canoe had been leaking and needed pitching.  I lit a candle to melt spruce pitch and seal the open seams on the canoe hull, all the while watching my back and Kit’s protective behavior (she was “all nose and ears”).  By 11 p.m., we were back on the East Savanna River, a series of connected beaver ponds among a vast savanna of marsh.  The temperature was dropping and heavy fog set in.  My headlamp was near useless in the dense fog and I slowly paddled up current, recognizable by watching the direction of the underwater reeds alongside the canoe.  It was a disorienting navigational maze of marsh.  Wet, cold and hungry, I night paddled until 3:30 a.m., partly to stay warm and awake.  Kitigan kept nodding off in the canoe, and we crossed 30-plus more beaver dams, unloading packs and dog, delicately sliding or lifting (on jagged dams) the empty canoe then reloading to continue.  The sky cleared and I could see the North Star to navigate.  The river narrowed to 2-3 feet wide and 2 feet deep, still with significant  spring high water current.   With wet gear and clothing becoming frozen and with no high ground available, I tried to sleep on a tall hummock of swamp grass, under my canoe, in my hip boots, wet socks, damp clothes, and now frozen rain coat- which I’ve termed “shiver camp”… to be continued.

"Shiver Camp" at dawn: headwaters of the East Savanna River. Near east end of the historically regarded "most rugged Voyageur portage in North America" the 6-mile Savanna Portage, which crosses the continental divide (Mississippi River and Great Lakes watersheds).

BASSWOOD RIVER

The program is free and open to the public, and is just one of many presentations offered in conjunction with the North House Folk School Wooden Boat Show and Summer Solstice Festival, June 18-20, 2010.

Grand Portage Carry

“Birch Bark Man” Erik Simula and “Dog” Kitigan featured on cover of Canoeroots Magazine, early summer 2010 issue.

Photography by Layne Kennedy

Whitefish Netting in BWCA Wilderness

PROFILE  

OFF-GRID WITH ERIK SIMULA

By Conor Mihell  -  Canoeroots Magazine contributing writer

Erik Simula’s 1,600-kilometre expedition last summer in Minnesota was really just an extension of his lifestyle.  Simula, 45, lives in a small cabin in northeastern Minnesota, without electricity or running water.  He makes a living as a dogsled guide, birchbark canoe builder and park ranger; he hunts and gathers natural foods-fish, wild game, wild rice and berries.

With his daughter Anna set to graduate from high school last spring in Grand Rapids, Minnesota-a town on the Mississippi River-it seemed only natural that Simula would journey by canoe to get there.

In April, he and his dog launched his 14-foot birchbark canoe on Lake Superior, followed the coastline south to Duluth, and connected to the Mississippi River, reaching Grand Rapids for Anna’s graduation.  Then Simula traced ancient water routes linking Voyageurs National Park, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Quetico Provincial Park, returning in August.  ”This voyage was a celebration of my love of this glorious region,” he says.

Although Simula’s current project is building a new log cabin, don’t expect it to come with many amenities.  ”This lifestyle fulfills my dream of sustainable, traditional, cultural living,” says Simula, “and it keeps me happy and healthy, and nourishes my soul.”

Over the past summer Erik Simula and his dog Kitigan paddled a 1,000-mile route from Grand Portage to Duluth, to the Mississippi River and the US-Canadian Border, then back to Lake Superior in a handmade birch bark canoe.

By Erik Simula

Native Americans and Canadian Voyageurs mastered birch bark canoe building and wilderness travel throughout northern North America. Although largely forgotten, a few of us keep the ancient traditions alive.  

From April 22 – August 7, 2009, my dog, Kitigan, and I paddled a 1,000-mile route from Grand Portage to Duluth, the Mississippi River, the US-Canadian Border, and back to Lake Superior, encircling the Arrowhead Region of Northeast Minnesota. The 45-pound, 14-foot birch bark canoe I used, I hand-built in the high-end Ojibwe-Anishinaabe old tribal form using local white cedar wood for framing, split black spruce roots for lashings, white birch bark for the hull, and pine resin mixed with charcoal and bear grease for sealant. The canoe performed well, with occasional pitching needed on the seams to keep seepage to a minimum.

My outfit consisted of a food pack of dried trail food for 30 days, with three pre-cached food resupply points; a camp pack with tent, bedding and clothing; a kettle pack with cookware and repair supplies; a day pack which doubled as a seat; a fishing pole; and two paddles, which when tied into the canoe made a portage yoke. My main diet consisted of oatmeal, coffee, dried fruit, nuts, wild rice, fish and tea. Kitigan carried her own dog food, water bowl, blanket and harness in a dog pack.

Kitigan is a 40-pound, two-year-old female sled dog of Alaskan Husky and German Pointer breeding. She is a great companion, a guard dog, and good in the canoe. One of her main jobs was holding the canoe in the water by leash while I loaded or unloaded packs. She carried 20 pounds each portage and helped me “line” rapids by pulling the canoe upriver from shore in harness.

Departing on Earth Day, April 22nd, with a heavily laden canoe from Grand Portage National Monument, the warm send-off from family and friends soon turned into an incredible adventure. Lake Superior challenged me with snowstorms, shelf ice, swells, waves, winds, fog and currents, but revealed a multitude of wildlife and landscapes. I travelled in rhythm with nature, making distance when calm and resting safely on shore when seas were rough. Loons and eagles came close to observe, often leading the canoe for long distances. I camped each night under the canoe or in my tent, with Kitigan by my side. The 150-miles from Grand Portage to Duluth took 20 days, although windbound eight days, and was the most dangerous leg of the Arrowhead Journey.

The Savanna Portage route from Lake Superior to the Mississippi River, known as the Northwest Trail, was the most difficult section of the trip. Although rugged, it was once a common route prior to 1870, when railroads replaced it. A tremendous wetland full of wildlife and waterfowl, it is now protected in Savanna Portage State Park. I crossed hundreds of beaver dams and deadfall trees, navigated overgrown portages by compass, narrowly escaped an encounter with a mountain lion and an enormous black bear by night-paddling in starlight, and crossed the continental divide with an 18-mile, double-pack, double-carry, encountering thousands of wood and deer ticks, black flies and mosquitoes.

The highlight of the trip was on the Mississippi River, where I stopped in Grand Rapids to see my daughter, Anna, graduate from high school.  My lowest point was on the upper Bigfork River, where I became lonely and scared of the dangerous rapids and powerful downriver currents.

My favorite scenery was the canoe country from Rainy Lake to Grand Portage, known as the Voyageurs Highway. I hiked to rocky ridgetop vistas, overlooking beautiful boreal forests and waterways as far as the eye could see. On Basswood Lake, a huge fish knocked loudly on the bottom of the canoe! Fishing was very good, the weather stimulating and Natureʼs essence in the northern wilderness nourished my soul.

The Arrowhead Journey was more than a canoe trip of a lifetime. The ancient traditions of building the birch bark canoe and wilderness living are a passage through history and a reminder that nature and wildlife are fragile yet important aspects of human culture.

Published in NORTHERN WILDS   October – November 2009 issue.

The Timeless North: South Fowl Lake.

Reflecting back on this voyage, important themes surface, such as awareness, compassion, respect, pursuit of knowledge and meaning, self integrity (contribution and contentment) and vision, which I believe encompass a large part of the human experience as we know it today, and are integral to a healthy family, society, world, and future.  We need to stay grounded by interconnection with the natural world around us.  How?  By absorbing and resounding Creation in its natural state and observing how the animals behave and interact (in their natural state), as an example of how we are to live, and in so doing remain healthy and strong as a species, and not overly oppressive or out of balance. 

The Arrowhead Journey, for me, is a metaphor in which a canoe trip becomes a symbolic life journey, a reminder and celebration of a time past, a time of deep contemplation and future vision.  It required me to plan, prepare and focus all my abilities for the single goal of safely returning, yet its implications are broad and revealing.  Its duration, route and old-time outfit touch on historical travel routes, traditions, and life ways which, although obsolete to most, remain effective and life-sustaining through to the modern era of the 21st century.  I searched for and found symbolic clues hidden within bedrock and birdsong.  Certain landforms concentrated energies and created portals which awakened my senses upon passage through.  I came to know my self and my dog very well. We were very happy.

I lived fully: chilled by the night’s coolness and darkness; warmed by sunlight; nourished by hand-harvested wild rice, fish and berries; delighted by scenic beauty; empowered by wildlife behavior; challenged by wind, waves, rain, insects, hunger, pain, and my own physical limitations; confronted as prey by a hungry mountain lion and bears, in which I had to dig deep within myself to find the courage and bravery to defend myself in an appropriate and non-threatening way (as defined by the predator); and interacted with people along the route, most of whom were very welcoming, sincere and encouraging.  At times I became fearful or lonely, and slowly worked through these feelings by remaining constant in my resolve.   

Time held little meaning.  Most critical were the necessities of adequate safety, daylight, shelter, clothing, water, and food.  Beyond these basics is the reward of time for rest, reflection, visiting, and helping others.  I believe these virtues will hold true throughout time.  When broken down to simplicities, it becomes clear what is important in life and what is not.

These reflections are insights into my canoe journey experience of the adventure, hardship, people, wildlife, landscape, history, rich Native American cultural traditions and magnificent natural beauty of the Arrowhead, along with my personal philosophy. I’m glad I sketched and recorded these thoughts daily in a journal.  To fully process and detail my observations of this journey will take a while and I plan to produce a book, which I am now starting to write.  I hope my effort in sharing these experiences with you, the reader, has been worthwhile and honorable in scope.

Sincerely,

Erik Simula

Filmed with CackleTV’s Justine Curgenven, professional canoe filmmaker, and Bearskin Lodge’s Quinn McCloughan, wilderness guide and canoe engine.  We started paddling and filming on Lake Superior at Artist Point – Grand Marais.  We hiked in and toured my Arrowhead Trail cabin, birch bark canoe building shop and sled dog kennel (10 Dogs, Alaskan Huskies).  Then we resumed the Arrowhead Journey at Partridge Falls of the Pigeon River, where we made camp at the head of the spectacular 20-ft. waterfall.  Pitched canoe.  Beautiful Full Moon.

Day 106     8/5/2009     Fort Charlotte     50-65 o F      W Winds 5-15 mph     Sunny/Thunderstorm

Portaged around Partridge Falls (120 rods) and paddled two miles down the Pigeon River to the site of Fort Charlotte, the western terminus of the 8.5-mile Grand Portage (2,720 rods), and made camp under beautiful old-growth white pines by the class I rapids.

Day 107     8/6/2009     Dog-Freight-Pines     50-70 o F     NW Winds 5-15 mph     Sunny     

Rained most of night at remote Fort Charlotte camp.  Cleaned and dried canoe and gear and prepared outfit for final portage.  Warm humid morning with mosquitoes bad.  Filtered four quarts of water.  Left camp at 2:30 p.m. in a single carry, with a 50-pound canoe, a 50-pound pack, and Kitigan pulling in harness and carrying a 20-pound pack.   Carried for 10-15 minutes, rested for 5-10 minutes at each pose.  Met professional photographer and friend Layne Kennedy and his daughter Austin on the Grand Portage Trail.  Stopped and rested at Junction Pose (Old Cascade Trail), High Pose (Highest Elevation of the Grand Portage), Beaver Pond Pose, The Cedars Pose, The Fountain Pose, Poplar Creek Pose, and Dog Freight Pose.  Portaged six miles along good trail in respectable time with no injury.  Made bivouac camp at 9 p.m.  

Day 108     8/7/2009     Grand Portage Rendezvous – End of Arrowhead Journey!      Sunny/Calm

Mulligan (very small) cook fire for coffee and breakfast.  Outfit, Canoe, Man and Dog all ready to finish strong.  Portaged three miles to Lake Superior, arriving at the mouth of the Grand Portage Creek at 4 p.m.  To welcome me in and help me down the last mile of the Grand Portage Trail were Dawn Simula, Vern Simula, Layne Kennedy, Austin Kennedy, Voyageur LaFreniere (John Powers) and a promising engage (young laborer).  Paddled Lake Superior around creek to land at the Historic Encampment to a very warm welcome.  Upon landing, was greeted by many friends, including Grand Portage National Monument Superintendent Tim Cochrane and Chief of Interpretation Pam Neil.  After Talk of the Trail and friendly re-aquaintences, we made camp in Grand Portage for the last night of the Arrowhead Journey.

Arrowhead Journey (April 22 – August 7, 2009) – 2010 and Beyond!

It’s been an incredible canoe voyage through the Arrowhead’s most pristine north country.  I am grateful for a safe return and thank all of you who have supported me.  I have a greater appreciation for wilderness, wildlife, traditional Native American lifeways, the tenacity of the Voyageurs, early settlers, and the region’s current inhabitants.  I plan to write a book about the trip and continue my work as a birch bark canoe builder, outdoor skills instructor, park ranger, and wilderness guide.  

I’ll update this website periodically with information for ordering Arrowhead Journey photographs, maps, original artwork, and for book publication news.  Happy Trails!  

Erik Simula & Kitigan