Adventurers to Spend a Year in the Wilderness to Stop Mining

Remember Dave and Amy Freeman? They're the couple that were named National Geographic Adventurers of the Year back in 2014 for their 11,000+ mile (17,700 km) journey across North America, during which they established the Wilderness Classroom as a way to use adventure to help educate kids. Last year they also took a paddling trip to Washington, D.C. as a way to raise awareness of the threat of sulfide mining to the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota. Those efforts did not go unnoticed, but the threat remains very real. So now the husband and wife adventure team are planning to take yet another step in their campaign to protect the area they love, but this time they'll be spending a whole year in the wilderness to draw attention to the cause.

Starting on September 23 of this year, and running until September 22 of 2016, Dave and Amy will embark on a 365-day adventure in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. During that time, they'll travel by canoe, snowshoe, and dogsled as they explore more than 500 lakes and streams that are threatened by sulfide-ore mining that is taking place on the edge of these protected lands, as well as Voyageurs National Park.

Dave and Amy hope to save the Boundary Waters by putting an end to mining operations there. Those mines sit on private lands just off the protected areas, but still threaten to have a harmful effect on the environment. This is an area that the couple knows well, and has fallen in love with, so they have made it their mission to protect it from this challenges.

The start of their year-long adventure is still two months away, but the duo is busy preparing for the challenges ahead. Once underway, you'll be able to read updates on their journey at SaveTheBoundaryWaters.org.

Veteran Polar Explorer Trekking and Paddling the Boundary Waters

Veteran polar explorer Will Steger has set out on a new adventure this week. The 70-year old who has visited the North and South Pole, traversed northern Greenland, and traveled from Russia to Ellesmere Island in Canada, all by dogsled. But this time out, he's making solo journey along the Boundary Waters between the U.S. and Canada, trekking and paddling the remote region of Minnesota's northern border as he goes.

Steger launched his latest expedition yesterday. He'll begin by pulling a canoe behind him as he skis through the northern wilderness. That canoe will serve much the same way a polar explorer's sled would in both the Arctic or Antarctic, carrying his supplies and equipment across the snow. As he travels, he'll reach sections of the Boundary Waters that have thawed for the spring, and he'll transition to using the canoe in the more traditional way, but in the early days of the trip he'll be pulling it behind him as he goes.

The 200-mile journey started on Lake Saganaga at the end of the Gunflint Trail. Steger moved into the Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario and continued out onto the border lakes of the Boundary Waters. Over the course of the next few weeks, he'll be traveling through a remote and rugged wilderness that sees few visitors at any time of the year, but will be especially empty so early in the spring. Along the way he'll find frozen waters just beginning to thaw with the arrival of warmer season ahead. As he makes his way further along the route, Steger will be forced to navigate through rising rapids, steep narrows, and a chain of interconnected rivers and lakes. He has brought enough fuel and supplies to last about four weeks, although rationing could stretch that time a bit further.

Due to an unprecedented spring thaw, Steger was forced to start his expedition a week earlier than he had anticipated. The rivers and lakes are already starting to swell with rising water, and it now appears that he could do more paddling than trekking along the way. But in the early stages of the trip he'll still be hauling the canoe-sled as he makes his way along the chosen route.

You can follow Will's progress on his official website. He is releasing daily audio dispatches from his expedition that will share the journey with listeners in a very personal way. Steger promises to give us insights into what crosses through his mind as travels, which considering his 50 years of exploration experience should prove very interesting. It should be fascinating to hear about the challenges of the journey from a man who has spent more time in remote, and very cold places, than just about anyone else on Earth.