Taking a 2-Year-Old on a Wilderness Canoe Trip
12-minute read
Kate, Bending Branches’ Marketing Director, and her husband Adam took their 2-year-old on her second multi-day wilderness canoe trip in the Boundary Waters in September. Let’s hear how it went for them this year.
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a few hours’ drive from our headquarters here in Osceola, Wisconsin. That means this world-class paddling destination is a very accessible destination for those on our team.
As a company, we’re huge supporters of passing on our love of paddling to the next generation. One of the best ways to do that is for parents to bring their kids with them. To adventure together.
Let’s hear from Kate and Adam about their canoe trip with their 2-year-old daughter, Poppy…
BENDING BRANCHES: Tell us about your route and how many days you were out this year.
KATE: We chose to do a 4-day, 3-night trip this year. We put in on Gunflint Lake. We paddled the length of Gunflint up into Little Gunflint, into North, South, Rat and Rose, then into Duncan and out of Bearskin.
It’s a very beautiful route. I love the elevation—it almost feels like northern California or something. And for Poppy, it was easy to break up the days. Portages were really manageable for us. Some are definitely well-known, and nothing was much over a quarter mile. That was perfect with a 2-year-old with little tiny legs and a lot of stuff. That felt good. Plus we got to experience some well-known portages like Height of Land and Stairway.
I felt like this route could push all of our boundaries a little bit in the sense of having her, but still make it super enjoyable with beautiful scenery and things to do. We chose to do a one-way route on this, so we felt like we got to go further when all was said and done, around 25 miles. Nine lakes and eight portages.
We were able to check some things off the list. I was excited for everybody to see Rose Falls, to take Adam on Stairway Portage, and go up to see a little bit of the Rose Cliffs. And there are certainly some stunning campsites in there.
We went the week of Labor Day, so I was a little nervous about how busy it would be on Rose Lake. But honestly, it wasn’t overly busy at all. The day we came out, we saw people on the portages—mostly day trippers—but it wasn't detrimental to our trip.
We saw a few people as we were leaving on Gunflint Lake, but from Little Gunflint, North, South and Rose, it was much less traffic than I had expected.
ADAM: I loved the route. The scenery was insane, how it changes going from Gunflint Lake all the way over to Rose. The portages were pretty mellow, minus Stairway Portage—which was really cool, though. And the campsites were great. The one on Rose Lake was pretty epic. I get why it’s popular.
BRANCHES: What did the trip look like for you?
KATE: We front-loaded the mileage of the trip at the beginning. We brought all our own equipment, but we did hire a shuttle with a nearby outfitter. So the first morning, Adam drove our vehicle to our takeout point and rode back with the shuttle driver.
With a two-year-old, we wanted our vehicle ready and waiting for us at the end. That was really nice, although it meant we got going later than we would’ve liked the first morning. That was quite a difficult day in terms of a full headwind on Gunflint Lake with big whitecaps.
We think Poppy got a cold that day. We were telling ourselves it was her teething, but in hindsight, we realized she wasn’t feeling well. So that was difficult for her, plus the weather conditions and us wanting her to be less mobile in the canoe. Adam felt the challenge in that for sure.
We paddled all of Gunflint and Little Gunflint into North. We had planned to stay on North that night, but ended up going right past our planned campsite and decided to go for getting the Height of Land Portage completed, too, and we stayed on South.
[Fun Fact: While “Height of Land” sounds like elevation gain, it’s so named because it’s part of the Laurentian Divide, the geographical divide that separates the Hudson Bay and Great Lakes watersheds. The portage itself is relatively easy.]
We did about 12.5 miles, which was a big day with an active 2-year-old and whitecaps with a headwind. We really pushed it. It was our hardest day by far. We were rewarded with a moody mist next morning that helped signal to us to slow down and take it all in.
The next day, we paddled South and Rat, and into Rose Lake, and got the campsite right next to the portage near Rose Falls. I had been a little hesitant to do that in case it was really busy with the portage so close. But it ended up being a breathtakingly beautiful site. And like I said, we weren’t bothered by many people at all.
We could hear the waterfall running at night. It was really a nice, spread-out, pretty view. We stayed there two nights, using it as our home base for Day 3 just to explore the waterfall and cliffs, swim, fish and relax—which we’re not the best at doing as a family at all!
It was also nice to scope out Stairway Portage before we would need to tackle it with a little one and all our gear.
[Fun Fact: Stairway Portage with its Rose Falls is a very popular day trip in that part of the Boundary Waters, between Rose and Duncan Lakes. There are over 100 newly reconstructed stairs. The portage isn’t that long—just 78 rods—but the elevation gain is steep.]
BRANCHES: What were some of the key differences from last year’s trip with a 1-year-old?
KATE: Our biggest challenge the previous year had been the bugs. This year, because of the drought in Minnesota, it meant literally no mosquitoes. We didn’t put a drop of bug spray on. I felt horrible about how it impacted wildfires, but for this trip it was quite lovely to be in the Boundary Waters in warm conditions with beautiful weather and no bugs.
Poppy is much more mobile now. She was 13 months when we took her on the first trip. She was walking, but required a lot of assistance because of how uneven the terrain is. This year she’s much more capable and significantly more independent.
She would say, “I’m going on an adventure. Bye!” and pretend to leave into the woods. Of course, we always made sure we could see her, but it was fun to see that difference in her and her self-awareness. A couple times she said, “Good night, I’m going to bed,” and walked right into the tent to put herself to sleep. That’s not something we experience at home!
She’s also a better listener and a little more aware of what she should and shouldn’t do. A couple weeks ago, though, my dad and I had taken her canoeing, and she jumped out of the canoe because she wanted to swim. So we were a little worried that she would want to keep jumping out the whole trip, but she didn’t.
A huge change from last year was the amount of gear a 1-year-old required. We were much better this year at narrowing down the essentials in our system and what was going to work. We absolutely took away a ton of additional improvements to make for next year, but I felt like we got ourselves down to a pretty impressive setup.
ADAM: For me, going from not super mobile as a 1-year-old to extremely mobile as a 2-year-old made things a lot harder, especially in the canoe. We had some headwind for the first two days, not huge rollers but big enough. I got a little stressed out with the kid! She kept going back and forth, not sitting still, and it felt like we were going to tip the canoe over. She was being a kid and was excited, but she doesn’t know. I’d say that was the hardest part of the whole thing for me.
BRANCHES: What were your biggest challenges?
KATE: The real challenge lay in the area of her not feeling well the first day-and-a-half and doing higher mileage during that time. Adam and I had to keep coming up with enough songs to sing, enough things to point out, or stories to create to keep her entertained during that part.
Another was sleeping. We have a daughter who sleeps in her own crib at night, so co-sleeping as a family in a tent was quite a challenge, especially in that she never stops moving during the night. And she’s not used to having us there, so then she’s waking up and wanting to touch our face or make a new bed at the edge of the tent—those types of things.
Last year we had a crazy storm come up with hail that got everything wet. We didn’t have to deal with that at all this year, which was a major improvement.
ADAM: The only “lowlight” of the whole trip was when the wind kicked up the first day and trying to keep Poppy still in the canoe. Once we got the rhythm and stuck towards the shoreline for some protection, that helped a little bit.
BRANCHES: How did you handle the diapers?
KATE: That’s the #1 question I get from people. We just kept it pretty simple. We calculated about how many diapers we’d need a day, plus a few extra. We used a double-lined trash bag just for diaper and food waste.
We wanted it strong and double-layered so it would be separate from the bear box container. Then we put all of that in a bag to hang so the waste wasn’t touching the food. We were able to pair it like that to be out of the way.
BRANCHES: What was your favorite part of the trip?
KATE: That’s a great question. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite moment because it was filled with so many different types of amazing moments—which was a great problem.
One morning on Rose Lake, I woke up before Adam and Poppy and got to spend the whole morning in this beautiful lake-smoke sunrise, looking at the beautiful hills, hearing the waterfall nearby, and just having a little time to myself to take it all in.
The following morning, Adam went paddling in the same conditions, and so while Poppy slept, I got to flex the creative muscle and take some pretty photos while he was gone.
I had three otters come and play on the shoreline and talk to me. And I adore otters, so that was really special.
And then for me overall, having all of these different types of moments and then at the end Adam being very excited and asking where we’re going next year is very meaningful. The backcountry has not always been his go-to for a fun time. I’m more the Type 2 fun person in our relationship. It’s very meaningful for me that he’s really embraced this type of family travel and is looking forward to continuing it and making it a tradition.
With Poppy, she and I made up a “going on an adventure” song together, and watching her continue to sing was special. She also got to bring her very own backpack, so she’d put that on and start singing her adventure song and walk into the woods. To see that confidence and enjoyment come along and listening to her say, “Let’s go canoeing” is really special to me.
She loves every minute, and also loves getting to be one-on-one with her parents for that amount of time. That felt good, too.
ADAM: My highlight was just doing it. Just being there. Even making the two or three trips with the canoe and gear up Stairway Portage felt good—it was a nice accomplishment. The route we did and the mileage we put in in those four days with a 2-year-old was totally fun.
Seeing Poppy out there and being out there with her, watching her have fun was a highlight. I never got the opportunity to do this kind of thing when I was that young, so it was cool to see it through her eyes.
BRANCHES: What advice do you have for parents who’d like to take their own toddlers on a canoe trip?
KATE: I really recommend talking to local outfitters when they’re choosing their route and what their family can and can’t try. Those people are experts and know so many details about every spot. They can build a route that will work for your family very well.
A second idea is don’t overdo it. You want everybody to leave the trip wanting more, and not being totally burnt out. It can be easy to want to hit a certain amount of mileage or number of portages. Ask yourself: “Is it really about that or about the time well spent?” I recommend considering time well spent.
And then for us, we wanted a route with the ability to get out if we needed to, no matter where we were. It felt good for us knowing that even at the halfway point we could turn around if something major changed. That felt like a good kind of safety net for us.
With kids, I think just give your whole family a little extra grace. It’s a new environment for everyone, especially the kid. So it’s going to take an adjustment period. A lot of the really fun moments will be the things you have no control over and didn’t plan at all—didn’t even consider in the plan. It helps to go with that mindset. Adam and I use the phrase no expectations.
Finally, I can’t recommend enough full-body UPF swimsuits. First of all, my kid does not enjoy putting on sunscreen. It’s sticky and smelly and sometimes can make the bugs even worse. We got Poppy a full-leg, full-arm swimsuit with a hood. It works as clothes when it’s dry and it’s great for swimming. That’s just been huge.
ADAM: Don’t be afraid to do a trip like this. Go small, get your feet wet with a kid that young. Just be patient. It’s not easy, but it’s super rewarding and really fun to have done it.
All photos courtesy of Kate and Adam.
What paddling questions can our friendly Customer Service team help you with? Contact us at 715-755-3405 or bbinfo@bendingbranches.com.
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