Who would have ever thought we would make it to October?   At the start of the season back in early May, we didn’t even know if we would be able to open.  Luckily, very luckily, we made it over that hurdle and opened only a couple weeks late in mid-May.  Our most common question this summer from our guests was “how has your Boundary Waters summer been?”

Well, I have told them, probably the same as yours, weird.   Many of our youth groups cancelled their trips.  Furthermore, since the US – Canada border has remained closed, the Quetico Park has been off limits.  This led to many of our long time Quetico afficionados cancelling their trips.  However, on the positive side, there were sure a lot of folks that were tired of being couped up at home and decided a million-acre wilderness was a great place to social distance.   So, we saw many families, and many groups that took wonderful trips into the BWCA.

For these good folks, we are deeply appreciative.  Many of you were first timers, and we hope that some of you caught the BWCA bug and we will see you again.  To those of you that postponed this year’s trip, we look forward to seeing you “Up North” next summer. 

We are cautiously optimistic that next summer will be back to normal, or at least some type of normal.  The reservation systems for Quetico and the BWCA are working fine.  If early season interest is any indicator, it appears that many of this season’s postponed trips are already signing up for next summer. We strongly suggest that you clear some dates for next season and let us help you get your permits as they become available.

We are busy doing our end of season chores.   Top among them, pulling out boats, moving docks, putting up paddles and pfd’s, and on and on.   We fill up fuel tanks, empty trash and recycling, paint, cut and split wood, and maybe on a night or two get in a little fishing just to stay sane!

To those of you that made the journey to canoe country this summer, Thank You! We appreciate you and hope we did a good job of keeping you safe and making you feel welcome.  To those of you that kept your powder dry this season, we respect your choice and hope to see you again soon.

To all of you from the crew here at Williams and Hall, we wish you calm seas and a following wind.