Chapter 05
Rules of the North
Northern Tier has an outstanding safety record, and it's not luck. These are the rules that keep it that way — know them before you arrive.
Northern Tier has an outstanding safety record, and it's not luck. These are the rules that keep it that way — know them before you arrive.
Bears, chipmunks and mice love trail food. Food and every “smellable” gets hung at night — and perfumed items count: toothpaste, soap and lip balm smell like food. Your Interpreter will show you how.
Never take food into a tent or cabin, on the trail or on base.
Every natural source — springs, streams, lakes — must be brought to a rolling boil, treated with a chemical purifier, or filtered. No exceptions, no matter how clear it looks.
Wash, rinse and sanitize; let everything air dry. Dump dirty dishwater at least 200 feet behind the campsite and 200 feet from any water source. One sloppy cleanup can take out the whole crew.
We're visitors. Don't bother or provoke animals, never feed them, and enjoy them from a distance.
Scouting rules require advanced training and equipment that isn't available on the trek.
Prohibited. Yes, really.
Don't bring them. Shooting is not allowed at Northern Tier and fireworks are a fire hazard.
Possession or use of alcohol, illegal drugs, or misuse of prescription drugs means being sent home immediately, arranged with the council office or your parents.
Never permitted within line of sight of youth. No smoking in any building or vehicle. Each base has one designated tobacco area.
Physical, sexual or emotional abuse — including hazing — by peers or adults is unacceptable anywhere. Reporting abuse is the law.
If you spot a fire, or think you do, report it to your Interpreter immediately — they'll radio or call the base director. Your crew should not attempt to fight a wildfire and should leave the area quickly. Some naturally occurring fires in wilderness areas are deliberately left to burn; trained firefighters handle the rest.
On base, report any fire to the base director or staff immediately. If the fire alarm sounds, all crews report to the main flagpole. A fire guard plan is posted at each base.
Northern Tier provides all emergency communication devices and coordinates every emergency with local authorities. Personal beacons get locked up with your valuables before launch — they aren't permitted on the trail.
They damage factory canoe seats and make portaging harder. A standard Crazy Creek style camp chair is fine — and doubles as a sleeping pad.
Northern Tier's take: “The beautiful wilderness is the reason you're here, right? Enjoy it.”
Strongly discouraged — and there's virtually no reception. Permitted only as a camera; keep it in airplane mode. A crew camera is still the better call.
Northern Tier practices Leave No Trace wilderness ethics carefully, and the Boundary Waters is a federally designated wilderness area. Your job is to leave it exactly as you found it.
Northern Tier is honest about this: despite excellent risk management, it isn't possible to remove all risk from a wilderness expedition. Known risks include motor vehicle accidents; severe weather (hail, lightning, heat, cold, high winds); forest fires; medical events such as heart attack, appendicitis, hypothermia, severe allergies, asthma or diabetic conditions; insect-borne illness like West Nile and Lyme disease; cuts, burns, falls and embedded fish hooks; the hazards of large cold lakes; and wildlife encounters.
Safety depends on being physically fit, properly equipped and trained, and on following the procedures above. Medical evacuations are coordinated by Northern Tier with local authorities — questions go to 218.365.4811 or info@ntier.org.