Sunrise over a calm lake with a canoe
Chapter 01

How the trek works

Who's in the crew, who's actually in charge, and exactly what happens from the minute we roll into the Ely base to the morning we drive home.

Jun 14–24

2027 — camp dates, travel days extra

10 nights

9 full days on the water

6–8

Scouts and adults in our crew

1.1M

Acres of Boundary Waters wilderness

The crew

Every Northern Tier participant belongs to a crew. Ours is at least two adult leaders, a youth Crew Leader, and a majority of youth participants — plus a Northern Tier Interpreter who travels with us the entire trip.

If our troop brings enough Scouts for more than one crew, we get split into “sister crews.” Sister crews travel independently and will not see each other in the wilderness — that's deliberate, so each crew gets the real thing.

Crew Leader (a Scout)

Picked early in planning. Leads the route discussion, sets the pace of travel each day, and builds the duty roster for camp chores. This is a real leadership job, not a title.

Crew Advisor (adult)

Counsel and coach to the Crew Leader, and responsible for the crew's safety. At least one adult must hold current Wilderness First Aid and CPR.

Interpreter (NT staff)

A trained Canoe Country Counselor. Teaches skills, helps plan the route, coaches the crew, handles all emergency communication, and brings the history and stories of the North Country to life.

The wilderness

Northern Tier calls it “part classroom, part instructor.” The weather, the wind and the portages do a lot of the teaching on this trip.

Our crew size. The Ely base runs crews of 6 to 8 participants — minimum two registered adults age 21+ and at least two registered youth age 14–17.

Where we're going

We're paddling out of the Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base in Ely, Minnesota — Northern Tier's oldest base, outfitting crews off Moose Lake since 1941 and over 4,000 participants a year.

From Ely, crews paddle the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Nestled in the Superior National Forest, the BWCAW is 1.1 million acres — the largest federally designated wilderness area in the contiguous United States. It stretches nearly 150 miles along the Ontario border and is known worldwide as a premier wilderness canoeing destination, with over 250,000 visitors a year.

Designated campsites

Camping in the BWCAW is restricted to designated sites, each with a US Forest Service fire grate and a pit toilet.

Permits are handled for us

Wilderness use is strictly limited by a permit system that caps how many groups enter each day. Northern Tier books our permit, and BWCAW permit fees are included in our trip cost.

Solitude is a choice

Stay near the entry point and you'll see other groups. Plan a longer route and an expeditious crew can get away from contact with anyone else entirely.

No passport needed

Our trek stays in the United States, so there's no border crossing, no passport, and no international paperwork to chase down.

Illustrative map of the Ely base and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Planning the route

Here's the great part: there are no set routes. Our Interpreter helps the crew build the trip we actually want, based on current conditions — and with 10 nights, we have real range.

Show up with answers to these, because the crew will be asked:

Do the math as a crew. At 2–3 mph including portages, nine days on the water covers serious ground — but pushing 20-mile days means giving up layover days and most of the fishing. Decide together what kind of trip we want before we sit down at the route table.

Arrival day at base

Arrive between 1:00 and 3:00 PM. Eat lunch on the road — there's no lunch at base. Crews arriving after 3:00 may not finish check-in and will be delayed getting on the water.

  1. Meet your InterpreterThe person who's about to spend the next ten days with our crew.
  2. Complete your first portageCarry all personal and group gear to the cabin — up to a quarter-mile hike on a rugged trail.
  3. Medical screeningEveryone gets screened. Complete the pre-event screening questions before leaving home.
  4. Crew check-inAll required documents get verified. See the Paperwork page.
  5. Gear and food outfittingOver $5,000 of trail equipment gets issued to our crew.
  6. Route planningThe crew and Interpreter build the actual trip.
  7. Gear shakedownThe Interpreter goes through every piece of group and personal gear with you.
  8. Dinner at 5:30 PMIn the dining hall. Field or activity uniform encouraged.
  9. Orientation and Trading PostThen sleep in a rustic Northwoods cabin.
Do not bring rolling luggage. The trail to the cabins is rugged. Pack in a backpack or duffel — and if you're using a base locker, use a frameless pack so it collapses to fit.

Launch morning

Breakfast at 7:00 AM — wear your trail clothes. Then canoe check-out, food check-out, final gear check-out, and lock your personal items in the locker or vehicle. An efficient crew is on the water by 10:00 AM.

Our itinerary — June 14–24, 2027

Eleven days at Northern Tier: a night on base, nine full days on the water with eight nights camped in the wilderness, then a final night back on base before the drive home.

These are the camp dates only. June 14 is arrival at the Ely base and June 24 is departure — travel days to and from Minnesota are additional on each end. Plan accordingly when you book time off.
Mon Jun 14Day 1 • on base

Arrive at Northern Tier

Check in between 1:00 and 3:00 PM. Gear haul to the cabin, medical screening, outfitting, route planning and the gear shakedown. Dinner at 5:30, orientation, then a bunk in a rustic Northwoods cabin.

Tue Jun 15Day 2 • water 1 of 9

Hit the trail

Breakfast at 7:00 AM in trail clothes. Canoe, food and final gear check-out, then on the water by 10:00 AM. First paddle, first real portage, first campsite.

Jun 16–18Days 3–5 • water 2–4

Settling into the rhythm

Break camp, paddle, portage, make camp, hang the bear bag, repeat. This is where the crew finds its pace and the duty roster starts running itself.

Jun 19–21Days 6–8 • water 5–7

Deep in the Boundary Waters

The farthest point from the road. If the crew plans a layover day, this is usually where it lands — a full day at one campsite to fish, swim, explore and recover.

Tue Jun 22Day 9 • water 8 of 9

The paddle back

Working back toward the entry point. Last night in the wilderness — traditionally the one everybody remembers.

Wed Jun 23Day 10 • water 9 of 9

Off the water & back to base

A final morning paddle to the entry point, returning to base after 1:00 PM. Gear check-in, then the shower and sauna you've been thinking about for a week and a half. Dinner in the dining hall and a last night in the cabin.

Thu Jun 24Day 11 • depart

Head home

Breakfast, then depart base by 9:00 AM.

On base On the water Travel day
The math: 10 nights = 2 nights on base (first and last) + 8 nights camped in the wilderness, across 11 days at camp, with 9 days of paddling.
The exact day-by-day is ours to write. Northern Tier has no fixed routes — the shape above is the standard 10-night structure, but where we go each day gets decided by the crew and our Interpreter on arrival day.
Decoding our crew number. A number like E061427-X reads as: E = Ely • 061427 = arriving June 14, 2027 • the trailing letter identifies the crew. Letters X, Y and Z indicate a 10-night trip like ours (A–F are the 7 and 8 night trips).
Next: the planning timeline