Unplug…every once in a while it needs to be done. If you haven’t done it in a while, you need to.



For me it was 5 days and nights of primitive camping with 7 friends in Boundary Waters Canoe Area near Ely, Minnesota. For us Texans, it might as well have been Canada. Our trip started on a clear Saturday morning in May at the dock of the Kawishiwi Lodge on the northern tip of Lake One. Already our cell phones did not have service. 5 hours of canoeing across 5 lakes, 5 overland portages and roughly 10 miles later, our group reached our primitive campsite on Lake Hudson with not another soul to be seen or heard. After 2 days of camping and fishing at this location, on Monday we packed up and canoed back though Lake Four to Lake Three to spend the rest of our time camping and fishing on our own private island in this large lake.



Bad weather hit Tuesday with an all day shower. Temperatures in the area ranged from 38 degrees F at night to the mid-50’s and 60’s during the day. I thank my wife for keeping track of the temperatures via computer while I was away.

We were early in the camping season of the early spring as the foliage was just beginning to emerge. We knew that the chain of lakes had thawed just weeks before we arrived. The constant cold water and dry air took a toll on my hands. Morning and evening campfires were a necessity. Multiple layers of clothing a must. The ability to make coffee was pleasant. The occasional citing of a bald eagle in the distance was inspirational.

For a time, I caught a glimpse of what it must have been like to live in our fore-fathers in the past. But after 5 days in the same clothes, a hot shower and reality felt nice. I found that I missed the hot, humid weather of southeast Texas. Apparently this climate matches my own comfort zone.



The trip was well worth the time and physical exhaustion. The area we were in was once logged to the ground, but has since been returned to unspoiled beauty. I would recommend this trip to anyone with a fond appreciation or need of isolation in the outdoors.

I think for my next adventure to unplug I’m going to a tropical climate, preferably one with a sandy beach.