Despite being scattered across the country, four college students are currently planning an 85 day, 1,200-mile canoe trip from Lake Superior to the Hudson Bay.
Ohio University student Helena Karlstrom, a senior studying environmental studies, decided to become part of this expedition by being a pursuit leader for the New Adventures program. New Adventures is Ohio University’s adventure orientation program for first-year students to canoe and backpack in the wilderness with other OU students and a mentor.
Karlstrom said she has led trips to the Boundary Waters for the past two summers and since has decided to be the newest addition to the canoe expedition. She found out about the trip through her connections within the organization and decided she wanted to go with three other students from around the country who were going.
These four students from four different colleges plan to be out on the water this summer on canoes. Their trip entails canoeing from Grand Portage, Minnesota, which is on the border between the U.S. and Canada. They will continue to travel from the border through Minnesota up to Lake Winnipeg, leading them into the Hudson Bay of the Atlantic Ocean.
The idea to take on this expedition came from a friendship developed between Abigail Cichocki, a neurobiology major at the University of Wisconsin, and Olivia Bledsoe, a wildlife conservation major at Virginia Tech. The two met as canoe guides for the Northern Lakes Canoe Base, a Girl Scouts of the USA base for women to learn how to live in the wilderness and canoe comfortably in Ely, Minnesota.
Cichocki and Bledsoe later became guides at Northern Tier High Adventure where they met Emma Brackett, a studio art major at Clark University. They became friends during the summers of 2022 and 2023 as they all shared the same passion: The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
During their time as guides, Cichocki and Bledsoe read “Hudson Bay Bound” by Natalie Warren. The novel is about the first two women who paddled the whole route from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay, which partly inspired the idea for the trip.
During Karlstrom's time as a leader, Assistant Director of Outdoor Recreation and Education Cody Lennon told her about the trip. He heard about it through one of his former colleagues who is the director of the Venture Out program at Bledsoe’s school.
Karlstrom saw the expedition as an opportunity to showcase her skills as a leader and to raise awareness of the Boundary Waters. She found herself feeling empowered throughout her trips to the Boundary Waters by being challenged.
“The Boundary Waters tested me on every level, physically, mentally and emotionally,” Karlstrom said. “It really pushed me to become who I am as a leader.”
Karlstrom said the commitment to the trip comes with thinking positively about it and having a good mentality. Even though all four expeditors are from across the country, she said trusting her team is what is important.
“Getting in a good mindset for a trip is really important to me,” Karlstrom said. “... we are committing to respecting each other's boundaries, supporting each other and listening to each other with good communication throughout the trip.”
The four meet online once a week to discuss the details of the trip. Brackett said they take the time to plan out every material that is needed to be as prepared as possible.
“We have an alarming amount of spreadsheets (that) go over what emergency communication we have, what safety tools we have,” Brackett said.
All four canoers budgeted out things such as food, water and tools, and reached out to small-town locals and bakeries, such as Brainstorm Bakery in Ely, to help them get the materials they needed. Brackett said this helps take some of the physical load off of them.
“We’ll be mailing out our food to a couple towns and actually have people come and bring us food for three of our resupplies, so we’re only going to be carrying 23 days of food,” Brackett said.
Different companies, such as paddle company Bending Branches and non-profit organization Save the Boundary Waters, have helped provide the tools needed for the trip. They also set up a GoFundMe page to help make this trip happen and to raise awareness for young girls in paddle sports.
Planning this expedition has helped all four travelers stay focused on their personal fitness goals. Karlstrom said she uses her athletic capabilities to stay fit to pull off this trip.
“I am also an ultra-marathoner, so I enjoy running and I will continue to do that,” Karlstrom said. “I am also a rock climber, so I lift weights and climb rocks.”
Staying motivated is not an issue for these four as they continue to raise awareness for young women and gender advocacy. Cichocki said being able to do this expedition is more than rewarding.
“What keeps me motivated is knowing the impact this trip is going to have on young women across canoe country, across the US, across the world even,” Cichocki said. “(We want to) show them it is possible for women to do everything a man can do, and women are strong and capable.”
db639322@ohio.edu
