Piragis Northwoods Company
 105 North Central Avenue
Ely, Minnesota 55731
1-800-223-6565
www.piragis.com
Friday, August 10, 2007
Greetings from Ely, Minnesota and the Boundary Waters!
Fire Regulation Update:
Outside the Blowdown Area of the BWCAW and within the remainder of the Superior National Forest as of August 10th, campfires, charcoal and wood-burning stoves are ONLY ALLOWED within Forest Service metal fire rings or grates at campsites, campgrounds and picnic areas.
In any areas without Forest Service metal fire rings or grates, only gas or propane stoves are allowed.
Remember:
Level 2 Fire Ban -- No Fires in the Blow Down/Restricted Area - Lack of sufficient moisture forces Fire Restrictions...
Due to continuing drought conditions...
Beginning Friday, August 3, 2007 (00:01am), the Superior National Forest will prohibit the use of campfires, woodburning campstoves and charcoal at any time of day in the blowdown-restricted area .
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Family Boundary Waters CANOE TRIPS -- A GREAT way to Vacation together:
From some of this season's Canoe Trippers,
"Hi Drew,
I want to thank you for great service you gave me in planning our family’s seven day trip into the BWCAW this last July. The used equipment I purchased from Piragis was excellent and your recommendation for Moose River, Entry #16 worked out perfectly. I really appreciated all the time you spent discussing the various lakes, campsites, points of interest, portages and fishing spots.
As you know, it was the four of us, my wife (her first trip ever into the Boundary Waters, in fact, this was her first wilderness trip), myself (4th trip) and my two younger sons (17 yr old-3rd trip and 14 yr old). We paddled 56 miles and did 21 portages and had one layover day when we did not travel. The trip was just the right length for my wife and we easily single-portaged the entire trip.
It was a fabulous week in the northern Minnesota woods. Lots of pictures, it was hard; well, honestly quite difficult to limit the number of pictures to send you.
The wilderness trip was excellent despite that the weather wasn’t perfect… a lot more wind and more rain than I’ve seen on my previous three trips. We saw a moose 45 minutes into our first day and this trip will probably be remembered as the blueberry and rainbow trip. We had fresh blueberries five of the seven days and beautiful rainbows and sunsets the last three days. A cold front came through on day four and brought our nightly temps down into the 40’s with our last night low at 41. We were prepared for it and no one was cold at night. We enjoyed every minute of the cooler weather (note: Tennessee in July = hot + humid).
During the trip we saw numerous types of wildlife (moose, bald eagles, muskrat, beaver, otter, loons, deer, chipmunks, snakes, other birds, etc.). We camped at 5 different sites (all great) during the 6 nights out.
Thomas, my 14 yr. old, had a couple great, poignant remarks during the trip. He had the food pack, the heaviest pack, I’m guessing 80 lbs. on the outset, and his comment on the first day was, “I kept thinking on the portages…”my parents want to do this on vacation!?”” That’s a 14 yr. old for you. On day four, I asked Thomas how he slept that previous night and he replied, “After I got to sleep I was fine, but there was so much barking …it was annoying.” Those were the river otters and unfortunately I had already fallen asleep (but I heard them last year).
I have Piragis’s phone number programmed into my cell. I (and my wife, too J ) can’t wait to come the North Woods again. As Suzanne Kindler ends one of her poems, “When you’re “Up North” you’ll know… in your heart.”
God bless and thank you again,
Chris and Lori Patterson
Knoxville, TN
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Blueberries are Awesome!
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Check out the Moose!
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The Weather as of now...
Friday... Partly sunny. Patchy fog early in the morning. Isolated showers and thunderstorms in the morning. Highs 83 to 88. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.
Saturday... Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs 80 to 85. South winds 10 to 15 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
Sunday... Mostly sunny in the morning then becoming partly cloudy. Highs 75 to 80. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph becoming northeast in the afternoon.
Monday... Partly cloudy. Lows 47 to 52. Highs 77 to 82.
Tuesday... Partly cloudy. Highs 78 to 83. Lows 52 to 57.
Wednesday... Partly cloudy. Highs 73 to 78. Lows 50 to 55.
Thursday... Partly cloudy. Highs 73 to 78. Lows 50 to 55.
Friday... Partly cloudy. Highs 73 to 78. Lows 50 to 55.
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A Fly-in is the best way to maximize your time in the park. You can leave Ely at 9 AM and be sitting at a beautiful campsite in Quetico Park that same evening...
We do fly-in trips to several entry points for Quetico Park:
Lac LaCroix, Beaverhouse, Nym Lake, Cache Bay, and Clay Lake.
A Fly-in is the best way to maximize your time in the park. You can leave Ely at 9 AM and be sitting at a beautiful campsite in Quetico Park that same evening. The optimal size for a group is 4 - in a Beaver. We can also fly in groups of 6 - in an Otter.
You can either choose to fly-out or paddle out. We will pick you up at your take out point.
We rent nesting canoes that get strapped on one of the pontoons. The canoes are Wenonah Kevlars - the Champlain and Spirit II.
Give us a call for pricing. Ask for Bert or Drew.
To reserve canoes please email us, Bert Heep or Drew Brockett or call us at 1-800-223-6565. We can set you up with canoes, permits, gear, whatever you need, including full outfitting for 1 person, a large group and any size in between.
Plan a September Canoe Trip... leave the bugs behind and see more wildlife:
From trippers, last September:
"Hi Drew. This was one of our "best-ever" vacations and we all wanted to thank you for your quality guidance, expertise and dedication.
Our party of four from California flew to Minnesota in mid-September of 2006. There would be a lot of firsts: 1st trip to MN, 1st time to Lake Superior, 1st experience with Piragis, 1st extended canoe trip and 1st time to Quetico Provincial Park. It started with an idea to do a canoe trip to the Boundary Waters area which led us to Piragis - our first good decision with many more to come on our 9 day trip. Everyone at Piragis was so helpful in making our trip unforgettable from start to finish, leaving us with experiences and memories we are still bragging about.
Our first day began with a float plane ride and drop-off at Beaverhouse Lake. Nine days and 25 lakes later we would end our journey at Prairie Portage. We so enjoyed the whole adventure; the "different kinds of good weather", stunning fall colors, every stroke of the paddle, the portages and wildlife (with the exception of the elusive beaver we spotted one wolf, 2 cows & 3 bull moose - one of which we got to watch swim across Shade Lake, lots of eagles and other fun-to-watch critters. How cool!
Here are (some) of our favorite photos. Thanks again for helping us to have a most memorable trip!"
Rick, Denise, Derek and Joel
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Cliff Jacobson -- "Canoeist's Tool Kit"
The portage began in a marginally protected cove dangerously close to the lip of the ten meter falls. Whipped by mild eddy currents, the rocky shore provided only enough space for one canoe to land at a time. So as soon as my partner and I had put ashore, we dragged our 18 foot lightweight Grumman well up the bank to make room for our friends. As a precautionary measure, we tied the bow line to a tree, certain our friends would follow suit.
Two trips over the easy portage and everything was across. One man had turned an ankle on a previous carry, so I went back to fetch his canoe. When I arrived at the start, there was no canoe in sight. Perhaps Roger had brought it over after all. No matter, it was a nice day and I didn't mind the hike. As I ambled into the sun lit opening which marked the end of the carry, a friend asked me the whereabouts of Roger's Alumacraft. "I dunno," I answered. "Didn't you guys bring it over?" "Oh my God!" screamed someone: "It's gone over the falls! We forgot to tie it up!"
Fearfully, we ran back over the trail, hoping for some sign of the shiny silver metal. There was none. Frantically, we searched the rapid and pounding chasm below the falls. No luck. Our worst fear was realized: the canoe had indeed gone over the falls!
to read the rest of the story follow this link:
http://www.piragis.com/cliffjacobson/cliffjacobsonnotesv42.html
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Guided Wilderness Trips have openings - Call this week 1-800-223-6565 ask for Bert or Drew
Women’s Wilderness Trip – September 13-16 has space available
http://www.piragis.com/outfitting/womensguidedcanoetrip.html
Boundary Waters Artist Trip – September 1-7 has space available
http://www.piragis.com/outfitting/boundarywatersarttrip.html
Autumn Colors Trip – September 22-28 has space available
http://www.piragis.com/outfitting/autumncolorscanoetrip.html
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Our Entire Rental Fleet is out on the Water!
We ran out and snapped a photo while we still had a couple of royalex boats and a rew kayaks on the rack. These first two weeks in August we have our canoes reserved everyday... That's right our entire rental fleet. We've even added to our rental boats as the season has gone on to meet the demand. Don't let this stop you though, we've been able to match the right canoe for the right trip all summer and we promise to do whatever it takes to get your canoe trip planned and on the water. We just thought you'd like to see a shot of the empty racks. Remember, beginning October 1st, we sell every boat in our 2007 rental fleet (over 100 craft). Check out the list and call Steve Schon today to put $100 down and reserve your boat at very big savings!
http://www.piragis.com/usedcanoeandkayak.html
Bert Heep.........................Drew Brockett
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Low Fares now for Costa Rica, save money and book your next Adventure with Worldwide Paddling Adventures and Kim McCluskey today:
Our friend George from Costa Rica just sent us a "heads up"email:
Hi Kim and Steve,
Just a thought, we recently have been seeing roundtrip airfares from NY to Costa Rica for $220 which is the best we have ever seen!
Ciao,
George"
From the Desk of Kim McCluskey:
"Bounce through Costa Rica on a fun filled 12 day adventure that takes you to all the best paddling destinations in this eco-friendly nation. The trip is a combination of warm whitewater rivers in the interior where monkeys and sloth hang from the trees, to placid lagoons near the coast filled with the sights and sounds of tropical birds.
Starting high in the central valley we'll overnight in the capital of San Jose and head right out the next morning to paddle the Class I and exciting Class II Rio Puerto Viejo, ending up at the Sarapiqui Jungle Lodge. It will be a fast paced week with visits to an active volcano (no paddling here), a biological station, two hot springs and several remote jungle lodges.
Our 12 day tour ends on the white sand beaches of Playa Conchal where we'll see the leatherback turtles nesting before heading back to San Jose for a farewell dinner overlooking the entire central valley. Jump on for the ride and let's explore Costa Rica together by canoe."
We are looking for more people to go on this wonderful adventure. The dates are January 7 -18, 2008. Call Kim at 1-800-6474 or 218- 365-4297 for more information.
Cost $2950
Kim McCluskey
Owner/Explorer
Worldwide Paddling Adventures
www.worldwidepaddlingadventures.com
14054 Fall Lake Rd
Ely, Mn 55731
800-957-6474
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New Kevlar, Royalex and Folding Canoes for Sale:
New Kayaks and Folding Kayaks for Sale:
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"Ely - Winton, Jewels of the Boundary Waters" New Historical DVD
It has excellent cinematography. The dialogue moves quickly and holds the interest. I think it is a winner." Steve Piragis
http://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com/browse.cfm/4,6449.html
DVD. Ely - Winton: Jewels of the Boundary Waters.
This film accurately depicts the history of the Ely-Winton area. Viewers will be impressed with the landscape as they learn the background behind the mines and forests of northern Minnesota." Ely-Winton Historical Society
From the early days of the native Americans to the modern era of tourism, discover the history of our area for yourselves.
82 min by Joe Narusiewicz
To reserve canoes or trip and route planning for this summer please email us, Bert Heep or Drew Brockett or call us at 1-800-223-6565. We can set you up with canoes, permits, gear, whatever you need, including full outfitting for 1 person or for a large group and any size in between.
Thanks to our Newsletter Sponsors Below!
Piragis Northwoods Company, Ely Minnesota, 1-800-223-6565
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