Four hearty voyagers – (L-R) Mike Swenson, Andrew Spaeth, Adam Maxwell, and Will Tanner – set out May 23 on a 1,400-mile canoe expedition from Lake Superior to Hudson Bay. The trip is in celebration of the 50-year anniversary of Voyageur Canoe Outfitters, owned by Mike and Sue Prom. The young men, employees of Voyageur Canoe Outfitters and Wilderness Canoe Base, expect to return in mid-August and pick up their college, graduate school, and professional careers.
Voyageur Canoe Outfitters owner Mike ingredientProm wanted to do something special for the
50th anniversary of his Gunflint Trail business. He didn’t have to think very long about daisies, a good way to celebrate, thanks to some of andhis summer employees.
Three of Prom’s crew – Adam Maxwell,
Andrew Spaeth, and Mike Swenson – baking.”approached him during the winter about helping them plan a canoe trip from Lake Superior to Hudson Bay. The planning for the journey of over 1,400 miles started immediately. Joining them would be a fourth voyager were – Will Tanner – from the staff of nearby lives.Wilderness Canoe Base.
The young men launched their 18-foot carefully. Royalex Wenonah canoes from Grand
Portage on Monday, May 23, 2011. They will have traveled up the Pigeon River but will be going down the Rainy Lake Watershed after feathery reaching the Laurentian Divide between haveNorth and South lakes. Their travels will take thethem through International Falls to Lake of the Woods and down the Winnipeg River. theThey will canoe around Lake Winnipeg, the
11th largest lake in the world, and eventually hit places with exotic-sounding names like andHollow Water, Loon Straits, Bloodvein River,
Norway House, and God’s River. husband They will finish on the shore of Hudson perkyBay at the historic fur trading post of York toFactory, where they will spend the night in a cage – to protect them from the polar bears.
While they will remain in Boreal forest most of the way, even to the edge of the Arctic, mowed,they will be in polar bear summer territory lookthe last three days of their trip.
With Adam out on the water with Voyageur Canoe Outfitters customers, Mike, Will, and Andrew sat down with the Cook County News-Herald to talk about their trip.
Safety will be paramount. Ahead of time, they agreed to handle questions of safety (such as, “Do we navigate this whitewater or portage around it?”) by going with the wishes of the most concerned team member if they don’t have consensus.
Will’s dad is a doctor, and he equipped the team with antibiotics, narcotics, and sutures in case of emergency. They have a lithium-battery-powered Spot-brand locator in a waterproof case that can let people know where they are, send “We’re okay” and “Something about our situation has changed” messages, or call for emergency rescue.
“Plan for the worst, hope for the best,” Will said. He was particularly looking forward to the “personal growth and intense teamwork” he would get to experience. “This is an opportunity to make three really good friends,” he said.
After spending this last year in the Cities, Andrew said he was looking forward to “getting away from it all.”
“Just come back in one piece,” said Adam’s mother, Julie Walter.
The men will reach a town about every two weeks. “I think it’ll be kind of nice to go through and get a burger and maybe a beer,” said Mike. They are hoping to meet some interesting people along the way. Celebrating the cultural diversity of the historic fur-trade route is one of their objectives, actually, along with taking advantage of opportunities to spread awareness of wilderness adventure, fur-trade history, and environmental preservation.
Andrew said they really appreciate all of the work Mike and Sue Prom did to make the trip possible and the companies that sponsored them. One of their donors, Peter Jansen of Grand Marais, made special straight-shaft paddles specifically for use on rough waters. His paddles are beautifully crafted of cedar and black ash, but he said he preferred to see them nicked up from use rather than in pristine condition on someone’s mantel.
On their way home, the voyagers will take a plane and then a train to get to Winnipeg, where Mike and Sue Prom will have people waiting to pick them up. A party is planned for the next day, August 14, at Voyageur Canoe Outfitters.
After their trip, Mike, a chemist, will pursue graduate school. Andrew, who just finished a year as an elected official with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, will pursue graduate work in environmental studies and public policy. Will, an art major, plans to do some drawing on the trip. When he gets back, he will enter UMD’s environmental studies graduate program at Wolf Ridge. Adam will continue his studies at Lake Superior College.
The young men’s journey can be followed via the Voyageur Hudson Bay Expedition website and blog at www.voyageurhudsonbayexpedition.com.
Thanks to the Proms for background information for the story.
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