During their 100 day “Paddle to D.C.” Dave and Amy Freeman encountered long stretches of beautiful water and long hard portages like the one above. Here Dave carries their “petition,” the Wenonah canoe that more than 10,000 people signed which was the primary vessel that carried them as they wound through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness into Canada and then New York and on to Washington D.C.
While most Americans were busy gobbling turkey and watching parades or football games on Thanksgiving Day, Dave and Amy Freeman were in their canoe. “We paddled all day, until 10:30 p.m., taking advantage of good weather,” Dave Freeman reported from Washington D.C. on December 1.
The 2014 National Geographic Adventurers of the Year were completing a four-month canoe trip that started in Ely and wound its way through Canada to New York and then to Washington with many stops along the way with the purpose of stopping the Polymet and Twin Metal mine projects on the Iron Range.
Dave Freeman said these two projects are different than the traditional iron mining that has taken place on the Range, because these companies would be digging into sulfur-bearing material and any water leaching out of the mine would be highly toxic. “It’s almost impossible to mine this way without causing perpetual environmental impacts,” Dave said.
As outdoor educators Dave and Amy operate a nonprofit Wilderness Classroom, a program aimed at getting kids excited about the outdoors. During their threeyear, 11,700-mile North American Odyssey canoe/ sea kayak adventure that wrapped up in 2013, more than 100,000 students and 1,800 teachers followed their progress online.
As part of their mission, the Freemans felt it was necessary to educate as many people as possible about the two proposed mining projects that they believe could potentially leach toxins into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Quetico Voyageurs National Park and eventually into Hudson Bay.
“It’s a potential environmental disaster that should be prevented,” Dave said.
The determined couple left Ely, Minnesota in late August to begin their Paddle to D.C., along the way collecting more than 10,000 signatures on their petition, a Wenonah canoe. Upon their arrival, they met individually with members of Congress and the Senate to share their concerns about the dangers of mining sulfur-bearing material.
They also headlined the Youth Outdoor Collaborative, a wilderness and outdoors youth engagement event for nearly 150 local elementary and middle school children from Bucknell Elementary, Beacon Heights Elementary and Potomac Preparatory Charter School on Wednesday, December 3. And said Dave, they hope to meet with high-ranking U.S Forest Service personnel and maybe, even the president.
As they have paddled and sailed through some legendary water routes they have been taken into homes to be fed, given a chance to rest and relax, and met many nice people and made many new friends, said Dave.
“We have had 35 events and met directly with 2,800 people. Along the way we paddled through snowy, wet, and cold conditions and through bright sunny, warm weather.
“We saw the beautiful fall leaves along the Mattawa River and paddled past skyscrapers and large ships in New York harbor. We paddled past the Statue of Liberty, which was really cool. We paddled the French, Mattawa and Ottawa rivers to bring our petition to the Canadian government in Ottawa, Ontario, then into Montreal to Lake Champlain to the Hudson River through New York City, and then through canals to Chesapeake Bay to Washington, D.C.
“And thankfully, neither of us has gotten sick or injured,” said Dave.
Joining Dave and Amy in Washington are about three dozen folks flying in from the Twin Cities, said Dave. They will help set up and coordinate meetings and events. One of the organizations that has helped them is Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness, but much of the money needed to make this trip possible has come from many small donations from individuals who donate into hats or cans at their stops along the way.
The couple hopes to be home sometime mid-December, and they are ready for a rest, said Dave.
And, about Thanksgiving dinner, “A kind couple took us in the next night and we had a belated Thanksgiving feast. It was really great,” Dave said.
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