Bob Vollhaber, age 50, a project manager for a highway construction company, set a new canoe paddling/portaging record from Rainy Lake to Grand Portage. His background includes “paddling a canoe since I was a kid but it was always just a means to hunt, trap, and fish. And, I wrestled when I was a kid. My first season and first match, I didn’t know how to wrestle. Coach put me in a match, and I proceeded to lose to an experienced kid, getting choked until I was pinned. I didn’t like getting pinned, and I never lost another match. I guess that’s my outlook when I do other challenging things. “In college when other people were heading south for winter break, I’d go north into the winter woods to see if I could survive.”
Earlier this month, Minnesota canoeist Bob “BeaV” Vollhaber completed the full 260-mile border route from Rainy Lake at International Falls to the fort at Grand Portage National Monument on Lake Superior, setting a solo canoeing record time of 91 hours from September 2 to September 6, 2017.
While this is not an official event, hardcore canoeists know it as the Krueger Challenge, named in honor of Verlen Kruger and Clint Waddell, who set the record for this border route crossing in 1969.
Vollhaber is from Stacy, Minnesota. He was the leader and organizer of this year’s Kruger Challenge. Three paddlers, the other two not as competitive, came together in an informal group.
Each paddled an open canoe. Each followed their separate schedules, and each was entirely alone and unsupported. Vollhaber is among the few solo paddlers who have attempted this crossing with vast lakes and difficult portages in a small, sleek open boat while traveling both day and night.
The common goal of the three paddlers was to complete the route and arrive at the Grand Portage National Monument within eight days to share a shuttle back to Ely. They were only able to stay together for the first few hours. Vollhaber was determined to set a new record, and the other two were trying to finish on time. Their journey was tracked, monitored and validated via GPS satellite (SPOT) equipment.
During Vollhaber’s journey, he paddled 42 lakes, six rivers and portaged his canoe and gear 20 miles. With this effort, he surpassed the efforts of Amy Raiho and Clare Jencks as well as Rob Warner. BeaV completed more miles in less time and did it solo!
Vollhaber is no stranger to endurance paddling. This seasoned canoer completed a six-month journey paddling solo about 5,000 miles to, through and around Alaska in 2013.
On this voyage, Bob paddled into strong headwinds, tailwinds and crosswind gusts on Rainy Lake, Lac La Croix, Saganaga and Gunflint lakes.
The first two days of the journey, he fell behind his timetable then mustered the strength and determination to increase his pace for the “big push” to the finish. The final and most grueling portion of the route started on Crooked Lake and finished at the Grand Portage fort, covering 134 miles and 36 portages with only two hours of sleep. The “push” culminated with walking the nine-mile Grand Portage after enduring two days of fierce canoe travel and portaging rain-soaked packs and his solo canoe.
In the 91 hours it took to finish, Vollhaber spent 15 hours in camp, eating, sleeping, packing and the like. Over half of the course was traveled after dark. During this time he encountered moose, beaver, the glowing moon, rains and pitch darkness.
Night travel, he said, was mesmerizing at times and yet frightening at times as he moved along the Pigeon River’s rapids and rocks in the drizzle and pouring rain. He fought through knee-high mud and kept upright while treading carefully on slippery boardwalks of the Grand Portage. He was sleep-deprived and exhausted, and his mind was playing tricks on him, he said.
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