A man from the Duluth area has returned to civilization after seven months paddling the Boundary Waters and Quetico, according to an article in the Duluth News Tribune. Gary Fiedler snowshoed into Fall Lake on March 20th and exited Sunday, October 26th, spending a total of 220 nights in the wilderness.
Fiedler was resupplied with food six times by his wife. He paddled 881 miles, and covered 13 miles of portages. Notably, he saw only one moose the entire time.
Carrying 350-400 pounds of gear, including lots of photography equipment, he went over each portage seven times.
The passionate paddler and photographer (he and his wife Dawn LaPointe run Radiant Spirit Gallery in Duluth), told Sam Cook that the trip was meant in part to celebrate 10 years since surviving a brain aneurysm, and to be a credible defender of the area.
“One of my philosophies is that to be a really good advocate for an area you have to know it well,” he said.
On their YouTube page, the couple says Fiedler “plans to create exhibits, finished fine art photography, articles, books, posters, videos, and offer presentations to various groups and organizations” about the trip.
Watch a video with Fiedler describing the trip: