it is the "Domain of the Great Pierre." As Paul Bunyan was the greatest of the loggers during the age of the lumber barons, and Pecos Bill was the greatest of cowboys, Pierre was the greatest of the Voyageurs. Pierre and his fellow voyageurs made the lakes and streams on the border between the United States and Canada, from Grand Portage on Lake Superior to Lake of the Woods and beyond, their main highway in their quest for furs throughout much of North America.

The historical past of this unique area has been restored and saved from further development. It is the only natural canoe-camping-fishing area in the world and comprises more than 14,500 square miles of wilderness. The area has an abundance of forests, lakes and streams connected by portage trails, and ample wildlife and fish...It is beautiful! We cannot allow a small faction to grab this great wilderness for their own personal use, or solely as a wildlife study area with its extreme restrictions. There are plenty of other wild lands in northern Minnesota to use as wildlife study areas. . . They need not take the only recreational canoe-camping-fishing area in the world for their "Biosphere Reserve."

Wilderness Canoe Trips are not for everyone. . . Depending upon the route and portages, it can be hard work. . . But you need not be six-foot-four and 240 pounds to enjoy it. Many people under 100 pounds do very well on the toughest routes. It is mental attitude rather than size. Children, parents, grandparents, fishermen, scout groups, teachers, junior high and senior high school students, college students, doctors, lawyers, etc. and even a few babies have taken Cliff Wold's Canoe Trips.

To these out-of-doors people, a canoe trip is a different type of vacation. People travel by canoe, carry their food and equipment with them and portage all from lake to lake. They camp on sites and travel the routes used by the early French Voyageurs and Indians, sleep in a tent in a sleeping bag, cook meals over an open fire or camp stove, fish, explore, watch for wildlife, take pictures, or just laze about. And, to make the trip less strenuous, Cliff Wold's furnishes all the ultra lightweight food and equipment needed to make the trip a pleasure and not an ordeal.

All a person needs to bring from home is personal clothing, and toilet articles including a towel. (Cliff Wold's furnishes towels for sauna baths and showers after the trip.) If a person plans to fish, they will want to bring along their choice of fishing gear.

A first aid kit for the whole group must be furnished by the group, and, if the group wishes, special rope, a personal compass (Cliff Wold's furnishes the group with one), and some individuals may wish to bring other choice personal items such as cameras, field glasses, etc. But all food and equipment is furnished by Cliff Wold's. For your good health and protection, every sleeping bag is laundered and heat dried after each use. Remember, everything must be portaged.

Canoe Trips are generally planned by a leader or the leaders who initiate the trip. One leader carries on the correspondence with Cliff Wold's. We send this corresponding leader a "Canoe Trip Planning Kit" containing a map-brochure showing the wilderness area routes a group may take and other materials which give the vital information needed to plan and take a Canoe Trip.

The map page of the web site shows the many canoe landings from which a group may leave and return, and the many routes throughout the BWCAW and Quetico Park Wilderness a group may choose to take. And with Cliff Wold's, a group may choose a different landing to return to other than the landing from which you left. Most groups leave and return to landings in the Ely area, but we have trips wherein a group may leave from the Gunflint, the Grand Portage, and Crane Lake in Minnesota or from Canadian lakes such as Beaverhouse, Nym, and French and return to a landing in the Ely area. . . All available through Cliff Wold's.

At Cliff Wold's outfitting post in Ely all groups check in for their Canoe Trip. All food and equipment for the trip is checked out to the group. And detailed maps covering the group's route are given to the leaders of the group. The canoe trip route is covered with Cliff Wold's experts. The maps indicate lakes and streams, rapids, portages, approved campsites and other important information. The better sites where to camp will be pointed out. . . Also the Forest Service and Quetico Park rules and regulations will be covered . . . Your money, jewelry, and other valuables will be locked in Cliff Wold's safe for the duration of the trip.

Yearly rainfall ranges from 26 to 31 inches and average snowfall is about 60 inches. Lake Superior influences the climate of nearby land, moderating extreme temperature and increasing precipitation toward the northeast.

Temperatures range from -50°F in the winter to 98°F in summer. Average seasonal temperatures 42°F in the spring, 64°F in summer, 45°F during the fall, and 12°F in winter.

Following is the average range of temperatures based on 10 years of data: