Youth Describe Being In the Boundary Waters During a Flood 

They love the Boundary Waters. And they plan to keep coming back.
Hazel and Liesl, ages 7 and 9, respectively, were camped with their parents and other family members in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness during severe weather June 18. Also on the trip was their cousin, Annika Halverson. They share their story with Joe from Paddle and Portage about the experience.
Rain and flooding continue to be talking points at the start to the paddling season this year across the Boundary Waters. There was so much rain, in fact, that many portages and waterways across the BWCA flooded in late June. Roads near the Boundary Waters, from the Echo Trail to Highway 61, also flooded and were damaged by the heavy rain.
June’s rainfall amounts were ahead of historical averages for the Boundary Waters region, according to the National Weather Service. The Duluth headquarters for the agency reports over 7.5 inches of rain in the eastern end of the basin at Seagull Lake, near 3 inches above normal. Year-to-date amounts of precipitation in the Ely area are about 30 percent higher than average, the weather service reports. Visit paddleandportage.com to learn more about the June weather from the Boundary Waters.