Campfires

Campfires have been used for over ten thousand years as a gathering place for stories.. This tradition still holds true today, and every year countless people engage in activities around the fire that harbor life long memories that will continue on for generations to come. During the course of our expedition we will be using campfires to set the stage for the many activities we will be engaged in. Whether cooking, playing games, teaching, putting on skits, telling stories, or roasting marshmallows the fire will be our gathering place.

Around the world fire has symbolized many things:

-in ancient Greece, a bridge between man and the gods, as it was the only element that man could create.

-Has been known by many cultures to symbolize wisdom and knowledge.

-In some religions it represents divinity, as well as punishment.

-Is a sign of fertility, birth and regrowth.

 

Facts about Campfires:

- They can reach temperatures upwards of 1.000 degrees.

- The color of flames are created by the heating of different elements. When heated they create energy that produce wavelengths, and the element being heated will determine the color.

- There are eternal flames around the world that have been burning for thousands of years.

- Around 30 percent of human started forest fires are started by poorly maintained campfires.

- Some scientists believe that  early humans, back to homo-erectus, used fire to cook a million years ago, based on findings in Wonderwerk Cave located in South Africa.

 

 

Sunset Over the Blowdown

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Fourteen years after a derecho hit the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness  visitors are blessed with a beautiful sunset on the shores of Sea Gull Lake. WIth an abundance of dead standing trees left scattering the horizon, amongst a forest of new growth, and large rock faces exposed from uprooted tress and forest fires, visitors get the experience of feeling like they’re anywhere but Northern Minnesota.

“Looking around I felt like i was somewhere in the Southwest United States, some spots look more like Utah or Arizona than Minnesota”, said a paddler who had just finished the Sea Gull, Knife, Saganaga loop.

“It truly is a must see”.

For those of you unfamiliar with what a derecho is, it is a natural phenomenon that occurs when  long-lived straightline winds create a swath over 240 miles and cause wind gusts over 60 miles per hour. Essentially creating tornado and hurricane force frontal winds that can blow down just about anything in its path. In 1999 one such phenomenon hit a thirty square mile area between Ogishekemunchie and Sea Gull Lake. Blowing down nearly every tree in its wake. After the storm there was great concern that a forest fire could hit the massive amounts of fuel that is now sprawled across the forest floor. Luckily that has not yet happened, and preventative measures such as prescribed burns help to keep this area safe and open to visitors.

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