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NORTHERN WILDS August - September 2011
Canoeing and Cocktails Women gone wild in the Boundary Waters By Kate Watson “Spa trips,” chiffon wraps and cocktail hour—hardly the terms you’d expect to be bandied about when discussing Boundary Waters canoe travel. But for one adventuring group of 40- and 50-something women, these indulgent touches are just part of the paddling fun. They call themselves the BWISBs. (More on the name in a minute.) They have been taking canoe trips together for the past twenty years. Their tradition stems back to Minnesota summer camp when they were still in their teens. After numerous childhood summers together, the women scattered across the country and lost touch, but at a camp reunion years later they decided to revisit their childhood adventures. They organized a weeklong canoe trip. The tradition is now two decades strong. “After our first time back out together, we said, ‘Boy, we can do it!’” says Leigh Johnson, one of the founding members of the group. The name is an ode to their humor. They came up with it after their inaugural trip, when they experienced the complications of using the bathroom while wearing onepiece swimsuits. The next year they chose to wear sports bras and shorts instead.
“ “Now we’re gro grown up and w we can bring vvodka in our Nalgenes.” The BWISBs, starting front row left: Tracy Strong of New York, Carol Kelly of Kansas, Leigh Johnson of Minnesota, Lisa Huntting of North Carolina. Back row left: Susie Lauer of Idaho and Carla Stockburger of Montana. | LEIGH JOHNSON
BWISB stands for “Big Women In Sports Bras.” “We decided to honor the sports bra. Big women in sports bras,” Johnson says. “We thought, ‘That’s it, we’ll just be the BWISBs!’” While they certainly know how to have fun, says Bill Hansen, owner of Sawbill Canoe Outfitters in Tofte, the BWISBs are serious campers and canoeists. “They’re amazing, funny, strong independent women, and they’re obviously not afraid to make fun of themselves. They take pretty tough trips and they just have vast enthusiasm for it. They epitomize the spirit of having fun in the wilderness.” The BWISBs were in the vanguard of a growing trend of women journeying into the wilderness, Hansen continues
mid-’70s of professional women doing vacations in the Boundary Waters like the vacations men have been doing forever. Back then, about 90 percent of the people visiting the BWCA were men. Gradually that has changed. Now it’s more like 60 percent men and 40 percent women. Women are seeking out wilderness adventure.”
empowering, I don’t care what age you are. It’s this sense of ‘We can do this, we don’t need boys here!’ We liked that feeling— it’s like being back at camp, but now we’re grown up and we can bring vodka in our Nalgenes.”
Despite the trend, many of Johnson’s acquaintances were initially confounded by the idea of taking a wilderness trip with other women, posing plaintive questions like “Who will take care of your husband and children?” and “Won’t you freeze?” But her family was supportive.
That’s where cocktail hour comes in. The BWISBs enjoy evening cocktail hour (during which they sometimes wear chiffon wraps over their camp clothes) and singing around the campfi re. Some years they fashion their canoe excursions to be what they’ve termed “spa trips,” consisting of base camping with day trips throughout the week.
“Being from an all-girls camp, there’s something about groups of women who have to do it on their own. The trips are
Whether a spa trip or not, the annual outing serves as a soul-refreshing escape for the members of the group.
Boundary Waters
“There has been a distinct trend since the
Escape to the
Idyllic Boundary Waters scenes like this one help the BWISBs relax and say “Ahhhh.” | PAUL SUNDBERG
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Leave the noise behind and head for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It may be the only vacation you’ll return from refreshed and ready to answer all those emails!
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