Boundary Waters Passage Part Five: Lasting Legacy
Aidan, Crosby, and Tony share a moment. (Photo by Aaron Lavinsky)
Canoeing, I submit, is a unique endeavor. Two people sit, yoked by their vessel, for hours on end, pulling on paddles and talking. I’ve had some of the best conversations of my life in canoes, and this trip was no exception. Bob Timmons and I talked about our fathers’ recent deaths. Aaron Lavinsky and I discussed religion. And Brad Shannon and I compared notes on parenting and marriage.
But the conversations with Aidan, my 14-year-old son, I treasure the most. He and I shared a canoe most days on our trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA). We talked about him quitting Edina hockey and joining football, about his impending entrance into high school, and about whether Neil Peart of Rush or John Bonham of Led Zeppelin is the greatest rock drummer of all time.
For our final paddle on the fifth day of our journey, Aidan and I carried our canoe into South Fowl Lake, and he held it steady as I carried our yellow Labrador retriever Crosby over the water and placed him in the canoe. We were trying to keep the bandage dry on the foot he’d injured the previous night near the Pigeon River Dam.