Canoeing for a cause
Seventeen hours northwest of Holmes County, on the borders of Minnesota and Ontario, lies an area of pristine wilderness covering more than two million acres and dotted with more than 2,000 lakes. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is managed by the National Forest Service, assuring that it remains pristine by restricting access for motorized watercraft and aircraft, giving Boundary Waters visitors the same kind of peace, beauty and challenges of the Native people who once lived there.
Within the Boundary Waters area sits Wilderness Wind, a nonprofit ministry of the Mennonite Camping Association. And while those who have visited Wilderness Wind say it feels like it’s a universe away, in a world very far from the hustle and bustle of life at home with its cell phones, bright lights and endless noise, many Holmes and Wayne Countians carry that other world very close to their hearts.
Steve Mullet, of Berlin, is one of those people. Mullet and his son, Brad, were just two of several area residents who made the trek to Boundary Waters in early August to participate in the Paddle-A-Thon, a two-day event aimed at raising funds for Wilderness Wind while nurturing spirituality, cooperation and environmental sustainability.
“It’s a cross-cultural experience every bit as much as going to another country,” said Steve Mullet, who owns Keybridge Computer Services, a local computer solutions provider. “We’re so caught up in our lives, the noises all around us. When you get into a location like the Boundaries Waters, there is none of that. Cell phones don’t even work up there.”
This year, Wilderness Wind is celebrating their 25th anniversary. That’s 25 years of offering wilderness experiences to individuals and groups, regardless of skill level, as well as providing retreats and spiritual experiences. The program provides everything to complete a wilderness canoe adventure, minus personal clothing.
Mullet, who is now president of Wilderness Wind’s national board of directors, became involved after making his first trip as youth sponsor in 1994. After that, he was smitten. He returned with his family when his sons were 11 and 14. When the opportunity came to participate in last year’s Paddle-A-Thon, Steve and Brad Mullet stuck both oars in the water.
This year, the father-son team were determined to repeat last year’s accomplishment, paddling a grueling 50 miles in the allotted 24-hour period. This meant rising at 4 a.m., paddling the first hour and a half in the dark, and then making their way through 15 lakes and 15 rock-laden, hilly portages ranging from 200 feet to a half mile. They averaged 3.3 miles per hour, including portages and breaks, completing their trip in a little more than 15 hours. That’s almost as long as it takes to drive to Wilderness Wind from the Mullets’ home in Berlin.
“It’s not like canoeing 50 miles down the Muskingum where you have the current to assist you,” said Steve Mullet. “On lakes, you’re generating your own power, and if it’s windy enough, you’re dealing with whitecapping waves.”
But the tradeoff, Mullet said, is a time of peace with God, a chance to glimpse a wild moose or black bear, and a sky full of stars unhindered by light pollution.
“The nighttime sky is one of the most powerful things for me,” said Mullet, “because of the awe-inspiring feeling of God’s closeness, the majesty and magnitude of the universe.”
The impact is just what Wilderness Wind strives for.
“I have felt the most powerful God moments that convince you at your very core that, at the foundation of everything, there is love and goodness.”
It’s that love and goodness that Wilderness Wind hopes to impart not just to church youth, family groups and others, but to under-resourced urban teens as well. That’s why, in 2009, Wilderness Wind partnered with Big City Mountaineers. BCM mentors at-risk teens through transformative outdoor experiences, enriching lives, broadening horizons and instilling critical life skills. Mullet said the program is accomplishing just what it should be--fixing broken young people.
“They’re doing something challenging and building self-esteem by completing a task, and it’s working,” said Mullet. “It has been statistically demonstratively effective.”
This summer, 75 under-resourced teens ages 13-17 from Chicago went through the program. BCM hopes to increase by 25 percent per year, seeing 175 teens experience Wilderness Wind by 2015. This, in addition to the families and youth groups whose lives are touched by the beauty and serenity of Boundary Waters, is one of the reasons for raising funds through events like the Paddle-A-Thon.
“When we talk to people about the profound life-changing experiences that teens in Chicago are having, and raising funds with that in mind, everybody gets that,” said Mullet. “This money is getting kids out of gangs on the Chicago streets, keeping them in school, all the kinds of things we want to see happen.”
Wilderness Wind is the only program in the Boundary Waters area that serves in this way. Mullet expects the BCM program to grow rapidly, necessitating Wilderness Wind to grow as well.
“Within the next decade, we’ll serve more than 1,000 kids. That’s powerful,” said Mullet.
Combined with the human power folks like Steve and Brad Mullet contribute during events like the Paddle-A-Thon, as well as the resources of generous donors here and across the country, a glimpse at the night stars in northern Minnesota just might change a whole lot of lives. For good.
Visit the Wilderness Wind website at http://www.wildernesswind.org or contact Steve Mullet at steve@keybridgeltd.com to find out more about planning a visit or contributing financially.
Within the Boundary Waters area sits Wilderness Wind, a nonprofit ministry of the Mennonite Camping Association. And while those who have visited Wilderness Wind say it feels like it’s a universe away, in a world very far from the hustle and bustle of life at home with its cell phones, bright lights and endless noise, many Holmes and Wayne Countians carry that other world very close to their hearts.
Steve Mullet, of Berlin, is one of those people. Mullet and his son, Brad, were just two of several area residents who made the trek to Boundary Waters in early August to participate in the Paddle-A-Thon, a two-day event aimed at raising funds for Wilderness Wind while nurturing spirituality, cooperation and environmental sustainability.
“It’s a cross-cultural experience every bit as much as going to another country,” said Steve Mullet, who owns Keybridge Computer Services, a local computer solutions provider. “We’re so caught up in our lives, the noises all around us. When you get into a location like the Boundaries Waters, there is none of that. Cell phones don’t even work up there.”
This year, Wilderness Wind is celebrating their 25th anniversary. That’s 25 years of offering wilderness experiences to individuals and groups, regardless of skill level, as well as providing retreats and spiritual experiences. The program provides everything to complete a wilderness canoe adventure, minus personal clothing.
Mullet, who is now president of Wilderness Wind’s national board of directors, became involved after making his first trip as youth sponsor in 1994. After that, he was smitten. He returned with his family when his sons were 11 and 14. When the opportunity came to participate in last year’s Paddle-A-Thon, Steve and Brad Mullet stuck both oars in the water.
This year, the father-son team were determined to repeat last year’s accomplishment, paddling a grueling 50 miles in the allotted 24-hour period. This meant rising at 4 a.m., paddling the first hour and a half in the dark, and then making their way through 15 lakes and 15 rock-laden, hilly portages ranging from 200 feet to a half mile. They averaged 3.3 miles per hour, including portages and breaks, completing their trip in a little more than 15 hours. That’s almost as long as it takes to drive to Wilderness Wind from the Mullets’ home in Berlin.
“It’s not like canoeing 50 miles down the Muskingum where you have the current to assist you,” said Steve Mullet. “On lakes, you’re generating your own power, and if it’s windy enough, you’re dealing with whitecapping waves.”
But the tradeoff, Mullet said, is a time of peace with God, a chance to glimpse a wild moose or black bear, and a sky full of stars unhindered by light pollution.
“The nighttime sky is one of the most powerful things for me,” said Mullet, “because of the awe-inspiring feeling of God’s closeness, the majesty and magnitude of the universe.”
The impact is just what Wilderness Wind strives for.
“I have felt the most powerful God moments that convince you at your very core that, at the foundation of everything, there is love and goodness.”
It’s that love and goodness that Wilderness Wind hopes to impart not just to church youth, family groups and others, but to under-resourced urban teens as well. That’s why, in 2009, Wilderness Wind partnered with Big City Mountaineers. BCM mentors at-risk teens through transformative outdoor experiences, enriching lives, broadening horizons and instilling critical life skills. Mullet said the program is accomplishing just what it should be--fixing broken young people.
“They’re doing something challenging and building self-esteem by completing a task, and it’s working,” said Mullet. “It has been statistically demonstratively effective.”
This summer, 75 under-resourced teens ages 13-17 from Chicago went through the program. BCM hopes to increase by 25 percent per year, seeing 175 teens experience Wilderness Wind by 2015. This, in addition to the families and youth groups whose lives are touched by the beauty and serenity of Boundary Waters, is one of the reasons for raising funds through events like the Paddle-A-Thon.
“When we talk to people about the profound life-changing experiences that teens in Chicago are having, and raising funds with that in mind, everybody gets that,” said Mullet. “This money is getting kids out of gangs on the Chicago streets, keeping them in school, all the kinds of things we want to see happen.”
Wilderness Wind is the only program in the Boundary Waters area that serves in this way. Mullet expects the BCM program to grow rapidly, necessitating Wilderness Wind to grow as well.
“Within the next decade, we’ll serve more than 1,000 kids. That’s powerful,” said Mullet.
Combined with the human power folks like Steve and Brad Mullet contribute during events like the Paddle-A-Thon, as well as the resources of generous donors here and across the country, a glimpse at the night stars in northern Minnesota just might change a whole lot of lives. For good.
Visit the Wilderness Wind website at http://www.wildernesswind.org or contact Steve Mullet at steve@keybridgeltd.com to find out more about planning a visit or contributing financially.
Published: September 1, 2011
