The Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center hosted Erik Simula on Saturday afternoon for its final weekend of campus presentations in the 2025 season. Campus Director Bonnie Schudy introduced Simula and ran a recording on their YouTube channel. A curious audience filled the nature center building with many questions about his trip and equipment. 

Erik Simula primarily presented on his 2009 trip around the 1854 Treaty boundary in one of his hand-built birch bark canoes. Simula spent 15 years working at Grand Portage National Monument as an interpretation ranger, where he built birch bark canoes. Additionally, he guided dog sledding trips, wilderness trips, and taught birch bark canoe classes at North House Folk School. It seemed as if he could have given a presentation on any aspect of his life. 

After 10 years of planning, Simula began in Lake Superior at Grand Portage in April 2009. From there, he paddled down the North Shore through some hectic weather and waves. Having to navigate the shore with the spring’s ice shelf was an added challenge. The Savanna Portage between the St. Louis River and the Mississippi’s watershed was one of his greatest challenges after navigating a confusing series of beaver-influenced waterways. 

He lugged four packs, totaling 150 pounds, along with his 50-pound canoe.  Simula received support from his wife and dad throughout the trip, but primarily relied on his 50-pound food packs that were stashed in several locations and held about 30 days' worth of food. 

Erik’s deep knowledge of birch bark canoe building allowed him to keep his canoe floating through some intense wear and field repairs. He showed the audience the simple set of tools that he used to repair the canoe, including a moose rib, a sharpened bone awl, and a sharp rock that he found along the journey. He also passed around an example of the pitch that is used to seal the canoe’s seam between bark pieces, spruce root that is used to “sew” the bark, and a northern white cedar rib that creates the structure for the birch bark skin to attach to.

Simula presented his adventure with deep appreciation for the land and the cultures that have existed on the land. He noted some beautiful, and some scary, encounters with wildlife. Erik’s wisdom from this journey, combined with his Master's degree in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship from the University of Minnesota Duluth, has also fostered a writing career. He is working on releasing a book on this journey.  

The last canoe he built at the National Monument is on display in the Visitor Center in Grand Portage. The canoe that he paddled on in this particular journey hangs in Bearskin Lodge, where he guided trips for many years. You can learn more about his journey on his website: https://arrowheadjourney.wordpress.com/ . You can also watch his presentation from the Chik-Wauk’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/kmRp-uO4ZeI?si=p7pitTQy24c18cPH

The Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center will be open through MEA weekend on October 18-19th. Summer and fall presentations were brought to visitors at no cost thanks to support from Visit Cook County and The Gunflint Trail Association.