BWCA.GURU site and content ©2015 James R Beal Jr. All Rights Reserved

Video reviews and commentaries about outdoor skills, products, and destinations. Things to know when trekking or paddling places like Boundary Waters and remote lake country.

About BWCA.GURU

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To start, is it even possible to anoint oneself with the "guru" title? The way we define the term is "teaching from expertise, with the intent of helping people try something new successfully". From this standpoint, I humbly defer to you, our site visitor, to judge our worthiness of guru status.

I have been camping, paddling, trekking, and biking through forested, lake covered, and mountainous landscapes since I was a child. Many Minnesotans consider being outdoors as a prime recreational activity. In the past 20 years, I have worked to adjust my gear, skills, fitness, and mindset to make the most out of the relatively short times I am able to travel up to the Boundary Waters, explore trails and forests, or take on western mountains or canyons. I enjoy smart planning, clever gear choices, ingenious camping tricks, and being comfortable through nature's adversity (without lugging along extra stuff).

The goal of this website is to gather the photos, videos, and stories we take into reviews of products and skills that make a difference when trying to enjoy the outdoors and see sights that fewer people tend to see. One lesson I've learned about great experiences, is the investment in work and preparation it can take to have them, and the profound satisfaction -- in spite of frequent adversity -- of a trip well completed.

If you have questions or would like us to comment on or review an outdoor or bushcraft skill, product, or destination, please feel free to email us at bwcaguru@gmail.com. Meanwhile, please enjoy our site, and -- as a part of your own preparation -- visit our sponsors and invest your time and money wisely! All the best, James.

P.S. You will notice this site contains ads and affiliate links. Don't click anything you're not interested in, but please do click through whenever you'd like to know more or make a purchase. That supports our activities and content creation. Thanks again!