Member Profile for Riley Smith

I took my first trip into the BWCA when I was 6 years old. The leader of our trip was the dad of one of my best friends. He had guided in the BWCA for 3 years after college and the whole place was still sacred to him. We took a trip each year for a few years after that and I was completely infatuated with the place. The wilderness, the crystal clear lakes, the giant trees, and the quiet serenity that reverberated into my soul all called me back to the hallowed Northland. After graduating high school, the same friend, his brothers, his dad, and I all took one monumental trip into the heart of the Quetico. We journeyed to places I had only dreamed of seeing in person. On that trip, I was hooked for good. It was no longer the fantastical imaginings of my childhood, but it truly became my wilderness sanctuary: a placed that called me back no matter how far I roamed. After college I ended up doing something nontraditional. I ended up finding my way back to the BWCA, this time as a guide, to lead groups into the magical land I loved so very much. Even if I never get the chance to guide again, that one summer forever solidified a place in my heart for the BWCA/Quetico. It was no longer just a place of my childhood dreams or a magical destination for a one in a lifetime vacation, but it was home. No matter whatever career I find myself in, or wherever I may live, nearly every day my soul longs for my wilderness sanctuary.