Basecamp
 In July of 2003 the BWX purchased a piece of property on "Mine Lake" near
Ely, Minnesota. The beautiful new home for the base camp boasts many wonderful
qualities. The property is located on a small private lake, it is home
to many different types of mature trees, it is within one mile of the
BWCAW, and three miles of Ely. The camp is also much more accessible to
people that are participating on trips, or just coming to visit!
 We are very excited about the BWX's first permanent building.
The Building is named "Nimaamaa" after the Ojibway word meaning "mother". Nimaamaa
is primarily a tool for working. She has a large room that
is shared for the communal work of cooking, packing trail food,
maintaining
trail gear, and shop projects. Nimaamaa brings many new things to the BWX including,
electricity, running water, refrigeration, a full kitchen, a shower
and
indoor toilet, a camp office, and a place for
the staff to work and share space during inclement weather.
Mine Lake
From 1910 until 1922 our base camp served as one of the largest iron-ore mines in Minnesota. The miners of "Section 30" dug out a huge hole looking for the ore, which thanks to springs and rain has created our lake. The lake is beautiful and useful to the BWX. It is a place to learn to canoe, to swim, and to enjoy the view.
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