Canoe Paddles & Duluth Packs Needed!

My middle son has always loved the rugged outdoors and everything that goes with it. Our kids have been introduced to the North Shore through an annual father-son (then father-daughter) weekend to Sawbill Lake Campground with some good friends. It is a great was to stay in Lake Superior National Forest and be on the edge of Boundary Waters Canoe Area entrance lakes. From here, day canoe trips are perfect for younger kids. As a bonus, the campground has a very nice camp store that the kids visit everyday... and the dads sneak away to get anything they forgot to bring!

There was an unwritten, but oft spoken rule that "what happens in the Boundary Waters, stays in the Boundary Waters". Rumors are that the kids play a cops & robbers tag game all over the campground into the wee hours of the night, while the dads hang around the campfire. Only on two occasions did I get to visit this place, as I had the vehicle they needed to get there in, but I was sworn to secrecy so to not tell the other moms all about it.

One summer, we had just painted and decorated our son's room in a fishing and 'up north' theme complete with a canoe-shaped bookcase, log cabin quilt, fish pillow, and fish fabric for drapes. But the new double bed just kinda sat in the room -- it needed a headboard. We were pondering what to do about the same time I was at Sawbill for the first time.

Inspiration came in the campstore, where Sawbill also houses all the canoe gear. My son came up with the idea of using birch trees for a headboard, but we didn't have any to cut down. Then he thought of using canoe paddles, but the pretty wooden ones cost over $100 each. Finally, we asked if there were any used paddles that we could buy for less. The guy looked and only came up with two broken ones -- he said we could have them for only $8 total! We had the anchors for our headboard.

On the way home, we stopped at the Duluth Pack Store in Duluth. They make the classic, sturdy canvas pouches that I even used on my canoe trip years ago. When it was time for a portage, someone would hoist one heavy, leather-strapped pouch on my back, and just when I thought I was going to fall over backwards, they put another one on my front. I was basically a solid cube walking through the forest!  Back to the headboard idea... we knew somehow we had to include Duluth Packs as part of the plan.

So here are the details of creating and assembling the headboard that are shown in the photos. First, purchased a simple wooden & iron garden trellis at a lumber store. Next, he sanded and stained the wood, then mounted it to the wall. Then the canoe paddles were mounted to the sides of the trellis covering the electrical cords for the sconces. Finally, we stuffed regular pillows into the three Duluth Packs (although not cheap) and just strapped them to the trellis.

Bedroom Before -- Decorating is done, but a headboard is needed!

The simple garden trellis mounted to wall.


Son mounting the canoe paddles -- they also cover the electrical cord from the sconces.


After -- The "Canoe Paddle & Duluth Pack Headboard" was perfect and his room was done 'up north' style!