Hudson Bay Bound Review: Two Women, One Epic Canoe Journey to the Arctic

Girls who go to Menogyn learn something important: you can do anything you set your mind to. I say this from personal experience. At 14, I spent my first time alone in the wilderness at that camp, learning to canoe in the BWCA.

Natalie Warren and Ann Bancroft learned that too, about five years after I was there. Menogyn teaches you to harmonize with the outdoors.

They teach you that even though the canoe is big, you can lift it to your shoulders with a little teamwork and portage to the next lake. Natalie and Ann took their experience a little further.

They had a wild idea to recreate Eric Sevareid’s 1930 expedition from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay, documented in Canoeing with the Cree.

This review is based on an ARC obtained via NetGalley from the University of Minnesota Press in return for a candid review. There may be affiliate links in the post. Clicking on them doesn’t cost you anything more, but I may earn a small commission. I never promote things I don’t stand behind.

Hudson Bay Bound Review

Ann and Natalie set out on an unthinkable journey from Fort Snelling, Minnesota, all the way to the arctic waters of Hudson Bay.

The three-month canoe expedition covered more than 2,000 miles. On the side of the canoe was written, Hudson Bay Bound.

They proved that women can do anything men can do. When funding looked tight, they crowdfunded and secured sponsorships for gear and expenses.

On their journey, they found river angels willing to let them sleep in their homes and on their lawns. They battled strong winds, currents, big water, snake nests, floodwaters, unrelenting gusts, moose encounters, and even the threat of polar bears.

Along the way, more river angels let them stay in their homes or camp in their yards. Some fed them breakfast or put them up in a hotel for the night.

Their families were incredibly supportive, meeting them at a few points to give them a touch of home.

A Different Side of Minnesota

Their love for the river flows through the entire book. One thing that surprised me was how unhealthy parts of the Minnesota River are.

Farming and runoff add phosphorus that fuels algae. Nitrogen poses risks to people and fish. Bacteria can make the water unsafe for swimming. One look at the river, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Through my own adventures, I could picture their stops. Lunch at The Landing. Knocking on doors in Chaska to ask permission to camp in a yard.

Everyone was wary and said no. City folks didn’t understand why anyone would canoe upstream on the Minnesota River. Can you blame them?

They traveled to Mankato and detoured to Minneopa State Park. They stopped at the Upper Sioux Agency State Park and got a tour from the ranger.

They portaged around Granite Falls’ breathtaking dam and learned about small-town traditions that carry on.

In each Minnesota city, they met river communities that depend on the waterway.

Modern Women Paddlers

A strong thread in the book is that they were the first two-woman team to complete this canoe trip. Women still face this kind of scrutiny in outdoor recreation.

Men often perceive women differently outside. As a woman, I’ve experienced the “mansplaining” at outdoor stores. I roll my eyes and start asking technical questions they can’t answer.

Early in the book, I noticed how much this affected Natalie and Ann. It might be our different upbringings, but for me, it fuels my desire to do more.

I could tell it got under their skin a bit.

I think some of it came from their own doubts. When seeking gear sponsors, they promoted themselves as the first women to do it.

Someone replied, “I wouldn’t be impressed with two men paddling to Hudson Bay from Minnesota. This is not 1915 before women had the vote. Why should I be impressed by two women doing it today?”

He was thinking about marketability and ROI. From a business view, I get his point. To the girls, it felt like another man talking down to them.

On the river, they often heard, “You can’t make it. You’re crazy.” They wondered, is it because we’re women? As a woman, I want to say, “Girl power, we can do anything.”

In reality, anyone would be called crazy to canoe under those conditions.

Would I Recommend Hudson Bay Bound?

Natalie Warren wrote Hudson Bay Bound to empower young women to follow their dreams and to describe the current conditions of the route, compared to the one in Canoeing with the Cree.

It succeeds as a travel log. Their historic trip wasn’t easy. There were unplanned portages and navigational errors. It does skip some traditional memoir elements.

If you love doing big, wild things, like paddling the length of the Minnesota River, or you’re a former Menogyn camper, this is a good read.

Since traveling to Hudson Bay in 2011, Natalie has canoed the length of the Mississippi River and won first place in the Yukon River Quest in the women’s voyageur division, paddling 450 miles in fifty-three hours.

Hudson Bay Bound is now available from University of Minnesota Press and major booksellers. You can order your copy on Amazon.