Hudson Bay Bound: Two Women, One Dog, Two Thousand Miles to the Arctic

Natalie Warren and Ann Raiho connected over a shared love of paddling as teenagers at a Minnesotan outdoor camp. Later, as college graduation approached, Raiho suggested an expedition inspired by the 1935 book Canoeing with the Cree, a classic outdoors tale of two men who paddled from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay, wending two thousand miles through muddy rivers, whitewater rapids, windy lakes, polar bear country, and dozens of riverfront towns and Indigenous communities. Aiming to be the first women to undertake the route, they set off in a seventeen-foot Langford Prospector dubbed Kawena Kinomaeta, meaning “no worries” in Cree, and eventually adopted a tough scruff of a dog named Myhan as their third boat companion. Hudson Bay Bound shares all the exuberance, self-doubt, relationship spats, exhaustion, and basic truths of their three-month voyage: “When in doubt, don’t think too much, and walk around the block in your hiking boots.” Isn’t it time you planned a big adventure with your best friend?