Lost in the Boundary Waters, a Minnesota couple found each other

Sometimes, poor navigation skills can lead you in a direction for life.

That's what happened to Nicole Erickson after she held a map upside down on a college canoe trip, got lost and crossed paths with Michael Kelly.

Erickson and Kelly just got engaged at Horseshoe Island near Saganaga Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness — the place where they met when their canoe groups converged on a college orientation trek.

Ahead of their freshman year at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University, the two signed up for the schools' Collegebound trip, which brings incoming students on a weeklong expedition to the Boundary Waters. Kelly and Erickson were in separate men's and women's groups, camping at adjacent islands, when Kelly's group noticed Erickson's, spinning in circles on the water.

"I said to my canoe mate, 'That's the one right there, I know it,' " said Kelly, 23.

Erickson was her boat's duffer and responsible for the map, but had been too distracted socializing. The groups congregated on the water, discussed their trips and split for the night. Kelly later babbled to his group about Erickson around the campfire, and when her group visited the next day to say thanks and go cliff jumping, they introduced themselves.

The couple began dating that fall and Kelly became a leader for the annual College­bound trips, marking Horseshoe Island with a heart on his map and pointing it out to participants. The two later traveled to eight countries on medical mission trips and graduated from their nursing and neuroscience programs last year.

Last month, the couple returned to the Boundary Waters for the first time — with Kelly secretly planning an excursion to Horseshoe Island and hiding a custom pinewood ring box.

With a group of friends, the two camped off the Gunflint Trail. Erickson didn't suspect much as Kelly led the group on a June 19 paddle that he surreptitiously steered toward Horseshoe. Upon arrival, he suggested looking for firewood (a cue for their friends to paddle away) and brought Erickson to "the best hammocking spot on the island" before dropping down on one knee.

"I just dropped all of my hammock stuff and I started crying," said Erickson, 22. "I was so happy."

Kelly and Erickson already have their wedding party set for next July. Before then, Kelly will start medical school at the University of Minnesota and Erickson wants to begin pursuing her doctorate in nursing practice. They plan to adopt a Goldendoodle that Erickson can train as a therapy dog to see patients.

"There's something about both of their personalities that I think really works well," said Jack Colleran, 23, who was on both canoe trips and will be their best man. "They're both just so optimistic and so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I mean, you cannot kill their positive attitude in all moments."

The Boundary Waters typically sees more than 140,000 visitors annually, with attendance rising during the pandemic and in recent months. It's always been a special place for Kelly, who found sanctuary in the outdoors while growing up in foster care.

"To be able to get to that special island that was dear to our hearts and be back there for the first time in almost five years and have the girl of my dreams say 'Yes', I just felt on top of the world on top of Horseshoe cliff," he said.