ELY — Two Minnesota adventurers are preparing to head into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for a full year.

Dave and Amy Freeman plan to paddle out of Ely via the Kawishiwi River, accompanied by a flotilla of supporters on Wednesday afternoon. They don’t plan to return from the wilderness until Sept. 22, 2016. They plan to camp at about 120 sites and travel over 3,000 miles by canoe, foot, ski, snowshoe and dog sled.