Paddle and Portage Podcast

The U.S. Forest Service planned to host two meetings this week that would have allowed the public to provide feedback and learn more about a largescale project aimed to restore "ecological balance" to an area near Ely and the Boundary Waters. Those meetings, scheduled for Feb. 4 and 5, were cancelled.  The cancellations were tied, at least in part, to ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to...

Erin Walker and her husband, Jon, have been hot tent winter camping for the past six winters together, often documenting their adventures on the Lost Lakes YouTube channel. In her most recent article for Paddle and Portage, Erin shares insight on how to select a campsite in the winter months, and what it's like sleeping in an igloo on the ice. In this episode of the podcast, Erin talks about her u...

Canoecopia is the largest paddling expo in North America. The annual event takes place March 7-9 in 2025 in Madison, Wisc. Paddle and Portage Podcast host Joe Friedrichs sat down with Darren Bush, the founder of Canoecopia, to discuss the history and future of the event, as well as what to expect in 2025. This episode is sponsored by: Voyageurs Canoe Outfitters Loons Nest Coffee Ely Outfitting Com...

More people canceled a permit to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in 2023 than ever before, according to  a recent report  from the U.S. Forest Service. “Cancellations have more than doubled in five years, suggesting that BWCAW visitors continue to reserve more permits than they can use,” the report states. Some outfitters and paddlers say the process the Forest Service uses for people to...

The idea came to Robert Barrett after skiing up the Gunflint Trail, just days after the passing of former President Jimmy Carter on Dec. 29.  There are two Caribou lakes near the Gunflint Trail. One near Clearwater Lake, another near Poplar Lake. Both are in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and found in the Mid-Gunflint Trail area.  Given their proximity, why not rename one of the lakes t...

Amy and Dave Freeman are widely recognized for their dedication and passion for the Boundary Waters, including their book " A Year in the Wilderness ." Amy and Dave have a new book, " North American Odyssey ."  To kick off Season Two of the Paddle and Portage Podcast, we hear from Amy and Dave about how their travels across the continent continue to be anchored, in part, in the Boundary Waters.  T...

The trout opener for lakes entirely within the BWCA Wilderness begins Wednesday, Jan. 1. During the 2024 legislative session, state law was changed to move the start date for the ice fishing season to Jan. 1. Lakes outside the wilderness will continue to open on a Saturday later in the month, typically two weeks after the BWCA Wilderness opener. With the change in state law, that gap between the t...

Minnesota officials and some Boundary Waters enthusiasts are celebrating the U.S. Senate’s passage of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences, or EXPLORE Act. The final package of the EXPLORE Act includes more than a dozen policy measures aimed at supporting outdoor recreation on public lands, including Superior National Forest and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Among...

In this episode we travel with Duluth based writer Ryan Rodgers to Pine Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Rodgers recently wrote an article in the Boundary Waters Journal about the life of Frank Kugler, an Austrian immigrant who was tried in Cook County for murder in 1919. Kugler shot a man named John Doe on Pine Lake that year, though he claimed the act was justified.  We set out...

In this news track of the podcast, we hear an update on the "pause" of the Remote Area Border Crossing Program. Donny and Lisa Sorlie, owners of Chippewa Inn on the Canadian side of Saganaga Lake, stopped by the P&P headquarters in Grand Marais to share an update. Also stopping by to explain how the RABC situation is impacting him is Cook County resident Darin Fagerman.  Also in the short trac...

Though winter is an amazing time to travel across the (frozen) Boundary Waters, a simple fact needs to be considered at all times: No ice is safe ice. At the very least, ice is extremely unpredictable.  In this episode, we hear from Eric Glasson, LynnAnne Vesper, Pete Brautigam, and John Downing. They all have experience being on Boundary Waters ice. Perhaps more importantly, they share personal s...

The Minnesota DNR has been using motors inside the federally protected BWCA Wilderness for many decades. The uses of motors range from the stocking of fish by airplane to the studying of fish populations using boats and nets on the many scattered lakes across the Boundary Waters. The DNR is allowed to use motors in the nation’s most visited wilderness. This permission comes from the U.S. Forest Se...

After a week of questioning from members of the press, Congressional staff, business owners, and people who are feeling left in the dark, Canadian officials are still being vague when it comes to the future of the Remote Area Border Crossing (RABC) Program. Luke Reimer, a spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency, told Paddle and Portage Nov. 19 that the Canadian agency “regularly assesse...

In this update from the road, we hear about a tour Bear Paulsen and Joe Friedrichs took of the Bending Branches facility in Wisconsin, share audio from an event for Last Entry Point at Fitger's where Rick Slatten and members of Mark Ham's family spoke, and M Baxley brings us an update from Emily Ford .  This episode of the podcast is sponsored by: Bent Paddling Brewing Company Solbakken on Superio...

Not everything about winter camping is pleasant. It can be cold, windy, and basically one giant bundle of brutal. Other parts can be, and often are, magic. Sunsets. Solitude. Adventure. The  Winter Camping Symposium is a gathering to celebrate the arrival of winter and the gear that allows us to embrace the cold months in places like the Boundary Waters. The annual event celebrated its 25th year i...

The U.S. Forest Service is facing a budget cut for 2025.  Looking ahead to the 2025 paddling season, if some of the seasonal backcountry staff are absent from the BWCA Wilderness it could dramatically impact the visitor experience, Forest Supervisor Tom Hall acknowledged during a recent public meeting in Grand Marais.  “How do we make sure that we’re doing the right thing out on the land, in the B...

The Winter Camping Symposium is a gathering to celebrate the arrival of winter and the gear that allows us to embrace the cold months in places like the Boundary Waters.    The Paddle and Portage team attended the 2024 winter camping celebration near Moose Lake. We’ll be sharing stories from and about the event in the next full episode of the podcast.    In this short track from The Road, we hear...

Erin Walker and Jon Kelly are the duo behind the Lost Lakes YouTube channel. They live on an inland lake not far from the Canadian shores of Lake Superior. This summer, Erin and Jon embarked on a three-week, 280-mile (450-kilometer) canoe trip into the subarctic barrens. It was a journey of many firsts: their first time in Nunavut, their first encounter with the subarctic taiga, and by far the mos...

Booze or a dry run? Opinions vary about bringing alcohol on a trip to the Boundary Waters. Many enjoy sipping whiskey or wine around the campfire. Others prefer no alcohol at all. And then there are those who tip back and glug until the bottle is gone. In this episode, we hear from a group of five paddlers who chose to paddle the BWCA Wilderness without any alcohol. In fact, it was the centerpiece...

Herb Koenig and Jim Crigler loved to paddle in the Boundary Waters. It was the one place where they felt comfortable talking about their experiences serving as helicopter pilots during the Vietnam War. In this episode, we hear about why the Boundary Waters opened the door for reflection, communication, and adventure for these two veterans. And we do so, with a funeral. This episode is supported by...

In this episode, Tim and his daughter Sylvie embark on the trip of a lifetime. The crossing of the BWCA from west to east along the voyageur highway is abruptly interrupted by a tragic slip on the Granite River. What unfolds next is a skillful evacuation by fellow paddlers that redeems everyone's belief in the power of human kindness. This episode is sponsored by: Ely Outfitting Company Friends of...

Janice Matichuk first set foot on her island in Quetico Provincial Park in 1985. Located near the end of Minnesota’s iconic Gunflint Trail, this remote park is the heart of North America’s “canoe country.” Decades later, and enduring beyond her untimely passing in the summer of 2020, Matichuk’s legacy includes being the longest serving interior ranger in the history of the park. Over the course of...

Dan Cooke was a "mentor's mentor" when it comes to the paddling scene in North America, particularly around the Boundary Waters region. The longtime owner of Cooke Custom Sewing, Dan passed away July 1. A paddle parade was held on Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis August 10 to honor the life of Dan Cooke. Stories were shared about Dan’s love of paddling, and in the episode we hear from a number of peopl...

In life, people tend to get consumed by the concept of how something can be done, without giving thought as to why something should be done. When the Paddle and Portage Podcast first heard about the Boundary Waters paddle known as the Ely Challenge, we were guilty of this notion. We became fixated on the how. The idea for the Ely Challenge is simple: Paddle across Saganaga Lake at the end of the G...

Emma Froh is an architect from the Twin Cities. She recently spent a week on Mallard Island, the former home of wilderness advocate and Boundary Waters paddler Ernest Oberholtzer. Emma and two of her colleagues, Mary Springer and Natalya Egon, were staying in what’s known as the Cedarbark House at Mallard Island. The structure used to be a floating brothel on Rainy Lake, before Oberholtzer bought...