WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast

The WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast has some great news in May 2020! The Radio Television Digital News Association announced May 12 that the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast is the winner of a 2020 regional Edward R. Murrow Award. More than 750 Murrow Awards represent more than 350 local radio and television news outlets from 49 states and four countries for this year’s awards. The winning work includes...

It’s the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast update to the 2020 paddling season amid the COVID-19 situation. Host Joe Friedrichs shares today’s audio update on the podcast. What we know: As of April 21, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness will be open for the 2020 paddling and hiking season starting Tuesday, May 5. In a press release sent to WTIP and the podcast on April 16, the US Forest Service s...

It’s a time of unknowns in the Boundary Waters. Paddlers and hikers are heading into April 2020 uncertain of travel plans or even if the wilderness will be open for the upcoming season. In this episode of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast, hosts Matthew Baxley, Joe Friedrichs and Chelsea Lloyd put that notion itself on hold and focus on community, paddling and storytelling. Matthew talks with longt...

The WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast team was all set to return to Canoecopia 2020 in Madison, Wisc. However, the event – scheduled for March 13-15 – was canceled due to concerns about COVID-19, the coronavirus capturing headlines across the planet. With their plans cancelled, WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast hosts Matthew Baxley, Joe Friedrichs and Chelsea Lloyd brainstormed on what to do instead. It too...

Winter still has its firm grip on the Boundary Waters as anxious paddlers start to think about the upcoming canoe season. However, something known as the ‘Death March Portage’ in Quetico Provincial Park could make the slow trudge across a frozen lake sound delightful by comparison. In this episode of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast, we hear from the father/daughter duo Scott and Emilie Burditt. S...

It’s the start of season three on the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast! The new season comes out in style, as it’s the first ever live recording of an episode of the original Boundary Waters podcast! The entire episode was recorded live at the Gunflint Mail Run Sled Dog Race on the Gunflint Trail. The episode was broadcast live on WTIP Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, from the race headquarters near Trailcent...

It’s the last episode of season two for the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast! Many great things are already in the works for season three starting in 2020, but this year ends with both a look back and a look forward in episode 24 of the podcast. Host Chelsea Lloyd talks with Nashville-based musician Jerry Vandiver about his love of the Boundary Waters. Jerry is a singer-songwriter who has done a numbe...

The canoeing season is officially over for 2019 in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. For some, a new chapter is welcomed with open arms as winter travel begins and the lakes freeze up. In this episode, hosts Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs take you along for their final canoe trip of the season. The duo retrace their route featured in episode two of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast. Tha...

There are a variety of reasons for both why and how people fall in love with the Boundary Waters. In this episode of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast, Siddeeqah Shabazz and Stephe Stovall share their story of love for the woods, water and how this natural treasure opened so many opportunities for them personally and professionally. It’s a love story with deep connections both for and from the wild...

There’s a certain magic that unfolds on a first trip to the Boundary Waters. Memories are made, experience gained, and often the trip ends with some stating the following: “When do we get to come back?” In episode 21 of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast, we hear from Minnesota resident Sarah Kermode and her friend Joe Schille, who is also from the land of 10,000 lakes. Sarah and her husband Andy to...

The tables get turned on WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast hosts Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs in episode 20. A fan of the podcast and BWCA enthusiast Chelsea Lloyd stopped through Grand Marias after a summer 2019 paddling trip. Joe and Matthew met Chelsea at the Midwest Mountaineering Expo in Minneapolis in April and struck up a conversation about podcasting and paddling. When Chelsea stopped by W...

It’s easy to imagine the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness as a sunny place where things never go wrong and plans fall perfectly into place on every trip. This line of thinking, however, is a recipe for, at the very least disappointment, and perhaps far worse. The reality of traveling in canoe country is that the weather is often a challenging element of most trips and the best-laid plans don’...

The wilderness, and the Boundary Waters in particular, are widely considered a place for personal reflection. Certainly there are many aspects that appeal to recreational enthusiasts who visit the Boundary Waters, including fishing, camping, paddling, hiking and simply the notion of ‘getting away from it all.’ At the heart of wilderness, however, lies something deeper. In this episode of the WTIP...

Twenty years ago this summer, the Boundary Waters and other parts of northern Minnesota were impacted by what is forever known as the Boundary Waters Blowdown storm. On July 4, 1999, the storm roared through the region, impacting the wilderness area and lives of many thousands of people. WTIP, the community radio station in Grand Marais, is looking back on the Blowdown storm in a series of commemo...

Introduction to the Boundary Waters region can arrive through many channels. Some learn of the waters and portage trails through family or friends. Others find videos or audio online, the descriptions and images of canoe country ultimately leading them to make that first trip to the wilderness. For many, the discovery of the Boundary Waters comes at an early age through one of the many wilderness...

Anthea Grasley and her family are big fans of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. In the summer of 2018, they made their first family trip to the BWCA and traveled to Ely from their home in Rockton, Illinois. In this short track of the podcast, Matthew Baxley talks with Anthea about their family trip to the Boundary Waters.

There is a sense of community when it comes to paddlers who frequent the Boundary Waters. In episode 16 of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast, hosts Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs take this notion a step further and explore the dynamics of families who paddle together in the Boundary Waters. In this episode we hear from the father/daughter duo Scott and Emilie Burditt. Scott and Emilie are Wiscon...

Welcome to Canoecopia! The WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast team take to the road for episode 15, with all the content coming directly from the paddling and outdoor gear expo held March 8-10 in Madison, Wisc. In this episode, podcasters Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs speak with a variety of attendees who traveled from all across the country to attend the 2019 Canoecopia extravaganza. Guests include...

In the Boundary Waters, it can happen in an instant. No matter how experienced a paddler is starting a trip, tipping a canoe and falling into the frigid waters can happen to anyone through a variety of ways. In late fall 2018, Jacob Leingang, Rachel Nethercut and their dog Lathan experienced the very real dangers that play out when a canoe tips in the Boundary Waters. In this episode, Podcaster Ma...

They’re….back!!! Exactly one year since episode one of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast dropped, guests Gaby and Werner from Germany return for the first episode of the new season. This time, host Joe Friedrichs takes them out for their first ice fishing trip in the Boundary Waters. Also featured in this episode is a conversation podcaster Matthew Baxley has with David Hoole from Frost River outdo...

The holiday season has arrived in the Boundary Waters. In this episode, we hear from two voices often associated with spending significant amounts of time in the BWCA: Dave and Amy Freeman. In the winter of 2015-16, Dave and Amy spent their holidays in the BWCA as a part of their Year in the Wilderness. Podcaster Matthew Baxley talks with the Freemans to hear what Christmas Day and conditions are...

Many people who visit the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness leave with a parting sentiment: We don’t want to go home quite yet. In this episode of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast, we hear from an individual who takes this concept to the next level. Known as the 800-Day Paddler, Mark Zimmer shares his story of essentially living in the Boundary Waters from May until fall. Speaking of changing...

More than a century of combined paddling between just two people is celebrated in episode 10 of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast. Bob O’Hara is among the most recognized and accomplished adventurers to dip his paddle into the Boundary Waters annually, something he has done for the past 60 years without missing a season. Likewise, Ken Koscik is no stranger to canoe country. Ken hit the 50-year mark...

It’s the ‘All Ontario Episode’ of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast! Join Podcasters Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs as they paddle to the Cache Bay Ranger Station in Quetico Provincial Park. Interior Ranger Janice Matichuk has worked at the station in Cache Bay for the past 34 seasons, and she shares her story on the podcast. Also in this episode, we hear from Canadian musician Ian Tamblyn. A na...

If there is concern about the number of young people visiting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, you won't hear it in episode eight of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast. Ada Igoe from Tuscarora Lodge & Canoe Outfitters on the Gunflint Trail joins the podcast team for this episode. Her segment features a group of middle school students who travel to the BWCA each summer from Indiana. It's an...