Paddle and Portage Podcast

Short Track News Update: RABC Permits

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 assesses its programs to respond to current service needs and evolving trends.”
Part of assessing the current status of RABC permits includes dynamics focused on “ensuring the safety, security, and prosperity of Canada.”
With nothing in the way of a public announcement, the Canadian government in late September “paused the processing of new and renewal applications” for the RABC program that allows travelers to cross into certain remote parts of the Boundary Waters region. The podcast duo analyze the latest on the situation in this episode of the podcast. 
Also discussed in the episode is Canoecopia 2025. Tickets should be booked now for the largest paddling expo in North America. 

Updates From The Road: Bending Branches Tour, Book Event in Duluth, Emily Ford Time

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 Superior 
 

Winter Camping Truths Amid Celebration

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 in 2024. 
Some of the Paddle and Portage team were on site for the event this year. They share stories that show the event is very similar to winter camping: It's beautiful, and it's not immune from the complexities of human interactions and experiences.
This episode of the podcast is supported by:
Voyageur Canoe Outfitters 
Loons Nest Coffee
Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply 
 

Forest Service Budget Woes and What It Means For the Boundary Waters

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 Boundary Waters, with digging latrines and cleaning portages and any of those other sorts of services?” Hall said. “And so how do we meet those critical needs, knowing that we don’t want to close the Boundary Waters?”
Hall and the Forest Service on Superior National Forest hosted an open house at the Tofte Ranger Station Oct. 30 to discuss this and other topics relevant to the Boundary Waters and surrounding area. Paddle and Portage attended the event and shares this update on what the budget cuts for the Forest Service could mean for the next paddling season. 
This news update on the podcast is supported by Solbakken on Superior and Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. 

Updates From The Road: Winter Camping Festival and Amy & Dave Freeman Book Event

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 about a busy weekend of travel for the podcast duo. Stops along the way include a visit with Baihly from WDIO TV in Duluth, a few days at the winter camping fest, an incredible breakfast diner in Moose Lake, and a visit with Dave and Amy Freeman at an event at Bent Paddle Brewing Company in Duluth to conclude the adventure. 

Episode 16: The Barrens of Nunavut

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 most remote expedition they had ever undertaken.
Erin shares details about the experience in this episode of the podcast.
This episode is sponsored by:
Tuscarora Lodge and Canoe Outfitters
Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply
Bent Paddle Brewing Company
Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness
Ely Outfitting Company
Solbakken Resort on Superior

Episode 15: Traveling Sober in the BWCA Wilderness

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 of their trip.
This episode is sponsored by:
Sawbill Canoe Outfitters
Friends of the Boundary Waters
REDBUDSUDS
Loons Nest Coffee
Sawtooth Outfitters
Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply

Episode 14: Celebration of Life for a Vietnam Veteran in the Boundary Waters

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:
Solbakken Resort on Superior
Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters
Bent Paddle Brewing
Cascade Vacation Rentals
Friends of the Boundary Waters
Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply
Tuscarora Lodge and Canoe Outfitters

Episode 13: Rescue on the Granite River

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 the Boundary Waters
Women's Wilderness Discovery
Sawtooth Outfitters
Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters
Voyageur Canoe Outfitters

A Letter From Cache Bay: Featured Short Track

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 three decades, Janice raised two children on the island. She saved the lives of canoeists who tumbled into the frigid border lakes of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Ontario’s Quetico. She had been charged by moose, canoed nearly every inch of the 1.2 million acre park, and watched many young paddlers grow into adults.
There are new rangers at Cache Bay. For the second consecutive season, Peter Kranenburg and Stacey Hofer are at the Cache Bay Ranger Station.
Tom McCann is a visual artist and cartographer who lives in Grand Marais. Tom, and his wife, Nancy, were longtime friends of Janice Matichuk. Tom, Nancy, and their friend, Bonnie Schudy (who was also friends with Janice for many years), paddled to the island in Cache Bay in July. Following that visit, Tom wrote a letter to Joe Friedrichs, a co-host of the Paddle and Portage Podcast.
In this short track, Tom reads the letter that he wrote to Joe from Cache Bay in the summer of 2024.

Episode 12: The Dan Cooke Tribute Paddle and Stories About a Legend

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 people who attended the event and participated in the flotilla. We also hear segments from an archived interview with Dan himself in this tribute episode of the podcast.
This episode is sponsored by:
Loons Nest Coffee
Voyageur Canoe Outfitters
Bent Paddle Brewing
Friends of the Boundary Waters
Solbakken on Superior

Episode 11: The Ely Challenge

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 Gunflint Trail to Moose Lake on the Ely side of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Go to Ely and drop a postcard in the mail. And then paddle back to the Gunflint. Do it in less than 24 hours and you "win."
There are no prizes. There's no trophy.
An overnight paddle across the Boundary Waters without sleeping or stopping to enjoy the experience? Why?
On a warm Sunday night at the end of July, two staff members from Voyageur Canoe Outfitters at the end of the Gunflint Trail set out to complete the Ely Challenge. Their names are Jake Weyrauch and Bradley Sage. This is their story.
This episode is supported by:
Tuscarora Lodge and Canoe Outfitters
Sawbill Canoe Outfitters
Friends of the Boundary Waters
REDBUDSUDS
Sawtooth Outfitters
Ely Outfitting Company

Episode 10: The Sounds Of Mallard Island

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 it and stationed it on the edge of the island. Part of the structure still hangs over the edge of the shoreline, so water splashes on and under the building. During the week at Mallard, the sound of splashing water mixed with the calls of birds, the chatter of humans, and the cracking of thunderstorms.
In this episode of the podcast, we explore the sounds of Mallard Island. The sounds are shared through stories and human connection to land and water. Also featured in the episode are Tanya Piatz, Bon Mott, Pebaamibines, and Bambi Goodwin.
This episode is supported by:
Tuscarora Lodge and Canoe Outfitters
Cascade Vacation Rentals
Friends of the Boundary Waters
Loons Nest Coffee
Solbakken on Superior

Episode Nine: Summer Storms Bring BWCA Community Together

Rain. It’s marked the start to the paddling season this year across the Boundary Waters. There was so much rain, in fact, that many portages and waterways across the BWCA flooded in late June. Roads near the Boundary Waters, from the Echo Trail to Highway 61, also flooded and were damaged by the heavy rain.
In one area of the BWCA, a community formed at the Mudro Entry Point. A tent village, as it goes in the Boundary Waters. The flooding destroyed the nearly 6-mile road leading from the Mudro Entry Point to the Echo Trail. A total of 28 cars were blocked off from the Echo Trail when the road washed out.
Among the people were stranded were Kaethe and Josh Boutelle, from Rochester, Minn. They share their story with us on this episode, along with Mark Kaesmeyer, his son Jared, his friend Tony, and Tony’s son Sam.
Five groups ended up at the entry point the night of June 19 and through most of the following day, they explained. A total of 14 people (and one dog) stayed the night in the parking lot. They shared food, told stories, played cards, and did what people do in a community: They rallied together.
We also hear from Ely resident Eric Glasson, who was fishing in the Boundary Waters when the storms rolled in.
Sponsors for this episode include:
Voyageur Canoe Outfitters
Sawtooth Outfitters
MNZ Gear
Friends of the Boundary Waters
Bent Paddle Brewing Company
Ely Outfitting Company

Episode Eight: Experienced Introduction To The Boundary Waters

We all have to start somewhere. Even Sigurd Olson had to be shown how to paddle and portage a canoe at some point.
We share stories in this episode about people taking their first trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. We hear from Bob Carlson, who took a group of young paddlers on the Frost River in the BWCA this spring during a multi-day paddling adventure. We also hear from Mary Ellen Ashcroft and Angelina Elido. Mary Ellen was introduced to Angelina via Linda Newman, a resident of the Arrowhead Trail on the edge of the Boundary Waters. Mary Ellen is a guide with more than 30 years of experience paddling the BWCA. She took Angelina on her first ever canoe trip this year.
There is a right of passage involved with paddling the Boundary Waters. And that journey starts here, one paddle stroke at a time.
This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:
--Tuscarora Lodge & Canoe Outfitters
--Sven-Saw
--REDBUDSUDS
--Solbakken Resort on Superior

Episode Seven - Sex In The Boundary Waters

Sex in the Boundary Waters. It's a thing. Happens on some trips, not on others. In this episode of the podcast, we explore the sexual energy that stirs in the Boundary Waters and other wilderness areas, and among the people who visit these types of wild places. Featured in the episode of the podcast are: Dave and Amy Freeman, experienced paddlers who once spent an entire year living in the BWCA; Anna Hennessey and Emily Ford, two experienced backcountry travelers who frequent the wilderness; and Erin Peterson, a licensed marriage and family therapist and certified therapist who has paddled in the Boundary Waters many times. in the Boundary Waters? Absolutely. This episode sponsored by: Ely Outfitting Company Sawtooth Outfitters Women's Wilderness Discovery Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters

Episode Six Northern Lights On The Fishing Opener

Traveling across the Boundary Waters in May represents many things. A sign of spring. The start of the paddling season. And, of course, the great Fishing Opener.
The team from 2023's epic and nearly fatal Fishing Opener trip on the Temperance River are back again this year. Omaha Erik Dickes. Kevin The Kman Kramer. Lord Baxley. And Freddy Friedrichs.
The group ventured to new waters for this year's opener. They found largemouth, smallmouth, brook trout, lake trout, and walleye. Large fish were caught, and plenty of them. It was about more than fishing this year, though. It was about northern lights. Rainbows stretching across the sky. Campfires that lasted for hours and hours. Hear about it all in today's episode.
This episode of the podcast is supported by:
Sven-Saw
Minnesota Canoe Museum
Friends of the Boundary Waters
Solbakken Resort

Episode Five - Author Tony Jones And The Path To Wild Places

Tony Jones is an accomplished Minnesota author who has a passion for wild places, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
As he describes it, when Tony walked out of the church several years ago and into the woods, he left the orderly pews and numbered hymns for chaotic spaces and untamed wilderness. Tony writes about this in his new book, "The God of Wild Places."
In this episode of the podcast, Tony paddles with Joe on the edge of the BWCA to share some of his journey from being a minister to someone who finds spiritual connection in the wilderness. Tony then sits down with M Baxley around a campfire to reflect on why the wilderness is, in fact, the God of wild places.

Episode Four - A Greater Meaning To A Winter BWCA Trip

Friendship is an often-overlooked component that brings people to the Boundary Waters. So often we’re quick to reference solitude, natural beauty, the means to get away from the day-to-day grind, and other factors that bring people to the BWCA and Quetico.
Three friends, Chad Roy, Mike Larson, and Glen Bruchmann, come to the Boundary Waters every year for an extended winter camping trip. They are quick to reference some of these same common threads, but they also know it runs deeper than that. It’s about connection, reflecting on the year gone by, and looking ahead at what’s to come. It’s also a place for processing. Even topics that go beyond general reflection of the day to day of life. It’s a place to process death, and deep loss. In 2022, the group’s dear friend, Tim Lee, passed away. Tim was there when Mike and Glen first started coming to the Boundary Waters as youngsters. Those were family trips. Tim was older by a few years, but he was included in those family adventures, most of which took place on East Pike Lake on the eastern side of the BWCA.
In late February and early March 2024, the trio started an annual winter adventure on West Bearskin Lake, crossing the wilderness line as they schlepped over the portage to Duncan Lake in the Mid-Gunflint Trail area. They spent the next six days traveling a collection of border lakes, including Rose and Mountain, and down toward Canoe Lake, and then back out at Daniels nearly a week later. They recorded some of their adventure along the way and share them on this episode of the podcast.
To view a map of where the group traveled, click here:https://tinyurl.com/2bc9g9ye

Episode Three - Going Off Trail in the Boundary Waters

Not every lake in the Boundary Waters has a portage trail leading to its shores. Many of these lakes are gifted with the absence of humans.
Similarly, the grueling grind of a long portage can be viewed as an obstacle to prevent some people from traveling deeper into the canoe-country wilderness. Others embrace such portages, knowing fewer people are likely to be on the other side.
The next level is to go off the trail completely. Bushwhacking in the Boundary Waters is about going off trail. It’s exploring the unknown. It’s testing the ability to read terrain, maps, and navigate without following a trail.
In this episode, M Baxley, Buck Benson, and John Oberholtzer go off-trail in the BWCA. Baxley also talks with Dan Disch, wilderness operations leader for the Tofte Ranger District on Superior National Forest, about the legality of such travel in the wilderness, as well as safety reminders for those who choose to go bushwhacking in the Boundary Waters.

Episode Two - The Other Side Of Wild Ice

It was a season to remember for most who had the good fortune to go ice staking on a frozen lake in the Boundary Waters this winter.
The ice came early, and it stayed clear of snow for many weeks. From November until early January, many lakes across the BWCA were ideal for ice skating.
Some of the ice, however, was dangerous. Ice thickness could vary drastically, not just from one lake to the next, but on the same lake.
Two Grand Marais residents found out how dangerous the ice can be early in the season across the Boundary Waters. Gwen shares her story about falling through the ice on Kimball Lake up the Gunflint Trail. Braidy Powers shares his story about falling through the ice on Rose Lake in the BWCA.
In this episode, we hear their stories.

Episode One - Wind Is The Ultimate Game Changer

If we've said it once, we've said it a 1,000 times: Wind is the ultimate game changer on any trip to the Boundary Waters.
In the first full-length episode of the podcast, hosts Joe Friedrichs and Matthew Baxley navigate the complexities and challenges of wind during any given trip to the canoe-country wilderness. Expert guests, including a meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Duluth, and a fisheries biologist from the Department of Natural Resources in Grand Marais, bring science and data into the discussion of how wind can and does impact recreation across the Boundary Waters.
We also hear from Omaha Erik Dickes and his son Justin about how wind impacted their late-season canoe trip to the east side of the BWCA.
Another guest, Adam Mella from the Tumblehome Podcast, previews the January edition of the Paddle and Portage digital magazine and the feature he wrote about how becoming a father reshaped his connection to the wilderness.