Wtip Boundary Waters Podcast

There are new rangers at the Cache Bay Ranger Station in Quetico Provincial Park. For the first time since the passing of Janice Matichuk, the new rangers could become something of a fixture on what is known as Her Island. Matichuk, the longest serving ranger in the history of Quetico, passed away in August 2020. The new rangers are Peter Kranenburg and Stacey Hofer. Both in their late 30s, the young couple celebrated their first year at Cache Bay this summer. They also got married in July, making for a summer Peter and Stacey say they will never forget. Their plan, Peter and Stacey say, is to return to Cache Bay for years to come. The Boundary Waters podcast duo, Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs, visited the Cache Bay Ranger Station in August 2023. They share a full report in this episode.

The Paddler Profile Series continues on the podcast with the inspiring story of one incredible human's walk across the wilderness. From a boy in Iowa to an adventurer in Ely, this is as much about life's journey as it is about a journey through the woods. And swimming the lakes, in October. In this installment of the Paddler Profile Series of the Boundary Waters Podcast, we learn more about Jason Zabokrtsky from Ely Outfitting Company.

There are unexplainable things that can happen to people in the Boundary Waters. Strange energy. Powerful feelings that someone, or something is nearby. One campsite, located on an island on Tuscarora Lake, is occasionally referenced when this discussion surfaces. It was here, in May 2020, that a young man from Indiana died after their canoe capsized. Others have reported strange energy at the island, in fact leaving the campsite to travel on before the campers spent a night on the island. In this episode, Matthew and Joe travel to this island on Tuscarora Lake. At the island they met Thang Huynh. Thang, his family, and others, were camped on the island in late July. They shared their experience with the podcast duo. Also featured in this episode is Nataly Yokhanis, Billy Cameron's girlfriend up until his passing in 2020. We also hear from Shy-Anne Hovorka, an Indigenous musician, songwriter, and educator who lives in Canada near Lake Superior.

The Barefoot Paddler returns to the podcast, this time to share stories of walking every portage in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Mark Zimmer, more commonly referred to as the Barefoot Paddler, took several years to walk every maintained portage in the BWCA. He tracked his steps and created a map of the portages. He intends to offer this digital map to the paddling community in the near future. Also featured in this episode is co-host Joe Friedrichs sharing an experience from the wilderness on the tail-end of a bout with COVID. The wilderness doesn't cure everything, but it can add some perspective on the journey, as Joe and Matthew Baxley discuss throughout the episode.

For many paddlers, the BWCA is the ultimate destination for all trips. For others, its the training ground for trips further north. Maddy and Cory, two sisters, grew up on the edge of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. Both eventually found themselves paddling further north in Canada, though took very different paths to get there. Outdoor writer, Sam Cook, returns to share stories of his own travels into far northern territories. Get inspired and pick up some tips while following along on these tails of adventure.

A large section of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness will be closed near the end of the Gunflint Trail due to the ongoing threat from an active wildfire. The closure area will include an area west of the Gunflint Trail. Lakes and campsites included in the closure are Ogishkemuncie Lake, sections of Knife Lake, Ottertrack Lake, Jasper Lake, Kekekabic Lake, Spice Lake, Hanson Lake, and Ester Lake, among many others (see map above). Day-trip paddling and overnight camping is currently prohibited in the closure area. The Kekekabic Trail is also closed at this time. Approximately 80 campsites are off-limits in the BWCA as a result of the fire and subsequent closure area. The closure went into effect Friday, June 16. There is also a campfire ban in effect for the BWCA at this time. Learn all the details in this short track of the podcast.

It's all about hammocks in Episode 92. Back to share stories and information and hammocks and hammock camping in the Boundary Waters is none other than Shug. Well known for his YouTube channel and extensive hammock-camping adventures in the BWCA and along the Superior Hiking Trail, Shug shares information about Superior Gear hammocks, along with tips of the trade for hammocks in the BWCA. Also featured is Kevin "The K-man" Kramer, an experienced Boundary Waters paddler who ditched his tent years ago in exchange for a hammock.

Episode 90 proved to be a pivotal moment in the history of the podcast. A capsized canoe on the Temperance River in the BWCA just days after ice out led to a memorable story that was shared by the four members of the trip: Matthew Baxley, Kevin "The K-Man" Kramer, Omaha Erik Dickes, and Joe Friedrichs. In this episode, we learn more about the experience, including some lessons learned. St. Louis County Rescue Squad Captain Rick Slatten also shares perspective on the situation, specifically about Friedrichs getting pinned behind a white pine in the river after the capsizing event. This episode also features supplemental commentary from the K-man about his family's reaction to the experience, and there's some bonus audio from around a BWCA campfire just days after the canoe capsized on the Temperance River.

The WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast duo of Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs met up with Kevin "The K-man" Kramer and "Omaha" Erik Dickes for the 2023 fishing opener. The group set out in search of fish and open water. Not long after portaging around a stretch of rapids on the Temperance River, the adventure went sideways. This was not the fishing opener the group expected it to be.

The sights of the Boundary Waters are what many people think of when asked what they appreciate about the canoe-country wilderness. Seeing a moose. A sunset from camp. A stringer of walleye in summer. These are all images connected to the Boundary Waters. However, for Paul Dickinson, there's much more than just seeing the wilderness. Dickinson connects to the land, water, and sky in the BWCA via sound. Embracing a relatively new field of biology known as 'soundscape ecology,' Dickinson shares his experiences recording sound in the Boundary Waters.

Just ahead of the upcoming paddling season, there was news of a court case that could end the longstanding practice of using motorized towboats to help Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness visitors get started on their wilderness trips at least temporarily. A national organization, Wilderness Watch, is seeking an injunction to halt the towboat permit system as soon as the ice melts. The US Forest Service allows the use of towboats are used to assist canoeists starting their BWCA journey, dispersing visitors deeper into the million-acre BWCA. Some outfitters at the end of the Gunflint also use the towboat service to help paddlers reach Quetico Provincial Park via the Cache Bay Ranger Station. The towboats typically drop paddlers at American Point on Saganaga Lake, which is partially inside the BWCA. If the federal judge reviewing the injunction rules in favor of Wilderness Watch, it could disrupt the plans of thousands of Minnesotans who have already booked towboat-assisted trips with BWCA and Quetico outfit

Mushing is the fastest way to travel across the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness during the winter. Sled dogs love to run, and the open flats of a BWCA lake can provide stunning areas for experienced and novice mushers to explore. In this episode, we hear from Kate Tender and Allison Opheim. They spent the winter working as sled dog tour guides at Points Unknown, a Cook County business near the Arrowhead Trail. The duo recently went ice fishing for the first time with podcast host Joe Friedrichs. We hear about their BWCA adventure in a recording inside the wilderness. Also featured in this episode is Cook County musher Erin Altemus. The winner of the 2023 Gunflint Mail Run eight-dog race up the Gunflint Trail, Altemus happens to be an experienced paddler with a deep passion for the canoe-country wilderness. Erin shares some of her favorite summer and winter memories from the Boundary Waters, including some dog-sledding adventures.

The Paddler Profile series continues in this episode. The featured paddler is Wendy Paulsen, a dedicated paddler of the BWCA and other waters across North America. Wendy is the sister of Northstar Canoes General Manager Bear Paulsen. She has a generous spirit for introducing others to the BWCA, including Michelle Kwan, an avid fan of the BWCA who was featured on episode 52 of the podcast. In addition to paddling, Wendy enjoys swimming recreationally across BWCA lakes. And not just a dive-in, jump-out type swim. Literally swimming laps around lakes in the wilderness is something Wendy has embraced, as podcaster Matthew Baxley learns and shares in this episode.

Canoecopia 2023 took place in Madison, Wisc., from March 10-12. The WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast team was back for this year's paddling expo. In addition to posting up at their booth and talking with thousands of curious paddlers, hosts Joe Friedrichs and Matthew Baxley presented during Canoecopia this year. The podcast duo shared a presentation on how to document and share stories from a trip to the canoe-country wilderness. It was a busy scene at Canoecopia this year. In this episode, you'll hear from those who were involved and people who attended from all over the country.

For the first time in several years, there will be a park ranger at the Cache Bay Ranger Station in Quetico Provincial Park for the full season in 2023. Due to the pandemic and additional restrictions regarding Remote Area Border Crossing Permits, there has not been a full-time ranger at the island in Cache Bay since 2019. There was a ranger there for part of the paddling season in 2022. That means the last ranger to serve full-time at Cache Bay was Janice Matichuk, the longest serving ranger in the history of Quetico. Matichuk died from brain cancer in August 2020. Her voice has been featured many times on the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast. The story of her time in Quetico was shared by Boundary Waters Podcast host Joe Friedrichs in the book "Her Island." In this episode, the podcast team shares some of the 'Lost Files of Matichuk.' In the early stages of shaping "Her Island," Friedrichs and Matichuk recorded some 14 hours of audio. The clips shared today are the first in what will be a series of storie

Climate change isn’t something most BWCA enthusiasts think of in early January. On the day permits for the upcoming paddling season go live – as they did Jan. 25 this year – the bulk of those people planning a canoe trip made their reservations for the upcoming season with winter still in full force. A warming planet seems an afterthought on such occasions. In this episode of the podcast, hosts Joe Friedrichs and Matthew Baxley explore the notion of where climate change fits into the planning (if at all) and adventures of an average canoe trip to the Boundary Waters. To add context, they bring in two of Minnesota’s two top climate experts: Pete Boulay, assistant state climatologist with the Minnesota State Climatology Office who works for the DNR; and Peter Reich, a renowned expert in forest ecology and a professor at both the University of Minnesota and University of Michigan, who has done extensive research on how climate change is and will impact the Boundary Waters. This episode has nothing to do with

Sam Cook made a career writing about the woods and waters of northeastern Minnesota, including his many adventures to the Boundary Waters. A longtime columnist for the Duluth News Tribune, Cook shares some of his adventures and reflects on his career as an outdoors writer in this installment of the Paddler Profile Series on the podcast.

January 25 was the first day to secure a 2023 overnight paddle trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Permits went up for grabs at 9 a.m. Podcast hosts Joe Friedrichs and Matthew Baxley met at WTIP headquarters in Grand Marais to book their permits for the 2023 paddling season, including their coveted fishing opener trip in May. The fishing opener in Minnesota this year is Saturday, May 13. A bit of chaos ensued as the duo booked their permits. Find out where the podcast team is headed once the 2023 paddling season begins.

Food tastes better during a trip to the Boundary Waters. It's a common sentiment, one many visitors to the canoe-country wilderness can relate to. During a recent winter trip to the BWCA, the podcast team explored the notion that food is about much more than fuel for the body. It's about bringing people together. Superior National Forest Tribal Liaison Juan Martinez returns to the podcast in this episode, bringing a cooking "disco" to prepare burritos for a group of eight. In addition to Juan, the Great Josh Dix talks lake trout fishing at the start of the season, and Adam Mella from the Tumblehome podcast makes a cameo. Also featured in the episode is discussion about the 2023 Gunflint Mail Run, which brought throngs of people to the edge of the BWCA this year.

Welcome to Season Six of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast! To start the season, we get to travel once again with the father/daughter duo Scott and Emilie Burditt. Scott and Emilie are Wisconsin residents who make an annual trip to Quetico Provincial Park. In 2022, they took their Canadian paddling adventures to new terrain and paddled Wabakimi Provincial Park. Along the way, the share their stories about a love for the outdoors and paddling in canoe country, and how this bond keeps them connected throughout the year. They also talk about the realities of backcountry travel, including injury. It's the start of a new season on the podcast! It begins!