Wtip Boundary Waters Podcast

The iconic portage between Duncan Lake and Rose Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness will take on a new look in 2022 when two sets of wooden staircases will be replaced with stone steps. Stone used in the project will come from the land located between the lakes in the federally-designated wilderness area. Hand tools and other non-motorized instruments will be used to shape the new look of the portage. “We are planning to replace the wooden stairs on the stairway portage with stone steps during the summer of 2022,” said Jon Benson, an assistant ranger for recreation and wilderness on the Tofte and Gunflint ranger districts of Superior National Forest. “Great Lakes Trailbuilders is the contractor with whom we will be working.” The 80-rod portage between Duncan and Rose is among the most highly trafficked areas on the eastern side of the BWCA. Two sets of stairs, with more than 90 steps each, make up most of the portage between the two lakes. The portage largely parallels a set of falls dropping

The collection of outfitters who provide assorted gear, canoes and guidance for the many visitors to the Boundary Waters each paddling season is a world full of hard work, long hours and repetition. It’s also a world of connection. And many of those connections are made by those who work for the outfitters on the edge of the wilderness. In the final episode for Season 4 of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast, we hear from the summer staff at some of the outfitters along the Gunflint Trail. It’s the ‘Trail Kids’ episode of the podcast. And for hosts Matthew and Joe, it’s a time to reflect on their own experiences working on the Gunflint and how it brought them into a sense of connection with this place… The Boundary Waters.

Superior National Forest is home to the nation’s only US Forest Service Seaplane Base. Located on Shagwa Lake in Ely, the three USFS pilots stationed there fly deHavilland Beaver float planes and conduct a variety of missions throughout the Superior National Forest and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The base has a long history with roots that date back to 1929 when the Forest Service began using local pilots to help with wildfire mitigation. The program as it exists today, with dedicated airplanes and pilots, was established in 1938. WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast contributor Barbara Jean Meyers traveled to Ely to meet Carlisle Doria, the latest pilot to join the team.

The number of people legally allowed to enter the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) for overnight camping trips from May through September will be reduced for the next paddling season. With permits in high demand during recent paddling seasons – particularly during the past two seasons amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – some canoeists struggled to find available campsites, particularly near popular lakes such as Sawbill, Brule, Duncan and Seagull on the east side of the BWCA. Anecdotally speaking, weary paddlers are quick to complain about racing other groups for campsites, being forced to camp illegally in the brush or making camp in the middle of a pleasant travel day just to ensure they have a site for the night. Each year from May 1 to Sept. 30, visitors taking an overnight paddle or hiking trip, or a motorized day trip into the BWCA are required to obtain a quota permit. The Forest Service designed a quota system following the designation of the Boundary Waters as a wilderness to redu

The season of giving thanks returns to the Boundary Waters as 2021 begins to wind down. To celebrate the season, WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast hosts Joe Friedrichs and Matthew Baxley returned to the ice on Thanksgiving Day. Ice fishing and ice skating were the means of entertainment on a windy and cold day in late November, with fish tacos for dinner marking a day of success on all fronts. Also featured in this episode is a conversation with Timo Rova, an Ely-area resident who has years of experience hunting, recreating and working in the BWCA.

A tornado with wind speeds between 111-135 mph swept through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in October 2021, knocking down trees and making a popular hiking trail impassable in sections. The National Weather Service in Duluth confirmed Oct. 29 that a tornado did roll through the BWCA near Clearwater Lake on Oct. 10. The tornado reached an EF2 rating on its intensity scale, meaning its wind speeds could have reached 135 mph. The tornado was estimated to be on the ground from 6:10 to 6:20 p.m., according to the NWS. In an online post Oct. 29, the National Weather Service says the storm caused significant damage along the Border Route Trail. There is damage on Clearwater Lake, Alder Lake and the Border Route Trail is impassable in places, according to the Forest Service. Earlier this year, Matthew Baxley and Lindsey Gau hiked a popular section of the Border Route Trail in the mid-Gunflint Trail area. They share a report from the trail in this episode of the podcast.

Michelle Kwan is a co-owner of Keefer Court Bakery in Minneapolis. Michelle is an avid fan of the BWCA. She makes as many trips to the wilderness as she can each year, including intentions of winter camping and canoe camping. The daughter of immigrants to the U.S., Michelle says she was introduced to the Boundary Waters by Wendy Paulsen, the sister of Northstar Canoes General Manager Bear Paulsen. Michelle shares her connection to the Boundary Waters in this episode of the podcast. Also featured in this episode: BWCA smoked trout wild rice chowder...Tune in and find out the details.

The Angleworm Trail does not leap to the forefront of most conversations when people talk about the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. That being the case, it’s an easily accessible path and portage located off the Echo Trail near Ely. Podcast hosts Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs set off to travel a section of the Angleworm Trail in October 2021. They were joined by a special guest on the adventure, a unique individual who was featured on a previous episode of the podcast. Though the experience was rooted in the joys of fall travel in the BWCA, Joe was also researching a book he is working on about people who have died or gone missing in the Boundary Waters. When it comes to the special guest, hammock camping is another theme of the episode... (hint, hint)

Fifty episodes! A milestone episode for the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast. Hosts Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs reflect on some of their favorite interviews and moments from the first 50 episodes of the original Boundary Waters podcast. Also included in the commemorative episode is new audio, including a never-before heard story told by the late Quetico Park Interior Ranger Janice Matichuk. With 50 episodes tallied, many stories shared, a national award collected and countless adventures recalled in audio format, Baxley and Friedrichs say the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast is just getting started. To that, we lift a paddle for 50 more episodes.

It's been a season to remember in the Boundary Waters. The entire BWCA was closed for two weeks heading into Labor Day weekend. There's been a campfire ban in effect since early July. Smoke, drought and heat were themes the entire summer. In this episode of the podcast, hosts Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs drop the news thread and go fishing. The podcast duo ventured into the BWCA in mid-August, just days ahead of the wilderness closure. What they found was simplicity. And walleye.

It’s been a season like no other in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. On Aug. 21, Superior National Forest officials enacted a temporary but full closure of the BWCA. The order, issued in response to fire danger, came at the height of the paddling season. The BWCA will reopen Saturday, Sept. 4, with some closures remaining in place. News of the closure was delivered to paddlers by teams of wilderness rangers who spent days sweeping the BWCA by canoe. Working in a coordinated effort across the wilderness, several dozen rangers were able to clear the area in just a few days. WTIP’s Barbara Jean Meyers speaks with two wilderness rangers, Megan McClanahan and Chad LeFevere, along with Superior National Forest Recreation and Wilderness Specialist Cathy Quinn, about the challenges involved in covering an area to remove canoe campers that is more than 1 million acres in size, includes more than 2,000 campsites and 1,200 miles of canoe routes.

News of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness reopening in time for most of Labor Day weekend traveled quickly throughout the paddling community and among local businesses impacted by the change from the Gunflint Trail to Ely. Most of the BWCA will reopen Saturday, Sept. 4. On this wildfire update on the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast, we hear from Tofte District Ranger Ellen Bogardus-Szymaniak about the closure and upcoming reopening of the BWCA. Hosts Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs also share an update on the situation. A section of the wilderness will remain closed for at least another week as multiple wildfires continue to burn in an area south of the Gunflint Trail. Click here to view a map of the closure area. The area that remains closed is, generally speaking, west of Poplar Lake to the end of the Gunflint Trail, including Seagull and Saganaga lakes. The closure extends south and moves west from Sawbill Lake, including the popular ‘Lady Chain of Lakes’ west of Sawbill. The Sawbill entry poin

As drought and active wildfires impact the most visited wilderness area in the nation, the U.S. Forest Service announced Aug. 21 that overnight permits to enter the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness will not be issued at this time and all backcountry access is prohibited until further notice. Day trips to the BWCA are not allowed under the closure. News of the closure spread quickly throughout the paddling community. Among the last to hear of the closure, however, were canoe campers who were on a trip to the BWCA when the closure was announced. Closures to the BWCA impacted WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast host Matthew Baxley and podcast contributor Lindsey Gau not just once, but twice on the weekend the closure was announced. They share their story in this episode of the podcast.

WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast hosts Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs traveled up the Gunflint Trail Aug. 27 to get a firsthand feel for how things were going on the edge of the wilderness. The BWCA remains closed at this time, now a full week into the closure of the most visited wilderness area in the nation. Canoe racks sat full at local outfitters. Restaurants along the Trail were quiet. Most of the vehicles the podcast duo passed on the Trail were trucks carrying firefighters. It was not a typical Friday afternoon and evening in late August on the Gunflint Trail. Joe and Matthew stopped on the shores of Poplar Lake to record this wildfire update.

It's been about a week since the Superior National Forest closed the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. WTIP's Barbara Jean Meyers traveled around canoe country catching up with area outfitters and paddlers about what the closure has been like. She shares this special update on the podcast.

Superior National Forest officials confirmed with the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast they have extended the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness closure through at least Friday, Sept. 3. Tofte District Ranger Ellen Bogardus-Szymaniak confirmed the closure extension. The choice to keep the BWCA closed for at least another week was widely expected. “We considered the weather, historically dry conditions, fire behavior and the resources that we have and decided to go for another week,” she said. “Nothing has changed since the day we put it on.” Wildfires continue to burn both inside and outside the BWCA wilderness line as of Aug. 25. Canadian wildfires burning inside Quetico Provincial Park continue to burn and could jump the BWCA unless conditions change, according to the Forest Service. Podcast hosts Joe Friedrichs and Matthew Baxley recorded this update as smoke and ash from Canadian wildfires fell near Grand Marais Wednesday night.

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness closed to all public access August 21 as wildfires in and around the region continued to burn. The WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast team will be reporting on the wildfires and the complete BWCA closure in a series of updates in the days, weeks and potentially months ahead. In this first installment of the wildfire updates and BWCA closure, hosts Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs discuss the current situation in the Boundary Waters.

Ten years ago this month, the Pagami Creek Fire burned 93,000 acres in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. A lightning strike approximately 13 miles east of Ely ignited the Pagami Creek Fire. First detected on August 18, 2011, the fire smoldered in a bog for several days before it erupted on a monumental scale. In this special episode of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast, we hear the story of Greg and Julie Welch. The Michigan couple were camped in the BWCA when the Pagami Creek fire found them. This is their story.

A continuation of the story started in episode 46, we hear the completion of two trips where two fathers take the oldest son into the wilderness for the very first time. To enhance the story, a three generation trio of ladies share their ongoing legacy of wilderness travel along with some tips to keep the kids happy and safe.

There comes a time when a father decides to take his son into the Boundary Waters for the first time. It could be anyone, really. A mother, aunt, uncle or family friend all face the same challenges. The goal is to make it safe and to make it fun. This episode is a two-part series that follows two different trips with the same goal: taking a child into the wilderness. We hear from one father and son as they progress through their planning process and discuss the expectations of what is ahead. We also join another pair on a day-to-day report of the journey even as an aspiring young traveler records his tumble into the lake. The wilderness always follows through on delivering a life changing experience for both pupil and teacher.