Wtip Boundary Waters Podcast

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!

The trip started with 24 hours of cold rain and seemingly endless beaver dams overflowing from a rising creek. Dense fog masked the shoreline in the distance on the occasional lake that broke up the swirling creek. Despite the weather and being mostly strangers, every member of this tripping team was smiling and giddy. Last September, a group of outdoorsy folks from across the country gathered in Ely, Minn., for a truly unique Boundary Waters trip. They all had two things in common. First, each person loved the outdoors. And second, each identified as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. One of these people was the podcast’s own Matthew Baxley. The WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast marks the 80th episode by sharing a trip centered around belonging, acceptance, and adventure. Most of us know from personal experience how the Wilderness continues to offer life changing experiences. This episode documents the deeply personal way a trip can offer so much beauty in just four short days of paddling.

Juan Martinez is the first tribal liaison for the U.S. Forest Service on Superior National Forest. He arrived to northeastern Minnesota in 2021. In late November 2022, during the first week of good ice in and around the Boundary Waters, podcast hosts Joe Friedrichs and Matthew Baxley went ice fishing with Martinez near the Gunflint Trail. They talked with Juan while on the ice about his work as the tribal liaison on Superior National Forest. Also joining the trio was Dean Paron, the Finland area fisheries supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Paron introduced the group to spear fishing through the ice, adding another twist to the start of ice adventures as winter settles in across the Boundary Waters.

Bear Paulsen has a style of canoe tripping named after him. Simply put, they're called "Bear Trips." A Bear Trip means there will be weeks, possibly months, spent paddling on one specific trip. Paulsen is the general manager of Northstar Canoes. He is also on the short list of the most experienced and well-respected paddlers in Minnesota and across the Boundary Waters region. In this installment of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast Paddler Profile series, we learn more about Bear Paulsen. Photo of Bear Paulsen by Nate Ptacek.

Dispersed camping on Superior National Forest is something the U.S. Forest Service has encouraged as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness continues to draw more people during the peak of summer. In this episode, podcast co-host Joe Friedrichs travels with The Great Josh Dix to a remote lake on the edge of the wilderness. Pursuing brook trout in and around the wilderness formed a theme for October for Friedrichs and fellow co-host Matthew Baxley. The two of them worked together to find brookies, while Baxley also traveled with longtime Cook County resident Buck Benson to find fish and adventure near the BWCA.

Bryan Hansel is an outdoor photographer and BWCA enthusiast who lives near Grand Marais. In May 2021, Hansel followed the route of American geologist Newton Horace Winchell and the work he did while surveying the land of Cook County in 1879. Hansel spent nearly two weeks on the solo adventure that took him from Grand Marais to Lutsen via the Iron Trail to Trail Center, then the Border Route to the end of the Gunflint Trail, and from there to the Ojibwe canoe route to Lutsen on the Poplar River. Along the way, Hansel traveled about 160 miles, including about 25 miles of portaging. In this first installment of the podcast's 'Paddler Profile' series, host Matthew Baxley talks with Hansel about his epic journey.

It's episode 75 of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast! In this episode, we hear from a familiar voice on the podcast, BWCA enthusiast Erik "Omaha Erik" Dickes. Erik goes on his first solo trip to the wilderness in this episode, with hosts Joe Friedrichs and Matthew Baxley joining him for some fall fishing during a memorable afternoon in the BWCA. Thanks to everyone who helped the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast reach its 75th episode! What a journey! And in many ways, it feels like it is just getting started.

A Minnesota woman is safe after spending a rainy September night lost in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness near the Gunflint Trail. 56-year-old Jennifer Fitzer, a resident of Golden Valley, Minn., became lost Thursday, Sept. 8 from her group’s campsite on Rib Lake in the BWCA. This was Fitzer’s first trip to the Boundary Waters, according to her brother, Chuck Fitzer. Chuck spoke with WTIP Sept. 12 about the incident. After being contacted by Chuck Fitzer from the campsite on Rib Lake, Cook County Search and Rescue were deployed in the late afternoon Sept. 8 and traveled to the campsite. Chuck Fitzer and another member of the group of five were able to use their cellphones to call 911, alerting the authorities of the situation. Jennifer Fitzer became lost while exploring near the Rib Lake campsite in the early afternoon Sept. 8. After becoming lost, she walked north for several miles through thick forest and various swamps. She eventually made it to Dawkins Lake, which is located south of Extortion

When we think of the Boundary Waters, solitude, quiet and getting away from the hustle of day-to-day life often jump to the forefront of the mind for many visitors to this canoe country wilderness. A quiet retreat is indeed a common sentiment shared by the many thousands of people who visit the BWCA each year. And while solitude is sought, many of these same people travel through the canoe-country wilderness with familiar faces by their side. As we’ve learned while making this podcast, many enjoy sharing their adventures in the BWCA with their closest friends and family members. Take, for example, a group of Minnesotans who traveled up the Gunflint Trail in August. Traveling under the name ‘the Bound Hounds,’ the curious paddlers have traveled to the BWCA every year for more than two decades. Sometimes there’s just a few from the group who make it, other times it’s eight or nine people. Also featured in today’s episode is Kyle ‘Bill’ Busacker, a longtime Oregonian who recently moved to Massachusetts wit

The WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast team take to the road (and air) for this episode, traveling more than 1,000 miles south to the hills of Kentucky. On the trail of Jordan Grider, a young man from New Mexico who died in the Boundary Waters in 2018, hosts Joe Friedrichs and Matthew Baxley travel throughout Appalachia on their journey to learn more about where Grider spent time camping and living near Daniel Boone National Forest. Along the way they meet Mennonites who let Grider camp on their land before he arrived to the BWCA, many of whom share stories about Grider and his time in Kentucky. Grider gained national attention in 2018 when he was eaten by wolves near the Sioux Hustler Trail on the western side of the BWCA. Authorities believe Grider died first from an accidental injury and was later eaten by wolves.

The Barefoot Paddler abides. Mark Zimmer, more commonly referred to as the 'Barefoot Paddler,' makes his return to the podcast in this episode. Mark is in the midst of his tenth season exploring the BWCA. Not your average paddler, Mark typically spends May through October in the Boundary Waters. He catches fish. He forages. He sleeps in a hammock. And he does it all barefoot. The podcast team recently met up with the Barefoot Paddler on Brule Lake in the BWCA to learn about his 2022 season in the wilderness, which includes a bout with Lyme disease.

Emily Haavik is a Twin Cities based journalist and musician who has a deep love for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Emily and her husband, Phil, chose the BWCA as the setting for their honeymoon in September 2020, for example. The couple also got engaged in the canoe-country wilderness in 2019 on Rose Lake. Emily grew up in Duluth and has been coming to the Boundary Waters for most of her life. Phil grew up in Des Moines, making his first trip to the BWCA in 2001 with a group of scouts. Those early trips were the foundation for a spirited passion for wilderness for both Emily and Phil, particularly the portages, rivers, lakes and forest of the BWCA. Emily and Phil share more on their story in this episode of the podcast. Also featured in this episode is a familiar voice on the podcast, Aubrey Helmuth-Miller. Aubrey and her family open the episode prior to their recent trip to the Gunflint Trail and the BWCA. Music featured in this episode includes the song “Good Times” by Emily Haavik. Other