Paddle and Portage Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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