Paddle and Portage Podcast

Smoky skies, closures, evacuations, and displacement of people have dominated conversations across the Boundary Waters region during recent days.

The BWCA Wilderness shut down July 14 amid a series of wildfires and excessive heat. The length of the closure is unknown at this time. Quetico is also closed at this time due to numerous wildfires burning in and around the park. 

In this episode, we hear from Laura Nelson, a residen...

There are enough stories, news, and information happening on the Ely side of the Boundary Waters on any given day to produce an episode of this podcast. And while that might happen at some point down the road, let's start with this midseason update from the canoe capital of the world. 

To kick things off, we hear from Mark Zimmer, the Barefoot Paddler of the Boundary Waters. 

Also in this we hear from Nancy Scheibe, an El...

As we've reported in a recent episode of the podcast, access to Quetico Provincial Park from the Cache Bay and Prairie Portage ranger stations is once again an option for many paddlers. This development comes as the RABC Program winds down in September. A new telephone reporting system went live at both ranger stations June 8, and the response from paddlers has been upbeat on the new method to clear customs and enter Canada for a t...

The cost to cancel a permit to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is likely on the rise. 

The U.S. Forest Service, in an attempt to reduce the number of BWCA permits canceled each year, is planning to make it more expensive to take such action. 

We break it down with Ginny Nelson, a co-owner of Spirit of the Wilderness Outfitters in Ely. 

Submit your comments to the U.S. Forest Service on this topic to this em...

We share the latest on access to Quetico Provincial Park now that telephone reporting is replacing the RABC Program. Hear a firsthand account of how the new telephone reporting system to access Quetico works. Spoiler alert: It works great! 

Also in this episode, we hear from Bryan Hansel, a photographer who lives near Grand Marais about the public's right to film, take photos, or make sound recordings in the BWCA and other wil...

The St. Louis River Estuary is the confluence of the St. Louis River with Lake Superior.  At 12,000 acres, the St. Louis River Estuary is the largest freshwater estuary in North America and is considered by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to be the headwaters of the Great Lakes.

Over the past 150 years, industry and other human activity disrupted and altered natural habitats at thi...

Don Beans first heard about the Boundary Waters when he was a kid growing up in Ohio. And he did so via a magazine, and through the words of longtime Ely resident Bob Cary, a local author, journalist, artist, and wilderness guide.

About 10 years after reading one of Bob Cary’s articles, Don left Ohio and headed north. The year was 1983. His destination: Ely.

In this episode, we hear the story of Don Beans and his journey to t...

In this two-part episode, we hear of a helicopter rescue from May 2026 when two paddlers capsized in the BWCA near Ely. The podcast duo break down the situation, including the public's response to the incident. 

We also hear from Gunflint Trail resident JT McMillion in the episode. JT is a retired pilot who recently wrote and released a book about his experiences in the sky, "Arctic Circle Dreams." JT got his start in the outd...

It snowed across most of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness during the 2026 Fishing Opener. Indeed, Saturday, May 9 was marked by cold, snow and lingering ice across most of the eastern side of the wilderness. 

Nonetheless, the team from Paddle & Portage traveled into the BWCA once again for the fishing opener. Lake trout were caught. As were walleye. Despite numerous snow squalls, relentless gusts of wind, and cold...

Bob Carlson is a co-owner of Loons Nest Coffee on the Gunflint Trail. He's also a lifelong paddler in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Bob went on his first BWCA when he was 3-years-old.

These days, Bob is busy running Carlson Roasting Company and Loons Nest Coffee. He still enjoys paddling in the BWCA with his family. Chasing lake trout and walleye are part of the experience on a Carlson-family adventure, but it's more a...

Many of the brook trout and splake that end up in lakes in and around the Boundary Waters come from fish hatcheries in southeastern Minnesota.

Joe from the P&P Podcast recently toured the Peterson State Fish Hatchery, which is managed by the Minnesota DNR. The hatchery is located near the Root River and the popular tourist town of Lanesboro. 

Assistant Fisheries Supervisor Ryan Wierzba led us on the tour. Among other thing...

The federal government announced last week it is moving the headquarters for the U.S. Forest Service from Washington, D.C. to Salt Lake City.

As part of the move, the Forest Service says it will also close or repurpose all nine of its regional offices, create 15 state offices, and shutter research and development facilities in more than 30 states, including a site in Ely on the edge of the Boundary Waters.

The specifics on what &ld...

April. The month that's been known to send fear up the spine of the Paddle & Portage Podcast team. 

Recent revelations about what April can offer for BWCA and Quetico adventures has the podcast duo rejuvenated this year. A surge of outdoor activity in late March played a role in this newfound understanding of late winter in the Boundary Waters, as is shared in this episode, which is sponsored by Tuscarora Lodge & Canoe...

Kevin Kinney, owner of Empire Wool and Canvas Company, celebrates the natural world. He does so without apologies. A direct, straightforward creator, Kevin is a generous creator of fabric, though he doesn't need your approval to know his work is being done the right way. He knows it. And most everyone who has some of his product knows it too.

Kevin has built small batches of garments near Lake Superior and the Boundary Waters for m...

Minnesota author and frequent Paddle & Portage contributor Ryan Rodgers has a new book about paddling canoes. “Where the Green Light Shines” will be available in summer 2026.

The book takes readers from Minnesota’s Boundary Waters into the Canadian barrens, a region rarely seen by most BWCA paddlers. The book tells the pull this area had on one of Minnesota’s most accomplished paddlers, Bob O’Hara.

Mona Gauthier led her first trip to the BWCA in August 1983. At that time, she was a recent college graduate with limited resources and made do with gear and equipment that was available. Inspired by the peace, beauty, adventure and challenge of the BWCA, she vowed to return. And return she did.

In 2025, Mona completed a 200-mile solo trip across the border lakes of the Boundary Waters. It was her first solo adventure after complet...

Tim Bates met his wife on the Gunflint Trail. For decades, he paddled and portaged a canoe past thousands of BWCA visitors, though most never knew his name. A gifted paddler and wilderness enthusiast, Tim passed away in December 2025 after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 60.

Tim worked at the University of Minnesota Duluth outdoor education program. He was also a co-founder of the Duluth Folk School. He was a certified canoe ...

Sometimes the hardest part of wilderness travel – be it a winter trip to the Boundary Waters or a canoe trip to Quetico – isn’t the actual adventure itself that is the most taxing. What can be the most challenging is simply getting back home and adjusting back to “regular life.”

Four Minnesotans spent most of last summer paddling from the end of the Gunflint Trail to Hudson Bay, going north across a la...

The BWCA is making national headlines in early 2026, with a proposed mine near the edge of the wilderness being the primary news item drawing attention to the region. A vote to reverse a mining ban on Superior National Forest is likely happening soon in the U.S. Senate, though any such vote was delayed this week. 

The podcast duo of M Baxley and Joe Friedrichs discuss the latest and what it means for the Boundary Waters in thi...