Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness quota permit reservations for May 1 — September 30, 2022, will be available beginning at 9:00 a.m. Central Time on Wednesday, Jan. 26.

Visitors are encouraged to book their reservations at Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777.

The WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast spoke with Clare Shirley from Sawbill Canoe Outfitters about the upcoming paddling season, quota reductions in the BWCA for 2022 and what to expect on 'opening day' of permit availability.

Short Track: Opening Day for BWCA Permits 2022

Host John Gregory @gregiej chats with Scott Shipley (USA) about S2O Design, RapidBlocks and the way in which canoe slalom and paddlesport park venues have evolved.&nbsp;

Scott Shipley on slalom course design

With permits now available for the 2022 paddling season in the Boundary Waters, it’s time to start thinking about gear and trip planning. One place to do just that is Canoecopia in Madison, Wisconsin. 

Darren Bush, owner of Rutabaga Paddlesports in Madison, and organizer of canoeing expo Canoecopia, joins the podcast in this episode to talk about the return of an in-person event for 2022. 

The WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast attended the last in-person canoe expo in 2019. The pandemic has either shut down or let to virtual events the past two years. Learn about what to expect for Canoecopia 2022 in this episode of the podcast.

Episode 59 WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast

The quiet of winter remains across the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness as cold temperatures and significant snowfall blanket the region. By looking at the woods and frozen lakes such beauty can be appreciated simply and plainly, but it's more challenging to know what is happening beneath the ice. 

Chel Anderson is a botanist and plant ecologist. She lives near the Boundary Waters and Lake Superior and keeps close tabs on daily changes happening with the local woods and waters. She spoke with podcast host Matthew Baxley about what’s happening under the icy surface of the lakes in the Boundary Waters.

Episode 60 WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast

This music was composed for a part in a film where two guys hold a canoe race. It was supposed to sound very Western / old style-ish.

The Canoe Race

Jarett Bies talks about his The Fort to Field 50 Paddle Battle on July 9, 2022. Pro and hobby paddlers hit a beautiful, natural portion of the Missouri River. The event founder talks by phone to Jay K. about the event. Listen in on our conversation -- he says that it's great for first-time racers, 50 miles of grandeur!

Come paddle the Missouri River in South Dakota!

Sound gifted from a niece who lives at Crag Lake, Yukon. Summer thoughts uploaded in the snowy, sunny heart of winter.

344 of 365 Yukon Sounds

Jul 08.Min Canoe

Canoecopia, the world’s largest paddling expo, returned in 2022. 

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the Madison, Wisc., based event in 2020. It was a virtual gathering in 2021.  

The WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast was back at Canoecopia this year. Old acquaintances surfaced from the crowd. New friends were made as well. It was a time of connection. 

This episode was recorded in its entirety at Canoecopia 2022. 

Special thanks to Aubrey from Redbudsuds, and Nashville musicians Caitlin Evanson and Jerry Vandiver, for sharing their music on this episode.

Episode 62 WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast

Lake Saganaga at the end of the Gunflint Trail is an easy place to get lost. 

Sag, as the lake is often called, is both the deepest and largest lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It’s 280 ft. deep in certain pockets, and is spread across nearly 19,000 acres.

And while Sag might be challenging to navigate for even the most experienced paddlers, sometimes getting turned around can lead to magical experiences. 

Nicole Erickson and Michael Kelly know all about this, as we learn in today’s episode. 

Also in this episode, podcast hosts Joe Friedrichs and Matthew Baxley trek to the BWCA to drill a hole in the ice on the same weekend overnight travel permits are required to start the 2022 ‘paddling season.’

Episode 65 WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast

With  one week to go before the Minnesota fishing opener, many of the lakes across the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and all of Superior National Forest remain locked in ice. 

The WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast team drilled a hole in the ice of a 181-acre lake inside the BWCA on Friday, May 6. There was approximately 24 inches of rotting ice on the lake. One week prior, on April 29, there was 28 inches of ice on the same lake, with an additional six inches of snow and slush on top of the frozen lake. 

Temperatures in the Mid-Gunflint Trail are expected to climb into the 70s by May 10. 
The fishing open is Saturday, May 14. 

Along the Gunflint Trail, lakes with inlets or flowing water featured open water. The edges of many lakes are beginning to slowly pop open as well. Nearly all the rivers along the Trail featured fast, flowing water. 

The audio below was recorded in the BWCA on Friday, May 6 by Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs from the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast.

Short Track: Ice Update One Week Before BWCA Fishing Opener

It went from fishing opener to lake opener as ice lingered on the east side of the Boundary Waters in the middle of May.

Many area lakes, from the end of the Arrowhead Trail to the Middle Gunflint Trail, still held their ice on the day before the 2022 fishing opener in Minnesota.

Minnesota’s fishing opener for walleye, bass, trout and pike was Saturday, May 14. 

As the ice lingered, many groups canceled their Gunflint expeditions on this year’s fishing opener. The WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast did not. 

This episode, featuring Matthew Baxley, Joe Friedrichs and Kevin ‘The K-man’ Kramer, tells the story of how it all went down.

Episode 66 WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast

High water levels and lingering ice are making for a treacherous start to the paddling season across the Boundary Waters this spring. 

Craig Regep, a resident of Hanover, Minnesota, experienced this firsthand at the start of a canoe trip in the BWCA on Friday, May 13. 

Regep’s trip started at the end of the Arrowhead Trail on the far eastern side of the BWCA. He was paddling from John Lake to the Royal River en route to North Fowl Lake when he capsized in a solo Kevlar canoe. After tumbling into the frigid waters, Regep was alone and without a canoe. He did not have an emergency beacon or SPOT-location device. Hypothermia started to set in as Regep attempted to make his way back to the parking area at the end of the Arrowhead. 

Regep spoke of his experience with WTIP Boundary Waters co-host Joe Friedrichs in this discussion.

Short Track: BWCA Paddler Recounts Near-Death Experience After Capsizing in May 2022

OUR FIRST SUMMER REPLAY!!! Couldn't think of a person who's spirit of curiosity and exploration inspires me more.Really proud of this one. Enjoy!

Today’s guest is the eccentric adventurer, filmmaker and writer Beau Miles!!

Beau has filmed some of the most inventive adventures out there including “The Human Bean”, “A Mile an Hour”, “Run the Line”, “Africa by Kayak” and many more.  His Youtube channel is full of entertaining, quirky, impressive filmmaking and I am so grateful I was able to sit down and chat with him for this episode!

Throughout his many adventures (and misadventures), Beau comes across as a person who is passionate for new experiences, who seeks understandings of the world both the internal and external, and someone who expresses his artistic side through creating some major challenges.  At their core these adventures demonstrate an honest-to-goodness curiosity for life.

From running an abandoned railroad line in his hometown to kayaking 2,000kms along the Souther African Coast to commuting 60+ miles to work by highway and waterway, Beau shows all the ups and downs of forging new experiences.

In this episode we chat all about the lessons he’s learned, his musings on adventure both local and exotic, and how he’s evolved along the way.

I hope you love this one as much as I did! Huge thanks to Beau and make sure you tune into all of the amazing projects he has released and everything that is on the way!!

SUMMER REPLAY: Beau Miles -- Spirit of Adventure & Power of Storytelling

Legislation that would essentially block certain types of mining on a large swath of federal land in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was passionately debated during a May 24 hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.

The bill would prohibit sulfide-based mineral development in an area of Superior National Forest near the BWCA.

During the hearing, a Congressman from Wisconsin said the United States must either depend on slave labor or open the stalled Twin Metals sulfide-mining project on the edge of the Boundary Waters if the nation aims to have renewable energy sources as it shifts toward a green future. 

Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany, who represents Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, asked Julia Ruelle from the Kids for the Boundary Waters organization if she thought slave labor should be preferred over the Twin Metals project. 

The audio in this short track includes segments from the May 24 hearing, as well as interviews with both Rep. Tiffany and Ruelle.

Short Track: News Report on Congressional Hearing About Mining Near BWCA

Human remains were discovered near a makeshift campsite in April 2019 near the Sioux Hustler Trail that runs through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. 

Law enforcement later identified the remains as those of 29-year-old Jordan Grider, a New Mexico resident who was attempting to spend an entire winter camping in the BWCA. Authorities believe he was eaten by wolves, likely after he died from an unknown injury. 

In this episode of the podcast, host Joe Friedrichs and DNR Conservation Officer Sean Williams visit the site where Grider made his final camp. 

Also in this episode, host Matthew Baxley shares an update on the rebuild of the iconic Stairway Portage between Duncan and Rose lakes in the BWCA. Trail builder Willie Bittner talks with Matthew for the update. 

And with the warmer temperatures, Matthew and Joe also have an upbeat fishing report to share from the Boundary Waters.

Episode 68 WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast

Lake trout in Cook County are on their own when it comes to sustaining their populations on lakes in or near the Boundary Waters and Gunflint Trail corridor. 

A recent decision by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to discontinue – at least temporarily – lake trout stocking is both a success story and an indication into how hard it can be to reintroduce fish species into area lakes once they vanish. 

Matt Weberg, the interim Grand Marais area fisheries supervisor in Grand Marais, shares more on this topic in today's episode. 

Kalli and Joe also talk about recent mountain lion sightings near the Cascade River and Lake Superior.

DNR Halts Lake Trout Stocking In Cook County

Poetry. 

Process. 

Paddling. 

In the BWCA, the natural rhythms of wind and water churn through seasons without concern for human visitors. During the July 4 holiday weekend, five paddlers on a remote lake in the Boundary Waters found themselves sharing new experiences while reflecting on the past. 

In today’s episode we hear from the poet, Emily Van Kley. Emily and her father, Dave Van Kley, have been traveling across the BWCA for many years. More recently, they introduced Emily’s partner, Allison Eby, to the wilderness. 

Walleye were caught on this particular trip. Stories were shared. As the wind howled, the trees shared their poetry.

Episode 69 WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast

It's the 'all news episode' of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast! 

There has been so much news in and around the Boundary Waters in recent weeks, hosts Joe Friedrichs and Matthew Baxley use storytelling and interviews to sum up some of the biggest topics coming from the BWCA and Quetico.  

Among them are the return of Remote Area Border Crossing Permits, the completion of the Stairway Portage redesign and the retirement of the forest supervisor who oversees management of the BWCA. 

The photo supporting this episode is of Connie Cummins, the forest supervisor for Superior National Forest. The massive Superior National Forest, headquartered in Duluth, covers nearly 4 million acres, about 1.9 million of which is the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

After leading the expansive Superior National Forest for the U.S. Forest Service for the past six years, Cummins is set to retire at the end of the month. Her last day is July 30. 

In this episode we hear from Cummins about her tenure on Superior National Forest. Also featured are Willie Bittner talking about the Stairway Portage redesign and Kevin 'The K-man' Kramer shares an update from the Cache Bay Ranger Station in Quetico Provincial Park.

Episode 70 WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast

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 music from the Blue Dot Sessions and Ian Tamblyn.

Episode 71 WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast

A composer & producer from Amsterdam. Started creating music at the age of 5 and has a passion for anything that can create sound. An experienced composer, who created the music for a large range of feature films, TV-shows, Social Media Productions and Documentaries. With no designated style or genre, the music I create is simply what comes to my mind. Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoy!

Because I create such different styles, for your convenience I have grouped each style in separate playlists.

I have been playing music for a long time -- my fingers are sore! ha ha. More background: https://mailjaykirsch.wixsite.com/jaykmusic

WTIP is the community radio station serving Minnesota's North Shore. We share a variety of outdoor news content from the region, including Lake Superior, Isle Royale and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. From fishing and hunting to environmental issues, this locally-produced podcast covers important outdoor news relevant to our broad community of listeners.

Interviews with incredible people about Adventure, Motivation, Mindset, Positivity, Endurance, Health, Perseverance, and Possibility

New tracks tagged #canoe