Paddle and Portage

07/25/2025

Travel with us to the Boundary Waters.

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07/23/2025

Checking in with an update from their epic paddle are the Hudson Bay Girls. The four paddlers left and the Grand Portage in May. They’re bound for and share this update from Norway House, just north of Lake Winnipeg.

In an update sent to Paddle and Portage July 21, they report: “We’re checking in from Norway House! We have been through so much so far. From navigating backcountry travel restrictions, dodging wildfires, a trip altering injury, and ever changing weather conditions- we have been busy!”

Listen to the full audio report in this episode of the podcast: https://paddleandportage.com/2025/07/23/hudson-bay-girls-share-update-from-norway-house/

Photo from on Instagram. Music on this episode from Canadian folk singer Ian Tamblyn.

This episode is supported by Bent Paddle Brewing Co., Save the Boundary Waters and Drury Lane Books.

07/23/2025

From our friends at the bookstore in Ely. Just ahead of the Blueberry Festival this weekend, traditionally one of the busiest weekends in town.

07/22/2025

Kate Wright is the director of marketing for Bending Branches. An experienced paddler, Kate and her husband are taking their young child to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) this summer for the first time as parents. Kate spoke with guest host Erin Walker from Lost Lakes for this episode of the podcast.

This episode is supported by Canoecopia, Women's Wilderness Discovery, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, Sawbill Canoe Outfitters, and Cascade Vacation Rentals.

Listen to the episode here: https://paddleandportage.com/2025/07/22/paddling-the-boundary-waters-and-beyond-with-bending-branches/

07/19/2025

News of a Minnesota man who is missing in the Boundary Waters region reminds us that when people vanish in the canoe-country wilderness it is not typically easy to find them.

In reviewing the history of search and rescue in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and other similar cases across Superior National Forest, we find these stories unfolding both ways. Sometimes the people are found. In other cases, they are not. There are several instances where people have never been found after they go missing in the Boundary Waters region.

Learn more in this P&P report from what writer Terry Tempest Williams recently referred to as "the people's wilderness."

The Stories Behind Those Who Go Missing Near ‘The People’s Wilderness’ by Joe Friedrichs | Jul 19, 2025 | News, Subscribers Only | 0 comments A Minnesota woman is rescued from Eagle Mountain in the BWCA in April 2024. Photo courtesy of North Shore Health The Magazine, Subscribers Only The Stor...

07/18/2025

Learn more about a Minnesota man missing near the Boundary Waters after the official ground search was called off this week.

Jennifer Doherty talks about Gene Doherty's love of the outdoors and fishing in Minnesota. Gene has been missing since July 1, when he was last seen leaving his mother’s house in Silver Bay, Minn., around 9 a.m.

“We’re still very hopeful,” Jennifer said July 18 in an interview with Paddle and Portage media. “That said, all of us are confused and scared. We’re not sure how to even process it.”

This week, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office called off the ground search for Gene Doherty, after extensive search and rescue operations failed to yield any tangible results. Gene’s vehicle was found July 11 near the intersection of Brule Lake Road and a Forest Service road known commonly as “The Grade.” Traveled frequently by visitors and locals recreating on Superior National Forest and in the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, The Grade offers access to Brule Lake, a popular lake in the BWCA, and Eagle Mountain, the highest point of elevation in Minnesota. The road is surrounded by dense forest, swamps, and unforgiving terrain. The search to find Gene has been challenging due to the rugged landscape, as both local authorities and Jennifer pointed out to Paddle and Portage.

Jennifer has spent most of the past week in Cook County looking for Gene. Along with other family and friends, they’ve been staying in a condo at Caribou Highlands Lodge near Superior National Golf Course and the small town of Lutsen. Gene’s been working as a groundskeeper at Superior National Golf Course this summer, Jennifer said. He spent last summer working on a Lake Superior fishing boat near Bayfield, Wisc. An ankle injury sustained while hiking made it too difficult to return to the fishing boat for another summer.

“He loves the outdoors,” she said. “He loves to fish and get outside all those types of things.”

Full story here: https://paddleandportage.com/2025/07/18/family-and-friends-struggle-to-grasp-disappearance-of-minnesota-man-near-the-boundary-waters/

07/18/2025

The team from Paddle and Portage went fishing for walleye Thursday morning. While fishing, we came upon a wolf that took down a young moose in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The moose was likely only a few months old. The video is from July 17, 2025, at a remote lake in the . Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA)

07/17/2025

The annual Gunflint Trail Canoe Races are a community event focused on raising money for the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department.

The origins of the canoe races here trace back nearly 50 years. The 2025 races started after nearly 24 hours of steady rain across the Boundary Waters region. As is so often the case, the skies cleared just before the start of the race.

Read this story by Gunflint Trail residents Chad and Kris Kieper for a full report on the 2025 canoe races, including who won the coveted "Trail Cup."

Hint: Team "Clearly Jacked" from Clearwater Historic Lodge & Canoe Outfitters and Hungry Jack Outfitters have something to do with it.

Full story here: https://paddleandportage.com/2025/07/16/the-gunflint-trail-canoe-races-a-celebration-of-community-and-paddling/

Photos by Chad Kieper, Kris Kieper, and Joe Friedrichs

Tuscarora Lodge & Canoe Outfitters
Voyageur Canoe Outfitters
Gunflint Lodge and Outfitters
Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center
Wilderness Canoe Base
Seagull Canoe Outfitters
Birchwood Wilderness Camp

07/16/2025

FishBrain Shane responded to our recent post supporting an increase for BWCA permits. Rather than hashing it out online, we had a conversation. The lost art of talking. Who knew?! Listen to the full podcast episode here: https://paddleandportage.com/2025/07/16/bwca-wilderness-permit-news-on-the-paddle-and-portage-podcast/

07/16/2025

We've shared multiple news stories in recent weeks about permits for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. From the cost of permits to the record number of permit cancellations last year, the Paddle and Portage Podcast team break it all down in this episode.

Joining the podcast duo on the episode is a Minnesota resident and BWCA regular who goes by the name FishBrain Shane. Earlier this summer, Shane disagreed with an online post from the P&P team that supported the proposal to increase the permit fee for the BWCA. How does it go on the podcast when conversation takes over from social media posting? Tune in and find out.

This episode is support by Williams and Hall Outfitters.


FishBrain Shane

BWCA Wilderness Permit News on the Paddle and Portage Podcast by Joe Friedrichs | Jul 16, 2025 | The Podcast | 0 comments Permit News from the BWCA Wilderness We’ve shared multiple news stories in recent weeks about permits for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. From the cost of permits to...

07/15/2025

The U.S. Forest Service-Superior National Forest hosted an event here Monday night to explain why the agency is considering raising the cost of an overnight permit for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA).

If approved, the cost of a trip to the Boundary Waters will be $40 per adult regardless if the person stays one night or seven nights or two months in the wilderness without leaving.

The Forest Service says this would be the first permit fee increase for the BWCA Wilderness in nearly two decades. The fee increase is necessary, the Forest Service says, as it needs money to help maintain portages and campsite amenities.

Paddle and Portage attended the town hall-style event and shares this report:

https://paddleandportage.com/2025/07/14/forest-service-says-fee-increase-would-largely-support-bwca-wilderness-maintenance/