The Return of the Canoes: A Family’s Quetico Evacuation Story
The Return of the Canoes: A Family’s Quetico Evacuation Story
During the peak of the 2026 wildfires in the BWCA and Quetico this summer, the Paddle & Portage team shared the story of the Nelson family.
The Nelson family have been paddling in Quetico for decades. Three generations of canoe-campers have now entered the park, most often through Cache Bay, the southeastern entrance near the end of the Gunflint Trail.
Siblings Matt and Laura led a group of six into the park in mid-July 2026. The group included Matt and his daughter, and Laura and her three children.
Wildfires were burning in Quetico and BWCA leading up to their trip, which started July 11. By the afternoon of July 13, excessive heat and strong winds dramatically increased the size of the wildfires. The Nelsons, paddling on Kawnipi Lake, became surrounded by wildfire. They were eventually airlifted to the north side of the park, though they had to leave their canoes behind.
Months later, the canoes were flown out of the park and brought to an outpost just north of Quetico. In early October, Matt drove from Michigan to Ontario to get the canoes, and that’s where this episode picks up the story.
Support for the Paddle & Portage Podcast comes from Ely Outfitting Company, Northstar Canoes, and Bending Branches Canoe & Kayak Paddles.
The End of a Memorable BWCA Quota Season
The End of a Memorable BWCA Quota Season
It’s one to remember. The 2026 quota season in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness wrapped up Sept. 30. The quota season runs May 1 to the end of September annually in the nation’s most visited wilderness.
Wildfires stand out as the most significant event from the 2026 BWCA paddling season, with the entire wilderness closing for a section of July. Other notable events include a blizzard during the May fishing opener in the Boundary Waters and a new telephone reporting system to enter Quetico.
Through it all, the Paddle & Portage Podcast was here doing what we do best: Sharing stories from the canoe country. The podcast duo share this episode from the wilderness, accompanied by a fresh batch of BWCA smoked lake trout chowder.
This episode is supported by Loons Nest Coffee and Borderland Lodge.
BWCA Stories with Two Minnesota Paddlers & Erin Walker
Kaylan Dix and Bridget Douglas Talk BWCA Paddling with Erin Walker
Paddle & Portage media, with the support of Bending Branches, released a new podcast series focused on women paddlers across North America.
The series, hosted by Erin Walker from the Lost Lakes YouTube channel, starts with two episodes, which are both available now. The guests are Kaylan Dix and Bridget Douglas.
A dedicated paddler in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Kaylan works in healthcare in Grand Marais. She says paddling and outdoor recreation help her navigate the complex world of healthcare, along with being a mother of two teenage daughters.
Bridget is a guide in the BWCA Wilderness and Lake of the Woods. She’s worked with Women’s Wilderness Discovery in Ely and has a decade of experience as a guide in the Lake of the Woods on the Minnesota and Ontario border waters.
Watch both interviews in the links below on YouTube, or find the new episodes wherever you get your podcasts.
Hear more stories like those shared in this episode on our YouTube page.
Traveling Burn Routes in the Boundary Waters
Traveling Burn Routes in the Boundary Waters
Jenna Ladowski is a firefighter who lives near Fort Collins, Colorado. She was recently on a nearly week-long trip to the Boundary Waters with Mona Gauthier, who we featured in an episode of the podcast about her epic solo trip across the border lakes.
Mona and Jenna were part of a group of nine women who Mona led into the BWCA Wilderness in September 2026. The group paddled in the area that burned in the Pagami Creek Fire in 2011. Mona intentionally chose that route so the firefighters, both urban and wildland firefighters, could see the role fire plays in the Boundary Waters. She chose that route before the fires this summer.
During the peak of the closure of the BWCA and the fires this summer, it was hard to think about the benefits of fire in the boreal forest here in the Boundary Waters, but there’s starting to be some of that now, with the reopening of the wilderness and paddlers back on the water and businesses running again, and things feeling more normal as we move deeper into fall. The U.S. Forest Service recently led Paddle & Portage and other media from across Minnesota on a tour of this summer’s wildfires.
This episode is supported by Bending Branches Canoe & Kayak Paddles, Ely Outfitting Company, Loons Nest Coffee, and Sawtooth Outfitters.
Hear more stories like those shared in this episode on our YouTube page.
The Politics of the Boundary Waters: Volume One
The Politics of the Boundary Waters: Volume One
Mining near the Boundary Waters is in the political spotlight this month as a pair of political forums take place in Ely. The first took place Wednesday, Sept. 2 on the college campus in Ely. It featured state Sen. Grant Hauschild and Republican challenger Andrea Zupancich, a realtor in the Ely area and the current mayor of nearby Babbitt.
Also participating in the forum was incumbent state Rep. Roger Skraba and DFL challenger Aaron Kania, a former U.S. Forest Service district ranger in Ely.
A separate event featuring candidates running for the Ely City Council will take place next week at the same venue. That event is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 10.
In this issue of the podcast, we narrow the complexity of the political landscape near the Boundary Waters, including the local level in Ely.
Featured in this episode are Skraba and Kania, along with Ely City Council candidates Heidi Omerza and Emily Roose. Omerza and Roose are running for mayor this year and are both currently on the council, with Omerza serving as the current mayor of Ely. Also featured in the episode is city council candidate Abby Dare, as well as Ely business owner Sarah Vogl.
This episode is supported by Tex’s Riverways and Borderland Lodge.
Hear more stories like those shared in this episode on our YouTube page.
Adventures in the BWCA & Bear Stories Abound
Adventures in the BWCA & Bear Stories From Erin and Kaylan
The Paddle & Portage Podcast duo share updates on some recent BWCA and Lake Superior adventures, while Erin Walker drops in to share the details of her upcoming series about women who paddle and adventure outdoors.
Erin also shares the recap of her and Jon’s recent encounter with a grizzly bear while canoeing in the Northwest Territories.
Also featured is a cameo by an old friend of the podcast.
This episode of the podcast is supported by Sawbill Canoe Outfitters and Borderland Lodge.
Hear more stories like those shared in this episode on our YouTube page.
An Adventure to the Ruins of an Old Silver Mine & Cabin in the BWCA
Travel to An Old Silver Mine Deep in the BWCA
An old silver mine deep in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness? Is it a myth? Or is the hoax the origins of the mine itself, and claims from the 1800s of silver found near the Gunflint Trail?
Journey into the BWCA with the Paddle & Portage team, including Duluth writer Ryan Rodgers, as we explore an old cabin and a silver mine deep in the wilderness.
This episode is sponsored by Bending Branches Canoe & Kayak Paddles, Loons Nest Coffee, Williams and Hall Outfitters.
Hear more stories like those shared in this episode on our YouTube page.
The Reopening of the Boundary Waters
The Reopening of the BWCA Wilderness
After weeks of disruption and uncertainty, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is in the process of reopening.
Large swaths of the BWCA, including the entire Gunflint and significant portions of the wilderness on the Ely side, will be reopening for overnight paddling and other access during the first week of August.
The BWCA Wilderness was shut down entirely July 14 due to numerous wildfires.
The reopening is welcomed news for paddlers and outfitters. In this episode, we share stories about the reopening of the BWCA, and how people came together during the closure.
This episode is supported by Tex’s Riverways, Ely Outfitting Company, and Friends of the Boundary Waters.
Hear more stories like those shared in this episode on our YouTube page.