The Boundary Waters Podcast sat down with Peter Komendowski, a wilderness traveler and president of The Partnership for a Healthy Iowa--a group that provides young people with resources to live free of alcohol, drugs and high-risk behaviors.

In this insightful interview, Peter shares the story of a Boundary Waters trip he took with his two teenage sons and an up-close bear encounter. We also discuss his family connection to Ukraine, the symbolism of bears, what it means to move at "human speed" and the gifts of what Peter calls "traveling at the edge of the material earth."