When we think of the Boundary Waters, solitude, quiet and getting away from the hustle of day-to-day life often jump to the forefront of the mind for many visitors to this canoe country wilderness.

A quiet retreat is indeed a common sentiment shared by the many thousands of people who visit the BWCA each year. And while solitude is sought, many of these same people travel through the canoe-country wilderness with familiar faces by their side. As we’ve learned while making this podcast, many enjoy sharing their adventures in the BWCA with their closest friends and family members.

Take, for example, a group of Minnesotans who traveled up the Gunflint Trail in August. Traveling under the name ‘the Bound Hounds,’ the curious paddlers have traveled to the BWCA every year for more than two decades. Sometimes there’s just a few from the group who make it, other times it’s eight or nine people.

Also featured in today’s episode is Kyle ‘Bill’ Busacker, a longtime Oregonian who recently moved to Massachusetts with his family, was one member of a recent canoe trip with podcast host Joe Friedrichs. The other companion on the September trip was Joe’s cousin, Jeff Frawley, known simply as Cousin Jeff. The three of them ventured to a secluded pocket of the wilderness in search of walleye, a prime campsite, the chance to see the Northern lights and to bushwack to what is essentially hidden lake. During the course of their trip, they found all of these things, though in reality what they, much like the Bound Hounds, came for was an opportunity to connect with other people.