Shannon McGrath got her start paddling when she was 12 years old. By the time she was 16, Shannon had completed the Grand Portage from Lake Superior to the inland border lakes of the Boundary Waters. Then came a multi-month canoe trip to the Arctic Circle via the Coppermine and Hood rivers, including a week on the Arctic Ocean.

Now in her late 30s, Shannon continues to be a prolific paddler. She makes frequent trips to the Boundary Waters, including this fall, on an annual trip she makes with some of her friends to the BWCA. This year's trip will be perhaps most memorable as it featured a bachelorette party for Shannon. 

The Paddle and Portage Podcast met up with Shannon and her crew at Artist's Point in Grand Marais, just before they headed up the Gunflint Trail to start their fall adventure to the Boundary Waters. 

This episode is supported by Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness and Northstar Canoes.

The Paddle and Portage Podcast have been on the move in October. The Winter Camping Symposium was a highlight of the month, as was a recent trip to the far west end of the Boundary Waters to meet with one of the nation's top wolf researchers. 

In this update from the road, we hear from the podcast duo about who they've been talking with for video podcasts and what brought them to the western edge of the Boundary Waters in search of wolves. 

Stephanie Hansen’s first cookbook took readers to her family outpost on an island on Burntside Lake near Ely, on the edge of the BWCA. Now, True North Cabin Cookbook Volume Two, released this year, focuses on “the cozy months” of October through April. 

We hear from Stephanie in this episode of the podcast. We also cook some smoked trout and wild rice chowder that was inspired by the cookbook. We caught the fish. We smoked the fish. We made the chowder. We ate the chowder. 

This episode is sponsored by Bending Branches Canoe & Kayak Paddles, Williams and Hall Outfitters, and Solbakken Resort on Superior.

Peta Barrett is preparing to retire from Women’s Wilderness Discovery, the company she started in 2014 in Ely, the gateway community to the Boundary Waters.

Barrett moved to Ely more than 10 years ago to start up the guiding and outfitting company. She wanted to focus on offering a safe and comfortable place for women to have a means to access the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

In this episode, we hear about Peta's journey to the Boundary Waters. 

This episode is sponsored by Ely Outfitting Company and Borderland Lodge. 

The power of a place can change lives. It can also determine where someone lives, and how they live. 

The Boundary Waters is one such place. In this episode, we learn how two families have been, and continue to be impacted by the power of place. 

Special thanks to Andy Cochrane, Stellan & Lena Bengtsson, Scott, Jess, & Niklas Henderson, and Bob & Deb Friedrichs, for participating in this episode. 

Thanks also to Chad from Gunflint Wilderness Guide Services for participating in the fishing adventure shared in this episode. 

This episode is made possible with support from Sawtooth Outfitters, Loons Nest Coffee, and Solbakken Resort on Superior. 

A small group of kayakers started Team River Runner in 2004 with the goal of helping veterans get on the water. They now offer paddling opportunities to veterans and their family members in more than 60 locations across the nation, including the Yellowstone River in Montana. 

Team River Runner seeks to get physically (amputations, mobility impairments) and/or visually impaired veterans in kayaks or other watercraft. This summer, M Baxley from the P&P Podcast traveled to the edge of Yellowstone National Park to learn more about the paddling clinics, and to speak with some of the participants. The adventure took Baxley from Minnesota to Montana. Join the road trip turned paddle trip to hear the full story. 

To learn more about Team River Runner, visit their website: https://www.teamriverrunner.org/

This episode is made possible with support from the Bending Branches Canoe & Kayak Paddles, Bent Paddle Brewing, the Yellowstone River Motel, and Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. 

Chuck Alexander is a canoe guide and carpenter who lives in Maine. He'd long aspired to paddle in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It took meeting a longtime paddler of the BWCA, Tim Cochrane, to make that dream come to fruition. Before embarking on a multi-night trip to the wilderness, the podcast team had a chance to meet Chuck, including a fishing trip to the Boundary Waters. This is the story of how paddling connects us, from Maine to Canada to Minnesota. 

This episode is supported by Cascade Vacation Rentals and Sawbill Canoe Outfitters. 

A resident of Duluth is sick with a rare case of West Nile virus in Minnesota.

The Duluth woman was in the emergency room at St. Luke’s Medical Center Sunday, Sept. 7. She is now home and recovering from the virus. She believes she was infected with West Nile while on a canoe trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in mid-August. After nearly three weeks, she continues to experience body aches, headaches, fatigue, among other symptoms.

The group entered at the Kawishiwi Lake entry point, which is in Lake County near the border with Cook County.

This is believed to be one of the first confirmed cases of West Nile virus ever reported from the BWCA Wilderness. Her case is one of only 21 cases of West Nile reported statewide this year, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. 

In this news update on the podcast, we hear from the Duluth woman about the West Nile infection. We also talk with Elizabeth Schiffman, supervisor of MDH’s Vectorborne Diseases Unit. 

The intersection of paddling, yoga, and self-reliance carries us into the BWCA Wilderness in this episode of the podcast. 

Boreal Bliss Yoga Retreats is a Minnesota business owned by women who bring together themes of self-reliance, seasonal living, and the transformative power of time spent paddling and portaging in the BWCA Wilderness and surrounding area. They've been in business since 2017 and have hosted more than 60 retreats focused on this theme. For their BWCA adventures, they partner with Birchwood Wilderness Camp and Ashley Bredemus.

We travel to the end of the Gunflint Trail, South Lake, and Rose Lake in this episode of the podcast. 

Music in this episode from Upstream Drifters and Ian Tamblyn. 

This episode is sponsored by Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, Chik-Wauk Museum & Nature Center, Northstar Canoes, Borderland Lodge.