WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast hosts Matthew Baxley and Joe Friedrichs traveled up the Gunflint Trail Aug. 27 to get a firsthand feel for how things were going on the edge of the wilderness.

The BWCA remains closed at this time, now a full week into the closure of the most visited wilderness area in the nation. Canoe racks sat full at local outfitters. Restaurants along the Trail were quiet. Most of the vehicles the podcast duo passed on the Trail were trucks carrying firefighters. It was not a typical Friday afternoon and evening in late August on the Gunflint Trail.

Joe and Matthew stopped on the shores of Poplar Lake to record this wildfire update.