Big Red Canoe - Friends of the Boundary Waters podcast · Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness

Last Entry Point - An Unforgiving Wilderness, with Joe Friedrichs

May 23, 2024·52 min·4 clips

Two canoes went over Curtain Falls this week, with two still missing and presumed dead in the unforgiving wilderness.

This episode features host Dave Meyer interviewing Joe Fredericks, a Northwoods reporter and author of the book "Last Entry Point," about the risks of wilderness travel in the Boundary Waters. Fredericks shares real-life accounts of life-threatening situations and fatalities in the region to promote safety awareness. He was inspired to write the book after years of reading sparse sheriff's department press releases about deaths in the wilderness. Fredericks details the 2020 drowning of 29-year-old Billy Cameron on Tuscarora Lake, whose girlfriend emphasized the danger of cold water shock. He recounts a lightning strike death where victims were electrocuted through a tree root system under their tent. The book also covers the story of Jordan Grider, a 29-year-old who died during a winter camping attempt and was later found deceased. Fredericks describes his own near-death experience in May 2023, when he capsized and was pinned by a submerged pine in the Temperance River. One key insight is that cold water combined with wind presents a deadly, underestimated risk even for experienced paddlers. Fredericks argues that driving to the Boundary Waters is statistically more dangerous than the canoe trip itself. He notes that moose, particularly cows with calves or bulls in rut, pose a greater threat than bears to visitors. The episode highlights how proper preparation, like wearing a life jacket in cold water and avoiding tree roots during storms, can mitigate risks. Fredericks emphasizes that search and rescue teams, like the St. Louis County Rescue Squad led by Rick Slatton, are volunteer-based and should not be considered a guaranteed safety net. He praises a lost hiker who used a tarp to signal a plane after becoming disoriented, calling it a model response. The author explains that writing the book required emotional labor, including traveling to meet grieving families and sharing tears with interviewees. The conversation is educational and sobering, blending personal anecdotes with investigative reporting. The tone is respectful and reflective, focusing on learning from tragedy rather than sensationalism. Listeners who love the Boundary Waters and seek practical safety advice will find this episode compelling. Those looking for a lighthearted wilderness celebration might find the focus on mortality and risk too heavy.

As heard by us

A sober Boundary Waters conversation about risk, memory, and history.

Big Red Canoe begins with a sober warning about Boundary Waters risk, then settles into Dave Meyer’s conversation with Northwoods reporter and author Joe Fredericks about Last Entry Point and the stories around it.

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If you want canoe-country risk without the gloss, start here with Big Red Canoe.

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