Episode Details

The Superior Hiking Trail turns 40 this year. Three hundred miles of North Shore ridgeline, from the Wisconsin border to the edge of the Boundary Waters region, the SHT has shaped the lives of everyone who’s walked it. Crystal Gail Welcome is one of those people — and on this podcast, she shares the story of her final through-hike: a solo back-to-back of the Kekekabic and Border Route Trails, deep in the Boundary Waters wilderness. After years of pushing through a rare brain disease to walk some of the longest trails in North America, she’s closing this chapter and moving forward into whatever comes next.

She didn’t grow up in Minnesota, and she didn’t grow up hiking. But a rare brain disease and a stubborn refusal to be sidelined sent her down a path that wound through the Pacific Crest Trail, the Superior Hiking Trail, the Florida Trail and the Great Western Loop — and ultimately north to the Boundary Waters.

Now she lives in Grand Marais, volunteers with Trail Mix Alliance, an organization that empowers women and underserved communities through outdoor education, leadership, and stewardship.

In this episode of Big Red Canoe, we talk about what those final miles were really like, what the SHT gave her and why she stayed on the North Shore, how the outdoors became therapy long before she earned a master’s degree in adventure therapy, and why wild places like the Boundary Waters matter for all of us, especially those who need them most.

If you’ve ever thought about hiking the SHT, exploring the Border Route, or paddling into the Boundary Waters, or if you just need a reminder of why any of it matters, you’ll want to hear this conversation. There’s a reason people come back to these places. The Boundary Waters and North Shore have a way of quieting the noise, resetting the body, and returning us to something essential. Call it mindfulness. Call it medicine. Crystal calls it home.

LINKS:
Explore Boundary Waters Hikes:
https://www.friends-bwca.org/bwca-canoe-routes/

A Guide to Backpacking in the Boundary Waters:
https://www.friends-bwca.org/blog/backpacking-the-boundary-waters/

Connect with Crystal Gail Welcome on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/footprintsforchange/

On the Friends of the Boundary Waters podcast, we bring together people who share a love of the incredible BWCA wilderness in Northeastern Minnesota. The podcast will features scientists, political figures and experts in outdoor recreation and wilderness skills to help you learn new facets of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, the most visited wilderness in the United States.

Visit https://www.friends-bwca.org/podcast for more information and resources from this episode. 

Website:
https://www.friends-bwca.org 

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BWCAW 

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/FriendsBWCAW 

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/FriendsOfTheBWCA 

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/friendsbwcaw/ 

Donate:
https://www.friends-bwca.org/donate/