My Story
Update: 4.16.2026 the republican senators voted to remove safety measures around the BWCA that protected the purity of the land and water. This was not the outcome I was hoping for obviously. I'm still running my Grandma's Marathon for Save the Boundary Waters and still raising money to support the fight to stop copper mining and all other threats to the BWCA. It's a lot uglier than it could have been but not over. All the funds raised go straight to the fight.
3.5.2026: I have heard about the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness since I was a little kid but really didn’t know what to expect. I thought someday I would throw a canoe on my car and figure it all out, but I also couldn’t swim and had once gone down a river backwards in a canoe in Wisconsin, so anything with “waters” in the title was a little scary. So I explored lots of other amazing places and kept the BWCA in the back of my mind as a “someday” place.
Then in 2024, I came across a book called Gunflint Burning by Cary Griffith. Griffith has a way of transporting you right into the wilderness. Through his words, I learned about teamwork and perseverance, met the cast of characters who call the region home, and by the end, I felt like I knew them, even though I had never been there. I really wanted to see this place.
Fast forward to August 2024, I finally visited the Boundary Waters—and fell in love. The connection was instant. The Gunflint Trail is truly a passage to something extraordinary. During our stay, I experienced true silence, something nearly impossible to find. I heard loons for the first time, came face to face with a bear, and basked in the wilderness until I felt at one with it. The stillness and purity of the BWCAW are unlike anything I’ve ever known. It’s a place so special that it deserves to be preserved and protected forever.
That’s why I’m running—to help protect this incredible wilderness. I hope you’ll support me and join in keeping the Boundary Waters wild for generations to come.
Follow my journey at https://wildmiler.wordpress.com/
Description
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) is an undeveloped 1.1 million-acre federal and state-recognized Wilderness Area. It is an expanse of lakes, rivers, and forests in the Superior National Forest, located along the Minnesota-Canada border, that has been protected by statute and international treaty for more than a century. This is the sixth most critical region in the lower 48 to protect for climate resiliency and contains 20% of all the freshwater in the entire National Forest System. The water in the Boundary Waters is so clean, you can dip your cup and drink straight from the lake.
Save the Boundary Waters is the locally-based, national campaign led by Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness based in Ely, Minnesota dedicated to permanently protecting America’s most beloved Wilderness Area – the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Recent donors
| Donation date | Donor name | Donation amount |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 24 | Anonymous | $28.63 |
| Apr 21 | Elk River Contracting LLC | Undisclosed amount |
| Apr 16 | Nalumon | $28.63 |
| Apr 09 | Vicki Sorensen | $25.00 |
| Apr 08 | Curtis Brown | Undisclosed amount |
| Apr 07 | Joshua Kraling | Undisclosed amount |
| Mar 24 | Anonymous | Undisclosed amount |
| Mar 23 | Charity Nebbe | $28.63 |
| Mar 23 | Sheila Brummer | $28.63 |
| Mar 23 | Chase A. | Undisclosed amount |
