A Solitary Man's Mission

Mark Zimmer is a soft-spoken man who answers an interviewer's questions carefully, often downplaying the significance of his achievements. Behind this reticence is a fierce conviction to fulfill his mission to document the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

Zimmer goes by the "Barefoot Paddler" moniker; more about that story later. From 2021 to 2023, Zimmer visited and walked over every maintained canoe portage. Sounds like a worthy project. 

Think about these numbers. According to most sources, there are 1.1 million acres within the BWCA's borders. He paddled to approximately 1,100 officially recognized United States Forest Service portages.

For outdoor enthusiasts, Mount Everest explorer George Mallory's answer to the question," Why?" was "Because it is there," which fits many weekend fitness enthusiasts' rationale for a race.

A Man with a Mission

Zimmer has a more noble goal in mind. "Some trails didn't show up exactly where they should be on some maps and resources. I thought if I made that information more accurate, that would help people and ultimately make portages easier for people to find," he said. "I knew it was going to be a big project. The BWCA is a big, beautiful area. My mission gives me the opportunity to see the entire thing, which not many people have the opportunity to do." 

Documenting the portages required Zimmer to spend months paddling around the BWCA. A meticulous planner, Zimmer creates a route plan and packs everything he needs for three-week stints in the wilderness. The time between trips is short. "I'll come back to resupply my food, have some conversations with friends, show them pictures, and head back in. I usually don't like staying out of the Boundary Waters for over a night or two," said Zimmer.

Experienced BWCA paddlers can't wait for paddling trips to begin. Permit reservation numbers rise quickly in June. For Zimmer, his paddling season starts in April. Impatiently waiting for ice out, he explores small rivers to get acclimated to being outside all day in a range of temperatures. "I go in the day after the ice is out and stay out until mid-October," said Zimmer. 

Season by season, Zimmer has honed his gear collection. His process for documenting each portage requires fully charged cameras for still and video photography. Solar panels have replaced bulky batteries. 

Through trial and error, detailed notes, and day-to-day experience, Zimmer has overcome a long list of challenges, both minor and major. He's no longer frustrated by a piece of gear overlooked or left at home. If he doesn't need it, he doesn't bring it.  "I do run into obstacles, right? Some things are just out of my control, and I just use the tools that I have to the best of my ability, said Zimmer. "I had my fishing pole break once, and I was frustrated because I couldn't fish for a week and a half. Now, those kinds of issues are not a big deal. I can compensate for failures more easily."

After spending so much time in the BWCA, Zimmer built an intimate relationship with the landscape. Earlier in his mission, he would end his trips a lot lighter than when he started. He started paying close attention to the trees, plants, and shrubs that covered the landscape.

When he wants to augment his foodstuffs, he looks for edible berries to harvest. "I didn't know what I was doing when I started. Now that I know the berries and where to go it's a completely different world out there for me. Come July, these berries are going to be ready, or these plants are going to be ready. The blueberries are going to be perfect, and I'm going to find them here. The BWCA went from a forest to a garden," said Zimmer. 

Zimmer's experience with edible berries led him to write a pamphlet on the subject and offer the materials free on his website. 

He's happy to see other paddlers paying attention to their surroundings.  "I ran into people in the woods who were talking about the berries, and then they said they had this brochure, and it ended up being my brochure that they showed me," he said.

Documenting the Portages

Zimmer's goal is to create a detailed description of every portage in the BWCA managed by USFS staff. The date and time the portage was mapped, the length of time to hike the portage, and the elevation. All these data points are compiled in downloadable digital files. The files are organized to reflect the Superior National Forest district where the portages are located. Offered in GPX or KML formats, the data is compatible with apps like Gaia, OnX, Google Earth and others. Once downloaded, the data is available when a paddler is outside of cell service areas. 

Zimmer gathers detailed information but, with the portage database, refrains from specific ratings. "I don't want to rate the portages themselves, because it diverts people from going to places they might want to go to. I want people to click on a file and follow their own judgement on elements like elevation. "They can decide if this one's harder or this one's easier," he said. 

Barefoot, explained

In the second paragraph, Zimmer is identified by his moniker, "The Barefoot Paddler." In journalistic jargon, not providing more detail is called "burying the lede." Zimmer's story has so many routes to explore. His dedication to barefoot travel deserves attention. 

The first question was what motivated Zimmer to set out on his mission. The second question, equally important, is why barefoot.

'There's two reasons. The first is in recognition of my grandpa; he was a barefooter. He'd go to parish festivals and into town barefoot," he explained.

The second reason is to create a stronger connection between his body and the landscape. "I just go in the woods barefoot. Using my toe muscles is a huge advantage. I honestly feel like if I had been wearing shoes this entire time, I probably would have hurt myself by now, but because I can use my toe muscles and feel with my feet, I just feel like it's safer for me at this point, he said.

Zimmer continued, "Because I can feel with my feet, I can make adjustments easier, too. If my foot is at a slight angle, I just turn my leg a bit. So it's easy for me to adjust."  

At the end of the day, after setting up camp for the night, Zimmer dons a pair of shoes occasionally. "I put shoes on at the end of the day to keep moisture in my feet. Otherwise, they dry out and crack," he said.

The Next Adventure. Barefoot, again.

With the portage database project completed and available on the Barefoot Paddler website, Zimmer turned his attention to a second mission. Documenting over 2,000 officially designated campsites in the BWCA. How many tent pads are available? Can you hang a hammock? 

"I'm going from campsite to campsite, and I'm getting all the current data on the campsites' locations. I’m offering my own personal rating to try to keep it consistent throughout the entire woods," explained Zimmer. “When I'm finished with this, this resource should be extremely detailed."

The campsite database will include historical landmarks, waterfalls, lookout points, outfitters, and resorts. Everything a paddler needs to know to plan a successful adventure in the BWCA. ZImmer intends to include photos of the campsite and the view of lakes visible from the campsite. 

He takes on the next mission with serious intentions. "Eventually, all this information will be available with just a click of a button. This is a collaboration of everything I've learned over the last 13-14 years. It's going to be a collection of my life, essentially," said Zimmer, "I love being out there. I don't have anything to leave this world. I guess the way I look at it is, if I can create these resources this way, I'm leaving my mark," he said.

Zimmer sums up, "I'm going through the entire Boundary Waters again to do the campsite reports. I hope to have traveled the Boundary Waters twice in the last five years. Wow. Well, yeah, kind of cool, right?"