Wilderness Guide

For the past eighteen years, Joseph has explored the Boundary Waters in all seasons. This is his seventh season working with Ely Outfitting Company.

Joseph has a degree in Conservation Biology from Middlebury College. He is also a devoted environmentalist who has worked extensively with the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters. Joseph is a licensed Wilderness EMT and holds several technical, rescue and scientific diving certifications.

In addition to his job at Ely Outfitting Company, Joseph has worked as a K-12 tutor, a youth mentor at the Boys and Girls Club, and as a marine research scuba diver.

Joseph’s favorite things about the Boundary Waters include the solitude, space for self-reflection and growth, and the opportunity to introduce people to everything the Wilderness has to offer. He also loves catching monster northern pike.

There is magic in the feel of a paddle and the movement of a canoe, a magic compounded of distance, adventure, solitude and peace. The way of a canoe is the way of the wilderness and of a freedom almost forgotten, the open door to waterways of ages past and a way of life with profound and abiding satisfaction.


-Sigurd Olson