Boundary Waters Podcast Ep. 123 “10 is the Magic Number,” a two-part conversation with Peter Komendowski
We first met Peter Komendowski at Canoecopia. A life-long wilderness traveler originally from Chicago, and now living in Iowa, Peter completed three solo canoe trips over the last 13 months. In Part One we hear about his most recent trip–a 14 day paddle of the Lady Chain, Alton Lake, Kelso and Sawbill. Early in the trip, he gets drenched, sustains a mild injury and reframes the way he approaches portaging. An advocate of “detoxing” from technology, Peter describes how his solo Wilderness trips lead to a deep exploration of aging and what he refers to as the transition between “an objective world to a subjective world.”
In Part Two, Peter has reached day ten of his 14+ day journey, where he finds himself in a state of wandering and on a “rest day,” processes past trauma and joyful memories from his life, at the age of 70. He tells the tale of meeting a fellow solo traveler in a surprising way, and shares his insight about the many ways that “nature puts its footstep on you,” long after you return home from the Wilderness.
Boundary Waters Podcast is supported in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
