Paddling 1,400 Miles to the Arctic with Women She Met on FaceTime: First Documented All-Women's Crew on a Historic Voyageur Route with Helena Karlstrom | See Her Outside Podcast
What would you say if three women you barely knew asked you to disappear into the wilderness for almost three months?
Helena Karlstrom said yes. Days after graduating college, she and three other lifelong Girl Scouts (who had only met in person once before launching!) set off on a 1,380-mile paddle from Lake Superior to the Hudson Bay, becoming the first publicly documented all-women's crew to complete the historic Voyageur route to York Factory.
Along the way they crossed a 9-mile portage on day one, paddled multiple 40-mile days through wildfire smoke, navigated a teammate's POTS diagnosis and another's torn rotator cuff, and went a full first week on the Boundary Waters meeting 150 paddlers — not one of them a woman.
This conversation is about networking your way into the trip of a lifetime, the group dynamics that get you to the Arctic, and why simply being visible on the water is a form of activism.
Helena Karlstrom graduated from Ohio University in May 2025 with degrees in Environmental Studies and Appalachian Studies, and days later started paddling. Originally from a small town on Lake Erie in Northeast Ohio, she moved to Houston, Texas at age 11 — one of the cities furthest from any national park — before returning to Ohio for college and finding her way back to the outdoors through a week on the Appalachian Trail her freshman year. She was the trip supervisor for Outdoor Pursuits at Ohio University and is one of the four Hudson Bay Girls, alongside Olivia, Abby, and Emma.
Helena and Angie talked about:
The Appalachian Trail trip her freshman year that changed her trajectory
How Girl Scouts gave her an outlet to connect with other women outside
The Appalachian Trail trip her freshman year that changed her trajectory
How the Hudson Bay Girls met and dreamt up this expedition and planning the entire expedition over Zoom
Partnering with Save the Boundary Waters and the Northern Lakes Canoe Base
Navigating a teammate's POTS diagnosis and another's torn rotator cuff mid-trip
Finishing the final day with a 17-hour, 55-mile paddle to the Arctic
Group dynamics, personal growth, and paddling as advocacy
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