2026 BRTA Annual Meeting (In person)

The BRTA invites you to join our Annual Board Meeting on January 17, 2026, at 1:00 pm. This in-person event is a free event open to those interested in hiking, maintaining, promoting, and/or supporting the Border Route Trail. The meeting location is at REI, 750 American Blvd W, Bloomington, MN 55420. The business section (20-30 minutes) will include a welcome, approval of the last month's minutes, treasurer's report, upcoming trail maintenance dates, and the election of the 2026 officiers and directors. We are excited to have as our keynote speaker Mark Zimmer, the Barefoot Paddler. Bio as follows.

Mark Zimmer*, better known as The Barefoot Paddler, has spent a big part of his life exploring the wild beauty of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA). Traveling solo, Mark has paddled, hiked, and camped his way through the wilderness—learning about its plants, animals, geography, and deep-rooted history along the way.*
After years of wandering the backcountry, Mark set himself a challenge: to track every hiking trail, every portage, and pinpoint every maintained campsite in the BWCA. Ten months later—after countless miles of paddling, portaging, and sleeping under the stars—he completed his goal.
Now, Mark is pulling all that hard-earned knowledge together into a new product designed to help others travel safely and confidently through the Boundary Waters. He plans to have it ready before the 2026 soft-water season begins, so fellow paddlers can plan their own adventures with better tools and information.
*Until then, you can grab his free edible berries pamphlet and check out his updated portage data—available for purchase—at www.thebarefootpaddler.com.*

We invite you to come, ask questions and get information about the Border Route Trail and the Border Route Trail Association.