A Snowy Morning

We woke up to a nice coating of snow this morning. It is so pretty and blankets the entire area.

This is my last blog entry until the first week of December. I am taking a road trip with my puppy to visit friends and family.

Stephanie and Travis will be here and the lodge enjoying the first snow.

Lynn

Brule Lake Entry Point

In order to keep our guests informed about new route opportunities and/or updates in existing routes – Clearwater staff frequently take their own trips to gather information and enjoy the surroundings at the same time.

Last month, Mike took a solo trip out of the Brule lake entry point. The entry point is a bit over an hour drive from Clearwater lodge – but well worth the drive (with several moose sighted along the way). It is near Eagle Mountain, and is north of the Caribou trail which originates out of Lutsen.

Brule is one of the largest lakes in the eastern region of the boundary waters. Motorboats are banned on Brule, and it has an excellent population of walleye, smallies, and northern.

Given the size of the lake – winds can be a challennge. If that is of a concern, conoers can chart a course when they leave the Brule lake entry point based on what the winds are doing since there are many options north, east and west out of Brule.

Mike went out heading towards the east end of the lake, which has many islands that offer protection and provide some excellent campsites. At the east end of Brule you can take a short but remote trip coming out on Bower Trout lake.

What is nice about Brule, though, is that there are many other options as well given its size. You can make your way north through a chain of smaller lakes to the beautiful Winchell and Omega lake region. From there you can head east coming out on Morgan or Ram lakes; can make your way east and then north coming out on Poplar lake; or can head west and north thru Long Island lake making your was to Cross. Or, you can head west and then turn south, looping back down to Brule lake. These all offer a wide range of scenery, wildlife, and remoteness.

The main attraction of Brule, therefore, is the numerous camping options it offers itself – as well as the diversity of shorter and longer routes that can be accessed. depending upon your interest. You are also close to the Homer lake entry point, which is partially motorized but affords access to many of the same areas as out of Brule (but avoids the challenges of Brule if it is windy).

All in all – it is an excellent choice if you want to access some new and varied areas – or want to access soome more familiar areas but coming in from the south. Clearwater is happy to develop individualized options for those who are interested.

Skijoring

Skijoring was a sport (and word) I had never heard until last winter when I was working on the Winter Tracks Festival committee. The sport began in Scandinavia and it combines cross country skiing and dog sledding. Your dogs are attached to a harness that attaches to your waist and you are on skis. The dogs provide extra power to the skiers and have a blast at the same time. It is great quality time and excercise for you and yourdog.

I say it is a great sport for some dogs. My dog, Sarah, much prefers riding in the back seat of the car and would look at me like I had lost my marbles if I expected her to pull anyone on skis.

For more information you can visit www.skijor .org. This photo is from the photo collection on their website.

Lake View Dairy

Grand Marais has a dairy farm. On the Gunflint Trail behind Pincushion Mountain is the Berglund family farm. This family farm was established in 1886 and up until the 1950's did include a dairy farm. From the 50's until recently, the family kept just enough dairy cows to keep themselves supplied. In 2006 the Berglund family has increased milk production to a dozen cows, distributing the milk, cream and butter on the premise with a self-serve donation.

I have never had unpasturized milk and am planning to stop by the diary the next time I drive into Grand Marais. I want to try the milk and see the view of Lake Superior that those cows get to enjoy.

Weather Update: We are having a little heat wave today. For the first time in about 3 weeks the temperatures are up over freezing. According to the paper this past week, we might still have a little warm up in November. Sarah and I took advantage of the warmer weather and took a walk today.

Winter Tracks Festival 2007

The Gunflint Trail Association is working on the planning for the annual Winter Tracks Festival. In 2007, the dates are March 1 - 4.

As in the past two festivals, we will have events and contests for all the winter sports. This is a prefect way to experience those sports you have always wanted to try.

The schedule of events will soon be listed at www.wintertracks.com. The photo is from the 2006 Winter Tracks snow sculpture.

Halloween

Even though we are a little too far out of the way for anyone to ‘trick or treat’, Stephanie and Travis did carve their pumpkins. This photo of Steph is right before the first cut. After carving the pumpkins, Steph roasted the pumpkins seeds. Since it was so windy on Halloween, we put glow sticks in the pumpkins to light them up instead of candles.

Today the pumpkins have little snow caps on them. It has been snowing all day.