BWCA Permit Lottery Begins December 1st

It is time again to think about your 2009 summer canoe trip. The BWCA Permit Lottery opens for entries on December 1st. As always, we will order your permit for you when you book your canoe trip.

Lottery/Permit Reservation Timeline

December 1, 2008 - January 15, 2009: Lottery applications can be made on the Internet
January 16, 2009 the lotter is run and permits are awarded
January 20, 2009 - Internet permit reservations open

Closed for the Season

I drove away from the lodge for my 6 month Indiana stay last Wednesday . The first time I have left for an extended time in the 6 years we have been there and it felt really odd to be leaving the lodge behind! I got very homesick as I was driving down the trail on the perfect fall day that was cool, crisp and sunny. Peggy and Mike left for Ohio the following day to their winter home.

I decided to take the scenic route through the UP of MI for the drive to Indiana. For two days of driving it was the most beautiful of fall colors in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. I avoided the express ways and drive down the country roads to enjoy the small towns and lake drive. Before reaching IN, I spent a few days in mid-Michigan at my brother's house and got to see my great nephew and neice.

Erik also left last week and after a vacation to family in CO, he is going to be spending the winter in Ely at White Wilderness guiding dog sled trips. Hopefully we will see him back at Clearwater in the spring.

Well folks, I will update the blog periodically as I get interesting information but I won't have any Minnesota or Gunflint Trail wildlife or snow pictures to add this winter. You can reach me at our regular phone numbers which are transferred to my cell or email as usual.

Countdown to Closing

It has been a colorful autumn on the Trail but all good things must end and our temperatures will be in the 20's on Friday night. To avoid freezing lines, we have now closed all the summer cabins. We wash all the bedding one final time and bag it up for the spring. We check everything out in the cabins and make what repairs we can and make lists for what we want to do in the spring. Mike drains the hot water heaters and all the water lines to the cabins, turns off the propane to the cabins and shuts down the electric. Once the cabins are closed, the lake water system is closed down and all the lines drained. We bag about 20 bales of straw in large trash bags and spread those around the resort to add insulation to the septic system just in case we don't get a good snow cover to keep those lines from freezing. The phots are of Mike working on closing cabin 1.

The lodge will be open through this weekend and then starting October 5th after our last guests check out, we are closed for the season. By the end of next week Mike and Peggy will be heading back to OH and Lynn to Indiana. Erik is going to visit family and friends and then will be working this winter as a dog sled guide at White Wilderness in Ely.

Enjoy It, Before Its Too Late

The long, hot, sun-soaked days of summer are long gone. They have been replaced by the shorter, cooler days of fall. This time of year on the Gunflint Trail is my favorite time. Considering the lack of bugs, humidity, and crowds, its hard to imagine how anyone else wouldn't love the northwoods fall season too. On top of all that the foliage is outstanding. Anybody can take beautiful pictures this time of year. Although the colors only last a few weeks, I believe that is what makes it special. They come and go so quickly that one morning you wake up and the forest is alive with color, and the next it seems, they are gone. Every trip to town takes an extra hour, stopping every few miles to snap a picture of what looks like the best one yet, only to stop again minutes later. Sometimes it's a little overwhelming when you have a camera. I feel there are places where you could close your eyes and blindly point and shoot and they would still be great. We still have a week or so to enjoy the colors. With every leaf that falls, it brings us closer to the inevitable. The dark days of winter are upon us, and its with that thought in mind that makes the frosty nights and mornings at 35 degrees bearable. So please get out and enjoy these fleeting weeks of fall, these days with 12 hours of sunlight, because before you know it you'll be staring out your window into a white abyss begging for a balmy 35 degrees.

Thanks For Reading,

Erik

Fall Colors

Fall colors are out on the trail. It shows promise of being a pretty one. One thing about me going to IN for the winter is that I will have a fall here and fall colors will again be at their peak in Indiana when I get there. I also get two springs, an early IN spring and a later MN spring when I return. Something to look forward to!

Taste of the Gunflint

Lee Zopff, Marti Marchino and Lynn Pauloski

We were a featured Historic Lodge at the first annual 'Taste' tour this past Saturday. The volunteers from the Historical Society made treats from the cook book and they also premiered the new Gunflint DVD.



The event was 1 t0 5 pm and featured us, Nor'Wester and Chik-Wauk. Chik-Wauk is where the museum and nature center is being planned and will open in 2010. I really didn't know if we would see 10 people stopping by or none. But what a surprise! Visitors started about 12:15pm and we estimate that we had close to 100 people stop by to see the lodges and taste the treats. It was wonderful to hear the stories from people who were revisting the lodge from years past and to introduce the lodge to new visitors.



To help out with the lodge history and information on the Gunflint Trail Historical Society were two past owners, Lee Nelson Zopff and Marti Marchino. This is a picture of the 3 of us in front of the lodge fire place.



Marti brought along a sheet with the history of the ownership of the lodge.



1915-1945 Petra and Charlie Boostrom


1945 -1947 Art and Lavern Schliep


1947-1951 Marvin and Mildred Manning


1951 - 1959 Art and Lavern Schliep


1059 - 1964 John Henry and Sharon Eliason


1964 - 1986 Jacko and Lee Nelson


1986 - 1995 Margy Nelson (Jacko and Lee's daughter)


1995 - 2003 Bob and Marti Marchino


2003 to current.....Mike and Peggy Trace, Lynn Pauloski



Lynn

Fall Color Update

....... I haven't seen anything yet!

Flowers for Kirsten and AJ

This blog is to Kirsten and AJ who so happily planted and tended the lodge the flower gardens this summer. We waited and waited for this one type of flower to bloom but it just kept growing and growing on a long skinny stalk. AJ threatened to cut them off before she left. I promised to send a picture if and when these flowers every bloomed. So, these flowers are for Kirsten and AJ who worked very hard keeping the gardens beautiful.

A Taste of the Gunflint Trail

A Taste of the Gunflint Trail:

Historic Lodges, Film Premiere, and Tastes from the Cookbook

The event is a “progressive” tour of the Gunflint Trail historic lodges. Visitors may begin at the either “end” of the Trail, and visit as many lodges as they wish.

Featured Historic Lodges with historians present:

Clearwater Lodge - 774 Clearwater Road (Clearwater Lake)
Nor'Wester Lodge - 7778 Gunflint Trail (Poplar Lake)
Chik-Wauk Lodge - approximately 56 miles from Grand Marais on 28 Moose Pond Road (Cook County Road 81, Saganaga Lake), future home of museum and nature center

Tours of historic Gunflint Trail lodges with local taste treats and screenings of the short documentary, "A Taste of the Gunflint Trail."

Other participating businesses, offering tastes, cookbook sales, and collecting donations:
Bearskin Lodge - 124 East Bearskin Road (East Bearskin Lake)
Golden Eagle Lodge - 468 Clearwater Road (Flour Lake)
Hungry Jack Outfitters - 318 South Hungry Jack Road (Hungry Jack Lake)
Gunflint Lodge - 143 South Gunflint Lake Road (Gunflint Lake)
Gunflint Pines - 217 South Gunflint Lake Road (Gunflint Lake)
Tuscarora Lodge & Outfitters - 193 Round Lake Road (Round Lake)
Way of the Wilderness - 12582 Gunflint Trail (Gull Lake)
Voyageur Canoe Outfitters - 189 Sag Lake Trail (Saganaga Lake)

Event is free of charge but donations accepted and Gunflint Trail Historical Society and memberships encouraged.

Watch for the "Taste" signs.

Fire restrictions lifted

Due to the cooler weather and the rain we have had this past week, all fire restrictions have been lifted and you can have a fire anytime during the day.

Lish and Jon Visit

Good afternoon! Well, Im Alicia, Peggy and Mikes daughter and Lynn's niece. I came for a later visit this year and brought my better half Jon. Ive been coming up here since I was 8, but this is Jons first time in the North Woods (or anything even close to something like this). So of course, on the second day I made him climb the face of the bluffs on clearwater lake. (see pics) He loved it, and he got to see one of the most amazing views ever. Weather has been amazing about 75 and sunny everyday until yesterday we did get some rain that cooled it down quiet a bit. Today is only 60 but still sunny and beautiful. Still havent got to see much wildlife, all the wildlife seem to hide when they know someone is up here for the first time and wants to see them.

We have also been put to work since we have been up here, cleaning cabins and and washing out canoe's since the staff has all gone back to school and we feel bad for the owners. But its fine, they havent tortured us too bad.

We will be taking the 18 hour trip back to Ohio tomorrow, not excited to leave at all, but who ever wants to leave this place?

Lish

Some Updates on Fire Ban, Permits and Clearwater Lodge

The summer continues to be busy with Erik still here to help out. Erik will be staying through closing so we are really thankful for that. If only I could get him to keep writing the blog. This week we have additional help with my Mom and friends. My neice and her friends come up on Saturday for a little more help. After labor day, it will start slowing down to the peace and quiet of fall in the BWCA.

We had our first frost of the fall season several days ago! It is early for a frost but it was not quite cold enough to hurt our gardens or dull the bugs. I hope it holds off a few more weeks before the next frost because I have flowers planted late this spring that have yet to mature and bloom! There is a slight coloring in the understory of the forest which hints at fall colors but that will be a few weeks yet before we start to notice a change in the trees.

A couple of important things........

1) Even though we had rain the last two nights, the forest service is continueng the fire ban. The fire restrictuions are evaluated so stay tuned to the blog for more updates.

2) BWCA Overnight Paddle Permits. Due to a change in the reservation system, we (and you) will be unable to make advance reservations for permits starting 9/14. If you are thinking of coming any time after 9/14 through the end of September, please call us to reserve your permit as soon as possible.

Permits will be issued first come/first service from 9/14 through 9/30. The permit season and our outfitting season ends 9/30. By first come/first serve, the forest service means you cannot make an advance reservation but we can call in the day before or the day of your trip and see if there is a permit available. All payments for permits during this time must be made by cash or check due to changes being made in forest service credit card services.

Everything will be back to normal in time for the permit Lottery starting December 1st.

For an update on the resort.......

The bunkhouse was re-roofed this summer.

We almost have the kitchen floor down in the lodge. That was a bit of a balancing act since we had to work around meals and the kitchen is the central meeting place for everyone. So it has been slow going but getting there. There are still edges to trim, doors to trim and coats of finish to go down but I have at least stopped tripping over boards.

We almost have finished staining the outfitting building and laundry building. This is another 'almost' since the trim still has to be done.

We are laying new gas lines to the lodge, cabin 7 and cabin 1 in the next week or so. It depends upon when the excavater and the propane man can coordinate schedules. We expect all that work can be completed in one day.

After we have these tasks done it will be time to focus on starting the fall clean up and working on our closing plans. As you have seen from our newsletter, we are closing this winter. The cabins will be open until 10/5 and canoes and outfitting until 10/1.

Fire Ban

From the Forest Service:

We received this from our Duluth office this morning. Please call the Gunflint District Office (387-1750) with any questions you may have.

Subject: Restrictions to begin in blowdown area Thursday 8-21-08:

The decision is to implement the following restrictions in the blowdown restricted zone on the SNF (Level II restrictions) effective Thursday8-21-08: • Use of campfires or wood/charcoal burning stoves not allowed in restricted area at any time. • The Kekekabic Trail, east of Disappointment Lake, and Border Trail (with associated connector trails) will be closed to all use. • Use of gas or propane cookstoves will be allowed anywhere in the restricted area at any time of day.This means that as of 12:01 am on Thursday morning these restrictions arein effect.

August Goodbyes

Though these August days are still bright, sunny, and warm, the recently cool nights and mornings signal the winding down of summer. Our wonderful summer staffers are also headed their respective ways for the next year. We've had a great time together over these past three months, so it is sad to see people go. For those of you who visited or have been tracking with the blog, here is an idea of the staff's fall plans:

Eric was the first to leave us to embark on a 10 day canoe trip from Ely to Poplar Lake. Vince, a previous staffer, accompanied him. Eric will be continuing the Northern Life living in Ely this fall and going to school.

Donny and Kevin headed out yesterday and will both be returning to college for their sophomore years. Donny will be at Bemidji State and has plans to hunt everyday, practice his goose calls, and pretty much enjoy the outdoors as much as possible. He and his housemates will have all of the hunting/fishing equipment ever needed like boats, fish houses, trailers, decoys, snowmobiles, etc...Sounds perfect for Donny, the next Ron Schera. Kevin is headed to St. Johns and will be playing Rugby. I'm not sure if canoe lifting muscles are used in rugby, but if so, he'll be in good shape.

Will and I are going back to the cities to return to the crazy life of graduate school. Will will be getting his masters in counselling at the end of the year, and I will be finishing up classes for my Ph.D program. We will definitely miss the carefree days of badminton, campfires, and canoe trips.

AJ will be returning to Northern Michigan University for her senior year of college. She began training for a marathon this summer, and is shooting for an April marathon in lower Michigan. Probably a little less likely to run into a moose or bear on that run.

Kwasie is helping Mike and Lynn at the lodge for a couple more weeks before heading up to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens point, which is a huge help. Only a little bit longer before returning to the land of beer and cheese, Kwas.

We were really lucky to have met and spent the summer with all of these guys. Great Summer. Some may even call it Legen......wait for it......dary.

Kirsten

Quetico Trip

Ann and Todd Loehrke sent this picture in from their recent Quetico trip. Could there be a better moose photo? This is a classic.

August 4th

Oh my, I see all my bloggers seem to be on vacation from the blog and we haven't updated in a while. So what is going on at Clearwater?

We have stained the outfitting building and laundry building - thanks to Erik and the crew.

We have many canoe trip groups and cabin guests visiting.

We are getting ready to put down a new kitchen floor in the lodge.

The bunkhouse building will be reroofed as soon as we can get time on the roofers schedule.

Both septic pumps took a lightening strike and Mike and Mike had to spend some not so refreshing time down the septic holes installing new pumps and electrical connections.

Water levels are high and there are no fire restrictions.

The warmest day we have had is 81 degrees but mostly it is in the 70's. Cooler weather means more moose sightings.

Staff have started the count-down to return to their respective colleges. They start leaving us August 15th.

Lynn

Bear Cubs

Last night a momma bear and 3 cubs came by the lodge. It was a little hard to get a picture since it was after dark but Kirsten and Will saw them along the outfitting building.

Loon Calls

On our recent trip to Mountain Lake we got to hang out with some loons just after portaging into the lake. There voices are incredible; listen closely and you can hear their calls echoing back.

Where Are All The Fish?

Although this blog has produced some pieces worthy of nomination for an "Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence", i'm sure some of you are wondering,"Where are all the fish?" These college kids DO work in an area known for some of the greatest fishing in the world, right? Solo hiking, fog storms, and what's this "gunnel pumping" business i'm not familiar with. What gives? I am here to set the record straight, we do fish, and the area does live up to its reputation. You can't blame us though, gunnel pumping is quite the spectacle. Since it has been a while since one of those slimey buggers appeared on our blog, I figured we were overdue.

Though I am sure this blatant attempt at a bragging board will have a negative affect on the board of judges for the "blog awards", I feel it is worth it to please all of the fish starved readers in cyberspace.

-Erik

Stormy Wet Summer

I'm sure many of you have been experiancing the wet stormy weather down towards the cities this past week or so. I have heard reports of some severe storms from groups coming and going up here. I can guarentee you that we have had our fair share of storms up here as well. Early last week we had a storm come through that turned the sunny 4 o'clock weather into a dusky dark afternoon; it felt dark enough to be about 9 o'clock at night. However, the worst storm of the summer came this last sunday night. The forecast had predicted some scattered storms and about 40% chance of rain. But when our electricity went out at about 5:30, the wind picked up, and we started to see the storm clouds broiling in from the north, we knew we were in for a some rain. What started as a heavy rain turned into a pounding down pour, and a good dose of quarter size hail.

Those of us here at the lodge, sat out on the back porch and watched the storm runs its course. The sky over Clearwater lake was amazing, rolling dark, greenish tinted clouds. It was quite spooky. And the noise of the hail was great! Although we were pretty worried about those that we had recently sent out on BWCA trips... I cannot imagine what that hail would have sounded like in a tent. The reports varied from groups coming back in this last day or so, some said they had been terribly frightened, and had feared for their safety, others said that while it was scary in the its extremity, it was amazing to see. I think I would be right in the middle.

As usual, the boys had gone fishing after work. When the storm started coming through, Donny and Kevin were still out on or near Daniels lake. We were certainly curious how they were making out: if they were running back the portage, trying to outrun the hail, hunkered down under the canoe, or out on the lake still. (We hoped the last one wasn't true-no one would want to be on a lake during hail). Sure enough, right as the hail started to let up, and the rain slackened, they came jaunting around the corner of the lodge. Wet would have been an understatement.

While the rain lightened up a bit, but we did not got our electricity back until over hour or so had passed. During which we started a fire in the lodge, and all of us staff members sat around watching the fire, listening to the rain, and chatting. While that was by far the worst part of the storm, it lasted well into the night. It was almost as if the storm was circling around us and then back tracking a couple times to make sure we were good and wet. There were times the sky would lighten up, and it would look as though the storm had ended, for it to only get darker and begin to rain again. Luckily, the storm brought with it sunny weather, both monday and today have been beautiful days, sunny and on the warmer side.

-AJ

Mike Turns the Big 6-0!

Sunday evening we celebrated Mike Trace's (AKA Boss Mike, Bald Eagle, etc.) 60th Birthday with style. Erik grilled some amazing trout that he had caught on a trip to Canada earlier in the year. Stuffed with green peppers and mushrooms, this course was as good if not better, than any we have had on the O'Brien restaurant tour. This was accompanied by a seven-layer salad, corn casserole, roasted almonds, garlic bread, and the "World's Best Sangria". It was like Thanksgiving in July (but instead of watching football after dinner we played a round of badminton). Though we were stuffed, we of course had room for a slice of ice cream cake (which, staying with the party theme of fish had a picture of a jumping fish on it). We made sure it was a feast all day for Mike too, with peanut-butter chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and a personal batch of his favorite cookies.

Mike entertained us throughout the dinner with jokes and his usual humorous antics. He recounted stories of his childhood friend, Abe Lincoln, and told us what life was like before electricity. And though he jokes about his age, Mike is one of the youngest 60 year olds out there. The only place he shows his age is in his knowlege and understanding that he has gained from his various life experiences. We are lucky to learn from him.

Till next time,
Kirsten

A Gunnel Pumping Trilogy (Lundeen Style)

Here are some new videos of Kevin prepping for Wednesday's Gunnel Pumping. (editor's note: if you are interested in the Gunflint Canoe Races, they will be taking place Wednesday July 16th at Gunflint Lodge; the races begin at 6:00pm...come out and root on Clearwater!). The weather hasn't provided much for practice days lately. But today brought low winds and a clear sky, perfect g.p. conditions. Four of us, including two newcomers: the voices of the front desk, AJ and Kirsten, took to the water after work today. We are much improved. But will it be enough for the GF races? We'll see...and hopefully you will too. Go Kevin!

Part I

Part II

Part III

Gunnel Pumping Video

Ramblings from a greenhorn about our green efforts...

When I was a kid I had a few chores: make my bed (rarely happened), mow the lawn (only completed after nagging), help with never ending home improvements (would have rather slept in those Saturday mornings), and so on... But probably the worst was garbage duty. Every Monday night, one of O'Brien brothers had to collect the 9 garbage cans around the house and sort them for recycling and trash. And every Monday night that it was my turn I tried to spend extra time on my homework, go to bed early, find an educational program on TV, or some other excuse... Recycling stunk (usually literally). What was the point of saving a few pieces of paper and rinsing out some old stinky milk cartons? Back in the mid 90s it seemed that only a few products were made of just 10% recyclable paper, holes in the Ozone didn't make it any less rainy in (my home) western Washington, and Al Gore was just a internet inventing vice president (sans an Oscar and Peace Prize).

Fast forward to summer ought-8, and I am a recycling lovin' fool. This spring I decided to 'go green' at my apartment in MPLS. So when I got to Clearwater, my mind was already in high-'green'-gear. This place (including the BWCA) is the type of place worth going green for. The lakes and critters are very deserving of our green efforts...

But anyway, we here at Clearwater have recently updated our recycling efforts. While we've been recycling for years, now it is going to be easier. That is, we added recycling bins at nearly every cabin, bed and breakfast, screen and bunk houses, and outfitting areas. So now, rather than walking the paper, plastic, glass, cans, et al. over to the recycling van, we will come to you.

We're trying to do our part to keep our waste down, and we appreciate your help when you come visit. Bear with us as we continue to become more efficient; we still need a few more bins (so if you now a guy...).

And thanks Mom and Dad for getting me 'excited' about recycling.

(editors note: that really is Will, sans his beard)

Into The Great White Abyss

Everyday on the Gunflint Trail is different when it comes to the weather. Today brought sheets of thick fog rolling off the lake. I am sure the gentleman from the United Kingdom who is out on a canoe trip feels right at home. "Thick as pea soup" is how they would describe it on the other side of the pond, and a good description indeed. Kevin and I decided to test our navigation skills and take a boat out in the gray mess. No more than a 100 yards from the dock we were shrouded in the misty fog, with shore nowhere in sight. From the picture you can tell Kevin was as giddy as a school girl. The fog surely made navigating the lakes in a canoe tough, but it also created a great chance for some pictures. I hope you enjoy the product of a couple hours of "hard" work on the trail.

-Erik

You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Well actually it was the best of times, ever, because I was gunnel pumping. I'm sure that the term "gunnel pumping" triggers a crinkled brow and the thought "What's that?" to all the avid readers of the Clearwater blog. Gunnel pumping is a very obscure method of locomotion in the canoeing world. It consists of standing on the gunnels of a canoe and rocking up and down to move it forward. And seeing as how I think that anything strange, out of the ordinary, or just plain odd is awesome, I needed to gunnel pump as soon as I heard about it. As far as the staff was concerned I was just blowing steam. They thought I would never do it. Things changed on my lunch break today.

Why all this fuss about gunnel pumping you say? Well, at 6:00 on Wednesday night, July 16th on Gunflint Lake there will be the annual Gunflint Canoe races and the last race of the night is gunnel pumping. And yours truly intends to race.

As I found out today, it takes balance and coordination to be a top tier pumper. Fortunately, we Lundeens are blessed with these gifts. I was like a snow leopard chasing a moutain goat in the Himalayas on that canoe today. As each wave beat upon my canoe I braced myself and managed to get the better of it. It was tricky at first, especially getting on the gunnels, but as soon as I stepped into my stride I found out that it would be possible to pump myself into the annals of history by winning the mens gunnel pumping race of the 2008 Gunflint Canoe races. I know my competition will be very stiff, and most likely a lot like myself, so basically idiots. After all, who in their right mind would want to gunnel pump? But in a race full of idiots, I'll be the biggest one out there.

Kevin

Only Moose on Deer Lake

Many guests come up with the anticipation of seeing the king of the north woods; the moose. The roads around Clearwater are generally full of the monstrous mammals around dusk as they come out of the mosquito infested woods to lick up salt remaining from the previous winter. No matter how many moose I see, and I have seen many this summer, the excitement never goes away, sometimes a little more exciting than others however. As Kevin and I arrived to Deer Lake a few days ago, we were discussing strategies on how to catch enough walleyes for another staff fish fry. Little did we know that the fish we were going to catch will not be what will be remembered about the night. We battled the west wind and made it around the point to the calm side of the lake. Immediately we saw a cow on the other side of the bay submerged from the chest down in the water. Was she hot? Maybe trying to get a break from the pesky bugs? We didn't know, but we didn't care either. "Get the camera, let's sneak along the shore to get a closer look" I said. Her ears perked up. "shhhh!" we said simultaneously. She let us get close to her, but Kevin took it to another level. He took control of the canoe, I manned the camera, and he got us so close that we could see individual bugs on her back; amazing. We were in the pristine wilderness without any motors except a 1-moose-powered engine. Once the boat stopped rocking from her wake, we watched her trot back into the mosquito infested woods and we sat in awe.

-Donny

On The Trail Again

My new found love of solo hiking lead me back to the trail this last week. I decided I needed to see more of the border route trail and put in at the South Lake trail, which runs north for about 3 miles before it intersects with the border route trail, where I would follow it east to Rose Falls. From Rose falls I would get reaquanted with the Caribou Rock trail and head south 3 miles to Hungry Jack road. My lack of planning, or lack of caring to plan left me 5 miles from my car once I hit Hungry Jack road. This small inconvenience seemed slight as I struck off on the South Lake trail at noon. My experience from the hike a week earlier prepared me for the familiar overgrown conditions of the trail. With each step north taking me farther from the sounds of cars on the Gunflint, I set a brisk pace and was thankful for the beautiful day. An hour later, and after twice being convinced I had lost the trail and would need to retrace my steps, I met up with the border route trail. This section of the trail was in much worse shape than the section I had been on a week prior. Most of this trail made me feel like I was straight out of Hollywood, stalking through the jungle crouched over, pushing brush out of my way to keep an eye on the trail, the only things missing were a knife in my teeth and a blood soaked bandana on my forehead. Just as my thoughts of Rambo were reaching their imaginary peak, the brush cleared and I started ascending a rocky "Aggro-Crag" of a hill. Only with the help of Mark O'Malley cheering me on in my mind did I manage to summit the hill. The work was worth every second as upon reaching the top I was rewarded with what must be one of the best views I have ever had the privilage of laying eyes on. I spent some time trying to come up with the words to describe the view and my feelings at that moment, but decided there is no way I could do it justice. After rejuvenating in the sun and breeze for a while I headed out, knowing I would never forget my short stay on that rock. The trail down to Rose Falls was more of the same and I assumed the commando position. I reached Rose Falls and didn't spend much time exploring. It made me realize how much time I have spent up here and how many times I have seen the falls. From there I was a bit disappointed I would be traveling over the Caribou Rock trail again, but as there was no other way to get back without going over trails I had been on, it was the fastest way. My planning for this hike was done in a way that copied my first hike, except for when I started. All of my rations were the same, including the amount of water I brought, which was more than enough the week before. I am assuming it was the sun and the strenous nature of the days hike that caused me to run out of water 2 miles before I got to Hungry Jack road. Either way I was in a bit of a pickle as the last bit of water was savored on Duncan Lake. As I hiked the signs and symptoms of dehyradtion started in. I had quite sweating in the hot afternoon sun, my mouth was dry as a bone, and even the smallest inclines sent me into a hunched over gasping fit for air. All of these were clear signs I needed water. Reaching Hungry Jack road was a relief, although I was still 2 miles from Trail Center, the nearest establishment that provided clean drinking water. These were 2 miles from hell, I thought the fact I would be on a smooth road would make it easier. The only thing the road provided was a clear picture of just how far I was from water, as well as plenty of time to feel my thighs cramping harder with each step. I could picture a happy family heading up to the cabin rounding a curve in the road and finding my remains, a pile of clothes and a backpack, as my body had already dried and shriveled to dust only to be blown away in the wind. Just when I thought my legs had finally turned to cement I stepped back onto the Gunflint, with Trail Center and a glass of water, only one hundred yards away. As I zombie walked into the restaurant the last open bar stool was glowing from a single beam of heavenly light. Angels with harps and a gospel choir started warming up in my head as I sat down and ordered two glasses of ice water with ice. The angels and choir came together in glorious unison as I chugged the water down. Instantly feeling revived, I savored the second glass and reflected on a wonderful days hike turned death defying. I now have a much more serious appreciation and understanding of the power of water. Never again will the water filter be left behind on a solo hike, and never again will I underestimate the power of a tall glass of ice water on a hot afternoon.

Thanks For Reading

-Erik

Wild Flowers in Bloom

All these photos were taken in the past few days on Clearwater Road. It is a riot of different colors and flowers now. - Lynn

Rainy Days

For all of you cabin and bed and breakfast guests who are about to visit but worried about our rainy June, don.t fret the North woods and shore provide endless adventures. And even if you don.t fish or aren.t headed out for a trip into the BWCA, I.ve got some trips for you. The trail does provide ample scenery, wildlife, hikes, and, of course, lakes. But if you are looking for a great day trip from the lodge try heading a little further north on 61.



You might be wondering what there is to get excited about once you pass Sven and Ole.s, the World.s Best Donuts, Joynes Ben Franklin, and the rest of Grand Marais. But there is more than just the duty-free border shop goodies. You.ve probably heard of Tettegouche and Temperance river, but have you made it all the way to Judge C.R. Magney and Grand Portage State Parks? If not, you are missing four of the best waterfalls I.ve seen to date. At Magney park, Upper and Devil.s Kettle falls both are at impressive flow heights, and the Kettle always offers an intriguing question of where the water actually disappears too. High falls on the border is both raging and refreshing with its misting off spray. But the most enjoyable trek is the visit to Middle Falls at the end of the Grand Portage park. Bring a lunch and relax on the rocks next to falls.



Naniboujou lodge also offers a good rainy day reprieve with its depression era building and fancy little dining hall. Both its decor and history are worth the stop in itself, but the food is superb as well. A day cruise to Isle Royale or a stop at the Grand Portage Reservation casino also provide an entertaining way to beat sometimes unfavorable summer weather.

Camping With My Parents

Well it has been awhile since I have written, seeing as everyone else here has decided to pitch in and add their voice to the blog. That being the case I decided I would grab today's slot to write a little bit about my latest trip into the BWCA with my parents. Earlier this spring when I was telling my mom about our days off and scheduling, she decided she would really like to go on a trip into the BWCA with me...My dad was not quite as enthusiastic. Nonetheless we began to plan and decided to head in off Clearwater right after I got off work on Sunday, and stay out for 3 nights. As I have never had dehydrated foods on my trips with friends, I opted to plan the menu and prepared a list of food for my mom to buy and pack. My dad however, fearful that we were going to starve added in plenty of "extras"… I’m fairly certain we could have stayed out there another 3 days on the food we had. My parents came up to the cabin on Friday and came over Saturday afternoon to go sort through gear and food, and make plans for departure the next day. We had some good laughs decided what to bring and what to leave behind. Despite laughter, some bossiness and disagreements, we finally had everything pretty well figured out.
Sunday dawned… gray, overcast, with on-and-off again showers… it did not look like the best day for heading out. My parents showed up, we started getting packed up as it drizzled out, then the sun came out and our hopes went up… however not 40 ft from the dock it started to drizzle, and then proceeded to pour. Needless to say the portages were wet, muddy, and mosquito laden as we made our way to Pine Lake. As we had such a late start, we were all tired, and worried about not getting a camp site, but luck was with us and the first site on Pine was open and we took it as ours.
The next couple days were a lot of fun. We went fishing most of Monday, paddling a ways down pine, and fishing at the worst time of the day simply because we wanted to be on the lake. We didn't get many bites, but my dad did manage to pull in 2 decent walleyes, one got away right by the boat. Tuesday was much of the same; we hung around camp for awhile in the morning, napping in the sun and talking or reading. We decided to try fishing again, along the opposite shore this time, hoping for better luck. Even though it is blasphemy to say this up here, I really don't fish, and had decided to get my fishing license finally before this trip. My dad claims that I had a fish at one point on Tuesday, but me not knowing any better thought that I was getting snagged on a rock and jerked the line right out of its mouth apparently… I'm still skeptical.
Despite my dad’s fear of going hungry, we had some great meals; including camp fire pizzas and BWCA cake from the bakepacker. We also had some really nice little fires in our fire pit. Thankfully because of the rain there are very few fire restrictions this year, and it is wonderful to be able to enjoy a fire and a cup of tea or coco at night.

On one of our forages behind the camp for fire wood, my dad spotted these little purple flowers; we believe they are some kind of wild orchid. Very pretty!

One of our constant sources of entertainment or interest over the 3 days was the loons nesting on the island about 20ft off our campsite. It was very neat to watch the mates taking turns sitting on the eggs, swimming buy our camp site, and fishing right off the point of the island; never far from each other. Their calls at night and in the morning were very soothing and a quintessential part of the north woods.
As morning dawned on Wednesday, our day to go home… we awoke to torrential down pouring rain. Instead of trying to leave we decided to wait it out, added a second tarp to our already built rain-fly, and sat down to eat some breakfast. After a while it lightened up and we headed out. By the time we were on the water the sun was coming out strong. Despite some small hang-ups, like deflating sleeping mats, stuck zippers on tents, forgetting essential pieces of paper, we had a great trip. I know others may wonder at the decision of going on a trip with parents, I always enjoy my parents, they are a riot and I would take them (or rather go with them) any time!



-AJ