what is going on at Gunflint Lodge recently

Hello-

Since my mom last blogged about the Gunflint Green Up there has been lots going on. First the fishing season opened. Dean Janke e-mailed us a couple of pictures that we are going to post. This picture was taken on the 12th, which was considered the first day that the ice was "out" on Gunflint Lake.



Since we started this blog by talking about the fishing I will give you an update on how it has been so far this spring. The reports from the guides is that they are catching "hogs" (a hog is an official fishing guide term on the Gunflint Trail...it means any walleye longer than 28"...28" is considered a trophy walleye) on a daily basis. I will get a couple of pictures from Jon Schei's digital camera so you can see some of the walleye he is catching. In the mean time here is another picture from Dean...only his fish are a couple of lake trout.



One of our managers at the front desk, Dave, was out fishing with his dad the last couple of days. So when he came in this morning for today's motor permit I got the low down on the last couple of days. Just by seeing the smile on his face I knew he had caught a couple of good sized fish...the only question was how many and how big. Yesterday they caught two "hogs", one over 29 1/2" and another at 28", plus several smaller walleye around 14-18". Dave reported that they did not catch a ton of fish, but everything they caught was either decent sized or a "hog".

We have had lots of new staff arrive in the past 10 days or so. John Silliman, our head Naturalist, has been taking them on a property/history tour of the resort. You can see their faces go from shock to smiles as John fills them in on the rich history of the resort and some of the crazy things Grandma did when she was running the place. After a couple of days of training the new employee's eyes look confident and ready to handle the next guest's request.

As we have more fish reports come in we will be back in touch with pictures so you can see how our guides are guests are doing.

Have a good memorial weekend.

Lee

A Great Weekend

Last weekend was the Gunflint Green Up. What a huge success! Things didn’t seem too promising on Friday. By dinner time there was a steady rain. Luckily the huge tent set up in the outfitters parking lot was kept the dinner dry.

The tent saved us lots of problems because we could feed over 300 people at the time in it. It had heat. It had lights. And it was dry. As the rain continued during the night, we all got a little concerned for the next day.

We really didn’t know what to expect when the morning dawned with snow on the ground, but it melted by late morning and the sun came out. Even with the snow on the ground, people appeared ready to plant. Not only were they ready to work but they were going to have a good time doing it. Especially as the day got nicer, I heard many people remark how great it was to be out in the woods.

I planted over by Round Lake. Part of my planting crew was two troops of Girl Scouts from Grand Marais. Here I am talking with some of the leaders about where to plant.

Even though these were young girls, they worked very hard. If any of them were my grandchildren, I would be quite proud. Not only did they keep at it but they sang while they worked. A favorite song in the morning had to do with drinking sassafras tea. It is one of those songs with a short verse that you sing over and over until your voice gives out. Here is a picture of one of the girls planting a tree.

Another thing that kept these girls going was an abundance of food. They seemed to eat their lunches in mid-morning. Then about noon, they gathered at the Ham Lake Public Landing. The leaders spread two large tarps on the ground and everyone sat to eat all the food they had brought in addition to their lunches.

On Saturday night almost 400 people were served dinner in the tent. Everyone appeared to have had a great day. Not only did they find lots of people to share their experiences with but they also found many of their neighbors who had also been out planting. In the end there were over 50,000 trees plants by over 400 people.

On Sunday the Ham Lake Run was held. It started from Gunflint Pines and ended up at Trail’s End. There was the full length race and then a shorter race that started further up the Trail. About 140 runners participated. The weather was cool and dry for the race. Those who know more than I do felt it was perfect. Here is the start.

Both the tree planting and the half marathon race were successful because a lot of people who worked hard all winter to plan. Nancy Seaton from Hungry Jack Outfitters headed the Gunflint Green Up and Sue Prom from Voyageur Canoe Outfitters headed up the Ham Run. A great deal of support especially in the tree planting came from the U. S. Forest Service. Without their help and their willingness to think out of the box, these events could not have happened.

Lots of other spring events are going on around here. The juncos are migrating through on their way north. We will see them again next fall. The robins are everywhere as are a large assortment of song birds. Some of the smaller lakes have lost their ice but Gunflint is still hanging in there. The ice is very gray and rotten looking. I get the feeling that a strong northwest wind would take it out in a day. Sure hope so because fishing season opens on Saturday.

As is often the case with one of us, Bruce was awake and wandering around the house the other night. He heard an animal crying and went to look out the appropriate window. In the yard were three either brush wolves or coyotes. There were two adults and one smaller one. Because of the darkness, he was unable to identify them exactly but it is not something we see very often around the house. We did have one come down the drive last week but that has been it for the winter. So, a little excitement in the middle of the night.

Next time I write the ice will be off the lake and we will be fishing again.

Gunflint Green Up

It’s been so long since I wrote that I am almost embarrassed. In my defense, I have spent the last two weeks fighting a rather nasty infection. I’m finally over it and back to normal.

All around me spring has been bursting out. Well, that was after we had two snowstorms that Mother Nature surprised us with. One dropped twelve inches of snow and the other was only four inches but it blew all over. After several warm days with sunshine and wind plus a little rain last night, much of the snow in the open places is gone. We are on the winning end right now.

While Bruce and I have been out exploring with spring fever, we have seen lots of pairs of bald eagles. Mostly they have been feeding on the road kill that comes out as the snow melts. He is one of them I managed to get a picture of.

Of course, the pair of red fox is hanging around for any food that they can beg off of us. Yesterday, both Gimpy and the Mrs. were in the yard. Gimpy had a few words to say when he thought the Mrs. was taking too much food. This morning they were both back at different times to see what we had.

You can also see in this picture how much snow has melted around the house.

One day Bruce and I stopped just past the road the Moosehorn. This area had been severely effected by the Blowdown. In April of 2000 (the first spring after the Blowdown) it was just depressing to look at the bare, gray area.

The Forest Service did a great job cleaning up the downfall and replanting with red pine. A year or so after the planting they did a “release.” Young pine trees have to fight with the broad-leafed plants for their share of sunlight. Often the pines get killed because the broad-leafed plants block the sun. In this case, the Forest Service sent in crews to cut away the leafed plants and “release” the young pine to sunlight.

Now it is about 7 years since the original planting. You can see what a beautiful grove of trees is coming up behind me. There are trees 4-5 feet tall and looking very healthy. My grandchildren will see tall pines in this area.

Which brings me to the Gunflint Green Up. As we all know the Ham Lake Fire burned not only some of these replanted areas but also mature stands of trees. In 2007 there was a small spontaneous gathering of people to start the replanting of our forest. If you have been reading the Minneapolis or Duluth newspapers or listening to the radio, you know that this year there is going to be a huge tree planting party on the anniversary of the Ham Lake Fire.

Spear-headed by Nancy Seaton at Hungry Jack Outfitters, a group of people has been planning this event all winter. Their goal is to have 500 people plant 75,000 trees on Saturday, May 2nd. When they settled on these goals, everyone took a big gulp. Well, it looks like the people are coming and the trees will be waiting for them.

Right now there are almost 400 people signed up to plant. Local residents are organized to lead planting teams, distribute trees, hand out lunches, park cars, and serve dinners. Everyone expects have a very successful tree planting event. Even with this many people, we can only plant a small portion of the burned over area so next year we will do it again. And then the next year too.

If you would like more information or to sign up, go to http://www.gunflintgreenup.com/. All the necessary information is on that website. It is going to be a great event where the community of those who love the Gunflint Trail will come together to give the forest a helping hand. I hope to see you there. You will know me because I can’t plant anything without getting filthy dirty. I can’t wait!

Fire at Hungry Jack

In spite of a couple of snow falls this last week, we are starting to get spring fever. The snow has been several inches that gave a wet, sloppy road for a day but that is about all. This morning the temperature was 19 above with clear skies. By later this afternoon we will have some melting. The south-facing roof of our home is pretty well clear of snow.

Unfortunately, I have some bad news to report today. On Wednesday afternoon the main lodge building at Hungry Jack Lodge burned to the ground. Although the fire department responded quickly, the building was full engulfed in flames when they arrived. The department was there all night to make sure that nothing else caught on fire. Here is a picture of the building taken the next morning. It is not a pretty sight.

All of us here at Gunflint and along the entire Trail are feeling for Forrest Parsons, the owner of Hungry Jack. If anyone reading this has a reservation or knows people who go to Hungry Jack, pass the word along. All of the reservation records and guest files were lost in the fire. I can’t imagine the nightmare of trying to recreate that information. If you can help, be sure to call Forrest at 218-388-2265.

This is the time of year that animals seem to come out more. The other day Bruce and I were stopped at the junction of our road and the main road on our way to town. I noticed an eagle soaring above. As we watched it settled onto a branch where another eagle was perched. We seem to think that eagles mate for life so this is probably a pair waiting for spring just like us. Naturally, I didn't have the camera with me.

Our fox are back with us too. Gimpy appeared at our house this morning. So, Bruce and I are going through the freezer to see what we can give him. As with any chest freezer, ours has stuff at the way bottom that can be tossed.

Yesterday afternoon some deer appeared out my office window. Bruce could not resist the chance to feed them. Here he is. Although the picture doesn’t show it well, he is actually scratching the ears of the deer who is eating.

Of course, we are also starting to think about the garden. While we were on vacation last fall, the dozen day lilies were received for us. We kept them tightly sealed and in our cold garage all winter. A week or so ago, I got them out and potted them. Next stop was in front of our south-facing kitchen window. This picture shows you how they are doing now. It really brightens up the kitchen and they will go well in the garden in June.

Today I plan on starting some basil in the house. It is one of my favorite herbs for cooking. As in years past, four flats of basil will arrive with flowers the end of May. Most of that is used in the lodge kitchen all summer long. I wanted, however, to try growing some from seed. I’ll let you know how it works out.

Even on the Gunflint, spring is slowly coming. We are all anxiously waiting for its arrival

Maybe Spring Is Coming

This is supposed to be a quiet time of year but we are keeping pretty busy.

Last weekend was the “Run for A Cure.” It is a dog sled run to collect money for breast cancer research. The 30-mile race started on Gunflint right in front of Gunflint Pines. Everyone was encouraged to dress in pink. So here is a picture of Mark Black – all 6 foot 7 inches of him.

Eighteen teams participated in the run. The day was perfect. It all started out with a pancake breakfast at the Pines which we also enjoyed. The race started about 12:00 and finished down at Trail Center in the late afternoon.

Did you know that we have a 9-hole golf course on Gunflint Lake this winter? A man who works along the North Shore loves to golf which isn’t generally possibly up here in the winter. As an alternative, he comes up to Gunflint and camps each weekend on Campers’ Island down the lake during the winter lake trout fishing season. Fishing isn’t quite as good as golfing but it is better than nothing.

Well, our friend still likes to get a little golf in. So, in the bay immediately west of where Crab Creek comes in, he smoothed the snow and built a 9-hole golf course. It’s for irons only and I am sure he uses colored balls. The lake trout season is closed now so the course is closed.

I told you that Bruce had good luck fishing on North Lake. As a result three couples of us decided to go down on Sunday for the last day of the season. As soon as the women were included, we had to plan a picnic lunch. The guys don’t get into that quite as much as we do. Sunday morning we headed out on four snowmobiles. It was a perfect day – blue skies and no wind. In fact the only thing wrong with our day was that the fish were not biting.

It took us about 30 minutes to reach North Lake. Bob had brought his power auger so drilling holes was no problem. Melissa took off to take pictures of the frost on the shoreline. Photography is her passion more than fishing. The rest of us settled down to try to attract some fish. Here is a picture of me sitting on a snowmobile chair. You can’t see my hole but it is just within an arm’s reach.

Bob quickly got three bites but couldn’t bring them in. Bruce also got a bite but nothing came of it. After a couple of hours we decided to move to another location. We all moved and got settled in. It was lunch time. I had something playing with my line. Finally it bit and I brought in a four-pound northern. Sharon also brought in a six-inch lake trout. Then everything stopped.

We moved to another spot but still not luck. Finally we went back to our original spot and still nothing was interested in our bait. By 3:00 we were ready to go home. The day had been beautiful but the fishing didn’t match.

Travel on the lake has been really easy with no slush and good solid ice. Even so, there always seems to be someone who can’t figure things out. One night last week Bob and Sharon noticed a car driving all over the ice. The next day Bob and Bruce passed the car. The driver had tried to drive through a snow drift. He got stuck so badly that the middle of the car was held up by the drift and all four wheels were off the ice. He was shoveling when they went fishing and still shoveling when they came. So time later in the day he got the car off the ice.

Finally, we had a surprise inspection of our canoes yesterday. Here is a picture of the inspector hard at work.

I know that Easter is close because some bare patches of ground are starting to appear along the side of the road. Our road is bare. The deer are trying to get a meal from any the brown grass that has appeared.

Have a good Easter weekend.

Home Sweet Home

Bruce and I have been back a few days from a great trip to the Florida Keys. We spent the first week in the Marathon area with three other couples. Here is a picture of our Keys style dinner. It seems to me that night we were having fresh shrimp.

Most of the week we did all the tourist things. We went fishing on a party boat. Our group of 8 caught about 1/3 of the fish for the 35 people on the boat. We took them home and ate every last fillet. We went out to Looe Key snorkeling one day. The weather was perfect and we saw lots of reef fish in the clear waters. Of course, we did a little shopping up and down the Keys. One night we made it to Mallory Square to watch the sunset. Here is what that looked like.

As I am sure you might suspect, we managed to get in lots of meals in the fine restaurants of the Keys. Some were tried and true places we have eaten in for years and others were new ones. Only one night we were disappointed with our meal. I was able to eat fresh fish every night.

The next week we spent with our friends, Ron and Pat, at their home on Cudjoe Key. Bruce went diving every day. Although the lobster remained generally elusive, he still got some plus spearing fish that appeared on the dinner table. The last night not only did we have fresh fish but Ron’s stone crab traps produced enough for appetizers.

Now we are home for several months. It feels good to not be running all over on trips. Of course, the computer and the office work have been calling my name rather insistently. I am feeling caught up today.

Bruce managed to get out fishing on North Lake a couple days. Here is a picture of his catch the first day.

The lake trout was on the dinner table that night as a feast for four. The next day he got 2 more trout. One fillet was smoked. One fillet is for dinner tonight and two more went into the freezer. I have a new recipe to try on the trout tonight.

Reading the last few paragraphs, you would think all we worry about is eating. Well, when you are trying to take off the winter pound gains, everything you eat had better taste extra special good. Plus, I enjoy trying new recipes.

On Bruce’s fishing days one of the guys had a camera that you can submerge in the water to watch the fish approach your hook. Even at 40 feet, the picture was as clear as a bell. Bruce found it just fascinating to watch the fish come up to the baits. He said it was amazing how many fish came up without biting. I suppose that will be the next toy to enter our house.

The deer have been coming in on a regular basis even though we don’t have feed out. Now is the time that we can really see how pregnant the does are. There was one in the other day who must be carrying twins. Last year’s offspring was still hanging close to her.

Tomorrow there is a dog sled race starting at Gunflint Pines. They are going to have a sourdough start. It means that the mushers have their dogs tethered as they would for the night. The mushers are in their sleeping bags with their boots off. When the race starts, everyone jumps out, puts their boots on, attaches the dogs to the sled and takes off. It should be fun to watch. If you are in the area, the race starts at noon. Parking will be tight so get here early. For those who can’t be here, I will take some of my prize-winning photos (?) for the next blog.

That’s all for today.

Gunflint Excitement

It has been a busy few days on Gunflint Lake.

My favorite part of the busyness has been centered on the grandchildren. They kept us all moving. I played lots of games of Old Maid, Fish, Crazy Eights and Dominoes. The boys went snowmobiling with their father and grandfather. Their dad took them ice fishing. They visited the dog yard. The deer were very cooperative and came in regularly. Here is a picture of Max trying to feed the deer out of his hand. His sister Amy is watching.

He was able to get them to smell his hand but not actually eat out of it. I guess that will happen next winter. Generally I would say that they did all the things we hope kids come to Gunflint to do.

Yesterday we all got a treat. J. T. McMillion who worked for us when Robert and Lee were 2 and 4 came to visit. Only J. T. likes to come to visit in a novel way. He flew his Piper Cub airplane on to the ice in front of Gunflint Pines. The three grandkids, ourselves and the entire Baker clan were there to welcome him in. Here is the plane on the apron of the “landing strip.”

I can remember earlier time when J. T. flew a plane to Gunflint Lake in the winter. He took one of our employees up for a ride in another Piper Cub. They decided to land on North Lake. Unfortunately they landed in a slush spot and had to push the plane out quickly before ice stuck to the skiis.

We are all very proud of J. T. He worked hard and got his commercial pilot's license. Now he is a full captain for Southwest Airlines. It took a lot of work and a lot of peanut butter sandwiches for dinner as he accumulated hours. Too bad Southwest doesn’t fly into Duluth or Minneapolis.

There was a bit of excitement at the east end of the lake these past three days. One of the casualties of the Ham Lake Fire was the Preus family homes on the Canadian side of Gunflint Lake. All their homes were burned to the ground. The first of these homes had been here since the 1920’s when J. A. O. Preus (one time governor of Minnesota) bought land and built his first cabin on the lake.

Everyone in the family decided to rebuild. They contacted a Canadian contractor who took on the project. Getting materials in for the six log cabins was a project. One step of this project was accomplished these last few days. Greg Gecas from Heston’s plowed an ice road from their dock to the Preus land across the lake.

Starting on Tuesday, the contractor and Greg hauled several trailer loads of dimension lumber over. I was there to see the load leave this morning. Here is a picture of what it looked like.

As the first truck and trailer started moving across the ice, you could hear the ice cracking and groaning. Even though the ice was plenty thick and safe, it still sounded ominous. We could see fresh cracks in the ice. But the guys knew what they were doing and everything made it across with no problems.

Years ago they used to haul logs from logging operations across the lakes. The driver always rode with his door open in case he had to jump. He also never drove out of his lowest gear. The weight of the log load pushed the ice down beneath the back end of the truck. This meant that the truck was always going up hill. It sounds a little scary to me.

On Gunflint Lake we have great ice conditions this winter. As a result many fishermen are driving down the lake to their favorite spots. Before trying this, be sure to check with someone on the lake to be sure that conditions have not changed and it is still safe. We all look at the ice as something solid but it can change very easily. So don’t take a chance and be sure to ask for local information on any lake you decide to drive on.

Bruce and I are off for a couple weeks again. This is the last fling before summer. I will try to write from our sunny destination in the Florida Keys but don’t be surprised if I am having too much fun to write.

Winter Days and Nights

Bruce and I are back in town after a quick trip to Jamaica to interview students who want to work in the U. S. this summer.

I am having a grandmother’s perfect week. Last weekend we spent with Grandson Zach in Missouri, on the way home we stopped to see Grandson Tanner and Granddaughter Emma, Grandson Grant was home, and today Grandson Sam, Grandson Max, and Granddaughter Amy arrive from California. How could I ask for anything better?

It sure is good to be back on the Trail. The last few days have been cold but it has warmer up considerably today. With a busy weekend upon us, it’s nice to get some warmer weather. Also the full and partial moon has lit up the forest each night.

Bruce and I have enjoyed a fire in the living room fireplace every night. We take turns bringing in the wood during the afternoon. It is all stored on the north porch so this is not a difficult job. Each summer we gather wood from dead trees around the house. There are still some standing trees from the 1999 Blowdown. By this time the wood does not have a lot of BTU’s in it but it burns cheerily in the fireplace. Next spring you will see us out again replenishing our supply of wood.

Sheryl at the lodge shared the enclosed pictures with me.

I always feel a little odd standing on the ice and looking at the lodge. The feeling you get from the lake changes dramatically as the ice goes on and off with the seasons. Right now when we are in the middle of winter and can probably drive a car on the ice, it is hard to image open water. In the summer it is hard to imagine being able to walk across the lake.

To some extent I also get interesting feelings from the high cliffs behind the lodge. It usually happens when I am up on top of them. You can really see a long distance across Magnetic Lake and down towards Saganaga Lake. My most frequent thought is that I can understand how the pioneers in this country wanted to see what was on the other side of the next hill.

The view this pictures shows of the high cliffs is also due to the 1999 Blowdown.

However, this view is changing each year. During the summer of 2000 you could see all the way across the patch of trees that were flattened in the back basin by the Blowdown. That year we planted 5000 conifers of various species. Today those trees plus the natural growth of poplar, birch, and brush is big enough that you can’t see across the new growth any more. This is especially true during the summer when the leaves are out.

I walked back to Lonely Lake not too long ago. Throughout the walk there were clumps of birch trees that had come up around the stump of a dead birch. Straight young poplars were all over. Spruce trees are now 3-4 feet high and balsam are right there with them. White pine and red pine are a little slower to grow but you can see them too. There are enough trees that the wild raspberry bushes are getting squeezed out. Once the trees really take hold, they grow amazingly fast. It is very reassuring to see the forest coming back.

Today was Bruce’s day to smoke a ham. He has done this for years and has developed several secrets to the process. One is to spend the money to buy a good whole ham with a bone in it. Then there is his secret sauce which even I am not allowed to know all the ingredients. The final secret is Missouri hickory wood for the fire. Fishing guide Dennis Todd supplied with a huge load of it last year. Our home smells like smoked ham ever since he brought the finished product in.

The smoking smell must have attracted the deer. We have not started feeding them again but they come in anyway. Today two of the deer were eating right out of Bruce’s hand. Of course, I didn’t know he was doing it so there is no picture. You will just have to take Bruce’s word for it.

Bruce and I were recently talking about the morel mushrooms. We plan on looking for some this summer in early June. People who are more knowledgeable than I say that the best time to hunt them is when the lilacs are blooming. With a little luck from the weather (a mix of rain followed by warm sun) there should be a good crop in the Ham Lake Fire areas. It amazes me when I see these morels dried and selling for $10-20.00 an ounce in the grocery stores. Apparently no one has perfected a way to cultivate this particular type of mushroom. When they are freshly picked and cooked that night, they improve any meal.

Another thing we have been doing during these winter nights is planning our canoe trip Tom and Melissa. The four of us pour over maps and look at portages. Melissa and I are trying to avoid a repeat of last year’s long portage. Wouldn’t you know that Melissa likes a route that has one portage that is 1 ¼ miles long. I’m going to have to train for it. Taking off a few pounds wouldn’t hurt either. We also wonder how the fishing will be. I can almost taste the fresh fish. Certainly they are better than the ones we ate from the freezer the other night (which weren’t that bad).

These are the great, momentous tasks and plans that take up our winter days and nights.

Cody, Wyoming

Bruce and I got home last night from Cody, Wyoming. While in Cody we attended the Dude Ranchers’ Association convention. The members of this group are not a lot different from Minnesota’s family owned resorts. We fish and they ride horses.

The purpose of our trip was to find some jobs for the 500 foreign students we will be bringing in this summer for jobs across the U. S. Housekeeping and kitchen jobs are just as plentiful on a ranch as on a resort. We met some really nice people and found a bunch of jobs for our students.

On Sunday morning before we drove back to catch our flight in Billings, Montana, we took a little ride. Cody is only 50 miles from the east gate to Yellowstone National Park. Folks told us that it was easy to see some game if you just drove the road. They weren’t kidding.

One of our sights was a herd of grazing sheep. They were so busy eating that they hardly had time to look at me. You can almost see the edge of the road in the bottom of the picture.

The best sighting was when this buffalo wandered down the road. I got out of the car to take the pictures but was very careful to keep the car between me and the buffalo.

Bruce laughed at me but I didn’t see him getting out of the car. This is only a two-lane road. Look at the center line to get an idea of how close I am to this animal.

In addition to these animals, we saw mule deer and mountain goats. Then there were the herds of cattle and horses. We did not see any elk or moose. We'll save that for the next trip.

Of course, the scenery up and down was beautiful. We just stopped and snapped this picture.

The town of Cody is very interesting. We went to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center because they are hiring 4 students. Unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to look around the museum which was fairly big. They have 1200 visitors a day during the summer. Another summer long event in Cody is a rodeo every night for June, July and August. There also appeared to be lots of great gift shops and restaurants. But don’t get too interested in Cody because we want to see you up at Gunflint this summer.

It was a good trip but it’s even better to be home. Our weather is changing today. When we got up, the temperature was 25 degrees at about 7:00 a.m. It’s 2:00 p.m. now and the temperature has dropped to 2 degrees. We are also getting a little snow which is nice.

Last night a couple of the neighbors on the lake drove home from Duluth a little later than we did. When they hit the Trail the driving quickly went sour. There was a freezing mist coating everything. It took them two hours to come up the Trail. Doesn’t sound like much fun to me.

Later this week we are off again. This time it is to Jamaica. Now don’t get all excited. We will be spending from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. interviewing students in two rooms with no air conditioning or even a fan. Between the two of us, we’ll interview about 150-200 students. Also we do this in Kingston which is definitely not a tourist destination.

Then it will be back to Kansas City for Grandson Zach’s birthday party. I understand that we are going to ride go carts this year. It will be fun no matter what we do. Robert and Miranda also have a little sightseeing and shopping planned for us.

I’ll try to get in another blog about what’s going on here before we leave.

We are just finishing the January cold spell. Usually when we have the full moon and clear still skies, January temperatures drop well below zero. So we had three mornings where it was 20 below zero and one morning where it was 13 below. This morning it’s at zero. During the day we have warmed up to right around zero. Because the wind has not blown much, guests have still been outside skiing and dog sledding. The cold nights have also helped the ice grow on the lake.

During the good old days we could get a cold spell where the temperature warmed up to 20 below during the day. Gunflint Lake has seen 40 below many times. Those are the days when you just want to stay inside and keep the fireplace going.

Now that the ice is safe, the dog teams have been going out on the lake down to Bridal Falls. Once they start using the lake, we freeze in some hitching posts just past the dock. Usually just plain posts are used but they get hard to see as the ice and snow builds up during the winter. As the picture shows, Jason got a little more creative this year.

He found some young trees, cut a hole in the ice, and froze the trees in. It looks like we have a new forest growing. They will be really easy for the mushers to see.

Cold weather has also brought the deer in closer to my house. Here is a morning picture of deer feeding right outside my kitchen window.

They have learned to clean out all the sunflower seeds from the bird feeders by sucking them. Another thing that the deer like to eat is grapefruit rinds. I am being serious! Bruce and I each eat half a grapefruit for breakfast. I just cut each rind into 4 pieces and throw it out. The first deer in will finish them off in no time. Just for kicks we cut up a tangerine and threw it out. They liked it even better than the grapefruit. So none of our deer will be getting scurvy this winter.

A group of neighbors were over for dinner recently. We are all gray hairs and have a potluck at each home during the winter and summer. After dinner we play dominoes for 11 people. It is like nothing you have ever seen before. I wouldn’t say we cheat, but there is a lot of table talk.

At any rate we got to talking about seeing the wolves on the lake. Bob Baker has the best view of the lake from his home above Gunflint Pines. He sees deer out on the lake regularly. The other day we even had a wolf that was curled up about 200 feet in front of the lodge. The wolf was in a tight enough ball that you could hardly be sure it was a wolf but there was nothing else for it to be. I was just about to go home and get my camera when the wolf got up and wandered off. We figure that he was just looking around in case there were any deer to be had.

During March we often see wolves on the lake. They like to nap in the warm sun during the afternoon. Actually with the wolves traveling on the lake, we see more of them in the winter than in the summer. Bruce, however, has come across them in the summer when he is minnow trapping at some back lake. Once he came across a pack of four or five and was glad that he was inside the truck rather than walking. They tend to give one an eerie feeling.

For those you who might remember the fox couple from last winter – they are back. Gimpy and his wife have taken up residence underneath the north wing of Justine’s house. Here is a picture of the small hole in the rock foundation that they go in and out at.

There is a beaten down snow path right through the hole. The fox have become quite used to having people around. One evening I was driving to the lodge from my house. It looked like a guest was walking her dog only it was the female fox walking about 10-15 feet in front of the guest alongside the road.

Bruce and I are off to Cody, Wyoming, today. As many of you know we run a little side business that brings foreign students into the United States for four months of work during their school breaks. This year we will bring in 500 students. They work all over in country from resorts to moving van companies to landscape companies to dude ranches. So we will be attending the Dude Ranchers’ Association meeting for several days. It will be just like the small conventions of canoe outfitters that we have gone to for years. One of the highlights of the trip is a chance to see a different part of the country.

I will tell you about our adventures out west next week

Snow Flakes Keep Falling

With winter temperatures in the moderate ranges, I have been trying to take a few walks. One of my most constant walks is just down the back road. A neighbor’s mail box is exactly one mile from us. So that is my walk – a mile up and a mile back.

I took Tucker with me on a couple recent walks. He, of course, travels twice a much ground as I do. Tucker likes to just roll in the snow which doesn’t appeal to me. He also seems fascinated by any stick in the woods. Now he is reduced to digging and pulling them out as this picture shows.

When there is no snow, he picks up dead branches (sometimes four or five feet long) and prances down the road with them. He seems quite proud of himself.

Another walk we took was on the back trail to the lookout. As we looked over the forest and lake, a herd of deer raced through between us and the stable. I managed to catch three of the deer in an opening. Hopefully you will be able to see them too.

It is interesting walking to the lookout. As many of you know, the area between it and the lodge felt the full force of the 1999 Blowdown. As a result we had a logger come in and clean everything out. The next summer we planted 5000 pine trees of various species. It is all coming up again. The birch, which grow off the stumps of dead trees, are 10 feet tall. The poplar, which grow from the roots of other trees, are just as tall. In between we have the spruce and white pine and cedar we planted coming up. They are now in the 2-4 foot range. We also have balsam, which comes up on its own, filling in everywhere. All in all there is the makings of a very nice mixed forest growing. In the summer, the leaves fill in enough that you can no longer see through from one end to the other.

On one hand it is easy to look at the Blowdown as a disaster but it also saved us. Our forest in the back basin was growing old. We didn’t want to log it but trees were aging and something needed to be done. Admittedly the Blowdown took things to extreme but it has given us a new forest. I do, however, miss the wonderful, huge white pines that were lost. Those will take generations to replace.

Another project for this time of year is to test the thickness of the ice. Yesterday Don and Jacob donned their fire department dry suits (gumbies), picked up an auger and walked across the ice to a little over half away across. This is the part of the lake that was one of the last areas to freeze. Here you can see them drilling a hole in the ice.

They found the ice was from 10-12 inches thick which is very good. The snow on the ice is wind-whipped into a hard crust. There are also many areas of bare, slippery ice. I walked across those areas very carefully and still found myself slipping occasionally.

Those bare patches reminded me of a trip I took across the ice years ago. I was driving a group of women in a van across the ice to ski on the East End Trail which used to run on the old railroad bed on the north shore of Gunflint. The ice was very slippery and I didn’t want to have the van go too fast. I just put the vehicle into drive and kept my foot off the gas pedal. When in drive, there is just a very little forward push on the tires. It was enough to slowly move me across the ice.

The best news is saved for last. It’s snowing outside as I write. We have about an inch of new snow. The north shore of the lake is visible but just barely. The snow is fine and steady. I never watch the weather so who knows how much we are supposed to get. It is just good to look out my office windows and see the snow come down. The other bonus is that I don’t have to drive anywhere today. Let it snow!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of you from all of us at Gunflint!

Bruce and I had a great trip out east to celebrate Christmas. One of the many highlights was a trip into New York to see the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Show. We were looking forward to it all along but we never realized how wonderful the show is. If you are ever in New York at the correct time, don’t hesitate to see this show. Lunch and dinner in the city completed a great day.

We returned home on the 30th. Two weeks worth of mail was stacked up. It was just fun to sit down and read all our Christmas cards at one time. We sure have an active bunch of friends.

All the January catalogs were also sitting there. They included about a dozen flower and garden catalogs. As you can see from this picture, my garden is not ready to accept plants yet. So I will spend the next few months planning and dreaming about what goes into the garden.

This morning I spent time writing thank you notes for Christmas presents. My mother instilled that habit into me many years ago. I, in turn, made sure the boys wrote their thank you’s. They had to have them done before school started again in January.

Bruce and I are also into another traditional activity for this time of year – trying to get rid of the excess weight we put on over the holidays. It's almost like someone pastes the pounds on us at night. Getting on the scale our first morning home was not pretty. In fact there was a lot of moaning and groaning. We are back into the low fat, small portion meals. It is not nearly as good as holiday food but what can you do?

The lake is covered with solid ice. Neighbors tell me that it has been groaning quite a bit. You don’t normally think of a frozen lake as groaning or making any noise but it really does. The actually size of the ice changes as the temperature goes up and down. Lower temperatures result in more ice. The ice cracks and creates ridges. In fact, when it cracks you hear a loud boom. When the temperatures rise, the ice shrinks in size.

Today as I walked down from the mailbox I could see a twisted line where the ice had cracked and let water up. This area was bare ice while everything around it was covered with a layer of snow. It will, in turn, be covered with snow when we get our next storm.

We have about 15-20 inches snow. Tucker loves to roll in the snow every time he goes out. The guests are enjoying playing in the woods too. All the trails are groomed for cross country skiers. The sled dogs are taking people through the forest. A few snowmobiles have been passing by on the lake.

Today is a perfect day to be out. It was just below zero in the morning but warmed up to over 10 degrees by lunch time. The sun is shining and the snow is glistening. With the clear skies, maybe we will see northern lights tonight.

Winter at Gunflint Lodge

Hello Everyone,

I returned on Wednesday evening after a long day of travel from CT to Gunflint Lodge. Between the drive to the airport, the flights, and the drive home from MPLS I was traveling for 16 hours. It was a long day.

The drive from Duluth to Grand Marais is always my least favorite part of the drive (but only in the winter months). I don't like this part of the drive because there are so many deer that can jump out at you at any time so you always have to be scanning the ditches and road for deer. Fortunately I did not see any deer. The drive from Grand Marais to Gunflint is always one of my favorite parts even though by the time I get to town I am exhausted. I like this part of the drive because you always have a good chance of seeing a moose and my return trip did not let me down. Like mom said in earlier blogs the moose normally hang out between South Brule and the North Brule, but I didn't see any moose on that part of the drive. Fortunately I kept my eyes open for moose because around Iron Lake I saw two cow moose separated by about 5 miles. Both of them were kind enough to be walking off the road by the time I saw them so I didn't have to be worried about hitting them. Both of the moose looked healthy and full so hopefully they are pregnant with baby moose.

Today two of our employees went out on the ice to test it and returned with the following report about the thickness of the ice. Directly in front of the dock cribbing the ice is about 14 inches thick. This was one of the first areas on our 1/2 of the lake to freeze. About 100 yards out the ice was between 10 and 12 inches thick. Then they ventured out to the ice that had recently frozen and found that the ice was quickly thinning. The last spot they measured before retreating to shore was 5 inches thick. The rate at which it was thinning was fast enough to scare them from venturing further out onto the lake. We all agreed that with how quickly it was thinning it definitely is not safe yet. So if you are coming to Gunflint Lodge the ice along the shoreline is safe, but please do not venture out onto the lake yet because it is not safe.

A couple of posts ago mom told the story of how a couple of natives checked the ice for safety. One story I have been told is that if the animals are not seen walking on the ice, then it probably isn't safe yet. We have not seen any large animals like deer roaming around on the ice yet. At least the animal theory is consistent with our sample holes we drilled.

The ski trails are mostly all open and groomed. Shari Baker at the Gunflint Pines e-mailed out this report about the snow conditions up here: Total snowfall this season is 34" with 5" in the past week. The snow depth off of the ski trails is at 18". We have between a 5 and 8 inch base of snow on the trails. All of the open trails were groomed on the 27th or the 28th so the tracks should be in great condition as I type this post.

Whenever I return from vacation I like to walk around the property just to see how things look...plus I get to spend some outside time with our dog Tucker. After watching Tucker have to jump to get through the snow I decided that the current snow on the ground is probably deeper than at any time last winter. It was good to see all of the snow on the ground and in the trees.

One last note is that we do have some availability in early January if you are looking for an early winter vacation. Give us a call if you are interested as this is normally a time when we are sold out, but for some reason we have a few empty cabins.

Lee

A Christmas Trip

Bruce and I are off again tomorrow. We will be home on the 30th.

These last few days we have been working on finishing projects before going. All the presents are wrapped. I made cookies. The clothes are washed so now it is time to pack – not a favorite activity of mine. Bruce cleans and packs the car. I may even have time to run the vacumn. Tonight we go to one last Christmas party. With all our stops, it will take us 4 days to get east.

Saturday Bruce and Dave Seaton finished all their cutting of the pine tree. This picture shows Dave cutting one of the slabs that will become a counter in the museum.

Bruce even got a chance to do some of the cutting. Now these pieces will get sealer on them in the pole barn. They will dry all winter before the finishing work is done.

The decorators at the lodge did a great job this weekend. Here is a picture of the outside of the lodge.

It looks better at night but even now is an improvement over the gray nothingness. Between Christmas decorations and summer flowers, I really get spoiled.

Finally here is a picture from the overlook on the main Trail of Gunflint Lake.

It is all nicely covered over with ice. If you look at the Narrows, you might think that there is no ice. You would be right! The Narrows is where all the water drains out of Gunflint on its journey to Hudson’s Bay. Because there is always running water, the Narrows never freezes solid. All winter long we warn guests to stay away from this part of the lake. Ice is never safe if there is running water. There are lots of stories to tell about people who didn’t learn this lesson.

So now we are in a waiting game for the ice to get solid. It is no where near safe yet. John has put up signs on our dock and down at the public landing to warn people to stay off the ice. Years ago we used to have George Plummer across the lake to tell us when it was safe. Now we wait until we think it is safe and then wait another week.

Irv Benson on Saganaga Lake was another one who tested the ice. He cut a green stick about 5 or 6 feet long. When he was fairly certain the ice was safe, Irv would start walking out. The walking stick would hit the ground next one of his feet with each step. From the vibrations of the green stick, Irv could tell if the ice was safe. It all sounds pretty easy sitting here at my desk but don’t ask me to go out and try it. I’ll just wait until some else tells me it is safe.

Eventually the ice will get thick enough on the lake to support a car. We don’t drive all over the lake but we could. Mother used to tell about chasing a wolf with her Model T on the lake. The wolf turned around and gave her a big vicious snarl. Mom decided it was time to go home.

Once the lake is safe to walk on, you can still get in plenty of trouble. Slush is a real mess. It is formed from the weight of new snow pressing down on the entire lake. Eventually a crack forms and water pours onto the new snow creating slush. This slush is insulated from freezing by dry snow on top of it. It will not freeze solid until the dry snow is disturbed by wind blowing it off or by a snowmobile trying to go through it.

One time we had two young girls riding Mom’s Polaris Playmate snowmobile. They got into some slush and thought they were going through the ice. Both of them jumped off the machine and ran to shore. Then they realized they had not turned off the snowmobile so one of them ran back to do that. The main danger they were in was having the snowmobile freeze solid to the lake. Bruce came out and quickly got the machine out of the slush. Then he cleaned all the wet snow out of the track so that would not freeze either.

Now is not the time to get into ice stories. There are hundreds of them all with the same theme – don’t trust the ice. Over the winter I’ll tell you some more stories.

Drive carefully over the holidays. Gunflint family wishes you and your family a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Sled Dogs Are Here

Gunflint Lake finally froze last night. Bob Baker, whose home has a huge view of the lake, says it is frozen as far as he can see. From the east end Fran says that everything they can see is frozen. Everyone knew the lake was ready. All that it needed was a cold, cold night. We had that last night with temperatures well below zero.

During the day yesterday, the temperatures were nicely above zero. So we got another three inches of snow. It is starting to build up. I think we are about at the time when the groomers can start to track the ski trails.

Another seasonal change has happened this past week. The sled dogs have arrived for the winter. Two gals, Linda and Helen, will be running the program this year. Here is a picture of Linda and one of her puppies.

Helen also has puppies here. They are both very excited about being up north.

The program has changed a bit. The gals are going to concentrate more on putting a little adventure into it. The options will no longer be just a ride on the loop. They want to take guests out into the BWCA, out on the lake, and out fishing. Spend a few minutes on the main website at the lodge to look at the schedule of mushing events. I think that you will find them very interesting.

This week was also tree cutting week. One of the needs for the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center is a “cookie” (round slab with bark) to show the rings of a tree and explain what they tell us. The first project was to find the tree. Bruce and I drove around last fall and found one just behind the stable. Here is a picture of the tree just before cutting.
I know the tree looks beautiful but notice that the top is gone. That means the tree is dying. It is just what we were looking for – a dying tree that was still pretty solid. In addition to the cookie, this tree will supply the museum with boards for the top of a counter and benches for the theater. There is no sense in letting this good wood rot away.

Last Wednesday, Dave Seaton came up to help Bruce or maybe Bruce was helping Dave. Well, you know the stories about boys and their toys. Dave had a new bar on his chain saw that would make a 24” cut. Bruce had the bobcat to help lift and move the sections of the tree. They were both really enjoying themselves.

The tree came down just where they planned it. They had to go up about 20 feet along the trunk to get a solid cookie. The base up to the cookie was already rotted out in the middle. Here is a picture of Dave cutting that cookie with Bruce in the bobcat holding the tree in place.
Next time you see it, the cookie will be in the museum.

When they were cutting the tree down, Bruce noticed that there was a squirrel in it. He careful watched and saw the squirrel jump free of the falling tree. Later they searched and found the squirrel hole and the nest material that had been in the hole. We saved that too. It may find its way into the museum too.

We have another group of holiday decorators at the lodge this weekend to finish the putting up lights and trees and wreaths all over. I’ll take some pictures and send them to you on Monday.

Last night was the staff Christmas party. After a wonderful dinner, everyone went down to Okontoe for a sleigh ride and some carol singing. It is the time of year when we realize, again, how lucky we are to have such a great staff.