The Cabins Are Full

The last week has been particularly busy here at Gunflint. I think we hit one of our all-time highs for meals last weekend with over 240 meals served on one day. It has kept us all running. Tonight promises to be busy again.

I lay in bed this morning and was happy to see the sun on the tops of the trees outside my window. Yesterday was a dismay gray day. Throughout the days we had monsoon clouds flying through dropping heavy rain. I could stand in the lodge and see the rain coming across the lake. It was just good to know that I was not in a boat trying to race the rain. That’s a race we rarely win. One of the neighbors on Gunflint said she had almost 2 inches of rain during the day yesterday. That’s enough.

One benefit of the rain is exceptional growth in our burned over areas. Every growing plant seems to be spurting towards the sky. Since we have areas that are recovering from fires and blowdowns, this is good. It also means that we have little fire danger this summer. There is lush green in all directions.

Both raspberries and blueberries are now out all over. Bruce and I have yet to get out picking but there is bound to be a couple hours some afternoon. I have friends and relatives waiting for their annual supply of jam. The peach and strawberry jam is put away. I have just two kinds left.

Some guests were our fishing down in Little Gunflint this morning. They saw beaver, eagles, deer, and loons. Also for those of you who remember the beaver dam across Little Gunflint, it is now gone. That makes access a little easier down there.

The guides have been having good luck fishing. Jon Schei says the lake trout are in 40-60 feet of water. He has been fishing on Saganaga and Seagull. Apparently the lake trout will bite on just about anything you throw at them. Walleyes are in 12-20 feet of water and are a little slower biting right now. Smallmouth bass are still biting well. Most people are bobber fishing for them. Many of the guests have been bringing their fish in for the kitchen to cook. For our large families there is nothing better than a platter of fresh fish fingers for an appetizer. All the dirty platters going back into the kitchen are picked clean.

August first marks the middle of our summer season. It’s when I catch my second wind. Then at Labor Day I catch my third wind. September and October seem much easier than May and June. It must be because I have adjusted to the busy days by then. Of course, Dave Schudy is counting down the days to snow. Winter is his favorite time of year.

Busy July Days

I think the days in between these blogs are getting shorter or I am getting busier. I know that the lodge has been running pretty full lately and there have been lots of people stopping by for meals. In fact last night, I even had to take a couple of orders in the bistro myself. With a little help I managed to get the orders properly entered into the computer. Delivering food to the table was easy. I managed to make one drink and pour one beer. The stickler was getting a bill out of the computer and correctly entering the receipts. At the end of the night I had to participate in doing my “shift report.” Luckily Angy was there to show me the way. It is another part of the computer system that I have yet to learn.

Our days have been a mixture of rain and sunshine. This morning started out with thunder and rain. Now it is just puffy white clouds. It is not going to be a really hot, hot summer but the kids still gravitate to the lake in the afternoons. Every day we have a bunch out trying their skills with some little kayaks we have on the beach. With a PFD and a few minutes of experience almost any child can make these kayaks go all over. Part of the fun is that each one is in control of their own boat.

Bruce and I are looking forward to the second week in August. The managers are kicking us out and we are going on a 4-night canoe trip with our friends, Tom and Melissa. It has only been the last few years that we have taken canoe trips but they are addictive. Each year we try to pick a little different route. This year it is going to be west of Seagull Lake in the BWCAW. It will take me at least one day to get back into the paddling mode. Bruce and Tom are responsible for providing fish for dinner. Tom hauls water and collects firewood. Bruce cooks. Melissa and I do dishes. It is amazing how fast we settle into our camp routines. Everyone has a chore and no one gets overworked.

Our days in the northwoods are already getting shorter. I know that they regularly get shorter the same amount each day but it isn’t until about now that you start to notice a difference. Of course by December it will be full dark between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. while full daylight won’t come until 8:00 a.m.

A few raspberries have appeared but not enough to pick. Bruce and I are still trying to get a few hours in picking blueberries. Our freezer does not have a single berry in it. It is hard to have blueberry pancakes with no berries. Hopefully next week we will get out a bit.

As much as I hate to admit it, the weather has been lousy this week. We have been having an overcast, misty, foggy mess. In addition the wind has been howling from the northwest. Usually our bad weather wind is from the east but not this week. The only saving grace is that the forest needed the moisture.

The blueberries needed it too. We have lots of hard little balls on the blueberry bushes. Now that we have gotten the necessary moisture, the next step is sunshine. You can’t imagine how quickly sunshine will give us a batch of large juicy berries. In fact, I am already thinking about blueberry pie and blueberry pancakes next winter.

The week has been a very busy one. Grandson Zach (Robert and Miranda’s child) has been with us. Nine-year-old boys are much more active than old grandparents. He has been horseback riding, fishing, minnow trapping and visiting friends. As you might expect, his energy is endless.

On Monday I helped serve a shore lunch (Zach helped too) at Chik-Wauk welcoming the paddlers of the Canoe The Heartland event. Their trip covers over 350 miles and is in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Superior National Forest and the Quetico Provincial Park. We served lunch to about 150 people. The U. S. Forest Service had a full line up of talks for adults and games for kids. That day, the weather cooperated.

Wednesday the annual Gunflint Trail Canoe Races were held at the lodge. It is hard to believe that these have been going on for almost 30 years. The weather was not totally cooperative for the races. As volunteers were setting up the event, we had mist and rain off and on. The wind blew steadily. By the time everything started, at least the drops stopped coming down. About 200 people appeared and $14,000 was raised for the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department. Next summer the department will be showing off a brand new fire truck that these monies have helped to buy.

On top of all this, the lodge has been filled with guests. Even in rainy weather people have been out and about. The fishing guides have been busy, hikers have explored the trails and the horses have done their bit. The place that has really been busy is the dining room. Both Justine’s and the Red Paddle have been bursting at the seams. Cool weather always makes us eat heartily. Of course, the most popular spot has been the hot chocolate machine. On Wednesday with everyone here for canoe races, there was a steady line for hot chocolate.

How Can It Be July Already?

After three weeks of messing around, I am now online again. I can’t believe how necessary internet connections have become to my life. Meanwhile, the resort keeps me busy and perhaps too busy.

One of the joys of summer meals is the barbeque. We all attempt it with varying degrees of success. Don Kufahl and Jason Hartung have perfected the barbeque. At least we think so. Don does the smoking of chicken and ribs. He has those ribs with meat ready to fall off the bone but still nice and moist. Jason works with the entire kitchen staff on the side dishes. One of the sides is a blueberry barbeque sauce that everyone loves. You know we use blueberries in everything we can. Jason also does a watermelon/fruit carving each week. Here is a picture of the fruit from one of this summer’s dinners. One day we had a watermelon critter who was fishing. Jason put a live minnow in a wine glass. At the end of the meal the minnow was released into the lake and the glass was washed three times.

It is lupine time on the Gunflint Trail. This is a picture of our side road which should be called Lupine Lane right now.

I am hoping you will get an idea of how profusely these plants are blooming. Every bit of purple in the picture is a lupine. It is just wonderful to see.

Another flower has just finished blooming. These are our iris plants. While we have a few here along the lakeshore, Bruce has discovered a small lake that is just lined along every shore with these blue blossoms. We call the lake “Gary Lake” after a friend but it should also get a new name during this time of year – Iris Lake. Right now the plants are just past their bloom but they were great to see. Bruce visits the lake on a regular basis when he goes minnow trapping so I get up-to-date reports on the best time to see the iris.

As part of the work for the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center, Bruce was given the responsibility of collecting birch bark that will cover the cabinets in the Native American exhibit. So, one day we took off to collect the necessary birch bark. Bruce had already scouted out the spot with lots of mature trees and well out of sight from the road. Birch bark must be gathered at this time of year due to the sap. He was taught how to gather it many years ago by Charlie Cook. Here is a picture of the process.

A small axe is used to cut vertically through the first layer of birch bark. Then a horizontal cut is made at the top and bottom of your piece. Next use the edge of the axe to pry one corner of the bark loose. If you have timed the project correctly (as Bruce did), the birch bark practically pops off the tree. Another important part is that this does not kill the tree. Only if you take all layers of birch bark off will the tree be killed. This is, of course, exactly the same process that Native Americans used to gather birch bark for their canoes. Most of the pieces we got were big enough to be used to make a birch bark canoe. When the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center opens next summer, you will be able to see this birch bark.

Summertime seems to be flying along. What happened to June?

It's Family Time

It has been cold and rainy around here these past few days. I am getting tired of it but have no way to change anything. My knees are getting tired of working on it. Bruce just says the weather we get reflects the lives of our guests during the past year. Rumor has it that sunshine is on the way for the weekend. I’m ready.

We had a little bad news this morning. For the past year or so I have periodically reported the adventures of Gimpy, our fox with one bad lake. Perhaps even more than my blog reflects, Gimpy has provided lots of entertainment for those of us who live here. Last night a car clipped him on the road. Dave Schudy saw his body early this morning on the way here. I know it was just one of many fox but we all are going to miss him,

In the last week, we have made the transition into family vacations. All of a sudden there are families every where. The naturalist activities have overflowing groups. One of our new activities is paddling the voyageur canoe across to a pond on the west end of the lake for lunch. This morning Annie was fixing lunch for 20 guests.

Human families aren’t our only families. The mallard mommas are proudly bringing their flocks of ducklings into the lodge beach for corn. Did you know that ducks are one of the few animals that must feed themselves from birth? So we have cracked corn for the little ones at this time of year. Now I have to teach our guests to spread the corn on the shore and not throw it into the lake where the ducks don’t get it.

These mallard ducklings weren’t always around here. In the 1960’s a foundation out of Dundee, Illinois, tried raising ducks using the Future Farmers of America. It didn’t work out so well. Somehow Don Lobdell, who owned Rockwood Lodge at the time, got some of the baby ducks delivered to the Gunflint Trail. He spread them out to the resorts. We had a batch here at Gunflint. Every night a trail of corn would lead the babies into a penned, protected shelter for the night. There were new batches for several years. The descendants of those ducks continue to return each year. By Labor Day they are so tame that you can feed them from your hand. Last fall we had a picture of a fat old lady (me) feeding them from her hand.

Guests Enjoy Northwoods Activities

I have been looking forward to writing about the weather this week because it has been just glorious. People have been out all over exploring the lakes and woods. Even the mosquitoes have started to cooperate. The emergence of dragon flies has helped eliminate lots of the biting critters. By this time of year mosquitoes go into a long decline for the summer.

Today has been a different story. We woke up to overcast skies and fog. It has misted and rained off and on all day. Since we could use a little rain, I can’t even complain. It’s almost 7:00 p.m. now and there appears to be a sliver of clear skies in the west. Perhaps tomorrow will bring blue skies back.

Fishing has continued to be good even with the nicer weather. Smallmouth bass are biting. The big surprise is the walleyes. Every day we seem to have another fisherman come in who caught and released a 20” and up to 32” walleye. Northern Light Lake has been particularly good. The lake trout are now in 45-60’ of water but biting well.

Our resident fox, Gimpy, is still making regular appearances at the cabins. Frequently guests report that Gimpy has a squirrel in his mouth. It has always been assumed that he could not catch anything because of his bad leg. Between what he catches and what everyone gives him, Gimpy has a pretty good life.

Other forest denizens who are appearing regularly are wolves. Usually during the summer wolves are not seen but that is not the case this year. Especially past the Tuscarora road, wolves have been seen by many people. Probably the larger numbers of small game (translate into food) are keeping them in closer than usual.

As you may remember, last fall we bought a voyageur canoe for the naturalist program. Everyone has been surprised at how popular this activity is. Every time something is scheduled, the canoe is full. One day Bruce and I will have to take a ride in it.

Virtually all our staff is here now. Today was the first meeting for the full staff. We hold these meetings at 6:15 in the morning because it is the only time everyone can be there. Looking at the entire group on the porch reminded me how many people it takes to run things around here. Luckily they all are doing a great job. The meeting went well and even managed to get a laugh or two from the group. That is a great accomplishment at that time of the morning.

I Was Right! Summer Is Here!

It seems I am always a little behind the eight ball on getting this blog out. There is a pretty good excuse this week. On Tuesday we had a group of 24 women check out along with every other cabin. We had a bus load for lunch and I was tour guide with them for most of the day. That afternoon we had 183 bike riders check in for two nights and five meals. I got to tell you that a party that large taxes us but it all went well. In addition to eating meals these folks did spend a fair amount of time rehydrating their bodies. They spent three days biking on the North Shore before coming up here. Even so the ride from Grand Marais was a long one. They were a great bunch of people. Like any cook, ours appreciated the way they ate everything we fed them. After feeding them breakfast Thursday morning in one hour, we were all in relapse but cabins still had to be cleaned for the new guests checking in.

Today I spent some time this afternoon just reading the newspaper. I might have dozed off in the chair a bit too. Tonight will be another busy night in the bistro and dining room. We have our full complement of servers so all that I do is walk around talking to people.

This last week we have really jumped into summer weather. It is so nice – blue skies, soft breezes, and warm temperatures (This sounds like last week.). Like any good resort we had out thunderstorm and rain in the middle of the night. Our lilacs are just blooming. The lupine on the side road are also coming into their blooming season. My strawberries are filled with flowers. The asparagus has been great. Unfortunately most of the rest of my garden is not doing so well. The cool temperatures earlier and a lack of time both contributed to a poor garden.

Bruce and I are enjoying renewing friendships with old time guests and meeting new ones. They all have such interesting stories to tell us about how they found us. With many of them we end up swapping stories about travels all over. Last night I was talking with some guests about our trip to Bali. They owned property in Bali and love it just as much as we do. Many of these guests have great tips on places to visit. As many of you know, Bruce and I love to travel.

I should have more news around here but most of my days have been spent in the lodge. Next week I’ll even get some pictures for the blog.

Summer Is Here, I Think

I believe that summer has finally arrived on the Gunflint Trail. This morning we had temperatures of 61 degrees – the warmest this year. We have a gentle south wind, blue skies and the lake looks beautiful. Everyone is ready to jump in but it is still a little cold. I would be satisfied to just go on a boat ride but here I am at the computer.

Our summer staff is basically all here. There is a learning curve everyone goes through in their new jobs but it seems like a great crew. As in years past, we have a number of students from Jamaica. It is fun to watch them adjust to the Northwoods. One of the new skills they have learned is to paddle a kayak. We have small kayaks at the dock and the girls are having a ball paddling all over but only on calm days. None of them are interested in ending up in the water. These kayaks are also very popular with the children during the summer.

Tomorrow we are having a unique group of guests check in. One of the annual Minnesota events is Jim Klobuchar’s bicycle ride. For years he has assembled a group of bikers to tour different areas of the state. This year they will be on the North Shore and the Gunflint Trail. On Tuesday and Wednesday nights we will be hosting 183 people in this group. During the day on they will be spreading out to explore the area.

Today I got word of some really good news for later in the summer. The blueberry bushes are filled with white blossoms. This means that if we can get the right combination of sun and rain, it will be a great blueberry season. Bruce and I have our favorite secret spots to pick. Of course, we always meet our neighbors at these secret spots. Long about January Bruce’s blueberry, banana, walnut pancakes taste wonderful for breakfast.

Yesterday afternoon Bruce and I sat with some friends on the patio in front of the lodge during the afternoon. We were just visiting and drinking iced tea. Afterwards I thought about what a great way to spend the afternoon. No wonder our guests enjoy it so much.

Talking with resorts all over the Trail is leading to lots of moose stories this summer. It is almost like we have an explosion of moose. If you are driving up the Trail, look in every little pond and creek for these wonderful animals. Also look for them to plod across the road at unexpected places. They are very big and black and can do a great deal of damage to your car.

You are not getting any pictures today. Since Thursday I have been having problems with my Internet connection at the computer in my office. So I am down at the lodge typing this. As is the same with many of you, getting the problem fixed is turning out to be a very frustrating experience. The last I heard was that the company would try to get back to me in 4-5 days. This is not the time to play these games.

It's June!

So, where did May go? Suddenly Bruce and I are settling into our summer routine. More staff has arrived so that makes life easier. Of course, there is always the necessary training to do. We try to eat a quick dinner and go back down to the lodge to talk with guests each night. Getting to know our guests is one of the best parts about the job. So many guests have been with us many times. With the newcomers it is just fun to introduce them to the special places to see during their stay. If you are with us even for just a quick meal, Bruce and I look forward to seeing you.

Spring is progressing along. It seems cool but I keep telling myself that it is only the 4th of June. As I write this, a big black cloud is approaching from the west. We could have a little squall in a few minutes. Meanwhile my pin cherry trees are bursting with flowers. Here is a picture of the one right outside the house. The tree is just 9 years old but the flowers are beautiful. Marsh marigolds are blooming in the wet spots along the Trail.

This year every resort seems to have an abundance of guests seeing wild game. Moose are the most numerous especially in the mid-Trail area. I have heard several stories about cows with twins. One party even saw a cow moose lying down as her two calves fed. Many people have seen wobbly newborns as they try to learn to walk on four legs. Moosehorn B & B across the lake did have one guest who saw a spotted fawn. That is a very rare sight. We are also still seeing wolves in the hill just behind the campground. A few fox with kits are always found on the road playing.

Fishing has been good. Here is a picture from Lars Ossmo and his son. It is a pretty nice catch for a father-son trip. Then we have the story of three guys who went out lake trout fishing today. It was their first day on the lake. They were back by noon with a 20 lb. northern. The fish fought so hard that the treble hook was almost pulled out of their lure. All three of the guys were so excited that it was fun just to see them.

For reasons I don't understand these pictures refuse to move into their correct spots in the narrative. You'll just have to mentally place them in the proper posts.

Oh What A Beautiful Morning!

Today was the perfect day for a morning walk. I was the only one of our four going so I had the entire walk to myself. The walk is along our side road for one mile and then back. Walking along the road lets you see and hear things that a car just buzzes by.

The first thing is to smell the fresh air. With no wind at all today and a nice dew on the ground, everything smelled fresh and clean. The dew keeps the road damp so even an occasional car doesn’t throw dust into the air. I saw five vehicles on my walk this morning.

The noise is the next thing to be noticed. No need for an iPod when you can hear the birds singing everywhere. In the background is the almost constant call of the chickadee. That is the only call I know because the chickadee just says its name over and over again. Sometimes it adds an extra dee or two. Who knows what other birds are talking to me but each one has a distinctive song that comes out as clear as a bell. Sometimes are bird will fly overhead and I can hear the swoosh from its wings. There was one boat that went down the lake and its motor added a little mechanical sound for a few minutes.

Finally we are down to what can be seen on a walk. Most of the trees have leafed out. Strawberries are blooming in the road ditches. Several trees are getting ready to flower. The pin cherry trees should be blooming next week. The lupines are coming up in the ditches. In about 3-4 weeks there will be lupine blossoms all along the road. You will need to see a picture of them. If it is rainy, there are hundreds of earthworms on the road. I wonder how they can live in the packed down surface of a dirt road. We have renamed a section of the road “Rabbit Corner.” That’s where we have seen the rabbit this spring.

Later I walked down by Cabin #26 and looked at the lake. Here is a picture of what I saw. Too bad I don’t have time to just sit on the swing and watch the day unfold. Instead I am in my office writing to you.

Bruce was busy yesterday working on some masonry projects for the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center. One project is to put in some slate as an entry way just inside the front door. If any of you have walked around our property, you will have noticed piles of rocks in many places. These are rocks that Bruce has collected during our many building projects. He has mentally cataloged all of them.

So when he was thinking about the slate entry way, Bruce remembered a large slate rock in one of his piles by the outfitters. If he could just split that, it would be big enough to make a one piece entry rock. Yesterday was the splitting day. He had to lift the rock with the bobcat. With his masonry hammer and some pegs he was able divide the rock into three sheets. Here he is moving one of the sheets. If you visit the museum after it opens next year, be sure to notice the rock when you walk in.

One of our neighbors has a baby squirrel. They think that its mother was accidentally live trapped and moved to a different location. This 3-4 inch squirrel is hungry! He chases all the birds off the feeder when he wants to eat. Of course, he is not quite as good a climber as an adult would be so it is a project to get up the feeder. The other day my neighbor was in her garden when the baby squirrel came running up. She stood up and he ran right up her leg almost to her knee before realizing the mistake. Already this squirrel has visibly grown since they first saw him.

Summer is here now so it is time for some of you to be visiting us. We look forward to seeing you.

Memorial Day is Here

This has been an unusually windy spring or so it seems to me. Yesterday the wind was howling outside and there were white caps on the lake. In spite of all, the fish are biting well. The walleyes are starting to leave the spawning beds but are still scattered on the lake. As the water warms up, they will form into schools, which makes life easier for the fishermen.

All our trees are bursting into leaf. We have a green fuzz from the new leaves that you can see as you look across the lake. Of more importance to me, I can lie in my bed and look at the leaves on the poplar trees outside my window. For those of you who live south of me, that may not mean much. But when you only have leaves for five months of the year, it’s nice to see them come.

Summer birds have also been appearing almost on a daily basis. There was a pair of trumpeter swans on the lake. Meanwhile Sheryl has a great little movie of the first hummingbird to appear

at the outfitters’ feeder.We always look forward to the return of the hummingbirds. Bruce and John Silliman saw a Baltimore Oriole at our feeders this week. That is really an unusual sighting.

This year for the first time we are getting overnight hikers stopping at the canoer cabins at the outfitters. So far we have had seven people in three different parties. It isn’t a lot but I can’t remember when we have had any hikers come through. They are hiking the KeKeKabic Trail from here to Ely which is about 42 miles. They are also connecting to the Border Route Trail which goes to McFarland Lake east of us. One party even had a small dog along. The dog had his back pack to carry his food.

Wednesday was one of my favorite days of the year. Our spring order of flowers arrived. Between what we use at the lodge and what our neighbors get we had about 300 flats and baskets. In addition there were 10 36” white pines and 10 clumps of 8’ birch trees. Ronnie and Rick are hard at work getting the ground prepared. With an early Memorial Day, we don’t really want to plant too much until closer to June 1st. Here is a picture of one of the neighbor’s flower order.

Memorial Day weekend is already here. It looks like a good one. People are making the reservations much closer to their arrival date which makes us nervous. They are, however, calling in steadily for summer reservations. We are pretty close to full for the holiday weekend. In these tough economic times we appreciate every reservation.

It is a cold a miserable day today. The temperature is about 34 degrees and we have a strong northwest wind. Even in front of my house, we have good sized white caps. The east end of the lake must be just rolling. Snow flurries are coming down too.

Meanwhile Bruce and I got home from our morning walk about 8:15. We have been walking with our neighbors, Bob and Sharon Baker. Both couples are going with two other couples to Rocky Mountain National Park to do some hiking just before Labor Day. So, we are trying to get into a little better shape. Here are Bruce, Bob and Sharon ready to go this morning. Luckily I get to be the photographer.

Now don’t get the wrong idea. We really are not walking together. Bob was in the National Guard for many years. He sets a pace of four miles to the hour. Sharon and I most definitely don’t walk that fast. We do about two miles in 50 minutes. Bob and Bruce go over three miles in that same time.

Except for today, it has been quite nice and I think we are all doing better. It is fun to see the game as walking down the road. For several days there was a snowshoe rabbit about ¼ miles down the road. Every part about him had turned brown except for his feet. They were still white. We have also heard calling loons. Today we even heard a loon above the wind and waves.

My garden has been trying to claim some of my attention. Yesterday I finally made it out. We got some small white pine seedlings this year. For years we have planted but never been really successful. A friend whose parents had owned a tree farm suggested a new method of planting to me. I went up into the garden and cleaned out a space we were not using. It was just a mess with grasses growing all over. After crawling around weeding on my hands and knees, I was a mess too. But I planted 33 trees about 8 inches apart. Here is what they look like.

My friend Terry tells me to let them grow for two years. At the end of that time each one will have a nice root ball instead of those thread roots you usually plant. So, I planted and watered yesterday. Keep your fingers crossed.

Fishing has been fairly good. The walleyes are still spawning. The Cross River and Little Gunflint have lots and lots of females filled with spawn. In a few days the males will come in to fertilize them. Most people catching the big females have released them so they can spawn. In a few years we will catch their children.

Lake trout (any kind of trout) fishing has been good. Today as we walked there were hundreds of worms on the road from last night’s rain. Bruce says that these earthworms are good for catching trout. No matter how good they might be for bait, I’m not going out on the lake today. It just looks nasty.

Fishing Opener

Gunflint Green Up last weekend was a rousing success. About 325 people planted 25,000 trees. That’s just over 75 trees per person. In our rocky soil, planting trees is a project. Add to that the fact that burned trees, fallen trees, soot and loose rocks are all over. I went out for a few minutes to meet some of the planters. Many of them were like Mary Indritz and her daughter Paige, shown in this picture.



They live in Roseville, Minnesota, and have a cabin on Poplar Lake. Son Jack was also planting with them. The Gunflint community has really come together to help give our forest as helping hand.

This weekend brings the Minnesota fishing opener. Gunflint Lake is totally clear of ice as is Magnetic. Although I haven’t been down there, North Lake and Little Gunflint should also be open. Loon Lake went out yesterday. Saganaga and Seagull should be open. The lakes in the mid-trail vary but if you started blowing from the proper direction, they would go out. It should be a great opening weekend.

We are getting ready to jump into the season. Jason is bringing over the first dock as I write this. I can see him coming across the lake. It is a perfectly calm day which is what we need to get the docks in place. In fact here is a picture of the dock coming in to be attached to the main cribbing.

Friday night people will start checking into the lodge for fishing. Bonnie says that our first outfitting groups will be going out next week. I don’t know how another winter passed so quickly.

We went out to dinner with friends last night. Some of you may remember our neighbor on Tucker Lake who burned part of his favorite hat last winter while burning a brush fire. A spark landed on his hat and eventually started burning hat and head. A couple days ago, Tom received a package with this letter in it:

Dear Mr. Schank
We understand you had a head fire causing some discomfort to your melon. We are enclosing a special fire hat to prevent any more fires of the same nature.
These are special hats for use on small fires only, if your needs are larger save the aluminum pan from Thanksgiving and punch a center hole in it.
Replacement pans can be purchased at your local grocery store.
Thanking you
Mr. Bill Spark
G.M. Fire Dep
Here is a picture of Tom modeling his new hat.

Tuesday Bruce and I went out to put in minnow traps. He carried the traps and I walked along. This is Bruce looking at a trap he has just placed on a hidden pond about ½ mile in.

He was worried about getting enough minnows because the water in the ponds was quite low. Yesterday he checked the three traps for minnows. I couldn’t go but Bruce said he couldn’t even carry out all the minnows. These native dace minnows that he traps are the best ones of fishing in our area.

Some blogs I really struggle to get pictures for. Then there are others like this one that just seem to overflow with pictures.

Spring Happenin

It is a gray windy day today. My barometer seems to indicate that we could have rain which is not all bad. It rained yesterday and last night some. The rain combined with the wind will help the ice go out soon. In fact right now we are probably just waiting for the northwest wind that starts to push the ice down Gunflint to the east. The wind today is south so that helps melt the ice but not take it out.

From my window at the house this morning I noticed a new deer kill on the ice. Here is a picture I tried to take after walking down to the shore.

All the birds flew away when I came but some eventually came back. I think you can see the two eagles. There were also sea gulls, crows, and ravens. By the end of today it will all be gone. You can see from the picture how black the ice is.

While walking down I noticed that the pussy willows we popping out. I also noticed (and picked up) a couple of plastic bags that had blown done sometime in the winter. It is always amazing what appears when the snow goes. Bruce and I try to get everything put away in the fall but something always appears next spring.

Spots of open water are appearing all over. Jon Schei, one of our fishing guides, just couldn’t wait to get his boat in the water. He went over to the west end of the lake where the Cross River is flowing in and cutting a large hole in the ice. Sheryl took a short video of this which I hope to be able to attach to this blog. Turn your speakers on because the sound of the water and the fishing boats sounds pretty good after all the frozen months. If not, you will have to be satisfied with me standing in front of the rapids at Campsite #18 in the Trails End Campground.

This weekend is the 2nd Annual Gunflint Green Up. About 300-400 people are scheduled in to plant trees and to release trees that were planted last year. A huge tent has been erected in the parking lot behind the outfitters for Friday and Saturday nights’ dinners. On Friday there will be exhibits in the conference center about green living. It is a great way to kick off the summer. I’ll let you know how it goes next week.

We are getting ready to start fishing. All the guides are working on their boats and equipment. I, of course, think that fresh fish would taste really good. Don’t suppose that either Bruce or I will get out to fish a little but you never know.

In addition to this blog, I have been asked to write a blog the Minneapolis Star Tribune. It is going to appear in the new Club Outdoors section online. They have about 18 bloggers from all over the state to help provide that little bit of extra local knowledge about outdoor sports in Minnesota. They are trying to get the blogs going tomorrow. I wrote my piece. I will figure out the address and let you know where to find me. The idea is to write on Monday and Thursday. So now I will be coming up with three different blogs each week. This will test my abilities as a writer.

For reason I don't necessarily understand, this video is at the end of the blog. I try next time to get it in the proper place.

We Are Closer To Open Water

Bruce and I had a great trip to Missouri last weekend. Nick and Sandy Halteman, Miranda’s parents, belong to a fly fishing club there. The club was having a one day show and we put up a little booth to advertize the outfitters. As this picture shows, Grandson Zach was our biggest helper there.

The show was held in a church. In exchange for the space, the church’s youth group sold us breakfast and lunch as a fund raiser. Lunch was prepared by a local man who smoked some pork for sandwiches. It was wonderful.

The only bad part about the entire trip was coming home. In Missouri (and probably where most of you live) the trees and shrubs were blooming. The grass was green. We got home Monday to several inches of new snow. What a downer!

Luckily on Tuesday the wind blew and yesterday it was in the 50’s. So, almost all the snow is gone. I was even able to get out into the garden and start cleaning my vegetable beds. The chives and rhubarb are starting to come up. There are leaves on the strawberry plants. Most important, the ground in the beds is not frozen. Of course, after two hours of crawling around weeding, every muscle in my body complained. It is the Advil time of year.

There are lots of other signs of spring. This week I have seen many returning birds: juncos, grackles, starlings, bald eagles, and seagulls. The North Brule River is starting to run, which indicates when our ice will go out on Gunflint. Don Brazell, the long time Gunflint Trail postman, said that when the North Brule ran freely (we are not quite there yet), the small lakes go out in a week and the large lakes go out in two weeks. With that in mind, open water is just around the corner. Bruce and I drove over to where the Cross River enters Gunflint. There is a noticeable channel of open water reaching a couple hundred feet into the lake.

As I sit in my office today, the wind is really blowing hard. The skies are clear. The temperature at 10:15 a.m. is 50 degrees. Another important factor in spring thaw is that it did not freeze last night. All these things combine to melt the snow and ice. Several days of these conditions would really speed the spring thaw along. Even a little rain would help. We will see what happens by next week.

Meanwhile spring chores are moving along at the lodge. April seems to be a month when we are overwhelmed with projects. Here is a picture of the guys moving out an old hot tub from Cabin #7 in preparation to putting in the new one.

Jason had to remove the window to take the old unit out. The new one is shaped differently and will come in through the doors. In a week or so, all six new tubs will be completely installed.

Carpets in cabins have been steam cleaned along with every other portion of the cabins. We had some new housekeeping staff start working. Bonnie told them to take everything off the walls before washing them. The girls even took the electrical switch box plates off! Even Bonnie doesn’t go quite that far.

The kitchen has been cleaned to within an inch of its life. Every piece of equipment has been taken apart and cleaned. The hood over the stove was scrubbed. Floors in the coolers, entry way and dry storage have been painted. Yesterday our first food order of the new season arrived. The Bistro will open on Friday evening, April 24th. Justine’s will be opening in May.

So now all that we are doing is waiting for you to come up and visit.