Holiday Guest and Holiday Plans

We're in the middle of the Holiday Season and things have not managed to slow down much here at the Lodge. Our cabins are closed and the canoes are all put away for the winter but before we can get something done two more "jobs" seem to crop up for our "to do" list. A few of the little jobs that still require attention include: order outfitting food, update our Health Department License, clear the driveway so we can get a propane delivery, recharge the pressure tank for the lake water system, and update our website. However, one of our more important tasks is to relax and take advantage of the slow time to spend time together.



Thanksgiving Guest

 Lin and I were alone for Thanksgiving. Well, we actually had a fox invite herself to our Thanksgiving dinner. She showed up about an hour before the turkey was done and stayed for handouts after we finished eating. She visited us for about a week seeking handouts from us and a family that was staying the Lakeside Apartment.

We had planned to do our family road trip last week but the unusually cold weather and a nearly empty propane tank has forced a change of plans. Our local weather have had nighttime temperatures in the negative teens and we have been lucky to get daytime temps above zero. We still get out several evenings a week to visit our neighbors but the Lakeside Apartment may become our refuge if the propane delivery doesn't happen soon.   




 
Mid- January is a busy time for outfitters here on the Gunflint Trail. The BWCAW entry permits become available on a first-come-first served basis beginning at 9 am on January 29, 2014. We'll be busy helping people making trip plans and reserving entry permits. We certainly plan on enjoying our quiet time over the next four weeks.

Happy holidays to you and your family. We hope you get a chance to enjoy them as much as we do.  

Fall Hikes, Trails Less Traveled






Mayhew Lake

Experience has taught us to usually discourage people from hiking on the South Lake Trail -- a lack of scenic overlooks, complaints about mosquitoes, and generally overgrown vegetation. At this time of the year the bugs are gone and the vegetation has died down. Wednesday, I decided to hike this trail and was amazed by what I found. ( I forgot to take a camera.) There are several interesting trails that are hid by foliage during the Summer months.   

Just off the South Lake Trail there is a trail that runs from Birch to Moss Lake. There is a really large cubic rock, that sits next to the trail that has a raspberries canes growing on top. (Of course there is no way to reach the top of this rock). Another interesting aspect of this trail is the large amount of driftwood that can be found along the rocky shoreline where the trail runs into Moss Lake. The noise of the water flowing from Birch to Moss Lake is a welcomed hiking companion.

I can upon a flock of 11 ducks after hiking one of the spur trails off the South Lake Trail that runs into Birch Lake. 



Topper Lake Trail



East Otter Lake was frozen over but I had to stop and watch minnows swimming in the stream between the beaver dam and East Otter Lake. (This is the area where Summer hikers have have trouble finding the Trail.)

I found another trail that goes over to Dunn Lake starting from near Partridge Lake.  After spending nearly four hours hiking I came home to a worried wife and a very comfortable easy chair.  

Yesterday I took a short hike over to Topper Lake to take a couple of pictures for this blog. We finished the day by transporting a car to the eastern trail head for the Border Route Trail for a couple of hikers. We want to encourage everyone to make an effort to stop at the Portage Brook overlook just off the Arrowhead Trail -- once again I forgot to take along our camera.  Just another reason for us to revisit this remote corner of Cook County.   

Adapt or Hibernate

This year, it wasn't until May 18th before the ice departed from Poplar Lake. In 2012 the lake ice was gone by March 28th. It was probably to much to expect that the first signs of winter would be late this year to offset for our late thaw.

The temperatures today are holding below freezing and there is a light dusting of snow that will still be around when we get up tomorrow morning. Since we have been here at Rockwood Lodge the average date for Poplar Lake to ice over has been November 18th. We're really wishing for an ice free Thanksgiving and a white Christmas.  

October 20th,  2013

 Most of the work involved in getting the Lodge ready for the winter season has been completed. Water lines have been drained, cabins have been closed, canoes have been stored and sewers have been winterized. Today's big accomplishment was finding the garbage can that a bear took from Cabin #3 last August. (The leafs on the underbrush are gone making it possible for us to spot the can out in the woods.)

I still have to get the outboard motors ready for winter storage and to haul the canoes that are being replaced to a buyer in Ely. Replacing the shower valves in the Bunkhouse, moving the internet satellite dish up the house, fixing a couple of picnic tables, attending a safe driver course and getting one of the cabin canoes welded are just a few of the items on my agenda for this week. We should probably pay some bills -- but finding and organizing my tackle for the upcoming December 29th opening for Lake Trout fishing may take preference.      

End of Summer and the Construction Seasons

Anyone who has driven up the Gunflint Trail lately has noticed that a major construction project is underway along the roadway.  Arrowhead Electric Cooperative is burying their electrical lines along the Trail. They are also installing fiber optic cable for eventual broadband service. We actually have fiber optic cable ran up to a juntion box mounted on the side of our house. However, the other end of the cable is not connected to anything! Our best guess is that we will have broadband service by the end of next summer.

Putting the lines and cable underground has been a slow process. It has taken nearly a month to go from far end of Poplar Lake to our Lodge. We have already had three days without phone service as a result of cut phone lines. As the installation crew moves past the South Lake Trailhead shown in this picture we will have two branch phone lines to our Lodge and house that will likely have to be relocated.

 

The weather service has predicted overnight lows in the upper 20s twice this month. So far we have been lucky and have not actually experienced frozen any waterlines. I've already insulated the exposed sections of waterlines and the exposed valves. I have also drained the water from the Outfitting building. On the really cold nights Poplar Lake gives up heat and is keeping the temperatures along the lakefront from dropping below freezing.  The fog you can see in this picture looking into the bay behind the Outfitting building is acting as a blanket keeping us warm.

What You Have Been Missing

After a late "ice out" at Poplar Lake we have been blessed or maybe cursed with a really weird summer. Early on we had daytime temperatures in the upper 80s. Now when we should be experienceing our warmest weather we are having nighttime temperatures in the low 40s. While the cooler weather is great for sleeping the water hasn't been very warm for swimming.


B. Hundt



So far this summer I have not used our lightest sleeping bags or our warm weather tents. However, the milder weather is forecasted to continue well into Fall and should make for some great canoe trips once the bugs and crowds are gone.

Since it is an established fact that I don't take very good photographs I have decided to share some pictures that one of our guest sent us. Both of the photos were taken at sunset out on Long Island Lake. Except for a couple of days when paddling up the Cross River was a challenge due to high water, the route from Cross Bay back to Poplar Lake has been our most poplar trip this summer starting from somewhere beside our home lake.     



B. Hundt



 

The 2013 Gunflint Trail Canoe Races were held earlier this week at Gunflint Lodge. Events included a long distance race, traditional paddling and backwards paddling but the main event is always Gunnel Pumping. Over a hundred people participated is the various races and a large crowd was on hand to watch the racers do their "stuff". Proceeds from this summer event go to the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department which provides both  fire and emergency/rescue service to both residents and visitors to our area.

A couple of weeks before the races I started encouraging Jason and Mika, our summer staff students from China, to participate in this year's races. It was soon apparent that neither of them would ever be a strong paddler. I did manage to convence them that they would be naturals for Gunnel Pumping. After a couple of practice sessions it we were off to the races. 



Jason gets a canoe ready for Mika to head out to the starting line.

 It takes some imagination to understand Gunnel Pumping from a verbal description. Basically it involves standing on back half of a canoe's gunnels and bobbing up and down to move the canoe across the race course. You are not allowed to use a paddle durning the race and good balance is a must. With the proper timing of the "bobs" and the correct shifting of your weight the canoe can be guided across the race course.  

A determined Mika reaches the stageing area for the start of the Women's Race.

I can't show you a picture of the actual races because the video I took and my computer are not compatable. Mika went by so fast that she was just a blur. She won the women's race and is this year's champion! Jason ran out of gas and had to be bumped acoss the finish line by another canoist.  If you make it up to Rockwood Lodge this year be sure to ask the kids to show you their video of their races.



Lodge visitors, Portage Trails and Abandoned Gear

I promised to take more pictures, I didn't say the photos would be of professional qualiity. The first pictrue was taken last friday during a hail storm. I was sitting at the computer posting paid bills when a cow moose and her calf walked by the lodge door. By the time I found the camera the moose were just getting ready to turn off the lodge road onto the trail over to South Lake.

Today,  a Forest Service patrol team stopped by and asked about a pile of camping gear that they saw when they went into Meeds Lake on Monday. They couldn't find anyone on Meeds Lake and nobody was using the portage trail.  They wanted to know if someone had picked up the gear or if it was still out at the South end of the portage trail. When they got back to the Ranger Station they found out that the gear had been abandoned and they called to ask me to go in and pick up the gear.

Since I hadn't been over this portage for a while I agreed to go in and retrieve the gear.   It was raining and the mile long entry portage was as long and difficult as I remembered.  I was told to take a large pack to haul the abandoned gear back out. When I got to Meeds Lake I found two sleeping bags, two sleeping mats, two pillows, one tent, two rolls of TP, a hammock, 5 gallons of drinking water (40 pounds), and a pile of throwing disks. On the hike back out I came up with several stories to explain how the gear got to Meeds Lake and what the people who hauled it in expected to find in the wilderness.



Gear greeting visitors to Meeds Lake



I brought everything out except the 40 pounds of water. I also found several great patches of raspberries that will need to be visited again in a couple of weeks.

 

Pack it in pack it out. In three words --- LEAVE NO TRACE

Gear hauled out to  Poplar Lake 

The Ice is Gone, Fish are Biting and Moose Sighting are Up

The late Sping has really kept me busy trying to catch up with all of the little jobs that need to be done to get Rockwood Lodge ready for the season. The new patio doors for Cabin #6 are in but the door for another cabin has been put into storage until this Fall.  Now that I have finally got things under control it is time to start posting some new blogs.

Our summer staff arrived from China earlier this month. Jason and Mika are quickly adjusting to life on the edge of a wilderness -- no cell phone coverage, no TV and no broadband Internet.  Jason has seen a bear and two moose already and Mika is impatiently waiting  for her first sighting. I took them fishing last night and Jason has to eat walleyes caught by Mika -- much to her delight.

This morning I did a transport to Ram Lake and we stopped to see a cow moose down by Swamp Lake. She has two calves and there are moose road signs with the word "Baby" posted on  both sides of Swamp Lake. All three have been hanging out in this area for a couple of weeks. 

It is great to have the LONG winter season finally behind us. Everything seems to be running a little late this year. The Lilac are blooming now and we expect that the blueberry season will be a least a week or two later getting started this summer. Fishing on Poplar Lake has been great but  unfortunately the mosquito season has also started.

I promise to start carrying a camera and to post more photos on a regular basis.  

Ending "Iced In" -- Poplar Lake 2013

When I woke up this morning the temperature was a chilly 22 degrees.  The cold temperatures over  last weekend did little to move us towards "ice out"on Poplar Lake. What little open water we had late yesterday froze and it will take a couple hours of sunshine today before we get back to where we were. The good news this that the weatherman has finally turned optimistic. 

We drove around yesterday to see for ourselves how the lakes along the Gunflint Trail are doing.  Some of the smaller shallower lakes like Little Iron are ice free while the larger deeper lakes appear to have areas that are still choked with ice.  We would suggest checking with a local cooperator to make sure that you can paddle into the BWCAW before heading north for a canoe trip this week.

Daytime temperatures in the upper 60s with nighttime temperatures in the 40s are forecasted for most of this week.  A couple days of warm temperatures should go a long ways towards opening our lakes.  It always amazes us how fast the ice departs once it finally warms up.

 I am going to turn on the resort's water system today and not worry about  freezing nightime temperatures until late September!    


Rockwood Canoe Launch Area -- May 12th



Progress -- Ice Condition Report

There are a couple pictures that I promised to post for those hardy paddlers hoping to start on their canoe trips next week.  The first picture is an update of the picture posted just two days ago.  We have more open water along the north shore and open water is starting to show up near the island in front of Cabin #9.



May 8th



The second picture is of the bay in front of our house.  The ice is turning black and surface melting has started! (The white bleach bottle marks the water intake line for our house and helps keep the line up off the bottom of the lake.



May 8th





Starting to Look Like Spring

Finally some warm weather.  High today was in the sixties and the low last night was a warm 31 degrees. We are seeing lots of  snow melting. Our road down to the Lodge is open -- well drive able from our house to the Lodge but not from the main entrance to the Lodge.



May 6, 2013



I took this picture after dinner of the Lodge that shown only a small snowdrift remaining on the north side of the building. The snow on the roof and on the west side of the building is all gone! Compared to the Lodge picture posted earlier the snow is definitely departing. Most of the snow melt has occurred over the last three days

We have all of the canoes that were stored in the Lodge out and are starting to get things organized inside the Lodge for "opener".  Today. I moved some new beds and a sofa into Cabin #2. By opener I hope to have the old beds and a sofa sleeper moved out of this cabin and up to the "hobbit" house on the top of the hill.  (As I get older I am finding that moving sofa sleepers is definitely not a one man job.)  Tomorrow we are going to Duluth for a food show and to stock up on cleaning and maintenance supplies. On Thursday we will move the dish for the Internet and fishing license machine from our house down to the Lodge.

My second picture is for all of the people who reserved canoe permits in early May. The lake ice on Poplar has started to darken and is beginning to pull away from the shore. This shot looking west from the outfitting building shows some open water along the north edge of Poplar Lake. This is the first day this year that we have seen open water on our lake!    



May 6, 2013



Snow is Slowly Leaving

The snow comparison picture that I promised with my last blog posting shows a substantial drop in snow depth. We had three good days of melting over the weekend and things are actually better that what this picture reveals. The snow is gone from all of our roofs and yesterday I managed to drive my pickup down to the outfitting building. The lake ice/snow cover is changing to a dirty brown color as the runoff continues. Sunday I had to install a sump pump at our neighbors house to keep their basement from flooding.  

Some of the additional deliveries that I forgot to mention in the last blog posting include: some new beds, a sofa and some recliners from Slumberland, portage pads and paddles for the new canoes, sweatshirts and T shirts, and tackle and gift items for the Lodge Store. The busy spring season has started for us -- even when ice and snow still has a hold on us. 



April 29th



Fishing Opener -- and Seasonal Delays



Tuesday April 23rd



 Last weekend's snowfall has really stopped us from getting things ready for Fishing Opener.  Since the snow has stopped we have been getting lots of phone calls from people wanting to know if the ice will be out before they arrive.  A few of the calls have been for trip cancellations in May.

The  Lodge picture taken yesterday clearly shows that we still have plenty of snow on the ground. The second picture, taken earlier, shows how deep the snow was three days earlier. What you can't see is how much the snow as gone down.  I'll try to post a second picture of Lin standing the same spot on Monday that should give everyone a better idea of how fast the snow is disappearing. My best guess is that we have  already lost a foot of snow depth.  



Saturday April 20th



The Nation Weather Service just issued a release stating that we should "expect above normal temperatures through Wednesday May 1 which will lead to snow melt and rapid runoff. " So far we haven't had night time temperatures above freezing. This week we have had one night with temperatures below 0!  We're ready for a warm up.  



Today we received our first delivery of outfitting food. We are still expecting deliveries of patio doors, a new water heater for the shower house, some outfitting equipment, nine new Kevlar canoes and some more outfitting food. We hope that the deliveries will be after the snow is gone from the road down to the resort.

We kept the apartment open this winter so we won't have to restart the water system this spring. However, we're going to have a lot of work to do in a very short time to get ready for the fishing opener or ice out -- which ever comes first. 





Wow! Endless Winter

Last week we were in town looking at the waves coming into the beach at the Coast Guard station. There was only a trace of snow on the ground in Grand Marais. Up the Trail, our driveway was down to bare ground and the snow on south facing areas was starting to melt.

I cleared our driveway of snow yesterday ahead of a 3-8 inch snowfall predicted for last night. This morning we woke to 20 inches of new snow on our deck. The driveway is plugged with snow that is deeper than the face of our snow blower. The deck has been cleared  but digging out the driveway is going to have to wait. It is still snowing and we already have over 2 inches of new snow on our deck.  

Sunday Drive

Cabin fever hit us hard today. Lin decided that going for a drive up the "Trail" might help us break out of our winter routines. We were very surprise to actually see two moose wandering along the edge of the road.

They were very thin and have already starting to shed their winter coats.  While we have managed to put on winter fat the moose have lost their fat and their coats are dull and shaggy.

 The nice thing about looking for moose in the winter is that they really stand out against a snow background. It also helps that they are often found on the roadway looking for salt. We watched the moose in the picture on the left go about 10 feet off the roadway before it started eating snow. It probably was eating salt before we came upon it.  

                                                                                                               

Late Winter Activity

The last two snow storms that were tracked across the Midwest missed us entirely! With the warmer daytime temperatures and longer days the human activity along the Gunflint Trail has definitely increased. In the first two weeks in March  we had a Trout Derby on Gunflint Lake, a brest cancer Mush for a Cure fun raiser weekend and the John Beargrease Sled Dog Race. 

Ice fishing for Lake Trout continues and gets easier as the month progresses. Plowed roads on Gunflint Lake from the Trout Derby make lake access easy for those of us without snowmobiles. The hike into Moss Lake is also easier as the fishing season starts to wind down.  On Clearwater Lake the fish are biting on jigs worked in the 25 - 40 foot depths.

Snowmobiling activities are going strong especially for riders crossing into Canada. We have had several groups staying in our winter apartment that spend more time riding at night when the moon was out that what they spend daytime riding!  

On a down note, the DNR has reported that five of the 111 radio collared moose in their moose study died in the first month.   Four of the deaths are considered capture related as they happened in the first two weeks after capture. The fifth death was contributed to a wolf kill.  The DNR plans to expand their study this spring with the collaring of 50 calves.  

This blog update without photos is very unusual for us. We have either been too busy to take any photos or have forgotten to take a camera with us when we go out. We'll do better for future blogs.  .  

Warmer Weather Ahead

Winter is over! Just two weeks ago the temperature didn't get above 0 during the day and we were hibernating.  When we ventured outdoors it was only for a couple of hours and it was usually to open the driveway down to our winter lakeside rental apartment. We had seldom heard any snowmobiles and ice the fishermen where using shelters.

This morning the lake in front of our house is covered with snowmobile tracks. The daytime temperature is already in the upper twenties. People are sitting on 5 gallon buckets to ice fish instead of hauling out their ice houses. 

We're baby sitting our neighbor's dog,Charlie,  so that they could snowmobile into Canada for the day.  Charlie and I took a walk down to the Lodge area and saw that the aluminum canoes are starting to pop out of the snow. This is first sign of spring -- kind of like daffodils popping out of the snow further south.

The best thing about this time of the year is that our personal  activity levels shoot up. I need to drop about 20 pounds and Lin needs to .... loose a little. The warmer weather lets us both get outdoors more. Lin starts taking walks and I can do some outdoors work around the Lodge. OK, I also get the fish for Lake Trout until March 31st.

We may still get some winter like weather. However, waiting inside for a day or two for things to improve is better than facing months of winter weather.

                             

Boundary Waters Moose

Last week the DNR announced that the total estimated Minnesota Moose population was less than 2,800 animals.  The DNR decided to close bull moose hunting in 2013 in response to the steep population decline that occurred in 2012.

After years of research trying to determine why the moose population is declining the cause is still unknown. Climate warming, predators, parasites, hunting and habitat change are all possible sited factors. 

People Watching at Rockwood Lodge


For those of us living along the Gunflint Trail the declining moose population comes as no surprise. Lin and I have gone from seeing a moose on almost every trip into towm to only accasionally spotting a moose! Last year is was a rare event for us to see a moose mom with a calf. While our guests still report seeing moose, the reports are concentrated in smaller areas within the BWCAW.

It is hard for us to imagine living in the North Country without having moose nearby. After years of living here, we are just as thrilled to come across a moose in the wild as our guests. Steps in reducing all of the possible factors that might be influencing the declining moose population need to be taken along with additional research being conducted by the DNR. .  

Lake Trout --The Other Red Meat

Well the open season for Lake Trout fishing outside the BWCAW finally arrived and I have not been very good about sharing some pictures. Lake Trout are a natually aggresssive fish which is one of the reasons they are so fun to catch. They are usually larger than stream trout and are known for being fighters. Best of all, they are a great tasting fish that are especially healthy for you to eat.  

Before moving to Minnesota we use to enjoy catching and eating Rainbow and Brown trout. But after feasting on Walleye and Perch for several years our eating preferences drifted away from stream trout.  While we still don't enjoy the taste of steam trout we have acquired a fondness for Lake Trout.

Last week the nighttime low temperatures were in the negative low thirties and the highs never reached above 0 degrees. For the next couple of days the lows are forecasted to be 40 degrees higher that what we had last week and the highs should be in the twenties.  (I have to admit that ice fishing is much more enjoyable then the temperatures are above 0 degrees.) Tomorrow we have to go into town to get some more minnows! There is a nearby lake that is full of Lake Trout that seems to be calling out my name.

A Couple of Fillets Ready for the Pan

Living with Snow

Dreaming of Summer


Planning a canoe trip



Enjoying Winter

                                                                       Playing Hide and Seek

Snow Groomer Parked For Now

We went to town yesterday and discovered that there is very little snow remaining once you drop down the hill into Grand Marais. A strong wind was blowing across the harbor and creating a rolling wave along the seawall by the Guard Station parking lot. In fact, the parking lot was covered by spray coming over the top of the seawall. The wind was so strong that when the carryout at the grocery store try to load some groceries in the back of a pickup that it blew the roll-top cover over the pickup cab.

  

Up the trail there is still snow cover but nothing like we are use to or like we would hope to have. I took the photo on the right today. This is the road down to the Poplar Lake boat ramp that is never plowed!  Normally this road in not passable in the winter and is only used by snowmobiles. 

The forecast for tonight is rain turning to snow later followed with below 0 temperatures starting on Sunday. Great, just in time for the Trout fishing opener this weekend on the lakes outside the BWCAW. 

We're hoping for a lot of snow so that the groomer has something to do. The trails have a nice packed base but fresh snow always makes for a better ride. When I was in Iowa last weekend there was more snow on the ground between New Hampton and Rochester than what we have up here in the Northland.