January Plan -- Relaxing and Fishing

We completed our long road trip to visit family members in Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska before Christmas. Now we are looking forward to January with a chance to relax, do some fishing and to enjoy living in the north country. 

The winter season for fishing Lake Trout opens on January first for lakes entirely within the BWCAW.  When I checked yesterday, hikers and skiers have already opened a trail into Duncan Lake. Getting into Duncan and Daniels Lakes should not be a problem. If the weather turns nasty around the opener I may have to wait another week to get some fresh Lake Trout. Fishing will get easier starting on January 18th when lakes outside the BWCAW like Moss, Ram and Clearwater are opened to Lake Trout fishing.   



Trails from Bearskin Landing into Duncan Lake.

The Forest Service is not going start accepting entry permit applications for next summer until January 28th this year.  I plan on getting several fishing trips in January before I need to start hanging around here at the Lodge to answer the telephone.

The day after Christmas, we had a group stay in our Lakeside Suite before heading out to start a winter camping trip. They have a winter tent and a stove to keep warm and lots of experience. (I suspect that they will have to spend a lot of time looking for firewood.)  Lin and I just turn on our gas fireplace and look out our slider door widows at Poplar Lake when it gets cold.  If it gets real cold, I have serveral weeks worth of tackle box cleaning that needs to be done!


Summer is only 4 months away!



Snow, Ice and Work

 

Winter seems to have arrived here at Rockwood Lodge. The bay in front of our house was completely covered by ice this morning and there is only a small section of open water between the islands out in front of the Lodge. Work on many of our outdoor projects is going to be put on hold until next Spring.



Insulation Going Up



We did manage to close remove a large broken window in our house, frame in the opening and cover the outside wall with siding last week during some light snow showers. This week we started working on our indoor projects -- we suspect that the new wall will help keep us warmer this winter. Until the snow depth makes it difficut to get into our cabins we'll still be doing some work inside the cabins. However, many of these projects can not be finished until temperatures warm up next Spring.

Outdoor work in the Winter is limited to projects that absolutely have to be done, can be left unfinished until conditions improve or projects were working will keep you warm. I suspect that most of our "Winter Work" will be completed before January first -- the opening day for the Lake Trout fishing season. Meanwhile I need to clear the driveway from our house down to the Lakeside Apartment so that one of our neighbors can use the apartment next weekend.

Almost Finished

Crab Lake

Yesterday was a beautiful day that was made for taking a long hike. The aroma of Fall was in the air, the sun was shinning and more importantly was I finally on top of the work needed to close Rockwood for the season. 

I decided to take a couple of hours and hike the Crab Lake spur, over a section of the Border Route Trail and up the Bridal Falls. 

It turned out to be a fantastic hike. The Crab Lake spur was an easy trail that would be great for family hikes. The cutover trail from the east end of Crab Lake had a few wet spots but I managed to keep my feet dry. The views from the Border Route Trail overlooking Gunflint and North lakes were payback for the time I invested in hiking.


Gunflint Lake Narrows



Bridal Falls is next to the overlook at the Gunflint Lake Narrows. The hike turned out to be more of a challenge than was I was expecting. The sun sets early between the high ridges along this collection of trails. I made the hike in about two and a half hours but I really had to push my pace on the way back out.

 

North Lake











White Roofs, New Trail and Draining Waterlines

A week ago we were wearing shorts and basking in sunshine. The next day we had over night temperatures below freezing and a high daytime temperature in the thirties. Yesterday we woke up to snow on the roofs and had to find an ice scraper to clear our windshield. Minnesota constantly suprises us wide daily weather variations.

The cold weather is Nature's way of reminding us that the waterlines here at the Lodge have to be drained in order to avoid having to repair broken line next Spring. Draining all the water from the cabins and blowing water out of the cabins and mainlines is a four day task. Our air compressor and the horse that hauls it around to the cabins certainly get a workout.

To keep cabins open for the last couple of weeks we had to put tarps and fiberglass insulation on all of our exposed water valves. (There are 32 metal valves that have to be covered to keep the water/valves from freezing.)  Buried waterlines, below the frost line, are not an option when you live on Ledge Rock.

After we wrap up work on the waterlines we'll start winterizing the sewer systems. Meanwhile we still find a little time to play. The new Moss Lake Trail is officially open.  Until the trail becomes "worn in" we would rate it as difficult. Be sure to check with someone locally for trail conditions before heading out on this hike.

We don't expect the lake to freeze over until after Thanksgiving. We still have a lot of activities to keep us busy -- Stream Trout fishing season is open until the end of October and the netting season for Whitefish is just around the corner. Meanwhile, a few guests have already book stays in our winterized suite. 

Summer Days

It finally seems like Summer has arrived here in the Northwoods. We have been putting out a lot of canoe trips and the cabins are nearly always full. The days are warm but it cools off in the evening making it easy to get to sleep after spending a day outdoors. Everything moves a little slower now that the temperatures are getting higher. Well almost everything has slowed down -- the chipmunks have gone into high gear and are starting to store food for another long winter.


There is never enough!

 We're having an unusually August, some of our guest haven't heard that the fishing slows down as the water warms up. Joe is passing out fishing tips and sharing some of his secret hotspot locations.  Two nights ago one of our cabin guest went out for an evening fishing trip recommended by Joe.  His picture shows what looks like a very successful fishing trip. (Joe and Maggie are already talking about coming back to Rockwood next year.)



Sometimes there is enough!