We picked up a new canoe trailer today at Remackel Welding in Forest Lake, MN. Around Ely, canoe trailers bounce down some pretty rugged roads. Names like “Echo Trail” and “Tomahawk Trail” reflect the rustic nature of the routes here. These roads and harsh northern elements put canoe trailers to the test. Meet one of…
Five-year-old Lucas trotted out of the woods with his hands above his head shouting: “I need the sap remover! I need the sap remover!” Sure enough, the spring sap is running and he found it. But, no problem. He just needed the liquid hand sanitizer out of the toilet paper kit. It’s a good tip…
It’s almost never possible to do a Boundary Waters canoe trip in March. But, with our early spring, and summer-like temps, I eagerly watched the forecast in hopes of just such a March trip. Sure enough, the rivers freed up from ice quickly and even some of the lakes were going out by the end…
On the paddle to the takeout after a camping trip, the question often arises: “What major news did we miss while in the wilderness?” I returned from a two-day BWCAW trip late tonight and hardly considered what might have happened during such a brief jaunt out. However, I was shocked when I found this major…
Dogsleds are done for the Minnesota season. We took a last run with the dogs by wheeled cart this weekend. The above photo is Scott from the Twin Cities driving a dog cart. His wife, Christine, is on the cart behind him. The dogs kicked up some of our springtime mud onto Christine – but…
In February, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared that the PolyMet mine proposal for a new sulfide mine in Northeast Minnesota presented unacceptable risks to the environment. The agency gave the proposal its lowest rating and termed the proposal, “environmentally unacceptable.” The EPA has only branded 41 proposals out of almost 40,000 proposals in…
We celebrated in a big way at Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge this weekend. Sunday was the marriage of two wilderness guides, Dave Freeman and Amy Voytilla. The couple planned an unusual wedding. Guests rode dogsleds, skied, or hiked to the wedding site – a campsite on the shores of White Iron Lake near Ely, MN. The…
We came across these tracks on Pipestone Bay of Basswood Lake recently. My first thought was of a massively oversized rabbit. They’re obviously too large to be a Snowshoe Hare, but they have a similar repeating pattern. I had a hunch on the tracks’ true origin, and checked with Tom Rusch at the DNR to…
Bill and Ann on a dogsled trip this week figured out the dog Lewis (shown here). Lewis wanted to pee at the top of every hill. His top-of-hill leg-lifting meant their dogsled stopped shy of the crest and they had to push it to get it over the top. Then they got an idea. As…
The Ely Winter Festival wrapped up this past weekend, just as I wrapped up a dogsled trip. I made it to see the snow sculptures in Whiteside Park in the afternoon. Come late January every year, large blocks of snow get set up in the park, which professionals and amateurs then sculpt into unique, creative…