Bird watchers will find an astonishing variety of birds, both migratory and resident along the Gunflint Trail's Boreal Forest where Poplar Creek Guesthouse B&B and Cabins are located. Also you are sure to see many more birds at the feeding station located around the property. These bird-feeding stations are maintained year-around. Further up the Gunflint Trail a few miles is the site of the Ham Lake fire of 2007. Venture into the burned over area and you are likely to catch a glimpse of the Black-backed and Three-toed Woodpeckers. They like to feast on the insects that multiply in burned trees.

New this year at the B&B- guided and self guided Birding Packages are now offered.

Wild Columbine and Lupine

Dogs love to come with their families to the BWCA for a canoe trip or a cabin stay.  They enjoy the freedom of being outside a lot, all the new smells to investigate and jumping off the dock into the lake.  This little one dressed for her canoe trip and knew just exactly what to wear, she has a camo bow on her head for her trip out on Clearwater Lake. 

     Summer is here and it's a perfect time to vacation on the Gunflint Trail.  Families can participate in the Becoming a Boundary Waters Family program and learn all there is to know about camping and paddling in the BWCA.  Seminars about packing for a canoe trip, learning how to fish, prepare food and much more can be found at participating lodges.  The fish are biting, the trails are ready for hiking so come on up and vacation today.

Posted by the Boundary Waters Blog Lady at Voyageur Canoe Outfitters

Can you see the moose looking back at you from the woods?

This is our Clearwater Road moose, Buddy.

This remarkable photo was sent to Clearwater Lodge after Todd and Ann Loehrke returned from their canoe trip.  They started at Seagull and returned on Sag.  In addition to good fishing, there was also some nice wildlife!

Seagull Lake Resident, Jim Raml was the recipient of this year’s Banadad Ski Trail Carbon Offset Award of $134.44. Raml is planting some five thousand trees on his property ravaged by last Spring’s Ham Lake Fire. The planting of his property got underway this week.

“This award,” according to Ted Young, Banadad Trail Manager, “should at least help Jim plant a small portion of the tree needed to reforest his burned over property.”
According to calculation made at the end of the ski season this year’s maintenance and snowmobile grooming of the Banadad released 1.733 tons of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere.  The CO2 was produced by five mid size cars and one large van traveling some 3900 miles with volunteers maintenance crews to and from the Twin Cities to the trail, and 995 miles of snowmobile trail grooming.

In calculating the cost of off-setting this carbon the Chicago Climate Exchange's "Forest Accumulation Tables” for the amounts of CO2 that can be sequestered/acre by age group of white and red pine surviving for a least ten years was used. This was then multiplied by the amount of CO2 the Trail produced times the number of trees planted/acre times the cost/tree.  From this it was determined that in order to sequester the carbon the Banadad produced this past year 335 trees would have to be planted at cost of $.134.44.

“It should also be noted” Young went on to state “that, Raml was the driving force behind and the author of a quarter of a million dollar Scenic Byways grant application, that if approved, will provide much of the funds necessary for the Gunflint Ranger District to implement their proposed Ham Lake Fire reforestation program.”

The ice is finally moving off the lakes but we woke up to snow mid-trail this morning.  It was beautiful but thankfully melted by noon and our spring temperatures have returned. 

Erik and Lynnette decided to see up close how much ice was left on the lake so they took a canoe out today.  They didn't get real far out but there was about 4 inches at the point where they could go no further.  The ice is pretty broken up and will probably go out really soon.  Photo by Mike Trace, Clearwater Lodge

     We're not sure how much experience the USFS ice predictor has, but from his eyes, this is what he saw on May 8th when he flew over the BWCA.

ICE STATUS as of 1530, Thursday, May 8, 2008