Words, weather, wit, wild things... and a bit of whatnot. All the latest news from the One-And-Only Gunflint Trail.
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 ICE FREE Alpine, Banadad, Brant, Crocodile, Cross River to Long Island, Iron, Jap, Little Saganaga, Missing Link, Moon, Ogishkemuncie, Portage, Round, Sawbill, Tucker, Two Island SOME ICE REMAINING Alton, Cherokee, East Bearskin, Flour, Frost, Hungry Jack, Kimball, Little Trout, Meeds, Mink, Seagull (especially on western end), Swan FROZEN Bearskin, Birch, Brule, Clearwater, Davis, Duncan, Elbow, Gabimichigami, Gaskin, Gillis, Greenwood, Kemo, Loon, Mayhew, McFarland, Musquash/Misquah, North Fowl, Pine, Poplar, Rose, Saganaga (quite frozen, according to the pilot), South Fowl, Trout, east of Kimball Lake Campground), Tuscarora, Winchell The pilot feels that things will change quickly with the exception of the eastern side of the Gunflint Trail (Clearwater, Greenwood, Duncan, Pine, etc). Posted by the Boundary Waters Blog Lady of Voyageur Canoe Outfitters
The day started out a little more white than green with a fresh coat of snow falling during the night. The snow melted quickly and by mid-morning the tree planters were out in full force. There were people up and down the Gunflint Trail planting trees and enjoying the northwoods.
The Ham Run Half Marathon and 5k Fun Run begin at 10:00AM on Sunday, May 4th. Remember, due to road closures traffic from County Road 50 on to the end of the Trail will be limited from 9:30AM until 1:00PM. Spectators and participants are encouraged to ride the free shuttle to the start of the race and viewing locations.
The post race party is at Trail's End Cafe with live music provided by the Trail's End Band. There will be food, beverages and fun for everyone so come on out and enjoy the day on the Gunflint Trail.
Posted by the Boundary Waters Blog Lady from Voyageur Canoe Outfitters
The Gunflint Green Up begins at 10:00AM and continues throughout the weekend. There is plenty to do besides plant trees or run a half-marathon so be sure to check out all of the planned activities.
Friday has a full schedule of events to kick off the Green Up. It begins at 10:00AM with Boreal Forest Walks and Talks. You can take a hike on the Magnetic Rock Trail and learn all about fire ecology with Steve Robertson. If you would rather relax and listen then join Lissa Grover at the Gunflint Conference Center to find out about fire and the Jackpine. If you can't decide which one to attend then don't worry, they will present the same information again at 2:00PM.
The Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department will be demonstrating wildfire sprinklers from 4:00PM-6:00PM at the Gunflint Lodge waterfront. These sprinklers proved quite useful during last year's Ham Lake Fire. Watch the volunteers as they show how these systems help protect structures from burning.
There will be a picnic with food supplied by local restaurants beginning at 5:50PM. Layne Kennedy will begin his presentation in the tent after the picnic starting around 8:00PM. Then everyone should get a good night's sleep so they can be ready to plant trees early Saturday morning. A dinner and dance with music by the Splinters will conclude Saturday's events.
The Ham Run Half Marathon and 5k Fun Run will begin at 10:00AM on Sunday morning. The races will be followed by food, music and fun at the Trail's End Cafe. There is so much to do this weekend and you really don't want to miss a minute of it. Head up the Gunflint Trail for the Gunflint Green Up and prepare to have a great time.
Posted by the Boundary Waters Blog Lady from Voyageur Canoe Outfitters
1-800-338-6932 info@gunflint-trail.com 
