Gunflint Trail Association

It’s no secret that there are blueberries at Chik-Wauk, especially on the granite clifftops along the Big Sag hiking trail.

In fact, the Chik-Wauk Nature Center is a veritable berry land. You’ll find raspberries galore amongst the blueberries.

Our neighbors to the north, the Canucks, have a penchant for saskatoons (also known as juneberries and/or serviceberries). We have a fruiting saskatoon bush right along the pathway up from the parking lot.

The saskatoons, which are really just enormous blueberries on a large shrub, have a tougher skin and larger seed than blueberries and taste a little mealy to the Minnesotan palate.

While there are plenty of saskatoons around (and slipping a couple into your blueberry bucket will make it fill up so much faster), people around these parts generally prefer the taste of blueberries and although some Canadians swear that saskatoon pies are “the best”, most of us remain unswayed from our blueberry pie and blueberry jam.

Bunchberries are another berry you’ll find in the Chik-Wauk woods.

You can eat bunchberries, but you might wonder why you bothered.  Although the bright red berries look pretty luscious, the berries are basically flavorless. They’re great if you just want a little hit of hydration while you’re hiking though.

But whatever you pick, don’t be tempted by the bright blue seed pod on the bluebead lily plants. This “berry” is actually poisonous: not a good addition to the berry bucket at all!

Happy Berrying!

If you really want to get away from all the buzz of city life, try a vacation on the Gunflint Trail.  While most Minnesota cities are hopping with the excitement of events, and the associated traffic, noise on the Gunflint Trail usually amounts to a little bit of wind, loons, and, maybe, some kids off in the distance enjoying a romp in the lake.  Gunflint Trail cabins are spaced well on a variety of clean, clear lakes.

For even more quiet – dip your paddles, and find a spot in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.  Gunflint Trail canoe outfitters are here to help you prepare for, and outfit your trip, complete with food, equipment, and canoes.

The weather has been lovely this summer, with just the right amount of sun and moisture.  Blueberries are ending their season, but raspberries are ripe.

When you think about those vacations you had as a kid at a Minnesota resort, and dream to go back there – why not REALLY go back here, and spend some time on the Gunflint Trail.

Busy as a bee.

That’s how it’s been around Chik-Wauk since our grand opening earlier this month. After 350 people attended the July 4th grand opening, we’d figured we witnessed our allotted excitement. Nope. With an average 100+ daily visitors, Chik-Wauk remains a very happening place. Don’t worry: we’re doing our best to keep the gift shop stocked, the trails cleared, and museum clean and welcoming. We’re so excited and happy to see all of our visitors!

We’ve been so busy taking care of everybody inside, we’ve kind of forgotten to report on the fascinating goings-on outside in our nature center. A quick survey of the trails confirmed that the grounds are as busy and beautiful as always with flowers blooming, bees pollinating, and birds and squirrels singing (or yammering if the case of Mr. Squirrel) from the trees.

The bountiful blueberries are anything but a secret. Even if your mind’s set on blueberries as you head into the woods, there’s plenty to be seen beside big, plump blueberries. Since your berry pail’s bound to fill up amazingly fast, take time to notice some of the other beautiful offerings of this North Woods high summer season.

You might not find a whole lot blooming along Moccasin Lane, our interpretative wildflower walk, this time of year (many of the wildflowers have fruited) but you can still find some pretty interesting things like this beautiful mushroom:

Or bluebead lilies.

It seems a little early for pearly everlasting, that harbinger of autumn, to be blooming.  Oh no! We’re not ready for summer to be slipping away!

The fruit of the sarsaparilla plants make a delicate contrast with the granite along the Amikwiish Way Trail.
Come see what you can find at Chik-Wauk!

You never know what a day at Chik-Wauk might bring, especially if you’re a volunteer. At Chik-Wauk, volunteers contribute a lot, everything from a smile to greet the guests to grunt work out our nature trails. There are a few daily tasks that volunteers help with like filling bird feeders, checking the mail, helping in the gift shop, and sweeping the porch. Volunteers continue to be the driving force that keeps Chik-Wauk going: we don’t know what we’d do with out them! But every once in a while we have a random task, that makes us really, really glad we have such a great bunch of flexible fun volunteers who are willing to just about anything we ask of them: like trying to find the serial number on the flat screen monitor in our theatre display.

It wouldn’t be so difficult if it weren’t for the wooden frame around the entire screen . . .

But most activities around Chik-Wauk are a little quieter in nature: like spending an overcast day knitting in the reading corner.

You never know how you’ll spend your time at Chik-Wauk. You might go on hike, have a picnic, listen to volunteer and Forest Ranger stories, or go on scavenger hunt. Stop by soon to see what’s happening!

What could be better than a Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Canoe trip in the summer?  Call one of the Gunflint Trail Canoe Outfitters, pack up the family, and come on up.  There are plenty of permits, the water is warm, fishing good, and wild berries for the picking.  Your outfitter will assist you in selecting a route, and pack all the gear and food you need.  Instructions are provided in canoeing, paddling, map reading, and portaging before you place the canoe in the water.  Visit us at Gunflint-Trail.com

If you’re ever looking for a rainy day activity on the Gunflint Trail, don’t forget about the reading corner at Chik-Wauk.

Thanks to the hard work of our volunteer librarians, the Chik-Wauk boasts quite the library. You’ll find books about the Gunflint Trail area, books by Gunflint Trail residents, and information about the region’s flora and fauna. We also have several “wooden” books, or books compiled by the Gunflint Trail Historical Society with information on the museum and its history, historical photos, and much more. Kids can find plenty of reading material in the children’s section of the library. We have all sorts of stories about bears, moose, berry picking and the life and legends of the North Woods.

It’s not a lending library (yet), so feel free to plop down in one of our four easy chairs or spread out on the burl table in the other corner of the museum. It’s been designed with intent for you to stay a while.

If you have a book you’d like to donate to the Chik-Wauk Library, feel free to bring it with you the next time you’re in our neck of the woods. We’re always very happy for any additions to round out our selection.

Happy Reading!

Get a glimpse of Gunflint Trail history and a taste of good eats during A Taste of the Gunflint Trail on Saturday, September 11 from 11 am to 5 pm.  Chik-Wauk Museum & Nature Center and nine Gunflint Trail businesses will be open for tours during this fundraiser for Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center’s boardwalk nature trail.

*Chik-Wauk Museum & Nature Center is hosting an old fashioned ice cream and pie social, and book signing by local authors.  Come on up the Gunflint Trail and tour the new museum, hike the trails, and enjoy a treat.

Businesses participating this year with an open house and sample treats from the cookbook “A Taste of the Gunflint Trail” are:

Voyageur Canoe Outfitters – sour cream & raisin pie

*Nor’wester Lodge & Canoe Outfitters

Trail Center Restaurant

Gunflint Lodge

Hungry Jack Outfitters

Bearskin Lodge

Golden Eagle Lodge – Mom’s Donuts

*Clearwater Lodge & Canoe Outfitters – Wild Rice Hot Dish & Monster Bars

Poplar Creek Guesthouse B&B/Boundary Country Trekking – Mongolian Firepot sampler

Suggested donation per “taste” a businesses is $1.00.  Pie & Ice Cream at Chik-Wauk is $5.00 (includes museum admission).

NEW! Centennial Trail Hike: Hike with naturalist Steve Robertsen on September 11. Meet at the Kekekabic Trail parking area at 3 PM. Wear sturdy shoes or boots and bring water. Hike time approximately 2 hours.

Early fall brings hints of color to the Gunflint Trail.  Moose maple are beginning to turn red and the grasses are golden.  Days are frequently warm and blue-skied, and nights pleasantly cool.

* Historic Lodge

View 2010 PDF file of  “Taste of the Gunflint Trail”

Chik-Wauk Museum & Nature Center

Minnesota is looking for chick counters. From the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas (MNBBA) website: “The Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas is an important bird conservation project that will identify every species that breeds in the state and where in the state they breed. Minnesota is one of only seven states, and the only state along the Mississippi Flyway, that has not developed an atlas.”

This is a citizen science project. Volunteers sign up for a particular location within the state, and survey it for breeding birds. Each area is assigned a coordinator, so even novice birders are able to participate.

The end of the Gunflint Trail (my survey area) has a wealth of birds to watch, whether a part of the survey, or for pure enjoyment. The loon family pictured has been observed frequently for the past month.

We are frequently asked if we see a lot of moose around here. After all, the museum is located just off of a road called “Moose Pond Drive.” Usually we answer these inquiries with a shrug. Sometimes there are moose, sometime there aren’t. It’s only occasionally that you get a moose mugging for the camera like this young lady yesterday. The cooler temps and light breeze must have been agreeing with her as much as they were with all the other (human) Chik-Wauk visitors.

So how is it we can pick all these blueberries? Is it the communing with nature? Is it the exercise? Why do we love it so much? Cause it’s a long winter ahead, that’s why – and blues taste so good when it’s -25.

There are those who pick clean, and those who pick dirty. Those who pick stooped over, and those who just plunk down in the middle of the patch.

Then what? Some carefully wash each berry. Me, I prefer the cake pan method of cleaning (but I pick clean to begin with). A layer of berries in the bottom of the pan, tip back and forth, remove the green ones and any debris. Then, flash freeze ‘em. Once frozen, any leftover debris stays on the bottom of the pan. Just scoot the berries into a bag and pop into the freezer.

Then, there’s the jam and jelly folks – oodles of jars have shown up around the cabin. The smell of jelly-making is fantastic. And, of course, the occasion blueberry pie. An indulgence, but someone has to sample it.