Gunflint Trail Association

Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center will be open through October 16 this year.   Enjoy a fall color drive up the Gunflint Trail, and visit the museum and nature center.

Last night, temperatures on the Gunflint Trail dipped into the mid 40s. It’s been a while since such a chilly night and for many Gunflint Trail residents, the nip in the air is a welcome sign of approaching autumn.

The fleeting nature of summer in these parts demands we give the season our fullest attention.  Now, as evening darkness falls earlier and earlier, things relax a bit and thoughts turn towards the State Fair and back to school.

Autumn’s a beautiful time on the Trail. The sky seems to turn a crisper blue. Needles and leaves of tamarack trees and moose maple scrubs turn brilliant jewel tone yellows, oranges, and reds. A walk underneath the colorful canopy kicks up the musty, sweet smell of fallen leaves.

But during this beautiful, peaceful time, don’t be lulled into thinking there’s nothing to do on the Trail.

A Taste of the Gunflint Trail, now in its fourth year, will be held Sunday, September 4. The delicious, trail-wide open house event is a fundraiser for the Gunflint Trail Historical Society.  Pie, ice cream, lemonade, and coffee will be served on Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center’s front porch from 11-5. During those same hours, you can also pop into Bearskin Lodge, Trail Center, and Gunflint Lodge for a “taste.” A small donation to the GTHS is asked for each “taste.”

If you’re staying on the Trail during the mid-September, the nearby metropolis of Grand Marais offers ample opportunities for live music at WTIP’s Radio Waves Festival (September 10 -11) and the Mountain Stage/Unplugged Event at North House Folk School (September 15-18).

Autumn also means the continuation of all summer activities on the Trail. Although the days grow shorter and cooler, it’s a great time for a long hike or canoe trip. Just keep that familiar mantra in northern Minnesota in mind when you head out: wear layers!

The annual Canoe Races on Gunflint Lake (always held the third Wednesday in July) is a well-known fundraiser for the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department, but it’s not the only summer event on the Gunflint Trail that supports the GTVFD.

On this Saturday, August 13, from 1-4 p.m., the Mid-Trail Quilt Raffle and Auction will take place at GTVFD Fire Hall No. 1. (Hall 1 is located between the Clearwater Road and Trail Center, about 30 minutes from Grand Marais on the left hand side for those driving up from town.)

The Quilt Raffle is an annual event which showcases Gunflint Trail residents’ handiwork. Every year the Mid-Trail Quilters piece together a beautiful quilt to raffle off. This year’s, the queen-sized quilt is valued at $500.00. Tickets for the raffle are currently available at The Loon’s Nest gift shop in the Mid-Trail area of the Trail and at Crystal’s Quilt Shop in Grand Marais . Tickets will also be available at the event.

At 2 p.m. the auction kicks off and bidding begins on quilted items, hand carved figures, glass-fused jewelry, a doll house, a bench, and artwork. Various gift certificates from area businesses will also be auctioned off.

Throughout the event, a flea market and boutique sells hand-crafted quilted runners, placemats, wall-hangings, wool felted items and other less expensive gifts. Refreshments — cake, coffee, and lemonade — are provided.

As Judy Edlund, one of the event organizers said, “You never know what special item you’ll find and remember, it is all to benefit the volunteers who risk their lives for us.”

Along the Gunflint Trail, we spend a fair amount of time with blueberries on the brain. From the time the ice and snow goes out in spring (and honestly, even before that), avid berry pickers begin speculating on how the picking will be this year. Depending on how conditions look, people starting reassessing the pace they’ll use up their current berries in the freezer if looks as though those berries will have to be stretched out a little longer if the future berry harvest looks sparse.

One happy result of the wildfire activity at the end of the Gunflint Trail a few years back is that it created prime blueberry conditions.  For four years, the Gunflint Trail has been a bit of a berry picker’s Mecca. Since late May, we’ve been waiting for the blueberry blossoms (above) to turn into big, ripe, juicy blueberries.

Although many have bemoaned that conditions aren’t as good as last year (when berries seemed to leap in berry pickers’ buckets) it still an excellent berry season on the Gunflint Trail. While late season frosts damaged some of the berry blossoms, blueberries are still plump and plentiful this year. This year the berries haven’t favored the open fields like they did last year, but instead are found on slightly shaded granite hillsides.

Of course blueberries aren’t the only berries out there. Juneberries (also called saskatoons or serviceberries) and raspberries are also plentiful. There have been many reports of good wild strawberries earlier in the year.

May your berry bucket overflow on the Gunflint Trail this summer! Happy berrying!

What’s your favorite use for berries? Muffins? Pancakes? Jam? Or just freeze for later use?

Homemade pie and ice cream social. Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center hosts this fundraiser for the Gunflint Trail Historical Society. September 4, 11 AM to 5 PM.

Visit the museum, hike the trails, enjoy a wonderful dessert for a great cause.