Gunflint Trail Association

Racking your brain for the perfect holiday gift? For the Northwoods lover on your gift list, consider some Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center apparel this holiday season.  Thoughtful and functional, gifts selected from Chik-Wauk’s gift shop support the efforts of the Gunflint Trail Historical Society and help sustain Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center.

This holiday season we’re pleased to offer:

Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center Clothing
$16.95 – 39.95

Embroidered t-shirts and sweatshirts feature Chik-Wauk’s snazzy jack pine logo. We also have forest green hooded sweatshirts with the retro Chik-Wauk lodge logo, silkscreened “Chik-Wauk on Mighty Saganaga” red t-shirts, and a selection of ball caps. Please note: we have limited sizes and colors available. Consult the order form (below) for more details.

Don’t want to guess sizes? These gifts always fit.
Chik-Wauk Drinking Glass $10.73

With this 16 oz drinking glass you can serve Santa his milk in style this Christmas Eve.

Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center Mug $15.05

This generous sized mug holds 20 oz of coffee, soup, or your favorite holiday season warm beverage.

A Taste of the Gunflint Trail cookbook $21.52

A great cookbook and a history lesson to boot. This tome provides the most comprehensive overview of Gunflint Trail history out there. Equally enjoyed by both men and women!

To order, simply complete our Mail Order Form and submit with check payment to the address indicated on the form. (Sorry, we can’t handle credit cards during the off season.) All questions should be directed to info@chikwauk.com.

Happy holidays and happy shopping!

January 2010, Central Gunflint Trail Ski System

We got a bit of snow over the weekend: about six inches worth of fluffy, “make a snowman” snow at the end of the Trail. Since Saturday’s snowfall, the Trail businesses have been out with the grooming equipment on the Gunflint Trail’s networks of ski trails,  setting the first tracks of the season. While we need a bit more snow to get the trails in tiptop shape,  it is enough snow for the diehards to get a few kms in on.

Cross-country skiing really took on the Gunflint Trail in the late 70s and early 80s, when area business owners began developing ski systems. Today, the Gunflint Trail boosts 200+ km of ski trails and skiing’s major winter activity in this neck of the woods. Whether novice or expert, you can find a trail that’s just right for you somewhere on Pincushion Mountain, the Central Gunflint Trail Ski System, the Upper Gunflint Trail Ski System, or the Banadad Ski Trail.

If you’re planning to ski along the Gunflint Trail, note that both the Central and Upper Gunflint Trail Ski Systems require their own unique ski pass. Those passes can be purchased at nearby lodges, where you can also rent skis and any other necessary equipment.  A Minnesota Ski Pass is required for Pincushion Mountain Trail and the Banadad. Because the Banadad travels through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, you’ll also want to fill out a free, self-issued BWCAW permit at the trail head before embarking.

It won’t be long before skiing becomes an everyday activity on the Trail. Especially not if this forecast starts to repeat itself:

Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of snow after noon. Increasing clouds, with a high near 31. North wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 19. North wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible

Think snow!

Do you ski? What’s your favorite winter activity on the Gunflint Trail?

On the Gunflint Trail, we’re pretty far removed from Black Friday madness. However,today we’re  certainly having a White Saturday. Large, fluffy snowflakes currently fall outside, re-covering the ground with a white blanket after the warm snap over Thanksgiving melted down much of our snow cover. Is Old Man Winter done flirting and here to stay now?

Not only is it’s a white, snowy Saturday, it’s also Small Business Saturday, a day which urges holiday shoppers, nationwide, to visit small, locally own shops in search of that perfect present. If you’re planning to get some holiday shopping in at local businesses in the Gunflint Trail and Cook County vicinity, you’ll want to pick up a “A North Shore Holiday” coupon book, available at local lodges and merchants. The book’s filled with all sorts of discounts at local businesses.

The coupon books are also filled with an event guide to all the holiday happenings in Cook County this year. You’ll find the idea behind Small Business Saturday reflected in these guides: here on the North Shore we believe holidays are better with a little less hype, a little less stress, and a lot more personality. The guide highlights  five unique weekends chocked full of activities leading up to the Christmas holiday; we hope you’ll have a chance to experience at least one of those weekends with us.

We’re still waiting for a bit more snow to stack up before grooming begins on the networks of ski trails on the Gunflint. We’ll keep you posted as the snow accumulates and remember,  you can check out up-to-date ski conditions right here on the Gunflint Trail website.

Large lakes along the Gunflint remain wide open and it looks like we won’t be seeing a complete ice over of Gunflint Trail lakes until sometime next week, at the earliest. However, some of the small lakes, such as Swamper and Iron Lakes have been iced over for a couple weeks now. At Tuscarora Lodge on Round Lake, they’re currently reporting great skating conditions.

Both winter and the holidays are gently settling in on the Gunflint Trail. Wherever you are, we hope you’ll have an opportunity to share the wonder of this peaceful season with us.

On the Gunflint Trail, woodsmoke is mingling with snowflakes. Skim ice covers the edges of most lakes’ bays and slender icicles hang in rows off cabin eaves. Many critters in the forest have settled in for a long winter’s nap.

But the Gunflint Trail Historical Society doesn’t hibernate during the winter months. While Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center is boarded up until May 2012, GTHS board members and employees have plenty of tasks to keep themselves busy.

Our projects and tasks include:

• Continued oral history work (Know of someone with a ton of Gunflint Trail history and stories? Would you like to be interviewed yourself? Please let us know. We’re actively working to expand our collection of oral history interviews. The collection isn’t complete without your story!)
• Archival work: continued archival work keeps us organized and helps us be a better resource to outside researchers.
• Exploration of creating museum video dvds for resale in museum shop. We’ve received many, many comments from visitors who would like to take a piece of Chik-Wauk home with them in the form of a DVD. Are you one of those individuals? If so, please comment below and let us know so we can form a more accurate idea of how much demand there is for this.
• 2012 scheduling.  We’re always looking for naturalists and historians who are interested in sharing their knowledge with Chik-Wauk visitors. If you’d be interested in giving a presentation or leading a nature walk during the 2012 season, please contact us at info@chikwauk.com
• Possible exhibit additions
• Giving the GTHS website a fresh, updated look

Want to learn more about what’s happening with the Gunflint Trail Historical Society? The Gunflint Times, the biannual society newsletter, comes out later this month. By becoming a GTHS member, you’ll make sure you don’t miss a single issue and you’ll support GTHS efforts year-round.

What are things you’d like to see at Chik-Wauk next season? What ideas do you have that would help us improve? Let us know below!

A few days back, we reported that the U.S. Forest Service was evaluating a couple minor changes to how permits for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness will be issued in coming seasons. At that time, Forest officials were considering completely eliminating the permit lottery, a sort of pre-application process held annually from mid-December through mid-January.

On November 18, the Forest Service announced: For 2012, the lottery will be retained for Fall Lake entry points D and 24 and Moose Lake entry points F, G and 25. The lottery applications for these five entry points can be made from December 19, 2011 to January 19, 2012. The lottery will be run on January 20^th.  Reservations for remaining permits for these five entry points along all other BWCAW entry points can be made on a first-come, first-served basis starting January 25^th at 9:00 am central time.

Translation: The lottery will be retained for only a select few entry points on the Kawishiwi (Ely) side of the Boundary Waters. You can begin reserving permits for all Gunflint Trail entry points for the 2012 season beginning at 9 a.m. on January 25, 2012.  Since the  “wait and see” aspect of the lottery has been eliminated for all entry points off the Gunflint Trail, all permit reservations for Gunflint Trail entry points will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

You can viewed the Superior National Forest’s official release on the lottery here. You can read our original post on the changes here.

In other news, it appears that you will not be able to issue your own permit online during the 2012 season. Until further notice, plan to pick up your Boundary Waters permit either the day of or the day before your trip at a Forest Service office or a canoe outfitters.

Happy Paddling!

It’s the third annual “Give to the Max Day” today, the day when the website Give MN asks Minnesotans to dig into their pockets and support their favorite Minnesota nonprofit.

Individuals can use the GiveMN.org website year-round to locate and donate to Minnesota nonprofits. However, on “Give to the Max” day (also called the Great Minnesota Get-Together) there are extra incentives to donate. Each hour today, donors are entered into a drawing, known as the Golden Ticket to win an additional $1000 for their nonprofit. At the end of the day, $10,000 are given away to one lucky MN nonprofit. All you have to do to get the Gunflint Trail Historical Society in the running for those prizes is donate today in the Gunflint Trail Historical Society’s name.

Participating in “Give to the Max” day on behalf of the GTHS is easy. Just head over to the Gunflint Trail  Historical Society’s Give MN website and look for the “Make a Donation” box on the right-hand side of the page.  The donation process is fast and secure: literally, a two-click procedure. You can pay with Visa, Mastercard, or American Express and can also schedule weekly, monthly, or annual payments.

But why donate to the Gunflint Trail Historical Society today?

• You get more bang for your buck with when you donate online. While grant funds can cost nonprofits 20 cents per $1 raised and direct mail campaigns as much as $1.25 (yowzers!), an online donation costs organizations like the GTHS just 7 cents per $1 raised.
• Any donation over $25.00 can be applied to a Gunflint Trail Historical Society membership. Let us know you’d like your gift applied to your membership dues by clicking “add a designation” in the “your donation” box on the second page of the donation process and type “GTHS membership.”
• Your donation promotes the preservation of Gunflint Trail history. Your gift helps the GTHS conduct oral history interviews, create archival space, reconstruct a historic cabin on Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center grounds, expand museum exhibits, and much more.
• Your  donation helps the Gunflint Trail Historical Society ensure Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center remains an important educational and community facility on the Gunflint Trail, by helping the GTHS maintain nature trails, fund naturalist programming, and maintain the building and grounds.
• Your gift keeps the Gunflint Trail Historical Society growing and strong.
• Your gift is completely tax-deductible.

Prefer not to charge your donation? No problem. Just head over to our official website and click on the large “donate” button in the middle of the page to process your payment from your bank account through the Vanco server. This donation won’t be part of the “Give to the Max” festivities, but it is still very much appreciated.

Thank you for including the Gunflint Trail Historical Society in your giving!

Thistle, the porcupine shown above, is a rescue animal living at Wolf Ridge ELC, Finland, MN

It’s hard to imagine a more distinctive wildlife resident of the Gunflint Trail than the porcupine. Weighing in at between 12-35 lbs, the porcupine’s one large rodent  roaming the North woods.  However, it doesn’t quite measure up to its “cousin” the beaver, which holds the title of largest North American rodent.These solitary residents of the Gunflint Trail forest are an uncommon sighting along the Trail, probably because they’re nocturnal.

Porcupines’ Latin name (Erethizon dorsatum) literally means “quill pigs” and, indeed, it’s the porcupines’ quills which set the animal apart from other wildlife. Hard quills are mixed in with porcupine’s soft hair and when a porcupine is at ease, the quills lie flat. When a porcupine becomes agitated, the quills stand up straight. Although it’s commonly believed that porcupines can shoot their quills, this isn’t true. However porcupines will swing their quill-filled tails at attackers — such as coyotes and fishers  –  and  the quills very easily detach upon contact. Porcupines regrow any quills they lose. Those quills, which have several barbs and are very difficult to remove, mean there aren’t too many other critters (humans included!) who are willing to give porcupines a hard time.

Being prickly can make you a bit of a hazard to yourself though, so porcupines’ skin contains an antibiotic to protect themselves in case they inadvertently get stuck by their own quills. Baby porcupines’ quills harden an hour after birth.

These herbivores feed on grass, twigs, plants, bark, and occasionally, plywood. Porcupines can cause considerably damage to trees, leather, and other wooden objects, making them a bit of a pest. However, Gunflint Trail residents seem fairly well-behaved.

The next time you head up the Gunflint Trail, watch the shoulders to see if you spy a porcupine ambling along.  If you spot a porcupine, chances are, the animal won’t scramble out of sight. Porcupines don’t move terribly fast, because, well, they don’t have to. Being that prickly means you get to do just about whatever you please at your own pace.

There’s been a bit of buzz lately about possible changes to how Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness permits will be issued in the 2012 season. However, if you’ve always trusted a Gunflint Trail canoe outfitter to both reserve and issue your permits, you won’t experience any changes at all with your canoe trip next summer. If you’re a person who reserves and picks up permits independent of your outfitter, here’s the scoop:

USFS officials have been exploring two changes for next year’s BWCAW permit process.

1)      End of the permit lottery. (This decision is official and final.)

2)      Self-issuing permits through an online system. (This decision is pending. A final decision is expected by year’s end.)

Before we explain any more, remember that May 1 – September 30 each year is known as the “Boundary Waters season,” when overnight campers in the wilderness area are required to purchase a permit. The BWCAW is divided into tens of entry points and each entry point has a daily quota: only so many permits (each permit can encompass as many as 9 persons and 4 watercrafts) can be issued for that entry point each day.

Decision 1)

The end of the BWCAW permit lottery does away with an often confusing way for BWCAW visitors to “pre-apply” for their overnight permit. In past years, from December 1 – January 15, BWCAW visitors could submit pre-applications (or lottery entries) for a permit on a specific date and entry in the coming season. On January 20, those permit applications were processed at random to fairly fill the permit quotas for high traffic dates and entry points. Beginning on January 25, all remaining permits for the season were made available for the public to reserve on a first-come, first-served basis.

However, with more than 90 percent of lottery entries being fulfilled each year, the USFS has decided to do away with the lottery option. Instead, this year all permits for the coming season will be available: first come, first served. The date when visitors can begin reserving permits for the 2012 season has yet to be determined, but we’ll be sure to let you know as soon as possible when that date is.

Decision 2)

The USFS is also exploring the possibility of letting BWCAW visitors issue their own permits through an online process. Historically, BWCAW visitors have always had to pick up their overnight permits at either a USFS district office or a canoe outfitters.

Regardless of what changes may be made to how you reserve and pick up your BWCAW permits, the heart of the BWCAW – the woods, water, and portages – remain the same. It’s never too early to start planning your route for next year’s trip. Gunflint Trail canoe outfitters are happy to help!

Although the white-tailed deer population on the Gunflint Trail isn’t nearly as concentrated as in other regions of Minnesota, there’s still a  higher probability of seeing a deer (or three) on a scenic drive up the Gunflint Trail than an ever elusive moose. As MN DNR states, the white-tailed deer is often “the largest native mammal most people ever see.”  While local hunters have speculated that there are less deer in the upper Gunflint Trail since the Ham Lake wildfire of 2007, it’s expected that deer numbers will steadily increase on the Trail in coming years as the area regenerates.

An increasing deer herd on the Gunflint Trail brings plenty of mixed feelings.  While more deer is good news for both wildlife watchers and hunters  (deer harvest in northeastern MN peaked in 2007), it could also be bad news for the local  moose population. The MN DNR is concerned that deer may have an adverse effect on the struggling moose population.

WTIP reported in August 2011 that a new moose management plan proposed reducing “deer numbers in the primary moose range of St. Louis, Lake and Cook counties to 10 or fewer per square mile. The DNR considers this a critical density because deer carry brain worm parasites fatal to moose. Warmer winters encourage more deer to live farther north, increasing the risk of brain worm in moose. More controversial, and hard to enforce would be the effort to ban recreational deer feeding in that primary moose range to avoid artificially raising deer numbers.”

Deer present a tricky conservation challenge, but most likely this quiet mammal will remain commonplace along the Gunflint Trail. Does occupy 150-300 acre territories, while bucks roam up to 800 acres. Bucks are usually only seen with does during mating season – November – early December. Deer’s gestation period is seven months and during the summer season, it’s not unlikely to spot Mama Deer with a couple fawns browsing on twigs, bark, grass and hopefully not the neighborhood vegetable garden!

Despite the “almost” Halloween blizzard out on the East Coast last week, the Gunflint Trail’s only experienced snow flurries so far this season. What with our extremely mild autumn (we’re still hanging on to some fall colors yet!) there’s been plenty of speculation about what winter will bring. Everyone’s wondering how winter 2011-12 will measure up on the Gunflint Trail.

There are several old wives’ tales on how to predict the severity of a coming winter. According to environmental educator Nancy Condon, Native Americans would peer in bear dens to see which position the bears were sleeping in to predict the winter ahead. Another Native way to determine the coming winter’s weather was to check snowshoe hare tracks after the first snowfall to see if the tracks were especially wide and fuzzy.

Perhaps, the best known method of winter prediction is to check out the width of the Wooly bear caterpillar’s middle orange stripe.

It’s long been believed that the wider the wooly bear’s center stripe, the harsher the winter to come. Unfortunately, according to Condon, “Entomologists have determined that older woolly bear caterpillars tend to have wider bands than young ones. Therefore, if the previous winter ended early, caterpillars would emerge early, and would be older in the fall than if the winter had lingered. Trouble is, this tells about the previous winter, not the upcoming one.”

Some more reliable sources, such as  MPR’s Updraft Blog, seem to indicate that this could be a colder and snowier winter than average. The Farmer’s Almanac also includes the Gunflint Trail in a section of the upper Midwest they say will be “very cold” and experience “average snowfall”  this year.  The climate prediction center at NOAA seems to agree with the others in the fact that this winter may bring colder than usual temperatures.

Here on the Gunflint Trail, we don’t worry too much about cold. With amble outdoor activities on the Trail, there are plenty of ways to keep warm. Or if you prefer to hole up in a cozy cabin and watch the snow fall, you can always throw on another layer or another log on the fire if the chill sets in.

Currently, many Trail residents are busy with end of autumn chores, stacking firewood, putting gardens to bed, and draining wildland sprinkler systems.  Whenever winter sets in for good and whatever it brings this year, we’ll be ready.

What’s your prediction for winter this year? What are some of your favorite Gunflint Trail winter activities?