The Gunflint Trail Blog

Mush for a Cure

Gunflint Trail Association — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:53:50 +0000

Great fun! Visit http://www.mushforacure.com/

What is the Mush For a Cure? Mush For a Cure is a non-competitive sled dog FUNdraiser with proceeds donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Mush For a Cure is not a race, it is a fun event to celebrate the sport of dog mushing and to cap off a winter of hard work, training and racing while raising funds to find a cure for breast cancer. The minimal entry fee to participate is to cover the costs of insurance, trail permitting, etc. Participants can choose to get pledges above and beyond the entry fee. Pledge forms are available upon request or by scrolling down to the link at the bottom of this page and clicking on the link.

GET YOUR PINK ON…MUSH FOR A CURE 2010 WILL BE HELD ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, MARCH 12TH AND 13TH

Gunflint Trail Association — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:14:43 +0000

Join Us for our First EVER
Winter Plein Air Festival!
February 24 - 28, Up the Gunflint Trail!
Exhibit Opens at Gunflint Lodge.
5 pm, Saturday, February 27 & Sunday, February 28 from 10 am - 2 pm
Don’t miss beautiful Winter Landscapes!

Banadad Ski Trail Re-opened Following Ice Storm

Boundary Country Trekking — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:53:43 +0000

The ice covered alder brush and small trees clogging the Banadad Ski Trail from last months storm, and that forced the closing of the trail, has finally been removed. The Banadad is once again open. The re-opening of the trail took nine-four hours of hard-wet-cold hand labor by trail crews.

Groomers have now finished packing the fresh snow and the re-setting of tracks begins today, February 11. It is expected that the track setting of the Banadad will be completed by tomorrow.

According to trail maintenance manager, Ted Young, “the brush that clogged the trail from this storm was by far and away the worst I have ever seen in my twenty-seven years of working on the Banadad. The crews that helped re-open the trails did a great job! Young continued, “I wish to give a special thanks to Jim Morison, Peter Spink, Pete Harris, John and Barbara Bottagar who volunteered their time along with paid trail workers, Jim Raml, Mike and Matt Hendrickson. And thanks to other members of the Banadad Trail Association who, contributed moral support, including support from as far away as New Zealand. The re-opening of the Banadad was truly a team effort.”

SNOW!

Gunflint Trail Association — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:46:12 +0000

Just after the snow stopped falling, and before the groomer set tracks, January 25, 2010.

Volk Ski Week Special along the Banadad

Boundary Country Trekking — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:19:27 +0000

Cook County’s Volk Ski –400 on January 23

Cook County, between the Gunflint Trail’s three Ski systems, the North Shore and Pincushion Trails, has over four hundred kilometers of groomed trails. To highlight these trails, on Saturday January 23 the county is conducting the Volk Ski 400. All of the county’s’ ski areas are being asked to have skiers ski their entire system. As part of the event contributions will be accepted to support Pancreatic Cancer Research.

We think this is a great event and it should be lots of fun. You can join in the fun by becoming part of the Banadad’s Volk Ski relay by joining- Team Banadad. Skiers on Team Banadad will each ski a portion of the Banadad’s 39 kilometers. . You choose the portion of the Banadad you wish to ski and hopefully together the team will be able to cover the entire trail system.

Lodging along the Banadad Ski Trail at Poplar Creek Guesthouse B&B and Cabins available at 30% off and Boundary Country Trekking will pay the $10 registration fee for all Team Banadad participants. All participants will each receive a colorful T-shirt. While this is not a race, skiers will be asked to time their treks. Times will then be posted that day at Poplar Creek Guesthouse and on www.volksskifest.com website.

Also Donations will be accepted for Pancreatic Cancer Research at trail check-in areas and a Volks Ski 400 pin is your gift for your donation. Skiers are encouraged to dress in purple to show your support!

Volks Ski Fest

Gunflint Trail Association — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:52:29 +0000

Volks Ski Fest

Volks Ski Fest January 23-31, 2010

Volks Ski Fest is a fun, laid back, skiing and snowshoeing festival for the whole family! All week-long, all over Cook County, MN, find events designed to help everyone get out and enjoy the 400 Hundred Kilometers of professionally groomed and beautiful northwoods trails.

Register yourself or a team in advance and choose a segment of our 400 km of trails to ski. Our goal is to have skiers on every kilometer of trail on that day! This is not a race or competition, just a day to Kick Off Volks Ski Fest and raise money for Pancreatic Cancer. We encourage skiers to time their treks, we will post times that day at trail lodges and on this website. Donations will be accepted for Pancreatic Cancer Research at trail check-in areas, a Volks Ski 400 pin is your gift for your donation! Dress in purple to show your support.

First Ski Tracks of Season Set on Banadad

Boundary Country Trekking — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:50:58 +0000

With four more inches of fresh snow on top of the five inches around Poplar Creek Guesthouse, we were able to set tracks on eight kilometers of the Banadad Trail System. Best skiing is from the eastern trail head of the Banadad to the Lizz Lake Portage.

New Yurt along the BWCA’s Banadad

Boundary Country Trekking — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:55:23 +0000

Skiers traveling the BWCA’s Banadad Ski Trail this winter will be greeted midway along the trail by new overnight accommodates.

A new twenty foot yurt was erected earlier this fall at Bedew Lake. The new yurt replaces Olga’s hut and will serve as the main lodging at the camp. Olga’s Yurt will accommodate up to six guest and also provide dining facility for the camp. The older Croft yurt will provide additional lodging for another four guests.

For informations on the Yurts along the Banadad and Yurt to Yurt skiing trips click on Boundary Country Trekking

It is expected that as usual the Banadad Ski Trail should be open by December 15 and the yurts at Bedew Lake will then be officially open for guests traveling the trail.

Olga's Yurt at Bedew Lake Camp along Banadad Trail

A Taste of the Gunflint Trail

Gunflint Trail Association — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:24:42 +0000

Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 12, 11 AM to 5 PM for “A Taste of the Gunflint Trail.”

Featured Historic Lodges with historians present:
Rockwood Lodge - 50 Rockwood Road - Poplar Lake
Loon Lake Lodge - Rhubarb Cake & Walter Bunn Bars - 65 Loon Lake Road - Loon Lake
Chik-Wauk Lodge - offering assorted taste treats - approximately 56 miles from Grand Marais on 28 Moose Pond Road (Cook County Road 81, Saganaga Lake), future home of museum and nature center opening July 4, 2010

Book signing at Chik-Wauk: “A Taste of the Gunflint Trail,” John Hendricksson’s “Gunflint Cabin,” Sue Ahrendt and Kelly Dupre’s “Becoming a Boundary Waters Family,” and Betty Hemstad’s “Wildflowers of the Boundary Waters: Hiking through the Seasons.”

Tours of historic Gunflint Trail lodges with local taste treats and screenings of the short documentary, “A Taste of the Gunflint Trail.”

For more information and a list of all the businesses’ open house visit “A Taste of the Gunflint Trail.”

Peregrine Falcons Nest Once More in the Boundary Waters Superior National Forest

Gunflint Trail Association — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:13:12 +0000

By Melissa Grover, Biologist, Superior National Forest

Peregrine falcons are nesting once more in the Superior National Forest’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in northern Minnesota. The efforts of numerous people and agencies have allowed the falcon population to expand into this wilderness settinglast known to have been occupied in 1964. This successful project in northeastern Minnesota was part of a nation-wide program to restore peregrine falcon populations after they plummeted due to the effects of the pesticide DDT.

Many individuals and organizations contributed to the reestablishment of the peregrine falcon across the eastern and mid-western United States. During the 1980s, biologists on the Superior National Forest worked with the mid-west restoration leaders Patrick Redig, of The Raptor Center of the University of Minnesota; and Harrison Tordoff, Bell Museum of Natural History and Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and falconers; along with assistance from the National Park Service, the Nature Conservancy, Audubon Society, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Minnesota DNR to release young peregrines back into the wild.

Between 1984 and 1988, captive bred peregrine chicks were nurtured in and released from boxes placed on cliffs in two locations on the North Shore of Lake Superior and one on Isle Royale National Park. These artificial nests (hack boxes) are exposed to the environment on one side, yet barred so the chicks are protected and maintained until they are almost ready to fly. Forest Service personnel selected, developed, and managed the Tofte hack site within the Superior National Forest.

Forest Service wildlife biologist Wayne Russ, who oversaw the release effort in Tofte says, “We cared for, released, and monitored a total of 23 falcons during 1984, 1985, and 1986. I consider this the highlight of my career to have helped bring the peregrine falcon back to northern Minnesota.” The release of these young peregrines at sites along the North Shore of Lake Superior contributed to the success of the nation-wide effort to restore these avian masters to their former habitat. The peregrine falcon was removed from the Federal Endangered Species List in 1999. Peregrines have been successfully nesting along the North Shore since the early 1990s, without the help of biologists, although currently about 12 nest sites are being monitored each year for nesting activity and success.

In July 2007, US Forest Service wilderness rangers Rick Brandenburg and Ellen Hawkins spotted two peregrines flying near the cliffs of Clearwater Lake in the BWCAW. The birds eluded efforts to relocate the pair in 2007.

Early in August of 2008, peregrines were again seen near Clearwater Lake’s cliffs. This time a crew of Forest Service wilderness rangers and biologists pooled equipment and time to check on the birds. With the use of the ranger’s boat and the biologist’s binoculars and spotting scope, three peregrines were found to be flying along the cliffs and out over the lake.

During observations on 4 different days, Melissa Grover, a US Forest Service wildlife biologist, observed the falcons and verified that that one of the peregrines was a young-of-the-year, newly hatched somewhere near Clearwater Lake. The adult peregrines included a mature adult with dark slate blue plumage and a one-year-old bird molting into adult plumage. Food begging activity, where a juvenile bird or one of the mated pair begs for food from the other adult, was observed.

The success of this pair of peregrine falcons represents the cumulative efforts of many scientists to make sure that this amazing animal continues to thrill the skies and grace the cliffs of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the rest of the Superior National Forest.