Tuscarora Lodge and Outfitters News

Fishing Opener Pioneers Return

2008-05-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

The first hearty groups returned yesterday and today---happy to have been the pioneers, all have had their fill of Lake Trout!

Highlights:

A mother moose gave birth to twins on the shore of Rib Lake-
Tuscarora was frozen to the edges on Friday so John Ewerts group floated/towlined their canoes along the shore (where they couldn't paddle) to the Little Sag portage. Tuscarora is all open now.
Fishing was great in the Peter/Gabi/Gillis areas. John Ohman's group really enjoyed the views around Peter--their favorite part of the trip. He called it a mountain lake---and can't wait to come back and explore. The moose are plentiful, the scenery is so different. They loved that.
On Friday Gillis was also an ice adventure to paddle---and they could only get through on the north side of the lake to the French Lake portage.
A few sunburns, stories of a snowy Saturday morning, unanimously happy campers.

Purple Poplar Morning

2008-05-09T04:11:00.000-07:00

The lake looked purple this morning--the bark on the poplar trees turns purplish before the leaves pop. It's going to be a day!
Yesterday we opened the shower house and the dining hall--the 2008 paddling season has begun.

First Annual Ham Run Half Marathon

2008-05-08T06:29:00.000-07:00

We had a great day for the half marathon and 5k races on Sunday May 4th. The sun was out, the runners were cheerful, all went smoothly for this first annual event. I was part of the Transportation Team---I’ve never been part of the organazional side of a run like this. The runners that I shuttled were very pleased with the logistics, surprised that all could run so smoothly for a “first event.”

I had to smile as I watched Mike and Sue Prom, Tom Lynch, Bob Baker---with all the people involved with their radios and their logistics. They were running this with the same procedural structure as a fire incident---of course it ran smoothly, they’ve had LOTS of practice with that! The happy runners were already looking forward to bringing their friends next year….better get training!!! http://www.hamrunhalfmarathon.com/results.html

Jana claimed that she and Mike weren't in a race, they were on a date.

Gunflint Pines hosted the start of the race.

The Trail's End Band played for the Ham lunch following the races.

Ice Out

2008-05-07T07:50:00.000-07:00

Daniel went out paddling on Round the evening of May 4th and took some photos:

Still plenty of ice at the start.

But he watched it melt as he paddled.

And took photos of the reflections. Nothing like still waters.

Today, only one soggy sponge layer is left out in front of us on Round Lake (10am). Andy and Shelby paddled to Missing Link last night: no ice on Missing Link. The way is clear into Tuscarora!! Bigger lakes are also breaking up----the ice just can't hold up against the intense sun we're getting today!

Gunflint Green Up

2008-05-04T20:04:00.001-07:00

I remember last year- Saturday, May 5th, 2007 we woke up ready to scurry around and prepare for an upcoming season when the Ham Lake fire interrupted our busy important plans. Nearly one year later, ---we woke on Saturday May 2nd ready to scamper around and help with the big Gunflint Green Up tree planting event in our neighborhood. 2-3 inches of snow were on the ground. OH NO! We had to laugh, even as we sympathized for those who had spent months preparing to make the event absolutely perfect What now???
We were reminded AGAIN that we don’t have all that much control---(how is it that we can forget that, living where we live?—so dependent upon weather, and ice and wind….) We’re like hamsters in a little wheel, our tasks can seem so very significant…and here we were---what else could we do but let it snow?

At 9:30, the people came. Over slippery roads, in the snow. I understand more than 500, people of all ages, came to different sites along the Gunflint Trail.
And we worked, and the snow stopped, and the sun came out.
Our planting group had to cross a stream to get to our section of woods---we constructed a temporary bridge (my favorite part). Then we scurried around our assigned acres, planting white and red pines. On Saturday night, when all of the people gathered, it was an extraordinary experience to connect with so many who love these woods. I looked at all of these people who spent their day volunteering in this neighborhood, and I was grateful to be a piece of it. It felt as though we accomplished an awesome thing, bigger than all of us, even bigger than the sum of all of us. I was proud that my kids could be part of that. We can hope that in 100 years there will be a legacy for them, some of the 50,000+ white/red pines that we planted yesterday. But really, we don’t have control over that. The experience, the honor to be ingredients of this thing, that was enough.

Bubbly

2008-04-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

What is it about Spring? It can't just be the sun??? Great morning!! She found a partner!

You can tell even Denali feels like that Bubbly song.

Narnia

2008-04-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

Maybe we're living in Narnia under the rule of the White Witch. We're in the never ending winter. The lake turned from black to white (snow) again.......rats! The moose pond is water for the afternoon busstop, and ice again in the morning.
Yet the ice keeps melting, some days slower than others. The businesses along the trail have been reporting in---as of Sunday/Monday:
Cross Bay River-open water
Gunflint Lake-16-22 inches
East Bearskin lake: hopefully it won't be long!
Poplar Lake: Still frozen
Hungry Jack Lake: Something less than 16 inches
Sawbill Lake: 14.5 inches
Clearwater: Still Frozen
Round Lake: The skating rink was wide open last week---and now it is frozen again. With snow on it...sigh....
I've been watching closely for only four years, not enough time to develop reliable ice-out knowledge. So, I've been informally surveying other peoples' wisdom. Maybe I'm learning more about the people than the ice...?
Hungry Jack Dave was measuring the ice/slush during the warm sunny days of last week, he figured the ice was melting 3 inches a day. At that rate, it should disappear in less than a week. But we've had cold nights this week than last week---so far. Some say it has more to do with the amount of direct sun that the lakes get than anything else. It's cloudy today.
I have one friend who is sure that all she has to do is think positively about it, and it will be gone by May 10th. Without a doubt!
Some of the less optimistic ones say that the big lakes won't be out by fishing opener. Many say that it is so very rare to have ice on fishing opener---of course the ice will melt.
John Hughes says that usually the South Brule River is the indicator---3 weeks after the South Brule is out, the rest of the lakes are ice free. I forgot to ask him exactly what day the South Brule went out, but he doesn't think this will be an indicator this year anyway
The ice almost everywhere has pulled away from the shore. I understand floating ice has the melt advantage. All I can tell for sure is that the Cross Bay River is open--so let the paddling and portaging (at least one portage) begin!!!!

This mallard is hanging around the open spot on Round Lake. It is warm in the sun, she's definitely been avoiding swimming.

Melting

2008-04-15T02:15:00.000-07:00

50+ degrees, sunny, and melting fast...water is running everywhere!

Stuck Trucks and Pregnant Pine Martens

2008-04-12T05:50:00.000-07:00

We really could use the spring sun today to shine a bright side for us. We’ve been blizzarded again!
Innitially, this was another grand adventure. Andy wasn’t home. Daniel and I were great and powerful snow movers. The green truck threatened to get stuck and slid in the mud beneath the heavy snow, but I was the master.
Eventually I grew a little overconfident, planning to just clean up a spot I hadn’t been before, and I hung up the plow unit on a pile of crusted snow right outside the outfitting door. So I shoveled, blew and chiseled snow, I piled sand under the tires. I rocked it, but mostly I spun until I buried the tires in the soft mud.

Finally as Denali and I sat down to study the thing, I began to imagine climate change in reverse. What if we already had our little taste of spring? What if we just jumped right back into November? Don’t misunderstand me---I love winter. Yet this thought made my heart sink. I know it isn’t true, but November is starting to feel just over the horizon… I am so very ready to rake and shlep the Kevlar canoes back to their spots, and wash windows until very late in the day. I was planning for the spring season and somebody shook the snow globe up on me again!
I remember when my kids were really little and we learned to gentle transitions by warning them well ahead of time what was coming. If I thought it would do any good, I might have thrown a tantrum right on the spot. The dog witnessed all the cursing I had within me, until I finally had to scold myself—ENOUGH ALREADY. And left the plow until morning—when Andy could join me to chip out the wheels from the (now frozen) mud---really the biggest bonus of being an outfitter is that there is always another truck to hook up and pop out the stuck vehicles.

I’m waching Casper the pine martin at the bird feeder. I’m no expert on these things, but it might be time to change her name to Casperilla. She definitely looks thicker in the middle, and maybe she is pregnant. Maybe this is why she comes knocking
---trying to push in every door, popping all the garbage can lids when the feeder runs empty. This may be the proof of spring that I need to go tackle the day.

Spring Snow? Oh happy day.

2008-04-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

Tally, Denali's powder puff cousin, doesn't CARE if it is April!!!! Snow is snow.

Perspectives

2008-04-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

April 6th Task #1, The trusty big blue truck helps me to pull Annette the schoolbus driver out of the road onto the Gunflint Trail….she just needed a little extra tug. Task #2: Denali and I returned home at a good clip because the truck was bottoming out in the snow. The plow hasn't come through again yet. We've had somewhere between 1 and 2 feet in the last 36 hours...and it is still snowing.

Andy is returning from the Mpls sports show today---yesterday Denali and I practiced the tricky business of plowing over the spring muddiness without getting stuck. And I had a chance to spend some quality time shoveling with Gary the county plow driver---the mud in the turnaround by the Trading Post tried to swallow his monster wheels.

The truth is---as the kids first eagerly helped me blow snow and then played in it, I couldn't help feeling a bit of that same November excitement --the world is covered in that clean white blanket. Is that instinct? This snow is the last thing I wanted to deal with, but it certainly is lovely. It is an honor to see the world from my kids' perspective---a place to play--a place that always has a game hidden somewhere in it, if you look hard enough.

Last week we spent a couple of days in central Minnesota making maple syrup. As we drove on a rural road toward my folks’ cabin, I noticed many junky yards that spring was revealing. When we approached my folks' cabin, I was going to say that even the woods are rather ugly before green up….then Daniel remarked about the blue bulging bags hanging from the maple trees---the sap was running!!! This is all he noticed. Every season has its own magic, if you can see it from the right angle.

This last week I had a parenting experience, really a big slap on the forehead reminder. A huge job for us is to constantly share our positive perspective of our kids, with our kids. As adults, we realize that we are all full of dichotomies --- the potential to be lazy/motivated, to be confident/ insecure, honest/ dishonest. Our kids are in the process of building their image of who they really are. It could be our most important challenge to remind them (and us!) of the best possible versions of themselves. With that vision in mind, maybe they will tend toward the choices that reflect that image. Or so we can hope! And sigh, and try again.

We live in a particularly resilient community. I’m learning that is also a matter of perspective. As the people around me continue to face adversity, they do it from the angle of problem solvers, as survivors, rather than as victims. It seems that there are a few sinking moments of hardship---then they dig in, brush their hands on their pants, and get 'er done. We certainly are fortunate for the contagious nature of this point of view.

This week, as we slide back into mud season, I’m going to remember what Daniel said one day on the way home from the bus. "Mom, I can’t wait to get home and dig the trenches to get the water to flow right into the culverts. This is the BEST time of the year!!!"

It really is a matter of perspective. It makes ALL the difference.

Hungry Jack Lodge Burns

2008-03-27T05:40:00.000-07:00

Today our hearts go out to Forrest Parsons and the folks at Hungry Jack Lodge.

The EDGE: Dirt from the Yurt and other Chatter from the Edge of the Boundary Waters: Hungry Jack Lodge Destroyed by Fire

The History of Hungry Jack Lodge

Tending

2008-03-18T06:25:00.000-07:00

Last night I had a dream about my favorite childhood place—the home where my grandpa (Pop) lived on Genesee Lake in Wisconsin. My mom and her sisters’ childhood home was near the Owens farm in Dousman where Pop spent the bulk of his farming career.
Playing in the lake with my cousins was the best part, but it was also fun to accompany Pop to the farm—to learn about cultivation, germination, soil irrigation systems…. Occasionally we visited neighboring farms. I can remember running the cornfield rows of the Pabst farms with my cousins. The last time I visited the area in 2006, The Pabst Farms was a development—complete with suburban neighborhoods, a business center, a YMCA. What a funny foreign weirdness that gave me.

I don’t blame the Pabst family for selling, or the development company either really. I just miss the ways that Pop used those fields to explain cross pollination. He was a guy that I didn’t think I could live without. I also will have to live without the Pabst Farms--- no chance for that land to return to the fields that I remember.
Fast forward 30 years to where my kids play. I’m counting on the BWCA playground to be preserved for their children. I’m grateful for the places that the government protects in that way. My mind wanders to stewardship of the land—especially how it works around here.
During last years’ first annual Gunflint Green Up we were grateful for the people that came to replant donated pines and give the forest recovery a jump start in the places where the Ham Lake fire nicked us. Although many trees were planted on private land here and up the trail, we couldn’t plant any trees on US Forest Service property. We didn’t even bother to ask; we knew better than to attempt something like that on the fly. It can be annoying really, the official procedure it takes to do anything on USFS property, even though I’m pretty sure that we care about it as much as any of the other US citizens that share ownership with us.
I’m realizing more and more how touchy this local vs. federal ownership issue has historically been around here. As irritating as it can be, it seems to me that the ongoing conversation between all the stakeholders has the most potential to be an effective way to tend the land . It is possible that it takes a bureaucracy to bring the broad and narrow angles together. You can bet that I wouldn’t have initiated any prescribed burns on the properties near us---but I was mighty thankful in 2006 that somebody did.
My angle last spring didn’t actually take into account that the USFS must ensure that we aren’t planting white pines from seed sources in places like South Carolina---which technically makes them non-native species. This year, the pines are coming from tree farm seedlings planted in abandoned mine pits in central Minnesota. Citizens and business owners on the Gunflint Trail have been working closely with the USFS to raise funds and bring volunteers to plant 75000 trees on May 3rd—to fill in the patches left by the Ham Lake fire. Apparently, this time the right people are coming together to make the system click. .
As we sit at the dinner table and discuss government and politics with the kids, there are plenty of times that it is tough to justify the systems that we are part of. This is one time where we can feel proud of those systems. And that is a good thing.
http://www.gunflintgreenup.com/ Please consider joining us!

.

Mush for a Cure

2008-03-16T08:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day on the Gunflint Trail---where organizers, volunteers, and mushers raised over 10,000 to benefit the National Breast Cancer foundation---participating in the Mush for a Cure fun run.
Some participants (Mark Black) were quite serious about competing for the "most outrageous pink costume" prize.

21 mushers began in a sour-dough start---from sleeping bags. After the gun, they had to pull on their boots, harness their teams, and head out onto Gunflint Lake.

Our favorite musher was Cook County 6th grader Jessica--she had a great run.

The dog teams are bred to pull---and it's such a pleasure to witness how gleeful the dogs are about it----it's what they live for---the way Denali lives to chase the ball.

Bob Baker held his own on the hills.

Organizers Mary Black and Sue Prom, along with many volunteers and mushers pulled off a grand event.

Middle School Exploratory Day

2008-03-11T13:17:00.001-07:00

Cook County Middleschoolers get to choose an activity to explore each season---about 25 of them made their way to Tuscarora yesterday to celebrate Exploratory Day here---skiing, broomballing, snowshoeing, enjoying the sun and the woods.

7th grade girls rock! Tyler wins the prize for the most grateful and enthusiastic ...these are great kids!

Today it was so warm and sunny on the deck that this squirrel was purring at the feeder. If I could, I would have been purring too.

March---winter or spring???

2008-03-10T05:48:00.000-07:00

It’s a great time of the winter---we still have plenty of snow, something about the angle of the sun and the length of the days make for perfect cheerful outside activities. But to be honest, we are more than ready for spring. Even though the days always warm up to near 20, we’ve been having some snappy nights. On the way to the bus stop on Friday the car thermometer read -29 degrees. Enough already! Daniel took the camera out looking for evidence of spring.

Andy looks forward to the first weekend in March because some corporate buddies come. Mike, Mark, and Trent are into repeating their Tuscarora traditions. First they work, this year cutting and burning a WHOLE LOT of brush. We all play broomball, where they spend a fair amount of time flat on their backs. Then to Trail Center, listening to Small Change, the local WTIP Friday night quiz show radio entertainment here (they even have a favorite team from Moose Loop ). They muse over the local flavors---Moose Drool beer, the consistency of their favorite waitress, Amanda. On Saturday—they all trek into Tuscarora to catch lake trout for Saturday night dinner in the back house….returning to the city and their families on Sunday. They're very charming guys---and it's sort of fun to see our world through their eyes---the Lake Wobegon-ness of our daily lives.

Ice Fishing to Tuscarora

2008-02-22T12:06:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was cold, but the kids were off of school and it was time to go fishing. We bundled up and headed into Tuscarora Lake.

The trick in the winter is to stay warm but not too warm. So after the Missing Link Portage, we all had to strip off some layers.

The Tuscarora portage in the winter is just lovely. It's pretty refreshing to hike/ski it without a canoe overhead.

When we got to Tuscarora we trekked across most of the lake--straight into the wind. At that time I was trying to remember what was so fun about this experience---thinking about the appeal of winter camping---why folks do it.? When I'm trudging across with my head into the wind, all I can do is recite The Cremation of Sam McGee over and over again....."when our eyes we'd close, the lashes froze, until sometimes we couldn't see.......or it's the cursed cold, and it's got right hold til I'm chilled clean through to the bone..." That Robert Service was really gifted with those descriptions, because we were living it in that wind.

Yesterday some guests came back to their warm cabin after camping in the subzero temperatures for a few nights---they had a great time under the full moon, but both of them had frozen their left thumbs. The thumbs were still black. I hope they will be OK, they suspected that the artificial hand warmers they had kept their fingers so warm that they didn't even feel their thumbs. Still, they were beaming to tell their stories.

And our friend and seasoned winter camper---Jim spent some time in the Quetico this month---check out http://www.skunkriverpaddlers.org/images/QueticoFeb08/index.html to see the appeal.

After crossing Tuscarora, we found a sheltered spot to start a fire---and drill some holes. After 247 slow jigs, Daniel came up with a little lake trout. The cold didn't bother him one bit! He caught another, and so did Andy--to supplement dinner last night---and we all slept HARD. We had a day!

Schnobrichibeiner

2008-02-18T19:14:00.000-08:00

We ventured up to Hovland this weekend for a fun family event----the Schnobrich family hosted a race.

Monica directed. She's tough.

The racers prepared---for a ski division and a snowshoe division.

We suspect that the entire event was held just so that Randy could shoot his gun in the air.

Competitors raced through the woods.

The crowd waited at the finish. Those Hovlanders know how to do it.

No School

2008-02-09T10:24:00.000-08:00

Life has been spinning at a hectic pace for us around here. Usually, it’s different for us because we live at the end of the road. We're busy enough taking care of winter cabin guests, and planning for next summer season. Last month was busier. Daniel had a couple of hockey tournaments, Shelby had some cross country ski races, Andy went to the Chicago Sports Show, I have been teaching a semester math course in Grand Portage….

So when we had nasty weather last week, first Monday night freezing rain turned the Gunflint Trail into a skating rink, then Tuesday night bitter cold blizzard conditions gave the kids two unexpected days off of school. What a pleasure to just hang out.

The truth for the kids is, when the spinning stops, it takes a while for them to catch their breath and figure out what to do. I think extended empty time is great for the creative ideas.

Then there is time to notice the small things.

Then there is time to invent ways to use the frozen lake. They rigged up a tarp as a sail, and used the spark as a glider--- celebrating the cold wind. These are sparkle days.

2008 Beargrease Sleddog Marathon

2008-01-29T04:51:00.000-08:00

As I passed through the Trail Center check point last night, I could see many dogs and handlers huddling up, trying to stay dry in the rain. It was an incredibly icy night, and school is cancelled today. I'm thinking the weather was most dissappointing for those dogs.
Check out http://www.blackmagickennels.com/ for info on the Beargrease, and some Grand Marais neighbors, Mark and Mary Black, who have a participating team.

Phone Troubles

2008-01-26T06:24:00.000-08:00

We sincerely apologize for the inconveniences caused by the phones. If you have tried to contact us, but get no answering service and no phone line, then you know that the phones of the Gunflint Trail are out of service once again. We are still able to access our email, and will contact you as soon as we can.

Thank you for your patientce.

Piles

2008-01-12T17:53:00.000-08:00

Andy and I spend so much time together we develop our own jargon. We began talking about "my pile" and "your pile" concretely---we were talking about piles of papers. "Just put the receipts on my pile" or "I'll take care of those permits---they are already in my pile." Later pile became a metaphor for worries or responsibilities...."don't worry about that, it's in my pile." Or who is getting the kids today? "your pile" etc.

Today I was thinking about responsibility piles---everybody has them. We strive to supervise our kids' piles ---to coach them as they learn to manage life's inevitable piles, but also we try keep their piles small enough so that they can experience carefree time……I remember in college, especially during finals, everybody went on and on, comparing their relative piles. Sometimes we'd have to listen to entire monologues about somebody's extensive pile....some were sure that they had the biggest pile of all.

With the adults I know, I sometimes wonder if it isn't more about perception than the actual size of the pile---some people show such grace with manageable piles, others are overloaded with endless piles. Are the sizes of our piles more a function of our personalities than the relative importance of what we do? Are we each destined to live our entire lives with the same sized pile?
Of course, we all experience times with emergency piles. Last week our concerns were for Daniel’s hockey coach and his wife. Their son was born prematurely (by C-Section) so that she (the mother) could then have open heart surgery. Whew, now they had a pile! Thankfully all went well. Those emergency piles put all into perspective for awhile, and certainly made the piles of snow that we moved around this week seem relatively insignificant (although still necessary).

Dad and Mary clear off the roofs as the heavy snow builds up.

Mom snowshoes trails between the buildings.

Even Denali takes her responsibility piles very seriously.

She has the self-appointed job of monitoring the bird feeder.

Spike the pine marten visits on chilly days.

Since the leaping and barking from inside the house doesn't scare him away, she does have to get outside and clear the area for the birds.
One day after school this week Daniel and I went skating on our Round Lake rink. The sunset was dazzling as we glided around, and when he stopped to ask me for a hug, the instant was so poignant that it gave me prickles behind my eyes. Sweet moments like that remind me to savor experiences , and not to let the apparent urgency of my piles interfere with the way I want to live.

Killer Trees

2008-01-08T12:51:00.000-08:00

Becca (former staff member) is here for the month of January helping out. She and I (and Denali) trekked around Round Lake. Innitially we were looking for some big cat tracks (lynx or cougar?) reported by last weeks' cabin guests---we didn't find them, but we had a pleasant foggy walk---mostly on crusted snow, sometimes on slush.

We tried to uncover the mystery of a bloody animal kill, but we weren't very successful with even an educated guess.

Then we hiked the shorline beyond the Lodge.

There is actually pink flagging tape that says Killer Tree Killer Tree Killer Tree on it, --a couple of big dangerous trees were flagged with the Killer Tree tape this summer. My kids love that---they take their friends out to see the Killer Tree that has fallen in the woods...that one that still has the tape, but has lost its killer potential.

Becca and I braved 10 minutes with the Standing Killer where the critters clearly use the hollowed out root tunnels.

The happy woodpeckers have turned it into a cribbage board.

The fire burned out the core (this photo was angled up the trunk. I didn't put my head in the Killer Tree, just the camera.)

This is one cool white pine.

Broomball

2008-01-04T13:05:00.000-08:00

We had a great afternoon sweeping out 2007, and welcoming in 2008 on the Round Lake broomball rink.

Notice that Monica is keeping her eye on the ball while defending me (while I was down) against any possible bullies on the opposing team.

With over 40 inches of snow this season, we're all enjoying the winter sports.

Consider joining us for Winter Tracks Festival 2008, in February. Activities include Saturday afternoon broomball at Tuscarora.

Holiday Greetings from us at Tuscarora!

2007-12-26T06:25:00.000-08:00

It’s December and we have been dumped on by the big silent snows. We’re welcoming cabin guests as they come to spend the holidays at Tuscarora. The Boundary Waters are covered with snow and ice, the woods are gorgeous. It’s been cold, crisp, sunny, perfect.
Many of you know that we had an unusual May this year---too hot, too dry, too fast. On May 5th, while there was still a little ice on the Cross River, frozen ground and no leaves on the trees, we had a windy 90 degree day. The Ham Lake Fire started a mile away, raced behind our yard, and left us shaking. We are thankful no one was hurt. We grieved for our neighbors and friends that lost property, for the acres that burned. Miraculously, the white pines and most of Tuscarora property were left untouched. In the midst of the evacuation time, the grace and generosity of the people around us were as remarkable as the tiny green shoots that were already popping.
As the fire cooled, we worried about Tuscarora. There was a fair amount of fiery news---would the guests still come? They (you!) did, and we are so very thankful. We continue to be amazed by the rapid recovery of the woods. The folks camping in the wilderness haven’t been disappointed---the fires of the last two years have not devastated the wilderness experience; not at all.
The summer buzzed by. We had some amazing rains in September and big snowfalls in December. The water levels were high when the lakes froze; Spring 2008 should be great for opening paddling!
The high points of our year continue to be our interactions with really cool people as the seasons pass ---guests, staff, family, friends, neighbors--- even the firefighters who lived here briefly on the front lines with Andy and changed our lives. As we reflect on 2007, we realize we are fortunate to have these experiences and memories of many different people that cross into our lives. We are so much richer because of these relationships.
We’re looking forward to some of the festivals happening on the Gunflint Trail this winter and spring! If you are looking for the next opportunity to visit the Gunflint Trail, check out the agendas for the Winter Tracks Festival (February 28- March 2, 2008) http://www.wintertracks.com/ and the Gunflint Green Up Tree Planting scheduled this spring (May 2-3, 2008) http://www.gunflint-trail.com/ggu/index.html .
Some thoughts on trip planning:

On the U.S. side, the United States Forest Service is currently accepting permit lottery applications through January 15, 2008. After this date we can still get you a permit, but we encourage you to book as soon as you can commit to an entry date. The BWCA fees have changed this year: Starting 2008 BWCA overnight camping visitor permit costs are $16/ adult and $8/ youth. Permit reservation fee remained at $12. To make a permit the United States Forest Service asks for a permit deposit of $44.
For Quetico Park in Canada we can reserve a backcountry permit for you exactly 5 months prior to your date of entry. Remote Border Crossing Permits are still acceptable border crossing documents when traveling into Canada. We can give you specific information about the area affected by fire. Whether you wish to experience wilderness forest fire ecology for yourself or steer around fire impacts, we will listen to you and build a custom canoe adventure which meets your expectations. Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss (1-800-544-3843) or you may review some route offerings online at our new trip route planning tool on our website http://www.tuscaroracanoe.com/canoe_trip_planning.htm

There is no better time to think about your 2008 canoe county adventure!

Happy New Year to you all! Thank you for supporting Tuscarora through 2007!

Happy Holidays!

Andy, Sue, Shelby, Dan and the Staff