The past few days on the Gunflint Trail have been beautiful. Temperatures were reaching the 60s with bright sunshine to boot. With any luck you were able to enjoy the outdoors this week since it may be short-lived.
We all know how the weather can turn in northern Minnesota and this year we might even be ready for it. The few nice days that we have had lately were enough to get ahead of the impending weather for a change.
Rachelle’s family cabin on Saganaga has been winterized and is ready for the winter ahead. I drained their wildfire sprinkler system last week while I was enroute to break down the boat over at Northern Light Lake.
My 16-foot guide boat was a lot heavier than I remember and I was barely able to flip it over and carry back the motor by myself. I would have preferred some help but it is hard to find people with remote area border crossing permits and strong backs on short notice. Lesson learned. Next year I will bring some help.
After finishing my chores at the portage I pushed away from the shoreline for the last time this season. It was a fairly nice evening as the wind had subsided enough to calm the waves. The sun was setting in spectacular form as I rounded Scandia Bay. After crossing Windy Point I was approaching the narrows on the east end of Pine Island and noticed an unfamiliar shape gliding along the surface.
It was a fox, and I spooked it back to the shoreline it had departed from. When it reached the shoreline I expected the animal to shake itself dry, but it did not. The fox seemed to shed water like a duck would and did not appear to be wet at all.
While swimming the fox looked very long with its tail floating on the surface. I do not think this is a very common sight since that was the first time I had ever seen a fox swimming.
Darkness was nearing as I approached the landing at 81. This landing is getting harder to navigate with the falling water levels but I like it better than the other landing on County Road 11. The parking lot was empty and the water was still as I shut the outboard down and drifted quietly towards the shore. The bow of my boat grazed over the gravel to a stop and startled a large silhouette that was galloping along the road. A bull moose made tracks for the pond and waded safely out to the middle.
A perfect ending to a hard day.
Cory Christianson has worked as a fishing guide on the Gunflint Trail since 2000. If you have any fishing or wildlife reports or stories to share, send an email to: christiansoncory@hotmail.com or call 218-388-0315. You can also visit Cory’s website at Gunflintfishingguide.com.
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