July has slipped away much like June with the exception of a few showers. The days are hot and the evenings are a little balmy. Perfect weather for the mosquito population to thrive.
This has not seemed to slow down the berry pickers at the end of the Trail. I cannot remember seeing so many people parked along the shoulders of the road. We have tried picking berries in the past but too many end up in my mouth and not enough in the bucket to make it worthwhile. If you are picking right next to a road, you may want to consider picking the berries above waist level. You never know where someone might have made a roadside pit stop.
TheHam Lake firearea has been producing a lot of berries and that is common after a forest fire in the Superior National Forest. After multiple prescribed burns people were not only finding many berries, but Morel mushrooms as well. I thought we would be hearing a lot of mushroom talk after Ham Lake, but there really was not. People are either being very quiet about it or there simply are no mushrooms to be found. It is pretty hard to keep a secret up here so my guess is that the mushrooms are hard to find since our spring was so dry. The experts tell me to search around partially burnt logs and that you will only find Morels for a couple of weeks in the spring.
There has been a pack of wolf pups hanging around Tuscarora Road the past few mornings. Only two of them have shown themselves to me, but some people have seen five of them together. I stopped and watched two the other day and they act just like dog puppies. The pups are really shaggy looking. They seem pretty young and very playful and energetic. It made me want to get out and play with them, but that is never a good idea. Mom is probably nearby and the wolf population up here, in my opinion, is getting a little too comfortable around humans.
It has been a long time since any moose or bear have shown themselves around here, but they are still out there. The bear are busy eating blueberries and leaving the cabins alone for the time being. We are forced to keep our garbage unlocked and outside right now and I have been very worried that a bear will be getting into it, but no visits so far.
Our house is still in the last stages of construction, which include a lot of landscaping and outside projects such as a garbage shed. The last wooden corral I made with a lid did not last very long. I came home from work to see a bear pouncing up and down on top of it until it finally gave way. Needless to say he got what he wanted and made quite a mess in our yard.
Cory Christianson, a 2000
graduate of the University of
Iowa, has worked as a fishing
guide on the Gunflint Trail
for nine years. If you have
any fishing reports or stories
to share, send an email to:
christiansoncory@hotmail.
com or call 218-388-0315.
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