We are waiting for a time when I can write a description of current conditions without the word “snow” in it. We’re fairly confident that the snowfall this past Sunday was the last of it, or at least we are going to pretend that is true.
Despite that lingering bit of winter, this is one of the best times to go camping in the Superior National Forest. All our campgrounds are open, which means you’ll have to pay a fee at the fee campgrounds, but you will find that the water supply is turned on and there is garbage and recycling available again. Most campgrounds have some reservable and some “first come, first served” campsites, so you can either relax ahead of time knowing you’ve got a site, or head out on the spur of the moment. This time of year, there are both more open sites and fewer mosquitoes, so it is perfect for a weekend get-away. The rustic campgrounds are available as well. While there’s no supplied water or garbage services at rustic campgrounds, many of them have a dock and a good lake to fish in.
Getting to the campgrounds is getting easier as well. Our roads are firming up, and while there is little hauling taking place now, we anticipate that weight restrictions may be lifted soon. Be aware that sometime in the near future there will be hauling operations happening on the Trapper’s Lake Road. Right now though, you should still be mostly on the look-out for washouts and soft spots. One washout is on the road leading to the public access at Trout Lake off the Gunflint Trail. It is not possible to reach the access at this time, and we are not able to get heavy machinery up the road until it dries further, so repairs will not be able to start for a week or so.
As our forest dries, we’ve been able to start prescribed burning in some areas. All of the burns for maintaining wildlife openings are completed. Moose are one large beneficiary of these burns, but they also help smaller creatures such as the threatened Nabokov’s blue butterfly. The fire crews are now moving on to other prescribed burns to reduce fuel loading and the chance of catastrophic wildfire in some cases, or to prepare a site for replanting in others. Prescribed burning is very weather dependent, and we may not know when a window for burning will open until a day beforehand. Alerts about the burns will be posted on our website. When near a burn area, please follow posted road restrictions and watch out for personnel and vehicles on the roadway. And, of course, watch out for smoke which may reduce visibility.
Warblers of many kinds, rose breasted grosbeaks, and hummingbirds are just a few of the birds which have returned to the forest. It is the best time for birding, right before leaves appear when birds are still easily visible on the bare branches. Even if you aren’t a birder, you can still enjoy the dawn chorus of birds which is at its peak around this time. Frogs too are getting particularly noisy. Spring peepers are so loud right now, you can hear them in the car with the windows shut and still tell in the dark when you are passing a lake or pond.
Passing the ponds on May 25 will be the participants in Le Grand Du Nord gravel cycling classics. Bikers will be using gravel roads with a start and finish in Grand Marais. The course is given to the participants on cue cards, and being able to follow the course is part of the race, so watch out for bikers everywhere around the forest on that day.
Whether you are biking, birding, camping, fishing, or whatever, this is a great time to get out and do anything outdoors. Except snow shoveling. Let’s hope the rest of May isn’t a great time for that.
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