Living and working on the Gunflint Trail has proven to be more challenging than I had originally presumed. The longer I live here, the more I learn and realize that nothing can substitute good oldfashioned experience. Our beloved forest is often coined the “unorganized territory” for good reason. Because it is!
As soon as we start telling ourselves that we have mastered living on the Gunflint Trail, it has a way of swiftly reminding us how small we really are. Case in point: I was taught how to build incredibly strong docks by an experienced dock builder who liked to brag that his docks have “never been moved by the ice in 25 years.”
I call that 20 lucky years because the docks have all been knocked around in the past couple of springs with the ice melting during high wind conditions. You could build a dock out of cast iron steel, and it would still crumple like a tin can if the ice gets a hold of it. Let’s not forget that the ice once cut the terrain up here. It can certainly move a dock if it wants to. The elements are an enormous force to reckon with but sometimes the smallest of creatures can cause big damage as well.
This summer I have been discovering a multitude of damaged cabins from carpenter ants in our area. Ants will commandeer and occupy any soggy wood on your property— whether it is a decaying stump or some rotten siding. An ant colony will voraciously devour a home—one micro-mouthful at a time. A telltale sign of ant damage is discovering unusual sawdust in areas around doorways and window jambs. It resembles coffee grounds and is the aftermath of a tunneling ant colony.
The local exterminator has told me that three soggy summers in a row are to blame for the outbreak. Well…that plus the fact that we live in the woods to begin with. The conditions have been very favorable for the ant colonies to thrive and they are taking a toll on any unprotected cabins. Like most things, the longer the problem is ignored the more expensive the repairs become. If you think you might have problems it would be wise to give an exterminator a call before the damage gets any worse.
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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