Nace Hagemann’s book, You Gotta Get Out of the Woods,
must be one of the best books ever written about life on the Gunflint Trail. Not because it’s idyllic, but because it’s real. Self-published this year, it’s a collection of photos and musings bound to become a classic.
“These may not be the perfect moose or wolf photos,” he writes, “but you can find those in many other books by better photographers. These were taken while I was shivering, sweating, or possibly swearing, while living on the Gunflint Trail.”
When Hagemann moved up here from the Illinois cornfields at age 22, he didn’t know anyone and had no idea he would be here 10 years later, running a successful construction company.
Hagemann’s business preoccupies him, but life on the Gunflint Trail helps keep him in the moment. One time a fox lay down in the middle of the Trail and looked at him. “If nothing else, for a short time tonight my thoughts were only on this fox,” he writes. “They were not on what we got done today, what we didn’t get done today, or what the weatherman is predicting for tomorrow. …I let myself get pulled out of my business mindset and back to a Gunflint Trail mindset. Just me and this fox on a quiet stretch of road.”
Hagemann has seen a lot of wildlife. “Now I had always heard that it’s better to hit an animal than to swerve off the road,” he writes. “Both that it’s physically safer for the vehicle occupants to hit an animal than a tree, and that insurance companies like it much better if there is still hair in the vehicle’s grill to prove there actually was a moose and not just another story of someone having too many drinks and ‘swerving to miss a moose.’” One icy day, Hagemann came upon a moose whose legs “were slipping and sliding in every direction,” like “Goofy on ice skates.” The moose ended up sprawled out on the Gunflint Trail. Hagemann knew what he was supposed to do. “Mentally it’s tough to think that hitting a moose would be better than swerving…. So…I swerved.”
Hagemann tells about being at Gunflint Lodge during the 1999 Blowdown, getting caught on the wrong side of the 2007 Ham Lake Fire, how life on the Gunflint Trail has changed him.
He tells of bears invading his food coolers and of drilling holes in a lake for water. “I built what I thought was a pretty modern outhouse,” he writes. “It had an electric heater, lights, a liquor cabinet, even an addition off the back. With all its amenities, I still prefer not having to head out to the outhouse at minus 30 degrees! …I hope I never forget how convenient modern conveniences really are. Running water is still a luxury to me.”
Hagemann describes his epiphany in the bar at Windigo Lodge when he realized he needed to stop complaining about his job and instead transform his life into what he wanted it to be. He dove into business and contracting courses and created his own destiny.
Local contractor Nace Hagemann has written an engaging book about life on the GunflintTrail with photos illustrating many aspects of daily life.
“I decided early on that I couldn’t wait until I was retired to live the life I wanted,” Hagemann writes. “I have heard many people say how lucky they think I am to live here and how they wish they could live near the beauty of the Boundary Waters. My answer always is – then do it.”
Hagemann continues to set new goals for himself. “This winter when the snow weighs time down just a little, it’s time for another plan. My house is built and the business is going good. I am going to find what free time is, how I will spend more of it. I have to make sure my eyes weren’t so focused on the short term that I…look back on my life and feel like I missed out on something….”
Hagemann’s photos range from intriguing to awe-inspiring, including everything from a photo of himself taking a photo and a snapshot for his insurance company in case everything he owned burned up in the Ham Lake fire to an incredible photo of white smoke billowing up into the blue sky and endearing photos of his golden lab. He has some pretty nice moose photos, too.
“There is something about the Gunflint Trail,” Hagemann writes. “I have gone through times of wanting to be anywhere but here, and I have also felt like I am never quite at peace until I get back. …Once the Trail gets in your blood, it’s not easy to leave, and always seems to be calling to you.”
For information on Hagemann’s contracting business or to
order his book, visit www.nacehagemannconstruction.com.
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