It seems like every time we leave town for a few days, it snows. So far this has proven to be more predictable than a meteorologist’s forecast.
Fortunately we have nice friends and neighbors to help take care of things while we are gone. It was great to see that the driveway was plowed and the wood boiler burning when we arrived late Sunday. Even Sophia’s fish (Ruby) was fed.
The electric baseboard heaters keep the house from freezing but the boiler is our main source of heat. If the concrete slab freezes it would take days for the in-floor heat to warm up again. It is an efficient system with a slow recovery rate.
The upper Gunflint Trail has received about 10 – 12 inches of snow in the past few days and the forecast is calling for a light dusting every day this week. The lakes are showing some signs of freezing but the blanket of snow floating around is going to hinder the process for awhile yet. Birch, Swamper, and Little Iron lakes all appear to be half-frozen with some open water in the middle. It will be awhile before it is safe to walk across the ice up here.
The snow was a little challenging to plow since it came down so fast. The insulating quality of the thick snow hinders the ability of the ground to freeze which ultimately causes the gravel roads to be very soft and slippery. It is nice to be able to get a few lighter snowfalls before having to plow the roads but we deal with whatever we have to up here. I put some feet on my plow to keep it from digging into the gravel and tearing up people’s driveways, but as soon as a nice base of frozen snow has set up on top of the gravel the feet will have to come off.
Plowing snow can be a thankless task. It is one of those jobs that people do not like to pay for (myself included—that is why I bought a plow truck) and you are either plowing driveways too late, too early, or you are plowing too often or not often enough. Just like writing a column—you can never please everyone.
The treacherously rocky and steep roads on the Gunflint Trail are destructive to the truck and plow, but it helps pay the bills at a time when there is little work available.
It is becoming harder each year to tell people what I do for a living. It might even be easier to tell them what I do not do— although I am not sure what that would be either. My business card reads: If you have a problem I can fix it—or else I know who can! That should cover just about everything.
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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