The warm weekend nearly melted winter away with balmy temperatures reaching mid 30s on the Gunflint Trail this week. Humid air caused a misty fog to creep over the land during the day while an overnight freeze created a brilliant hoar frost the following morning that was too cool for words to describe— but I’ll try anyway.
Imagine an endless forest of pine branches drooping heavy from the wet snow, their needles crystallized with frost that reflect what little light is available in the early morning hours. The ensuing sunrise introduces an almost artificial color to the frozen landscape that is nice but not necessary— like colorizing an old black and white film. Eventually the colors turn white as the sun completely breaches the horizon, cutting through the fog and revealing miles of frost-covered forest… You get the idea.
The romance faded quickly as it started raining the next day. I thought it would be the end of our enchanted white forest, especially when the grass in the back yard started showing and our driveway became gravel again. At times the snow was melting so fast it sounded like rain falling, but luckily so far today there has been six inches of snow and I think that temperatures are low enough to hold onto it for a while.
The storm has been coming from the southeast creating a “lake-effect” pattern and giving up a little more snow than what was forecasted before it passes by. Weather forecasts are much like a fishing guide service on the Gunflint Trail—fairly reliable but never a guarantee.
Christmas is around the corner and the famous Birch Lake Christmas tree has been repaired thanks to the Arrowhead Electric Cooperative. The tree stands about 30 feet tall at the head of the Birch Lake road and has been an icon now for the past few holiday seasons. I have not actually seen the tree lit up since being serviced but the linemen were stringing new lights on last week as a community service and asked only for people to contribute to the Cook County Food Drive being hosted by Arrowhead Electric this month. Canned food can be dropped off at the Arrowhead office in Lutsen during business hours. Thanks.
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.
Leave a Reply