After spending two weeks in open water country, it was a little tough returning to ice-covered lakes around here. Devil Track has melted 20 feet from shore, but the remaining ice looks solid. If the rain continues to fall and the wind blows, the lake ice should be gone by next weeks’ deadline.
The rain is vital this time of year to help melt away the winter and hydrate the soil for the spring “green-up” that is soon to come. We were in Iowa for Easter weekend and were amazed at the already green landscape, and leaf covered trees. Quite a shock returning to snow-covered branches and frozen lakes.
A pair of mallard ducks has been enjoying the calm water along the shoreline, patiently waiting for the lake to open. They spend their day lazily wading the open water and I wonder if they will stay here for the summer or continue north once the days become warmer. I would much prefer their company to the resident red squirrel (aka nutcracker) that found his way into the lodge.
This crafty little vandal has not caused any problems yet, but squirrels are capable of wrecking a place in a hurry. I was caretaking a cabin on the Gunflint Trail that had fallen victim to a red squirrel breaking and entering, and it was not pretty. At fist, I thought a burglar had vandalized the living room, but the squirrel had knocked the family photos from the fireplace mantel causing a mess of broken glass. It was trapped inside the cabin for the winter, and tried to escape by chewing through the wooden frame of a window – only to die of starvation. They are experts at the entering of cabins, but fail to remember how to exit them.
We have a couple more weeks to regroup before opening the restaurant on May 1. My list of projects becomes harder to complete when we are running the restaurant, and there are a lot of things we hope to accomplish before the kids are out of school and the lodge becomes busy again. It has been a wonderful ride so far and we are looking forward to a busy season ahead.
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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