We have certainly been blessed with snow this winter. Lakes are slushy, driveways are shrinking, and rooftops look more like mountaintops with their snowy peaks. It has been an outstanding winter for snow sports as well as snow removal in Cook County – and it is only the second week of February.
The snowfall totals are not as unusual as the amounts that have come down during each storm. When we get a four- to six-inch snowfall, the plow truck can go faster and throw the snow into the woods, which helps keep driveways and roads wide, and rooftops have time to allow the wind to shed their snow.
However, when we get a 20-inch snow followed by a 12-inch snow the very next week it is difficult to throw the heavy snow with a plow, or for the rooftops to shed their load in the wind before settling.
We have been shoveling some roofs this week on the Gunflint Trail that have had drifts as high as 40 inches. Some of the older cabins are not very sturdy after 50 years, and many were designed with shallow pitched roofs that do not shed their snow efficiently. It is brutally hard work, but I enjoy being outdoors on the Gunflint Trail with the crew – it is a nice break from the restaurant.
Some of the driveways I plow could require heavy machinery to widen them if we continue to get “big” snowfalls and that is a common occurrence throughout the county this season. Traditionally March is the snowiest month of the year, so it is unusual to have to shovel roofs this early – or at all for that matter.
My favorite weeks of winter are ahead. The fishing and the weather get better as the days continue to get longer. Hopefully I can give a fishing report next week as soon as we finish shoveling!
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. You can also visit Cory’s website at Gunflintfishingguide.com.
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