The clear starry nights and bright moon have created some beautiful evening scenery this week. . I am no expert on the stars, but I know this is a great time of the year for gazing at them.
It is also a perfect time to go on a horse-drawn sleigh ride at Okontoe. They know their constellations and often stop along their wooded trails to point them out.
The evening temperatures are usually colder on these clear nights, since there is no blanket of clouds insulating us. The frosty air is a pretty fair trade for such brilliance.
Hoar frost has been present each morning this week due to the cold overnight temperatures. The humidity from the previous day sticks to the tree limbs and freezes each evening. The mornings are very white and strangely majestic. A true winter wonderland on the Gunflint Trail.
The forecast I read today said to expect “wintery activity” this week. I do not know what that means, but it sounds good, right?
Pressure ridges on the big lakes have been causing a lot of grief lately. Gunflint and Saganaga Lakes are two of the worst culprits and extra caution should be taken when traveling them. Pressure ridges can occur in a couple of ways. Usually they pierce upwards in an inverted “V” shape where the lake ice has been smashing together, much like our winter speed bumps on the Gunflint Trail.
Ridges can also look like two plates of ice, with one plate covering the other. Either way, they are dangerous and typically hard to see. Snow gets blown around on the lake and ridges will often resemble drifts. Shadows are hard to see in the sunlight even though some of these ridges stand three feet tall. There have been a couple of accidents already this season, luckily without any serious injury. Imagine hitting a three-foot wall of ice while snowmobiling across a lake. The potential is deadly.
The customers that I guided this week were very surprised at the amount of snow we have up here. They had even considered cancelling the trip since they were told about the lack of snow in this area. Tourism is a touchy business at best, and I am as guilty as anyone about registering my disgust with Mother Nature.
I try to keep a positive spin on negative situations. Lack of snow has injured our tourism this season, just like the 1999 blow-down storm and the 2007 Ham Lake fire. The fine line between reporting conditions and affecting tourism weighs heavily on my mind each week when I write this column.
If I reported that fish were always biting and the trails were always in perfect condition, I would not be considered a very trustworthy source. Many people enjoy hearing accurate weather and conditions reports since they either have property or plan to vacation here.
I took Duluth outdoors writer Sam Cook fishing immediately after the Ham Lake fire and was asked by some local business owners to keep him away from the burned out areas on Sag. I understood their concern, but Sam and I had a completely different take on how to handle the subject. We showed the burn area so that people would understand that the Gunflint Trail was a safe place to visit. This was a golden opportunity to educate readers about forest fires while showing everyone that the Trail was still open for business.
We may not have as much snow as we are used to having, but I am still seeing people enjoying their favorite activities. Fishing shacks are out on Gunflint and things are finally looking more like winter up here. My customers were very happy they came up this weekend and cannot wait to do it again next year.
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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