It just keeps snowing up the Trail and accumulating more and more each day. The ground is starting to freeze and the plow trucks have been getting their first workout of the season. I usually wait a little while to start plowing my driveway since it is so rough. It helps to get as thick a base as possible before banging up my plow and front end on the multiple boulders and potholes.
Cook County does a pretty good job of keeping the Gunflint Trail plowed and sanded all winter. The first snow this season was slushy and it took me awhile to figure out why so many people had their mailboxes open. It did not dawn on me until I got home and saw that my mailbox was barely standing up and one side was completely caked with slush. Those big trucks are designed to throw the snow a long ways and unfortunately the mailboxes are sitting ducks.
I cannot help but worry about the amount of miles my pregnant wife puts on the road this time of year. It took her multiple attempts to get up the big hill by the water tower in Grand Marais on Monday evening after the heavy snow came down. It would not have been so hard if the cars in front of her would keep a steady pace. Thestopping and starting is the worst part of it, especially on such a steep section of the road. It seems there is a learning curve to winter driving. Everyone has to reeducate themselves on it every year. I was stuck behind a driver averaging 30 mph that same evening, and the white-out made it impossible to pass anyone. Better safe than sorry.
There have not been as many animals running around lately with the high winds and low temperatures. I suppose they are hunkered down trying to stay warm while they are growing their extra fur for the winter.
The snowshoe hares are turning white and blending in with the recent snow. The few wolves I saw this past week were either shedding fur or had some mange on their body, it is hard to tell right now. The one that has been hanging out by the Sea Gull area is definitely looking sick. Half of his body is covered in patches of fur and the rest is just skin and bones.
I have heard of a few moose being seen in the usual spots along the Trail, but I have not seen any myself. They like to hang out around the South and North Brule and are usually loitering out on the road after dark. Most of the time you can see hoof prints along the road, giving some warning that they are near, but with the amount of snow we have been getting lately the tracks get covered quickly. I was only 20 minutes behind my wife coming home from town and her tracks were covered up in the driveway when I pulled in.
If you are driving in bad conditions, take your time, be careful, and do not stop every time an oncoming vehicle is going to pass by!
Cory Christianson, a graduate
of the University of Iowa, has
worked as a fishing guide on
the Gunflint Trail since 2000. If
you have any fishing reports
or stories to share, send an
email to: christiansoncory@
hotmail.com or call 218-388-
0315.
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