Driving on icy roads is a problem for most people (including myself) during the first few weeks of the winter season. Overly cautious drivers who choose to creep around at a snail’s pace become just as dangerous as the hasty 4×4 that isn’t afraid to pass on a blind corner leaving the prudent vehicles in a cloud of white dust.... READ MORE >
As the week progresses and temperatures drop it seems that my favorite season will soon come to an end. Transitioning from fall to winter has always been a challenge for me. Somehow the 40-degree days in April seem much warmer than they do in October. November brings sleetfilled days driven by high winds with an occasional beam of sunshine poking... READ MORE >
Each year I revel at the notion of becoming more efficient at the skills required to accomplish the seemingly endless list of chores for winter preparations. This season I am happy as a clam that 12 cords of firewood have been cut and stacked in the wood shed before the snow has covered the pile—and it isn’t even November yet.... READ MORE >
If you were lucky enough to be on the Gunflint Trail this past weekend you already know how spectacular the weather was. Monday was a little misty and cold, but the rest of the week is supposed to be dry and warm which presents a perfect opportunity to get outside and embrace what could be the end of another wonderful... READ MORE >
The big October winds have been howling through the night dispersing more leaves on the ground with each gust. It is a beautiful time of year to get up the Gunflint and explore the numerous hiking trails while the remaining fall colors are still holding on to their branches. It has been a little too cold and windy for our... READ MORE >
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fisheries hosted a meeting last week to discuss a proposed special regulation for Saganaga and Seagull lakes at the end of the Gunflint Trail. The proposed regulations for walleye would include a strict slot limit allowing three fish to be kept between 17 and 19 inches (one of the three walleyes can be... READ MORE >
The trees have begun their annual transformation from summer to fall, displaying brilliant shades of yellow and orange with an occasional splash of red. The Gunflint Trail is located in a boreal forest that technically should not include maple trees, but we are seeing more appearing amongst the native trees each year. They might not be native but they make... READ MORE >
As Gunflint Trail residents living in “seasonal solitude,” I can certainly understand how the title of this article might suggest a bitterness towards visitors, but we are not social introverts… yet! The visitors we dislike are the furry black ones that ransack your property in the middle of the night while searching for a free meal. There wasn’t any food... READ MORE >
The approaching cold front that will bring highs in the mid-40s this week will either be a frigid reminder of what is around the corner or the beginning of a long winter. We have come to expect a degree of unfavorable conditions over the years but frost warnings for Wednesday night seem a little unfair considering the recent stretch of... READ MORE >
While returning home last night from a four-day marathon to Des Moines, I could see a noticeable difference in the leaves along Highway 61 in Cook County. The maples are beginning to show some red, and compared to Iowa (which is greener than Mr. Green Jeans riding a John Deere tractor on a football field) it sure looks like we... READ MORE >
