North Shore Morning

Backpacking 101
by Michelle Schroeder
December, 2019

Michelle owns Backpack the Trails LLC and has been an outdoor enthusiast for 40+ years.

In this edition, Michelle discusses proper storage and maintenance of your camping and backpacking equipment.

There are a number of organisms that live inside or on trees, including algae, mosses, and lichens. 

WTIP's CJ Heithoff talks with naturalist Chel Anderson about "bark life" in this edition of North Woods Naturalist.

Sawtooth Mountain Elementary's third-grade students have been busy before Thanksgiving, working on writing poems describing what they are thankful for.  WTIP's Sterling Anderson recently visited the school to record the students reading their "I am Thankful" poems.

Click below to listen to one or all of the three segments that aired this week on North Shore Morning.

WTIP's CJ Heithoff talks with naturalist Chel Anderson about what's uncovered in nature during the late fall and early winter before the first big snow in this edition of North Woods Naturalist.

Superior National Forest Update with Steve Robertsen.
November 22, 2019

Northern Sky by Deane Morrison

November 23 to December 6, 2019

As we move into the final month of the year, the planets are at play in both the morning and evening skies.
 
In the predawn hour, Mars and Mercury are both in the east-southeast until the end of November and into December. So is Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, the maiden. These three objects form a diagonal line above the horizon with Spica highest, Mercury lowest, and Mars, of course, in the middle. You might want to look on Sunday, November 24, when a thin crescent moon hovers to the left of Mars.  On the 25th, the moon will be thinner and just above the horizon, below Mercury.
 
As the days go by, Mars’s two companions abandon it. Spica keeps climbing higher, thanks to Earth’s orbital motion. But Earth's motion has a relatively weak influence on Mercury's comings and goings because it's an inner planet and much speedier than Earth. When it pops into the morning sky, it’s coming out from a trip between Earth and the sun. The transit of Mercury across the face of the sun on November 11 was also a transit, officially, out of the evening sky and into the morning. But it soon drops down again, as it starts its next trip around the far side of the sun. So as Spica climbs away and Mercury drops away, Mars gets doubly deserted. 
 
In the evening sky, Jupiter and much brighter Venus pass each other in the southwest on the weekend before Thanksgiving, November 23 and 24. The two planets come as close as 1.5 degrees, or about three moon widths. Try to catch them about 40 minutes after sunset. On Thanksgiving evening, a thin crescent moon of the next cycle will be right above Venus, and Jupiter will be below it to the right. This threesome will be impressive if you can catch it before Jupiter sets. If not, that’s okay; Venus and the moon always make a nice pair. 
 
On Friday, November 29, the moon hangs below and left of Saturn. Saturn hasn’t been especially bright this year, so if you haven’t found it, this moon will guide you. Like Jupiter, Saturn is falling toward the sunset as Earth leaves it behind in the orbital race. The ringed planet also gets a visit from Venus, in the second week of December. It'll be fun to watch these two planets approaching each other.
 
If you’re out at nightfall, look to the north to see the Big Dipper sitting right above the horizon. When it’s low like this, you can observe the double star at the bend of the dipper’s handle through binoculars without straining your neck too much. Also, find the pointer stars at the far end of the bowl, that is, away from the handle; these point to Polaris, the North Star. Then see if you can spot a lazy triangle of stars to the upper right of the pointer stars; these mark the head, and rather pointed nose, of the Big Dipper’s home constellation: Ursa Major, the great bear.  
 
Bracketing Polaris are two bright stars, both at about the same distance from Polaris. To the left, in the northwest, is Vega, in the Summer Triangle of stars, and to the right, in the northeast, is Capella, in the winter constellation Auriga, the Charioteer. Hanging from Polaris is the Little Dipper. Its midsection is dim, and it’s about all there is to see in the constellation Ursa Minor, the little bear. But since the Latin name Ursa Major is feminine, and Ursa Minor is so close by, Ursa Minor could well be regarded not just as a little bear, but as a bear cub.

Wildersmith on the Gunflint by Fred Smith
November 22, 2019

Gunflint times have made a big turn about as it relates to winter conditions. Our frigid weather of the past month or so eased its grip. Temps in this neighborhood climbed back to more normal last weekend. In fact, the thirties seem pretty balmy compared to the frosty single digits and below since Halloween.                                                                                                                                                       
The Northland has gone through another week of November gray. With minimal peeks of “Sol”, monochromatic is the word of the month. Nevertheless, shades of slate have their place in the universe and can be beautiful too. There are always happenings in the Gunflint wilderness to brighten one’s cloudy day.                                                                                                                                                           

As an example, a couple days prior to winters’ retreat, “Jack Frost” paid his first visit to the Mile O Pine. It was during one of those minus something nights.  “He” dabbed his brush in steamy moisture rising off the Gunflint Gal and dispatched it upon every needle of the shoreline pine forest, as nobody else can. There’s no way to represent in words the majesty of “his” intricate crystal making skills, you just have to be here at the right moment.                                                                                                                         

It’s on a night like the one mentioned above when Gunflint Lake usually sets to making ice for the first time. However, winds were not cooperating this time around so the “old Gal” remains sloshing against the granite along the Wildersmith shore.                                                                                                            

Of the other big lakes up the Trail, I’m told quiet bays are iced over, but main bodies remain like the Gunflint. I did see that Poplar Lake (also one of the larger ones) looks to have put on her hard water coat, as has Mayhew, Birch and Swamper along the Trail.                                                                                                                 

Back to our pre-Thanksgiving warm-up, a good share of our meager snow cover turned to mush and “drippyness.” At the same time, what snow remains is wet and slick as grease on driveways and back country roads. So the path of egress from Wildersmith is already an early winter nightmare.                                                                                                                                                                     

Some wet white was added last Saturday and Sunday evenings in places along the Trail, but was barely measureable, and may be gone by the airing of this weeks’ scoop. So we’ll be starting over with the white carpeting process when the heavy laden clouds let loose.                                                          

This episode of sloppiness surely has negative tones for area businesses having hopes of providing cross-country skiing opportunities by turkey day. Based on the area’s early season “Biboon” experiences, it seemed like a sure thing, but at this keyboarding, skiing is on hold. There’s just no outguessing what “Mother Natures” going to dish up.                                                                                                                                                                

In the midst of this cold reversal, an old friend returned to Wildersmith. One of the pine marten clan stopped by last Saturday evening. It either happened by mistakenly, or a whiff of poultry essence wafted through the woods enticing its nasal senses.                                                                          

The Smith’s actually discovered its’ arrival by mistake. Turning on the deck side light for a weather check, we found the furry critter curled up relaxing in the birds’ winter watering vessel. Luckily the unit was dry, or this could have been a dampening welcome.                                           

We’re confident it’s a returnee because the poultry morsels were missing next morning from the martens’ only feeding cache. So every one in our “wild neighborhood” is now accounted for.                                                                                                                                                                    

News from the Gunflint Trail Historical Society reports work on the installation of an “Allsky” camera is about to become a reality. In partnership with University of Minnesota Duluth, the project has been in the works for several months with leadership and guidance from Joel Halvorson of UMD and Gunflint Lake.                                                                                                           

When the unit is up and running, the world will be able to view this level one dark sky region 24-7 from either the Chik-Wauk website or a link with the planetarium on the UMD Campus. This is a part of an evolving outreach relationship with UMD’s College of Environmental Education to expand broader exploration of the natural world around the Chik-Wauk Museum Campus. Think of the potential for Aurora Borealis observations and other celestial wonders with a cyber click!                                                                                                                                                    

When transmission is available, I‘ll be broadcasting the heavenly news, so stay tuned.                                  

For WTIP, this is Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, as adventures of the natural world captivate when least expected!
 
 

Human tongues and bird tongues are vastly different.  The difference is more pronounced still if you compare our tongue to a woodpecker tongue, that wraps around their skull and includes barbs to help catch prey.  WTIP's CJ Heithoff talks with naturalist Chel Anderson about the unique woodpecker tongue in this edition of North Woods Naturalist.

Superior National Forest Update with Jon Benson.
November 15, 2019