North Shore Morning

Backpacking 101 - Michelle Schroeder
June 4, 2019

Backpacking 101 with Michelle Schroeder is a monthly feature on WTIP’s North Shore Morning.
Michelle owns Backpack the Trails LLC and has been an outdoor enthusiast for 40+ years.

WTIP's North Shore Morning host, Brian Neil talks with Michelle about preparing for hiking / backpacking during this transitional time of year.
 

Minnesota Department of Public Safety Assistant Commissioner, Booker Hodges has been coming to Cook County since he was twelve years old.  He stopped by WTIP with his two sons before heading up the Gunflint Trail and spoke with WTIP's CJ Heithoff about safety issues including the new Hands-Free Cell Phone law that goes into effect on August 1st.

Superior National Forest Update – May 31, 2019
 
Hi, this is Steve Robertsen, interpretation and education specialist on the Superior National Forest, and this is the National Forest Update, information for visitors to the Forest.  It is the start of June, and summer is upon us at last, so I think we should all be visitors to the Forest this week!

As you head out into the Forest, there are still a few lingering effects of spring.  While weight restrictions are being lifted from many roads, they are still in force on others.  The Lake and Cook County websites have up to date lists on which of the county roads are open to large trucks.  As the weight restrictions end, hauling for timber sales is beginning.  Watch for possible hauling in the Trapper’s Lake Road area and in the areas of the Greenwood, Firebox, and Blueberry Roads, as conditions allow.

“As conditions allow” is a phrase that applies to the prescribed burns happening on the Forest as well.  We’d love to be able to give people lots of advance notice and precise dates on prescribed fires, but it is more important to burn on days when the weather is just right – and nature just isn’t that predictable.  You can find out about planned prescribed fire by clicking on the “Prescribed Fire Information” link on our home page, then on the “Current Year’s Plans” link.  Notices on burns will be tweeted out and posted on our Facebook page as they happen.  Active fires, both prescribed burns and wildfires, can be followed on the national incident information site called InciWeb.  We have links to that as well, or just search for

InciWeb:  “I-N-C-I Web”.  If your travels in the Forest take you near a burn underway, please follow posted information and be extra careful about vehicles and people on the road.  Smoke may restrict sight, so drive carefully.  It is good to bypass these areas entirely if possible.

Birds are doing everything right now.  Some are migrating through, some are setting up nests, and some are feeding chicks.  Peregrine falcons nesting in the cliffs along the shore are in that last stage – feeding chicks.  These nests are pretty closely monitored both by people and by the peregrines themselves who will loudly call and even swoop down at people who get a bit too close.  Peregrines were gone from the North Shore due to DDT until the peregrine falcon reintroduction program in the 1980s brought them back.  It has been a very successful program, and you can now often see these amazing birds as you travel on Hwy 61.  Diving at speeds which have been clocked at over 224 miles per hour, they are the fastest animal around.  We watched a peregrine take a gull over the lake once, and it is pretty incredible to see them in action.  I’m not sure the gull agreed.

Wilderness rangers have begun summer patrols through the Boundary Waters.  They will be working to clear and maintain portages, take care of campsites, and help people traveling in the wilderness.  They also get to pick up litter, which, they are happy to report, has been decreasing over the years.  You can help on this one by following the simple rule of ‘Pack it in, pack it out’ during your wilderness travels – or for that matter, your travels anywhere.  Remember, don’t burn trash in campfires, and don’t dispose of trash in latrine pits.  Just pack it all out.  On a less happy note, the wilderness rangers also report the return of the black flies.  It’s getting to be time to find the head net again.

It should be a lovely early summer week this week, so ignore the black flies and take advantage of it by heading out into the woods. 

Enjoy the Forest, and until next week, this has been Steve Robertsen with the National Forest Update.
 

Wildersmith on the Gunflint     by     Fred Smith       
May 31, 2019    

Spring along the Gunflint Trail has had its good days and not so good since our last meeting on the radio. The Memorial Day weekend had few moments of sunny glory only to be stymied by dismal cold and dampness most of the time.                                                                                                                               

As we bid May adieu, and welcome June, odds are pretty good, as we head toward the Solstice, this seasonal re-birth will be much improved over the harsh past nine weeks. By the time this scoop airs, our last patch of snow will be gone from along the Mile O Pine. And in spite of our lingering winter character, sprouts continue emerging, Squill and Marsh Marigolds are blooming, fiddleheads are uncoiling along back country roads and infant leaves are filling in forest voids.                                                                                                                                                      

June finds many residents returning from their snow bird locations. The past week has seen the wilderness quiet succumb to the drone of engines on both lakes and land.                                             

There were so many angler rigs at the Gunflint Lake watercraft access last weekend, parking was at a premium. Vehicles spilled out onto South Gunflint Lake Road like I’ve never seen before. Such was also the case in parking facilities at Seagull Outfitters and Sag Lake Landing as well.                                                                                                                                                                                           

If this early visitor activity is a sign of things to come, the economic impact for area businesses looks to be bright as the summer sun. Best wishes to all for a great summer of Gunflint hospitality.                                                                                                                                                       

Speaking for the Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway Committee, I wish to thank both lake property owner associations and many individuals for their participation in the Trail clean-up last week. Thanks are also extended to the County Highway Department for picking up the debris and collection bags left by the volunteer “worker bees.”                                                                                      

Let’s hope Trail users will do a better job of keeping litter in their vehicles for proper disposal during this next year. Such disregard for this beautiful place is unconscionable!                                 

I’m sad to report on the days where we have experienced the glory of “old Sol”, the biting airborne insects are in a harassing frenzy. Whereas there has been much griping about the cold of April and May, one has to admit it held the annoying critters at bay. Now it appears we are going to pay for it.                                                                                                                                                        

The lake water remains quite cold to which I can attest. Putting the dock and boat lift into the Gunflint waters was the order of business at Wildersmith for the Decoration Day weekend. With H20 temps holding in the low to mid-forties, I donned my wet suit, and with the help of my resolute neighbor, we shivered our way to completing the job. Now it’s time to enjoy some Canadian sunsets over Gunflint Lake.                                                                                                                           

While there are a plethora of superb northland photographers capturing the wonders of border country woods, a simple Trail camera located along the Sag Bay at Chik-Wauk seized a moment of animal majesty. The subject was a Canadian Lynx poised in investigatory pose as if it had been choreographed for the shutter click. The digital was placed on Facebook for the world to see, but better yet, why not come up to the Nature Center at Chik-Wauk and view the pic first-hand.                                                                                                                                                         
It was confirmed a day or so ago at Wildersmith that bears do poop in the woods. So we definitely know there have been dark night visitors in this neighborhood. During the daytime, we’ve been entertained by a part-time wood chuck. Whereas there are no garden munchies for “Woody”, it has taken over a ground level patch where squirrels get a daily seed allotment. It’s been a bit un-nerving for my “squirrelly and chippy” contingent.                                                                         

On a closing note, while our Holiday weekend weather was not as hoped, fishing at least, for some involved catching. Neighbors down the road had two days of good luck with “lakers” down on North Lake, but the biggest and best of all was a “hawg” Northern Pike caught right off their Gunflint Lake dock. See the website post (WTIP.org) of my Wildersmith Column (drop down on Community Voices) for verification of this forty inch plus, twenty-five pound surprise.                                                                                                                                                                         
For WTIP, this is Wildersmith on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, with a caressing spirit of the natural world right outside our back door!
 

North Shore Morning host, Shawna Willis talks with Grand Marais Public Library Assistant Director, Amanda St.John about the Summer Reading Program and becoming a "Fine Free" Library.

"Talking Books" is a monthly feature on WTIP's North Shore Morning.
Host Mark Abrahamson talks with Gwen is this May 29th edition.

NORTHERN SKY  by Deane Morrison
 
During the last week of May, the moon wanes away in the morning sky, starting with the last quarter phase on Sunday, the 26th. Last time, I mentioned that the quarter phases are good for moon watching because that’s when lunar features like craters stand out in sharpest relief. So on the 26th, you may want to grab your binoculars again. One small caveat: In Grand Marais, the moon doesn’t rise that day until 2:09 a.m., which may be somewhat inconvenient. On the other hand, if you’re a night owl, the last quarter phase gives you the best chance to explore the part of the moon that isn’t visible at first quarter phase.
 
If you are up at that hour, you’ll see the Summer Triangle of bright stars above the moon as it rises in the east-southeast, plus Jupiter—the brightest dot—in the south and Saturn to the lower left of Jupiter. But you don’t have to wait till the middle of the night to see those planets. Earth is about to lap them in the race around the sun, and they’re rising earlier every night. We lap Jupiter on June 10, and by the end of the first week in June, Jupiter will up in the southeast by 10 p.m. Saturn follows Jupiter by about two hours. Just west of Jupiter is the red star Antares, the heart of Scorpius.
 
You might want to try watching Jupiter from night to night. Earth is already starting to lap it, and this makes it moves westward against the backdrop of stars. If you grab those binoculars again, you may detect Jupiter inching westward with respect to several rather dim stars that are near the planet.  
 
And back to the moon for a second. As it wanes, it rises later every morning. If you’re up around 4:30 on June 1 and you have a clear view of the eastern horizon, you may see a very old and thin crescent rising to the lower right of Venus. Moonrise on June 1 is at 4:27 a.m., which is scarcely half an hour before sunrise, so both the moon and Venus will be awash in the sun’s foreglow. 
 
In the evening sky, Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, the maiden, is in the south at nightfall, well below the brilliant star Arcturus. Spica’s not all that bright, but then it’s about 260 light-years away. It’s not a single star, but at least two big ones that orbit each other very closely. Only 11 million miles apart, which is about one-fourth the distance of Mercury from the sun. The strong gravity between these two stars has pulled each of them out into an egg shape, and it’s thought that they spin around like two gigantic eggs with their narrow ends pointed at each other. And they spin really fast: It takes them only four days. This would be incredible to watch if we could get close and look down on these stars.
 
In the west, Mars is resisting being swallowed by the sun as Earth leaves it behind. Mars is as dim as it gets, but have a look around 40 minutes after sunset on June 4. Mercury will be very low in the west-northwest, a young crescent moon will be just to the left of it, and Mars will be almost directly above the moon. Above Mars, the Gemini twins Pollux, the brighter, and Castor are dropping as they make their seasonal exit from the evening sky. This year they’ll leave in the company of Mars and Mercury.
 
Deane Morrison writes the Minnesota Starwatch column for the University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics.
 

Wildersmith on the Gunflint     by     Fred Smith     May 24, 2019    
 
The Memorial Day weekend sends us off into the final segment of month five, and unless conditions have changed in the last few days, one would find it hard to believe the territory is at the un-official start of summer. The past week has been two steps forward and one step back for this blooming season.                                                                                                                      

While spring has been working to take complete control, we at Wildersmith had a morning where frosty roof tops and a little making ice was a reminder of days gone by. So it isn’t over until it’s over, and yes there’s still snowy evidence in a few places.                                                

Meanwhile, on the days we have stepped forward, slow gains are being made on the green-up. As one gazes across the rocky landscape, a green haze is hanging just below the skyline. And in spite of those days when we have stepped back, the verdant fog is growing by the day.                                                                                                                                                                                           

In the bustle of living in organized territory, I seemed not to have had time to catch many of simple wonders of this re-birth time. However, in the golden age of retirement, I find wonder in keeping a watchful eye on a juvenile birch tree outside the kitchen window. The once green tipped buds bulge ever so slightly with each passing morning in anticipation of soon being a grown up leaf. What a joy to be a part of Natures’ unfolding.                                                                                                      

The chilly days of the past week or so have not slowed the return of hummingbirds to the upper Trail. While we have not seen any at Wildersmith, neighbors have had them humming about in search of a little sweetness.                                                                                                                  

A friend over on Loon Lake reports one flew in through the open door of his wood shop. The impatient bird zipped around his head as a reminder it was back and then headed out. Recognizing a call to duty, he hustled right out and proceeded to get the nectar jar filled as this diminutive north woods tough guy summoned. Let alone several four legged neighborhood species, even the birds have many of us in a caring mood.                                                                                                          

During one of many recent trips up to Trails end, a couple neighborhood buddies and I had the rare pleasure of meeting up with a cross fox. In twenty years of living in the woods I had never observed one. Our sighting took place on the Sag Lake Trail, so perhaps folks residing in that neighborhood have seen this handsome critter, and if not they might be on the look-out for it.                                                                                                                                                                        
           
In the week following the fishing opener, the Gunflint Trail has come alive with visitors. It’s as if someone opened the gate at bottom of the hill in Grand Marais. Most of the countless vehicles are either towing or toting water craft of some variety. Without regard for the un-summerlike weather last weekend, the magnetism of this place in the universe has people clamoring to hit the lakes and hiking trails for a bit of wilderness calm and adventure.                                                                                       

With the growing visitor influx, it is timely that the Gunflint Trail Historical Society announces the opening of the Chik-Wauk Campus. Now beginning its tenth season, gates open Saturday, at 10:00am.                                                                                                                                      

2019 is an exciting time in history of the Society as the Campus of Gunflint Trail history opens its long awaited Watercraft Exhibit Building (The WEB). This display of vintage canoes, boats and motors and the role such watercraft played in lives of early settlers, is set in a new timber frame building along the entrance lane to the Museum and Nature Center. Not only are the exhibits awesome, the structure housing them has a contemporary history of its own.                                               

If this is not enough excitement, in the Museum, a new temporary exhibit is being presented. The 2019 display features the “life and times of Tommy banks” and his unlikely friendship with pioneer resident Billy Needham. Tommy was a bootlegger and gangster from Minneapolis in the 1930’s who had a cabin on the Northshore of Hungry Jack Lake.                                             

Folks will want to plan a visit to this magical place at end of the Trail in the coming weeks for all kinds of adventures, from territorial history to many energizing Nature Center activities for both young and old. And speaking of things new, in the Nature Center, the GTHS welcomes, Ed Moran who takes over naturalist duties. Don’t miss stopping by to greet the newest Chik-Wauk staffer.                                                                                                                                                                             

For WTIP, this is Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, watching the brown earth turn green!
 

National Forest Update – May 23, 2019

Hi, this is Renee Frahm, Visitor Information Specialist on the Superior National Forest.  It seems like spring has taken a long time coming to the Forest this year, and it may be risky to say so…but I think maybe we can finally take the snow brushes and ice scrapers out of our cars and put away the winter coats.

We have been gearing up towards summer at least.  All our fee campgrounds are now in fee status, which means that the water systems have been turned on and that there is garbage and recycling available.  Remember that dumpsters at campgrounds are only for campers and day users…and not for household garbage.  Also remember that they are not supposed to be feeding stations for bears, so when you are camping, make sure to put all your garbage in the dumpster and then secure the bars across the lid to keep the animals out.  It is particularly important to follow good bear etiquette in the spring because if a bear learns that a dumpster is food supply early on, it may become a pest the entire summer.

The same holds true for your bird feeders at home.  Feeding birds, especially during migration, is both fun and good for the birds.  Feeding bird seed to bears is a different story, so bring the feeders in at night – even if it is raining.  Speaking of birds, we are in our spring peak of bird diversity.  Most of our resident birds have arrived, and we still have some of those that will be moving farther north.  Hummingbirds are back, and it is always amazing to think of those little guys winging their way all the way from the Gulf Coast to our back yards in northern Minnesota.

Birds are lucky because at least they don’t have to travel on the back roads this spring.  Roads are still pretty soft in many areas.  There is a washout on the road to the Trout Lake public water access that has blocked the way to the access.  We are waiting for the road to firm up enough for heavy equipment before we can get in to fix that washout.  Spring weight restrictions are still in place on Forest Service Roads, but will be coming off soon as roads dry out and frost leaves the ground.  That means that right now, there’s no log hauling, but it could start in the next week.  When it does start, look for trucks on the Lima Grade, Greenwood Road, and Blueberry Road on the Gunflint District and on the Trapper’s Lake Road on the Tofte District.

This holiday weekend though, look out for bikes.  It is the weekend of  Le Grand du Nord, a set of gravel road bike races taking place in the Forest out of Grand Marais.  Part of the race is reading the route from cue cards, so we can’t tell you exactly where you’ll find bikers, so be aware they could be anywhere in the area on Saturday.  Of course, there could be bikers around any day, so we should be driving expecting to see bikers all the time.

Our fire shop has been conducting prescription burns as weather permits.  They report that all of their wildlife opening burns are done for the season. The clearings maintained by these burns will benefit animals which eat vegetation close to the ground, like moose and snowshoe hare.  Helping hares will also help lynx who prey on the hare, though the hares would probably rather skip that step.  The burns also benefit smaller critters, like Nabokov’s blue butterfly, a rare species on the Forest.  Prescription burns are also designed with the aim of reducing the amount of fuel in the forest and so reducing the impact of wildfires, and to prepare harvested sites for reforestation.  Since conducting prescribed burns is weather dependent, I can’t tell you precise dates, so if you are interested in when and where these are taking place, check our website for alerts about prescribed fire.

In spite of the recent rainy and snowy days, the lack of mosquitoes, the abundance of birds and wildflowers, and things like the songs of spring peepers in your ponds make this a favorite time to get outside.  It is time to find the paddles and life jackets, and, we hope, put the snowblower and snow shovel back in the shed.  Take the time to enjoy this long drawn out spring.  Here’s to hoping summer will get here sooner than later!  I hope you have some extra time with family and friends this Memorial Day weekend and that you can get out doors and do something fun!  There will be lots of people around, so be safe when you are out and about driving the back roads.

Until next week, this has been Renee Frahm with the National Forest Update.
 

Wildersmith on the Gunflint     by     Fred Smith      May 17, 2019    

May is spinning out of control as we head into its second half with the company of the Ojibwe, “budding flowers” full moon this weekend.                                                                                                  

Although my declaration of spring doesn’t match up with the calendar, I proclaim its official in the Gunflint Lake neighborhood as of last Saturday, May 11. The lake still had some icy odds and ends jammed up by the wind at the far end to the east. But for all practical purposes, the “old gal” was ninety-nine and nine-tenths percent rippling as of last Saturday evening. Remnant patches of snow remain in shaded area as the only sign there even was a winter. And to further affirm its’ over, my dear wife said it’s time to take down the “let it snow” sign and get lawn chairs onto the deck.                                                                                                                                                                          
Ice out is always a big relief at the Wildersmith place as the crystalline rush to get out of here has often played havoc with my household lake water system. The icy disappearance act was gentler this time in spite of piling up considerable chards against our shore and on top of the pipe encasement. So all that worry is behind us now, and this area may have had its last below freezing night.    
                                                                                                                                                             
The annual concern about wildfire, as the territory dries out this time of year, prompted action to get sprinkler system pump hoses into the water. With great help from a friend down the road and his cousin, my task is now done. It did require wading into the water, which was thirty-seven degrees at the time. With leaky waders, I assure you it got my attention and made for hasty exodos after several entries, there was no monkeying around!                                                    
A heads-up to all, get those WFS systems ready ASAP while we wait for the tempering green-up of our landscape.                                                                                                                                                                          

It seems some things just fall right in line as the hard water gives way. An example was a mosquito attack on the first full day after. I suppose the surveillance crew of last week got the buzz out, and I became a prime target while finishing up the lakeshore water work last Sunday. Sadly, this bugging issue is only going to get worse over the next few weeks, so I’ll be trading the parka for netting any day.                                                                                                                                                         
I’ve received several reports of Loon returns over the past week. Word from the staff up at Chik-Wauk confirms those residents have come in and are back on the nest too. With a little good luck avoiding raptor predation and black fly terrorism, we’ll be seeing a new generation of chicks from that nest sometime during June week one.                                                                                            
Meanwhile, word comes from the mid-Trail neighborhood telling of bear activity on the upswing. Guess, there’s a big “papa bear” rumbling around and a “momma” with her yearling cubs making candid appearances. Bear scat has been discovered in the Mile O Pine neighborhood but no “Bruno” observations yet, fine with me.                                                                                                                  

Moose are on the loose with a number of sightings, and even more evidence is reported on back country roads of their meanderings. One would suppose calves are coming into the world, and if not here already, they will be soon.                                                                                                                 
The hum of outboard motors broke the silence of lake country as dozens of boats sped by in search of favorite finny hang-outs last weekend. The only person I’ve talked to indicated excitement to get out on the water, but limited catching. The deep waters of Gunflint and other big bodies are just too cold for much walleye action this early. However, I’m confident luck may have been better on lakes shallower and perhaps warmer from earlier ice out.                                                                                

Whereas many anglers find North Lake a catching paradise, I’m told they were stymied to get from Gunflint into North Lake because of the ice jam at Gunflints’ sand beach end. This problem is likely history now, as this scoop airs.                                                                                          

For WTIP, this is Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, as springs’ bloom hankers for warmth and rain!