Posts Tagged ‘Gunflint Trail’
Mush for a Cure 2012
Tuesday, March 20th, 2012
With bright blue skies and temperatures in the upper 40’s we made our way up the Gunflint Trail to watch the 2012 Mush for a Cure on Saturday March 10th. The race starts at Gunflint Pines and mushers and dogs race down to Trail Center. Dog sled teams raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. This year they have raised $29,000 so far with 53 teams participating.
The teams start in a sleeping bag and at the shotgun start, get out and put their teams on the sled and when they are completed they can go. We like to stand where all the dogs come together on the trail – it is a fun vantage point away from the trucks. I think you get a closer look at all the teams as they race past. Every team wears some form of pink. My favorite this year was the woman musher with a tall pink beehive!
Its funny writing this now, about a week and a half later and I look out my window and there is no snow! There were reports of temps in the 70’s this last weekend on the Gunflint Trail. Winter has wrapped up, except maybe on the ski hill, and we move on to spring! Congrats to all the mushers for what probably was their last race of the season. –Kris
Tags: Gunflint Trail, Mush for a Cure
Posted in Stories and Pictures |
A Gunflint Trail Ski Day
Thursday, March 1st, 2012
Last Saturday four of us headed up the Gunflint Trail to ski the Central Gunflint Ski Trail system. It was lightly snowing when we arrived to the winter wonderland of Bearskin Lake. We checked in at Bearskin Lodge to obtain our ski pass (different than the MN State DNR Ski pass). A full day pass is $15 per day and if you ski after 1pm, the cost is $10 per day. We were given a map of the ski system, asked for suggestions of trails to take, and then hit the trails.
We skied across the lake to the Ox Cart Trail. I do believe these were the most crisp ski tracks I had ever skied on. I was very impressed. The path was a good mix of easy to moderate skiing. The tracks made their way through a forested area that was so beautiful. I could pinch myself at how lucky I am to live in such a wonderful place.
After conquering the Ox Cart Trail, we then made our way across the lake again to the campground loop. Skiing across the lake was a bit chilly, but a nice change of scenery. After skiing a little onto the Beaver Dam Trail, we decided to turn around and head back to the lodge.
After skiing we took a break next to the fireplace in some comfortable rocking chairs and couch before heading to Grand Marais for calzones at My Sister’s Place. A great ski day with good friends can’t be beat! – Kris
Link to Central Gunflint Ski Trail Map
Tags: Bearskin, Gunflint Trail
Posted in Outdoor Activities, Uncategorized |
A Ski Through George Washington Pines
Thursday, January 26th, 2012
The weather last weekend was perfect – no wind and mild winter temperatures. What better to do on a day like that than go cross country skiing at George Washington Pines. This quiet ski spot is a little less than 7 miles up the Gunflint Trail. You still have cell phone reception in case you are alone (or want to post a great skiing picture to your friends back home on facebook). It is a 3.5k loop that runs through some of the larger pines in our area. When I got to the parking spot, there was only one other car. The trail itself didn’t have a lot of snow, but was well groomed. It is mostly a flat ski with 1 medium size downhill and one large downhill. It is a great spot for people who are new to skiing or just want an easier ski. -Kris
Tags: Cross Country Skiing, George Washington Pines, Grand Marais, Gunflint Trail
Posted in Outdoor Activities, Uncategorized |
Seagull Beach up the Gunflint Trail
Thursday, August 25th, 2011
This Monday I had the chance to take my son on a little road trip up the Gunflint Trail. Our destination – Seagull Beach - one of the only public sand beaches in our area. We left our home in Lutsen and the outside temperature on my car thermometer read 55 degrees. I thought I was crazy for even attempting the beach when it was so cold, but I could only imagine it was warmer up the trail! If it wasn’t maybe we would go on a hike to keep warm instead!
The drive up the trail was nice. We unfortunately didn’t see any wildlife, but the scenery was worth it. We had a conversation about why the trees didn’t have any leaves and were black because of the Ham Lake fire in 2007. As we reached the end of the trail, sure enough my thermometer had risen to 70 degrees! Yeah – swimming would happen after all.
The Seagull beach is right at the Seagull Lake boat landing. It has a bathroom, flat ground for some games of catch, and a nice picnic table with fire ring close by. You walk below the picnic area to a wonderful sand beach. It isn’t very big, but plenty of room for a few families. We had the beach to ourselves most of the time we were there! The other great part of the area, is you can walk about 200 feet out into the water and it is still only up to your knees – a great spot for toddlers and kids. The water is so clear you can see the ripples in the sand from the waves, any rocks or tree debris and of course fish!
We enjoyed our picnic lunch and made some grand sand castles, which were promptly smooshed by little feet. We also enjoyed the water and walked almost all the way to the deep part of the water. You can see some burned branches and places where the fire had been, but does not overwhelm the beauty of the area.
It took us about an hour and twenty minutes to get from Lutsen to the beach and it was totally worth it! – Kris
Picnic Area
Seagull Beach
Carson testing out the water
Tags: Gunflint Trail, Lutsen, Minnesota, Seagull Beach
Posted in Outdoor Activities, Uncategorized |
Mush for a Cure 2011
Tuesday, March 15th, 2011
I have been looking forward to Mush for a Cure since the Beargrease ended in January. This unique race raises money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. We took a family trip up the Gunflint Trail Saturday to watch the race. The weather was warm, but snowing a little making the road a little icy. We made it in time to walk by all the dogs and see up close the mushers festive pink attire. Even some of the dogs were painted pink!
The teams have a sourdough start, meaning they lay in their sleeping bags with their boots off and the dogs are hooked up to their trucks. At the sound of the start, 40 teams raced to get out of their sleeping bags, get their boots on, and dogs hooked up to their sleds! It was amazing! The dogs were so excited to go and the mushers were moving so fast. We stood at the far end of the starting line and all the teams came past us on their way on Gunflint Lake. There were many younger mushers, mushers with 3-4 dogs, and then the mushers who seem to have been doing this for some time with a full team of dogs.
After all the teams were on their way, we drove to another location to see the teams on the trail (they race on the snowmobile trail). It was so quiet and peaceful as we watched each team make their way by to the finish.
The finish line was at Trail Center on Poplar Lake. There was a large tent set up with hotdogs, games for the kids and a bonfire. It was such a good time! $30,000 was raised and will be going to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. I will look forward to watching the race in 2012! – Kris
Half the trucks lined up for the race
Pink Puppies!
Teams making their way across Gunflint Lake
Quiet Time on the Trail
Betsy Jorgenson coming 1st to the Finish Line
Tags: Dog Sledding, Gunflint Lake, Gunflint Trail, Mush for a Cure, National Breast Cancer Foundation, Trail Center
Posted in Uncategorized, Winter Events |
Beargrease 2011
Tuesday, February 1st, 2011
For the second year in a row we have been able to make it to the Beargrease Mid Distance finish here in Tofte. It is such an awesome feeling to see the teams race down the hill towards the finish line. The dogs and mushers stop for a minute before they go to their trucks so you get a chance to really see the dogs that went through the race. They are always smaller than I think they should be. Some are wearing booties and others are not or maybe they fell off during the race. Most of the time the dogs are quiet, but this year there was one dog who insisted on letting the others know he wanted to race a little more (his picture is below). The local school brings kids to see the race which is a wonderful learning lesson for them on what people can achieve when they put their minds to it.
I was a little star stuck when I saw Jeff King, a 4 time winner of the Iditarod, who was a host of the race. I should have gotten up the courage to ask for a photo with him.
We will also look forward to Mush for a Cure which will be held March 11-12. It has gotten lots of publicity over its fight to keep its name. This local race benefits breast cancer research. It is a fun one to watch too! The race starts on Gunflint Lake and the teams make their way to Trail Center. If you are in the area that weekend, head up the Gunflint Trail for some dog sled excitement! – Kris
Tags: Beargrease, Gunflint Trail, Jeff King, Mush for a Cure, Tofte
Posted in Outdoor Activities, Stories and Pictures |
World’s Best Cross Country Skiing?
Wednesday, December 29th, 2010
Cross country skiing isn’t as flashy as downhill skiing or snowboarding. Cross country trails aren’t usually the subject of front page articles in travel magazines (at least not in the U.S.) It’s hard to find a definitive list of the best cross country ski trails in the U.S. So, I am hereby nominating Cook County’s 400+ km of groomed trails for the title “World’s Best Cross Country Skiing.”
Where else can you traverse maple hillsides while taking in 180 degree views of the largest freshwater lake on earth? When you’re done with that trail, you can zip over to the next set of trails and enjoy river and inland lake views. How about skiing with a bird’s eye view of Grand Marais harbor? A trip up the Gunflint Trail will take you deep into the heart of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. There you can ski comfortably from lodge to lodge – or you can head off-trail to explore the winter woods. You could ski all of this in one day – but it’s definitely better to take a weekend to enjoy it.
Cook County started a new ski festival two winters ago to celebrate our amazing trail system. Even if you can’t make it for the big “Volks Ski” day on February 12, you can participate all season long by sharing trail stories and insights from your skiing days. Their website is a great source of information on trail maps, conditions and features.
Is the Cook County trail system the World’s Best? Why not give it a try and decide for yourself?
Tags: Cascade Vacation Rentals, Gunflint Trail, skiing
Posted in Outdoor Activities, Winter Events |
“The Moose in the Rear View Mirror” by Diane Larson
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
This story was the Grand Prize Winner in our “Your Family Up North” story contest. Diane won a 4-night stay at Aspenwood on Lake Superior.
Our family traditionally loves to travel to the North Shore of Minnesota every summer for vacation. We rent a big house for several days and look forward to rest, relaxation, bonding with family members and enjoying all the magnificent natural beauty that northern Minnesota has to offer.
On this particular sunny day of adventure, we loaded up the vehicle with fishing gear, maps, snacks, and beverages, and set off driving up the Gun Flint Trail, just north of Grand Marais, in search of a fishing pier that I had heard about on one of the area’s lakes.
We were filled with anticipation of a fun afternoon watching my nephews catch fish or expound on “the one that got away.” After studying the map, it was determined that we needed to turn right onto a dusty, gravel road somewhere out in the middle of Timbuktu. My vehicle rumbled down the hilly, winding road kicking up a wake of dust as we drove miles and miles eventually coming to an intersection with no road signs whatsoever. Our choices were, a gravel road to the right, a gravel road to the left, or continue traveling straight ahead. We opted to go straight, but were uncertain as to exactly where we were according to my map.
We had traveled a little over a quarter of a mile from the intersection and I happened to look in my rear view mirror and saw a large animal standing in the middle of the road a good distance behind us. I let out a squeal and quickly brought the vehicle to a stop, excitedly shouting for everyone to turn around and look at what I was seeing in my rear view mirror.
My sister, Jan, her two college-age sons, Bryan and Scott, and our cousin, Donna, immediately turned around and looked out the back window to see a moose in the middle of the road. I slowly turned my vehicle around so we were facing the animal and we couldn’t believe that we were actually looking at a moose, from far away, but nonetheless, a real, honest-to-goodness moose! In all of our years of traveling the roads of northern Minnesota, we have been on the lookout for wildlife of any sort, and we had occasionally seen a fox, deer, raccoon, or some other common animal, but we had never seen the elusive moose that we heard so much about. Now, much to our delight, one was standing in the road just staring at us, as if to say, “What are you looking at?”
We quickly snapped a picture outside the car window and we had tangible proof of our sighting. We started to drive slowly towards the moose as quietly as we could with the gravel crunching beneath the tires of the car and the moose remained still and just stared at us intently. As we got a little closer, he did a double-take, looking back in the opposite direction over his shoulder, and then back at us, finally choosing to head in the opposite direction, trotting slowly at first with his gangly legs and then picking up speed as he galloped directly down the center of the road – not bothering to take refuge in the heavily wooded areas on either side.
I sped up a little to keep up with him, although we followed from a safe distance behind. As he approached the famous, unmarked intersection, without hesitation his lanky body lumbered to the left, without signaling I might add, and was off in a dead run down the center of that road. We drove left and continued following this “Pied Piper of a Moose”.
We caught a glimpse of him at the next intersection as he made his way left once again and we, in turn, followed him making a left turn and found ourselves in a parking lot, adjacent to some campgrounds, a lake and a prominent sign inscribed, “FISHING PIER” – none other than the one we had been looking for all along. What a coincidence! We looked around to see the moose, but he must have taken shelter in the nearby wooded area.
As we all piled out of the car and grabbed our fishing gear, cooler, snacks, etc. we were still on a “high” from seeing a real, live, moose in the wild. As we walked to the fishing pier, we ran into some veteran fishermen at a campsite nearby and we asked them if they happened to have seen a moose in the area and advised them that we had been following one until we arrived at this parking lot. They nodded, yes, and said that a young moose, or yearling, as they called it, had come waltzing through their campsite just a few moments before, scaring the be-jeebies out of them. They said that they’ve seen moose in this area before as they come up to this lake every year for the walleye fishing, it’s so phenomenal!
We told them we were headed to the fishing pier, and they wished us luck. Once we got to the pier, the boys cast out their lines and we settled into the relaxation of watching them fish, and admiring the beautiful view of the serene lake, evergreen trees, and peace & quiet of this lovely oasis in northern Minnesota.
A short time later, we saw two of these fishermen float by in their boat and they waved at us as they headed out to the middle of the lake.
What appeared to be a short time later, the fishermen were returning to their campsite and as they again passed by the pier, they held up a stringer of walleyes and said, “We couldn’t catch any more, because we’ve reached our limit!” Wow, were they ever lucky, and we told them so. My nephews weren’t as fortunate to catch a walleye from this pier, but they had fun catching and releasing several other types of fish.
Soon after that, two of the fishermen came over to the pier and handed us a couple of zip lock baggies filled to the top with fresh walleye filets, ready to be cooked. We couldn’t believe our good fortune and we were so grateful. How generous of these virtual strangers to give us freshly caught fish. They also asked us to join them at their campsite for a sampling of their favorite fish fry. We gladly accompanied them to their nearby campsite and were introduced to two other fishermen friends of theirs and we saw a large, black cauldron of boiling oil suspended over a fire. One of the guys was dropping petite, lightly breaded walleye filets or “walleye bites” as they called them into the bubbling oil and they floated to the top and quickly became golden brown.
The fish was gently scooped up and this delicacy was served on a platter that was passed around for everyone to sample. It was ummm ummm good! We had never tasted walleye this good before. What a treat!
After sampling the walleye and enjoying the company of these fine fishermen, we decided to head back to our rental home as it was just about dusk and we had to maneuver these gravel roads before it got dark. We thanked our new friends for their hospitality, and left with our baggies of fresh fish filets in tow. As we began driving away, I couldn’t help but notice the mirrored waters and lovely crimson sunset outlining the tree lines surrounding the lake as it slowly sank in the horizon and again reflected in my rear view mirror.
That evening we fried up the fish filets and had another delicious supper of incomparable walleye from northern Minnesota.
We all agreed that the moose in the rear view mirror had caused a chain of events which resulted in us finding the long lost fishing pier, meeting some friendly fishermen, and providing us with the best fish we ever had.
It was a day of adventure we would not soon forget.
Tags: Gunflint Trail, moose, wildlife
Posted in Outdoor Activities, Stories and Pictures |
Moose Sightings Up Statewide
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
From the Duluth News Tribune:
Numerous moose sightings surprise Minnesota researchers
From the Boundary Waters, where moose are common, to northwestern Minnesota, where they were thought to be nearly extinct, Minnesotans are reporting more moose sightings than researchers expected. (Read more…)
Tags: Gunflint Trail, Northern Minnesota, wildlife
Posted in Stories and Pictures, Wildlife |
MEA Weekend Availability
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
We have a few homes left for MEA weekend. Enjoy a nice long stay on the North Shore. The fall colors on your drive up will be spectacular!
Aspenwood 6526 – Tofte, Lake Superior
Aspenwood 6540 – Tofte, Lake Superior
Caribou Cove – Lutsen, Caribou Lake
Christine’s Hideaway – Gunflint Trail, Poplar Lake
Hovland Hideaway – Hovland, Lake Superior
Loon Point – Lutsen, Caribou Lake
Call 1-800-950-4361 to make your reservation!
Tags: Grand Marais, Gunflint Trail, Lake Superior, Lutsen, Tofte
Posted in Uncategorized |
