Clearwater Lake finally gave up the ghosts of winter last night.  A northeast wind blew hard all night and is still gusting up to 40mph, sending 3 foot rolling white caps crashing into our dock and flooding boats.  The wet and windy weather is forecast to continue through the next couple of days.  It has been seven months since we last paddled Clearwater, whats another two days.

     With the Minnesota and Canadian Fishing Openers over and few fish stories to tell I thought I would share some fishing information with you instead. Anglers spend $2.4.. (865 words)

Ice went out from Poplar Lake sometime between late evening of May 17 and the morning of the 18. This marks the second latest ice out since we began keeping records in 1990. May 22, 1996 still stands as the latest ice out date we have on record. Of course ...

Yesterday afternoon with temperature hovering in the 60s and a slight breeze the ice finally went out on Little Ollie Lake. However the ice still has a firm lock on mid size lakes in the mid-trail area, such as Poplar. Don't expect these lakes to be ice free for days.

April First and this is not an April fools joke. The skiing is great!

March 31 Snow still holding: 15 inches on the ground. Skiers out on the Banadad today said the trail was in great shape. While the temperature got up into the mid 40s yesterday we received a bit of snow last night, more snow is expected tonight and ...

Catch the ski in from the Banadad Ski Trail to the Poplar Creek Guesthouse B&B as seen by Helmet-cam. It a nice down hill run- http://youtu.be/mRDu3vpD63A

Ted Young, Gunflint Trail- With the continued decline of Minnesota's moose population, Tom Landwehr, commissioner of the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) finally came to his senses and stopped the moose hunt. Landwehr in explaining his decision to stop the hunt stated that, "It reaffirms the conservation ...

Article in Mens Health Magazine , "Best Nordic Skiing in the U.S., the Lodge -to Lodge Way." Boundary Country Trekking's Gunflint Nordic Lodge to Lodge program listed as one of the five best. 

This new dog sled race, Gichigami Express, took off  on January 6 from Grand Portage heading for Hungry Jack Lodge. The next day musher started at Windigo Lodge ran to Gunflint Lake then on to Poplar Lake. At east end of Poplar they ran down the Little Ollie Road en-route ...

Each year, over the course of many years Anne Rykken, Minnehaha Academy's Nordic ski coach and Banadad Trail Association Board of Director,  in the fall has brought members of her ski team to help maintain the trail. Then in March she brings members of the team on a Banadad ski ...

Yesterday the area around Poplar Creek Guesthouse B&B had another four inches of snow. This was on top of the eight inches that fell the day before Thanksgiving. The temperature has dropped. This morning the thermometer registers 7 degrees. The smaller lakes- Little Ollie, Swamp are now frozen. The larger ...

     The Gunflint Trail is rich in history.  There are a few people who know quite a bit about the history of the Gunflint Trail and sometimes they share their knowledge.      .. (718 words)

Gunflint Lake has finally given up the ghost!  The ice finally melted yesterday.  There was still some ice at the east end yesterday morning, but by 2pm the neighbors called to let us know it was gone.  Bob & Wyatt went the the far end last night to fish Little Gunflint.  They caught a couple fish –  Walleye and some small Northerns.

Final Ice Breaker on Sag

Reports from other fishermen are that the trout are shallow and biting well.   Other guests ventured to sag the past two days.  They had some luck as well, but spent a little time breaking ice.  Looking on the bright side, they said at least they didn’t have to buy ice to fill the coolers – they just used the broken up lake ice.

Here’s a couple more pictures from a day on the lake.

Sag Laker - Spring 2013

                                  

Spring Lake Trout

5/18/13 - Sawbill crew member and freelance filmmaker, Carl Hansen, shared this beautiful picture. - Bill

Northern lights reflect off the last of the Sawbill Lake ice a few nights ago. © Hansen International Productions

I no sooner wrote that the ice was still on Gunflint when Mother Nature changed her mind.  Yesterday (5/17) the wind blew the ice around until the lake was clear.  Neighbors from the east end kept calling me in the afternoon to say the ice was here or there.  Finally the ice was gone.  Now even less than a day after the ice is gone, I have trouble remembering what the lake looked like when it was covered with ice.  The same thing happens when the lake freezes over in the fall and I have trouble remembering open water.   Check our web cam to see the water flowing freely over Gunflint.

     The lakes on the Gunflint Trail are becoming less solid and more liquid by the day.  A drive up the Gunflint Trail yesterday showed liquid bays on Poplar lake but some ice.. (257 words)

Sarah over at Trail Center Lodge has declared the ice is out on Poplar Lake. She watched canoes plow through the ice, so I guess spring is finally here. (I’m knocking wood as I type this.) It appears we have a three-way tie for our 2013 Ice Out Prediction Contest, which means we are having a drawing on Monday to decide the winner.

 

Happy Victoria Day weekend to our northern neighbors! Stop by our store and say hi if you are in town for the long weekend.

5/17/13 - Our long time friend Ben Harris has recently completed his course of studies to become a Certified Massage Therapist. For at least the next couple of weekends, we'll be experimenting with having Ben provide chair massages on the deck of the Sawbill Store.

Ben's mission is to help BWCAW visitors of every kind in moving from soreness and limited movement into relaxation and freedom of motion, so that they can travel and camp at their fullest comfort and ability.

Ben will be here from 8 am until 4 pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. His rates will be $1/minute for a 5 to 60 minute massage. He will also offer group rate discounts.

Ben will welcome walk-in clients or you can reserve a time for a massage by contacting Ben directly at Portages End Massage, 218-226-8418 or PortagesEnd@gmail.com.