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 big question this week is when is the ice going out. Lots of wind has helped to move it along. Right now I would say that the west end of Gunflint is out. Shifting winds have moved what ice is left around the lake. Today and tomorrow we have 60% chances for thunderstorms if you believe the weather forecast. That could weaken the ice enough to let the wind finish moving it out. Believe me, we are all ready for open water. There are lots of fish in the lake to be caught.


This week Wolf Point Trail lived up to its name. I was looking out an upstairs window one morning when right on the road a wolf walked by. He was a big gray wolf which is why we decided it was a male. The animal was very relaxed and in no rush to move long. Bruce and I both got a good look at him.

Last Saturday morning we spent a couple hours up at Chik-Wauk planting trees – red pine and spruce. Only six of us appeared and I know why. It was a perfectly horrible day. Between wind, rain and snow, it was a day we should have been inside looking out. Even so, we got a couple hundred trees planted. The most interesting part of the morning was seeing how many trees are coming up. They range in size from six inches to a couple of feet. The differences in size come from a successful planting effort for several years. By lunch time we were all ready to go home. Just stopping moving to eat chilled us all down. A good hot shower felt great when I got back to the house.

We have done a little remodeling in the main dining room. Against the south wall (opposite the windows), we have added three booths. Bonnie is in the process of making cushions for the benches. It will offer a nice change of tables for guests.

The staff for the canopy tour has just finished an intense training program. When the trainers first arrived they did a detailed inspection of the course itself to make sure that it adhered to all the national standards. Then for the next three days the training ran from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Throughout this period, a lot of emphasis is placed on safety. Jason Merrill, who oversees the course, is very fussy that everything is done is a safe manner, every time.

The riding stables are also open for the summer again. It is always fun to get the horses back. Mandy goes down every to pick the horses she wants. Many are repeats from previous years. This gives her a good base to start training the new horses. Just like Jason, she is very insistent that people have a safe riding experience.

So here we are up and running for another summer. The winter just flew by and I expect that this summer will go by just as fast.

Gunflint Lake is still covered with ice. It is quite a change from the last two years when the ice was out in March. It will still probably be 10 days or so before the ice goes out. A lot depends on the wind. Right now there is a large lead of open water from the Cross River. That will erode the entire west bay of the lake. When we have a lot of open water in that bay and the ice is black everywhere and the wind comes from the west end, then the ice will start to move. If all the elements are perfectly aligned, the ice can be cleared from the entire lake in a day or so.


The wind is coming up today. That will help. It did not freeze last night. That’s another plus. We had some rain showers yesterday and drizzling today. It all works to soften the ice. Once things start to move, the ice can go out very quickly.

Animals are starting to move around more. Some guests saw the first bear of the season up near the end of the Trail. Some other guests saw a moose cow and what appeared to be a very young calf – probably this spring’s young. At any rate Mama was keep close track of it. In spite of the resident lynx at the lodge, I saw three snowshoe hares while driving out the side road last night. The deer are around but look very thin. Some grass should start to green up soon and that will help. I think the fawns will be very small this year. Warm sunshine after they are born would go a long way toward keeping them healthy.

Last night around 7:30 we had an interesting combination of temperatures on the lake. The ice was cold, the air was warm and a little rain was coming down. The result was a mist rising off the ice. I stood and watched as the mist went right along the north shore of the lake toward the east. You could actually see it moving along. Then it spread over most of the lake for a short time. It was a little eerie to watch.

Most of the snow is gone from the woods. The waters are filling up the creeks, rivers and swamps. This in turn is flowing into the lakes. I can see the level of Gunflint coming up. My gauge is the northeast corner of the main dock. Two logs and the flat board are still out of water. It is going up every day just a little. Bruce thinks the entire dock will be covered with water. We will see.

We spent Monday night and Tuesday in Duluth with Don and Marilyn. Upper Lakes Foods who sells us most of our food was having a show of most of their venders. Tasting in the evening was extensive but easy since most of the food fit into the appetizer or light meal category. It was Tuesday morning that got to your stomach. We have to taste to learn anything but at 9:00 a.m. you can go from apple pie to garlic sausage to steak. My stomach is not really comfortable with the random mixture of food and the timing of the meal. At any rate, we all survived and found a few things to add to our menu.

Saturday is the opening of the walleye season. With a little luck a couple of the small lakes will be open but don’t expect to hear of anyone getting a boat load of fish.