Archives for March 2016

The combination of a warm, sunny day and the convenience of open water at the mouth of the creek flowing into Ensign Lake provided the perfect opportunity for my monthly swim yesterday. We were waiting for Paul Schurke from @wintergreendogsledlodge and Levi, our expedition manager. They were dogsledding in over 150 pounds of supplies for us. I quickly stripped down and plunged into the cold water. After more than 6 months without a shower, and 5 months since the water was warm enough to comfortably swim in, these monthly dips have proven to be quick, but refreshing.
It is amazing out quickly time passes. Before long the ice will be gone, the water will be warm, and we will be swimming to cool off on hot summer days! Today is the 191st day of our #wildernessyear to #savetheBWCA. Today is the last day of the @savetheBWCA March match fundraiser. Make a donation at http://ift.tt/1x2erSX before midnight and it will be matched dollar for dollar!
Photo by Willy Vosburgh #wilderness #onlyinMN #ice #swim #polarplunge #onlyinmn #captureMN

There are many people who are chipping in and playing key roles in helping make our #wildernessyear to #savetheBWCA possible. Levi, who is our expedition manager, is at the top of that list. He makes sure all the wonderful dehydrated food, baked goods, and treats people send us get delivered. Plus, he packs and organizes all of our food and equipment, helps us buy things like fishing licenses, sends in our mail, and helps us with a million other little details.
Yesterday he brought over 150 pounds supplies 16 miles into the heart of with Wilderness by dogsled with the help of Willie and Paul from @wintergreendogsledlodge . It was a beautiful, warm day and we spent several hours visiting out on the ice while they did some trout fishing near our campsite on Knife Lake. Paul and Levi both had trout on; Paul reeled a nice trout all the way up to the hole before it got loose!

I love that Levi’s beard is long enough to blow in the wind! He often brings us a growler of @BentPaddleBeer as a special treat when he visits. Yesterday he used his growler as a water bottle!

Please join us in our efforts to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from a series of sulfide-ore copper mines being proposed along the southern edge of the Wilderness. Sign the petition @savetheBWCA and make your voice heard today!

#fishing #icefishing #onlyinMN #beard #Wilderness #BoundaryWaters #BWCA #getoutstayout #Minnesota #captureMN

We were up at dawn and harnessed the dogs in the cool morning air. Rocketing down Knife Lake as the sun rose higher, the dogs pulled us with ease over the icy surface. By 9 AM it was already hot. We stopped often, letting the dogs lap water from puddles along the shore. We were headed for Splash Lake to meet Frank Moe. It seems like only yesterday Frank drove a team in to drop off Tina, Tank, and Acorn. Now 3 months later the ice is starting to melt and Frank was back to pick up Tina and Acorn.
It was sad saying goodbye to Tina and Acorn, but they were obviously happy to see Frank and its was time for them to go home. We are so thankful to have worked with them all winter, they were wonderful companions and amazing sled dogs.

Now our party is down to 3, it’s just Amy, Tank, and me on Knife Lake. Spring is in the air and before long we will be canoeing.
#wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #BWCA #BoundaryWaters #dogs #friends

All five of us lounged in the sun for much of the day. Amy and I busied ourselves with a variety of chores. Acorn, Tina, and Tank sprawled in the grass. They were free to roam the campsite, but napping in the sun was the preferred activity. This morning the lake was covered in a thin layer of snow but by noon gray patches began to emerge. By the end of the day pools of water and slush covered Knife Lake. We spun and laughed on the slippery surface as the sun set.
Tomorrow is supposed to hit 50 degrees and rain is forecast for Wednesday. It makes me wonder how long the ice will last. Frank Moe is coming in to pick up Tina and Acorn tomorrow; our canoe and a month’s worth of food will be brought to us over the next week. It will be sad to say goodbye to Tina and Acorn. They are such hard workers and really sweet dogs. We will miss them for sure. We are really happy that Frank and Sherri have agreed to let Tank stay with us for the summer. We hope that he gets used to riding in the canoe.
We spent a summer canoeing across Canada with a 104 pound husky-lab mix named Fennel. He had never been in a canoe before students voted through the Wilderness Classroom and decided that he should join us. It took him a few days to get used to the canoe, but before long he was a pro. We are confident that Tank will pick up canoeing quickly as well.
I am looking forward to having our canoe and plenty of food. Then we won’t have to worry about the weather, we can just watch spring unfold, travel over the ice as long as we can, and then wait for break up.

Today is the 188th day of our #wildernessyear to #savetheBWCA. Please sign the petition at @savetheBWCA and help us protect these pristine lakes and rivers.

#wilderness #boundarywaters #BWCA #sunset #dancing #onlyinMN #captureMN #WeAreTheWild

Kekekabic is an iconic Boundary Waters lake, lined with dramatic cliffs and ridges, plunging into 180 feet of cold, clean, trout-filled water. There is no easy way to get there summer or winter; those who make the journey over rugged portage trails and wind-swept lakes have really earned the wild vista that awaits.
Traveling across Kekekabic, Wisini, Ahmakose, Kek, Spoon, Knife, and a handful of other lakes yesterday reminded me of the sheer vastness of the Wilderness. In a year we will just break the surface. I am thankful that a lifetime of lakes, ridges, creeks, and bogs will remain for us to explore.
Please help us protect the Boundary Waters from the threats that Twin Metals and other proposed sulfide-ore copper mines along the edge of the Wilderness bring to the region. Sign the petition at @savetheBWCA and make your voice heard.
#wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #winter #wilderness #adventure #BWCA #boundarywaters

Fresh snow wiped away the tracks left by yesterday’s visitors and clung to the cedar branches. It was a perfect spring day. We skijored through 3 new lakes and stopped in the middle of each lake to drill a hole and record water quality data. The dogs pulled us effortlessly along and the warm, relatively calm conditions made travel and data collecting easy. The ravens and pileated woodpeckers were especially active and we heard their distinct calls throughout the day.
Yesterday afternoon a group of local skiers from Ely stopped by our campsite about half way through a 40 mile marathon ski from Moose Lake up to Knife, down through Fraser and Thomas, and across the winter trail to Disappointment. We later heard they reached Snowbank Lake landing just as it was getting dark. Now that is a day trip! They make the 8 miles we traveled today sound like a walk in the park!

This national treasure is too precious to risk. Sign the petition at @savetheBWCA to help us protect the Boundary Waters from a series of proposed sulfide-ore copper mines along the edge of our nation’s most popular Wilderness.

#wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #winter #wilderness #adventure #BWCA #BoundaryWaters

Gone are the days when I wake up in the dark to light the stove. I lay in bed this morning listening to the wind and watching dawn slowly bring light into our world. I was struck by the sheer silence that surrounds us. I found myself wondering what it be like to hear cars and trucks, fans, phones, sirens, TVs, door bells, and all the other noisy clutter that fills life outside the Wilderness. I feel very lucky to have woken up in a tent several thousand times over the course of my life. Listening to nature seems a fitting way to emerge from sleep whether it’s the crack of thunder during a midnight storm, or a silent, still, foggy dawn.

This morning we ate a quick breakfast, harnessed the dogs, and headed out to explore a couple of nearby lakes. Muskrat and Trinity are small, dead-end lakes just a stone’s throw from Fraser. I have paddled through Fraser several times, but have never taken the time to visit Muskrat or Trinity. Large white pines dotted the portage trail into Muskrat; Trinity was lined with mature pines as well.
We collected water quality data in both lakes, drilling through 14 inches of ice and lowering our probes down the hole. The spring weather makes it easier to take measurements, but handling the wet cable is still a cold job. It is really nice to not have to worry about drifting while taking measurements though. When we record data from our canoe it can be hard to stay in place!

#wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #BoundaryWaters #water #BWCA #science #silence #wilderness

I wish spring could last forever in the Boundary Waters. The lakes are perfect for traveling, covered in an inch of firm snow. The portages are mostly covered with 6 inches of dense snow, which covers most of the rocks, but isn’t deep enough to slow us down.
At 7 pm the sun is just setting and it is warm enough to go about feeding the dogs, cutting firewood, hauling water, and setting up camp without wearing gloves or being concerned about getting cold.
We are camped on the north end of Fraser Lake near the center of the Wilderness. The wind rustling through the pines, the crackle of the wood stove and the clanking of bowls as the dogs polish off dinner are the only sounds.
For me this is the singing Wilderness that Sigurd Olson described so eloquently and worked tirelessly to protect. I stood by the ice hole for a long time this evening feeling the sun’s warmth and drinking cups full of cold, clear, clean water. Let’s be sure future generations have these same opportunities. Learn more and sign the petition at @savetheBWCA !
#wildernessyear #savethebwca #WeAreTheWild #onlyinMN #BoundaryWaters #BWCAW #dogs #adventure #dogsledding #spring

Six months ago a flotilla of canoes, kayaks, pontoon boats, fishing boats, and paddle boards escorted us from @riverpointresort to the edge of the Wilderness. We paddled along Birch Lake and the Kawishiwi River where the Twin Metals Mine is being proposed and on into the Wilderness.
It is hard to believe we have reached the halfway mark of our Year in the Wilderness. Even after 183 days in the Boundary Waters it is more clear than ever that this Wilderness is a national treasure that is far too valuable to risk.

I think Minnesota’s Governor Mark Dayton said it best in his letter in the Mesabi Daily News yesterday. “Thus, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area does not belong just to Minnesotans. It belongs to all Americans, those living now and generations from now. Ely is not only its gateway, but also its guardian.

That obligation to protect the BWCA and preserve its wilderness is a responsibility shared by all Minnesotans. We have no right to risk its vulnerable ecology for the financial benefit of a large international mining conglomerate and their Minnesota investors.” It is up to all Americans to protect this place. Sign the petition at @savetheBWCA. If you make a donation to Save the Boundary Waters in March, it will be matched!

Thank you for all of your support over the last 6 months. Your words of encouragement, visits, petition signatures, donations, treats, and general support have helped us thrive all winter long and make significant progress towards protecting the Boundary Waters watershed from sulfide-ore mining.

We celebrated our first 6 months in the Wilderness with chocolate cake, fresh salad, and wild rice brats roasted over a campfire. Thank you Levi for bringing in such special treats! Now it is time to double down. There is more work to do, but together we will protect this Wilderness for future generations. #wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #wilderness #boundarywaters #BWCAW #celebrate #onlyinMN

When Tina and Acorn saw the fresh otter tracks they raced down the icy, alder-choked creek. My skis skittered over the frictionless surface. My weight barely slowed them down. It was all I could do to stay on my feet. Ducking under branches and lifting my ski tips over alder branches frozen in the overflow as the dogs raced on. It was fun; we were out seeing new country, trying to follow the winter trail that connects Disappointment Lake to Thomas Lake.
Our confidence was lifted when we spotted fresh dogsled tracks at the beginning of the trail. A few hundred yards later we could see where the team had turned around, deterred by a tangle of alders and menacing overflow. Amy hooked herself to all three dogs and I headed into the alder thicket to find and clear the trail. It was slow work, but after 50 yards the trail improved.
The trail from Disappointment to Thomas is about 6 miles long. It is really a series of trails that connect creeks, bogs, and small lakes. We heard that several mushers tried to open the trail earlier in the winter, but turned back after about 2 miles. Occasionally we could see evidence that someone had traveled through earlier in the winter, but following the trail through the open bogs was still difficult at times.
It was fun to look at the map and think about where we thought the trail should go. Sometimes were were right. Other times we found ourselves hunting for the trail in the wrong place.
Muzzle and Kobe Lakes were dotted with wolf and otter tracks. The spring weather has opened up small holes in the ice near sun-baked rocks and where streams flow in and out of the lakes. Otter tracks connect many of these holes. This must be a great time to be an otter, running and sliding across the lakes with lots of spots to dive under the ice and look for food.

We must speak loudly for the otters and the wolves, the clean, cool lakes, and towering pines. This Wilderness is too precious to risk. Sign the petition at @savetheBWCA, help us protect the Boundary Waters from a series of proposed sulfide-ore copper mines along the edge of our nation’s most popular Wilderness.

#wildernessyear #savetheBWCA #winter #wilderness #adventure