North Pole Shakedown

Every winter, adventurous sorts come to the woods outside of Ely to prepare for attempts to reach the North Pole by dogsled or ski. It is an opportunity for these people to see how their cold weather systems perform and learn skills for dogsledding and cold weather travel and camping. We call these North Pole Shakedowns. It is an opportunity for people to determine if they can safely attempt this sort of trip.

Elham, a participant from Dubai, is training to dogsled to the North Pole. This photos shows her frying some breakfast bagels with cheese in the glow of the tent during the Shakedown this week near Ely.

I guided the dogsledding portion of the Shakedown trip. Winter camping with us included a group of people shaking down for a pulk trip to the Pole. The really intriguing thing about the pulk group is that two of the participants were pulling pulks on their second hearts. Really. They both had received heart transplants. They traveled alongside their cardiologists, and are planning to pull pulks to the North Pole in April. Both the pulk and dogsled groups plan to start at 88 or 89 degrees north latitude for their attempts at the Pole.

Painting with light in a Layne Kennedy photo workshop

Layne Kennedy is at Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge this week leading a dogsledding photo workshop. I'm one of the dogsled guides on the trip. It is a joy to work with Layne and absorb his contagious enthusiasm.

Layne is a professional magazine and nature photographer. At the beginning of the photo workshop week, participants draw "assignments" out of a hat and use them to help focus their lens' attention. I drew "the lodge."

Layne taught about painting with light this week. It's a new concept to me. I'm getting to know my Nikon D5000 digital SLR and experimented with leaving the shutter open on a 30 second exposure. The below photo shows an uninspiring photo of the lodge on a 30 second exposure at f/14.0. The above photo, in stark contrast, shows the lodge moments later taken on a 30 second exposure (but at f/9.0) with some "light painting." While the shutter was open, Layne shined a handheld spotlight on parts of the lodge and trees to bring them to light. It is an exciting technique that created a more pleasant result than one could get altering the picture with Photoshop. None of the photos in this post have been altered in Photoshop.

Finally, the photo with the yurt also demonstrates painting with light on a long exposure. I took this one on a 20 second exposure. The red color in the snow is from the headlamp Layne is wearing in the shot.

Layne will be leading a Boundary Waters photo workshop canoe trip with Boundary Waters Guide Service this September. Click here for more information. Also watch for Layne's latest book on the Boundary Waters to be published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press and released in 2010.

Wet snow is weighing down branches and small trees

The recent wet snow has wreaked havoc with area trails. Though the snow-covered trees make a winter-wonderland scene from the highways, drooping trees and branches have seriously restricted travel on winter dogsled and ski routes through the woods in the boundary waters.

Most of our dogsledding trails are outside the BWCAW, and therefore we've been able to break open trails with a specially-equiped snowmobile, a chainsaw, and a whole lot of physical labor. The above photo shows weighted-down trees obstructing a trail near Ely. Though it is hardly recognizable, a well-used trail runs through the middle of the photo.

The below photo shows the "Mad Max" snow machine Paul rigged to plow through all the down branches on the trails. The blue plastic cage is to tunnel through the obstructions, and help knock the snow off the branches.

Act Now to Prevent Sulfide Mining From Harming Northeast Minnesota

Precious Waters: Minnesota's Sulfide Mining Controversy from Precious Waters on Vimeo.

The Ely area has a long history of iron mining. It is a prized part of our past. Beginning in the late 1800's, immigrants arrived from afar in search of a better life for their families. Many of these immigrants found mining jobs, or jobs supported by the mining economy. The last names of local residents reflect the eastern-European heritage of many immigrant miners, and the prevalence of last names beginning with the letter Z followed by a lot of consonants makes a Zabokrtsky like myself feel right at home. The Pioneer Mine, the last of eleven Ely mines, closed in 1967.

The closing of the mines devastated the local economy. By the early 1980s people were selling Ely area houses for only a few thousand dollars, if they could sell them at all. But, Ely began to grow again from another natural resource - the unique boreal forest, pristine waters, and unbridled beauty of Superior National Forest and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Today, a potential new era of mining is upon us. But it doesn't have to do with iron. And it's nothing at all like the traditional iron mines. Instead, these potential new mines are the first of their kind in Minnesota. They are sulfide mines and they present potentially serious and insidious environmental risks that could irreparably harm the pristine waters that make Northeast Minnesota and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness a national treasure. And could impair the tourism economy that keeps Ely going.

These hazardous sulfide mines are basically outlawed in neighboring Wisconsin for their harmful environmental effects.

Sulfide mining exposes sulfur-bearing rock and soil to air and water. This creates large amounts of sulfuric acid. This then causes heavy metal and sulfuric acid pollution of the surrounding watershed: aquifers, streams, rivers, and lakes big and small. This type of pollution can kill virtually all life in formerly pure waters that had teamed with our state fish (the walleye), smallmouth bass, northern pike, and an assortment of other species. Or it can make these fish hazardous to eat.

These sulfide mines present a serious risk to the health of our waters and our way of life. Our Ely economy depends on clean waters and a healthy environment. The Superior National Forest estimates that it generates $223 million for the region annually. If we protect our pristine waters, we will continue to benefit from this beautiful natural area, and small guide services and outfitters like mine will continue to prosper as we share this precious resource with guests from around the world. To trade this life for a couple decades of mining profits in the pockets of a few large corporations (most of whom are not even based in the United States), followed by perpetual pollution and costly cleanup at taxpayer expense, is not a wise choice.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is currently accepting comments on whether the first-ever sulfide mine in Minnesota should be allowed. This process relates to the Polymet Sulfide Mine that is not in the BWCAW watershed, but is in Northeast Minnesota. And it may set a precedent for similar mines immediately outside the BWCAW, in the Boundary Waters watershed, and expected to go through similar permitting processes. The public comment period ends on February 3, and all Minnesotans who care about this issue should consider commenting.

If you care about preserving clean water and the Boundary Waters, you should watch the above video, and go to www.preciouswaters.org. The Friends of the Boundary Waters organization has tirelessly worked to garner these resources and facts to inform people on this important issue.

Many guides like myself still drink straight from the lakes here. That's a shock to visitors. I want to keep shocking them with the realization that our precious waters are that pristine. The risk of acid mine drainage from sulfide mines isn't worth the trade-off.

Video of Birth of Lily the Black Bear's Cub near Ely, MN

This video shows the actual birth of Lily the Black Bear's cub near Ely, MN, around noon today. You will see the cub's paw reach out from behind Lily's leg and hear the cub's sounds as it cries out for the first time.

I just spoke again with Dr. Rogers and he says that Lily just now fell asleep. Dr. Rogers was awake all night watching over this first-ever live webcam birth of a black bear in the wild, and it sounds like he deserves a quick rest as well.

Lily the Black Bear is Giving Birth - See the Live "Black Bear Cam" in her Den near Ely, MN

The first ever live broadcast of the birth of a wild black bear cub is being broadcast on the web. The North American Bear Center (http://www.bear.org/) near Ely has placed a special live camera in Lily the Black Bear's den to record this event. Click here for the Black Bear Cam.

I just got off the phone with Dr. Lynn Rogers of the Bear Center. He confirmed that it appears Lily the Black Back has just given birth to a black bear cub. She may have also given birth to a second cub, or a second cub may still be on the way. Lily went into labor yesterday at 1:59PM. Lily then made some contortions and gave birth to a first cub at approximately 11:38 AM today. The squawks of the cub and sweet grunts of the mother bear were heard shortly thereafter, says Dr. Rogers.

Dr. Rogers is probably the foremost black bear researcher in the world and says this is the first time in his 43 years of bear research that such a birthing event has been captured in the wild. It is only possible because reseachers worked with Lily in the wild for several years to develop her trust. Without her trust, Lily would have abandoned her den when the video equipment was installed.

The above photo shows Lily the Black Bear looking out of her den on January 11, 2010. The below photo shows her den and the camera equipment.

Dr. Rogers also communicated a request that bear hunters not shoot collared bears, such as Lily, that are the subject of their research.

Photos used with permission. Please note that Boundary Waters Guide Service (www.BoundaryWatersGuideService.com) provides fully outfitted and guided Boundary Waters canoe trips for friends and families, and does not guide bear hunting trips.

A Dogsled Guide's Day Off

People often ask me what dogsled guide's do on our days off. I tell them that our days off tend to look a lot like our days on.

For example, I had this week off from guiding to celebrate a late Christmas with my parents who visited from Iowa. What did I find myself doing on my day off? Sure enough, dogsledding. I took my dad and a few friends dogsledding up to Basswood Lake for a day trip. We cruised around on the dogsleds, set some tip-ups, and had a nice fire and some Zup's polish sausage. The crappies weren't active, but we pulled up several pike, including the one in the below photo.

We also spied two wolves along the way. We saw one that looked somewhat weak on Sunset Road on the way to Fall Lake. The other seemed healthy and robust as it loped across Muskeg Lake off of the Four Mile.

I suppose it's a good sign that you like your job if you do it on your days off.

Deep Freeze Temps and Hand and Foot Warmers

With low temps around 30 degrees below zero, we cracked open some hand and foot warmers for the dogsledding trip this week.

I just finished guiding a trip with a nice family from near New York City. It turns out one of them worked as a hand and foot model. She really appreciated the hand and foot warmers, and modeled them between her toes for this photo. Ironically, she's modeling the hand warmers in this picture. Chemical warmers labeled as toe warmers work best in the air-restricted space in a shoe. Toe warmers typically get too hot for use in mittens. Chemical warmers labeled hand warmers are best used in mittens, but can sometimes work in oversized winter boots. People concerned that they frequently suffer from cold feet usually find that toe warmers make a significant difference in their comfort level on trail.

You don't want foot warmers that make your feet so hot they sweat and then get chilled. But with the super deep freeze temps this week, that did not present a problem. You'll also want to check the expiration date on any chemical warmers because they can fail to provide heat after the stated expiration.

Upon their return home, I received a nice thank you email from the family and a compliment: "We were colder landing in the wind chill of New Jersey than at any time on the lake in Ely. Go figure."

Building a Quinzee Snow Shelter

The dogsled camping group this week is game for just about anything. I really like their eagerness to try new things.

Today the whole group joined in to build a traditional snow shelter called a quinzee. The above photo shows our finished product.

A quinzee is made by hollowing out a pile of settled snow. It is much warmer than a tent, and can be used for winter camping, survival, or just plain fun.

Quinzee construction is a somewhat time consuming and labor intensive process. Here's how.

Shovel a pile of snow six to ten feet high and long enough for two or three people to sleep side by side. A big scoop shovel works well. The below photo shows Fran, a guest from the United Kingdom, scooping snow for the quinzee.

Ideally flip the loose snow over as you shovel it to mix snow of different temperatures. Don't pack it down. Instead, once it's piled, let it sit for a few hours. A process called "sintering" occurs that makes even light fluffy snow firm up while you wait. The below photos show's Fran's husband, Gareth, putting some final scoops on the mound.

Before you walk away from the pile, insert a couple dozen ten inch long sticks into the walls and ceiling areas of the mound. These will be your guides to stop digging out the interior so you don't go through the walls when digging it out. That's what Jen (Minneapolis) is doing below.

When you return to hollow out the inside of the mound, be ready to get wet. You will be working up a sweat shoveling out the snow and working on your hands, knees, and belly getting coated with snow that melts and soaks your clothes.

Start by digging a door on the downwind side. Make it just big enough to crawl through, and then start hollowing out the inside. It helps to have one person inside scooping snow toward the entry, and another person scooping it aside.

As you hollow out the interior, dome the ceiling and smooth the interior snow to prevent dripping. When you hit the gauge sticks you inserted, stop digging in that area. This will ensure your walls are about a foot thick. Be mindful that a smaller space will be warmer and that room to sit up but not stand is adequate. You also may elevate a couple sleeping platforms so the coolest air sinks down and out the entry.

Adequate ventilation is also important. Make a small vent hole in the ceiling and keep it clear. You may put a pack over the entry, but don't seal it too tightly.

It's a good idea to bring a tarp for the sleeping platforms and floor, to help stay dry.

While building and using your quinzee, you will also want to use some precautions. Build the quinzee with someone for safety. There is a danger of collapse if you hollow too far through the walls, or someone walks on top. If you hollow out the inside while on your knees rather than your back, then you have a better chance of digging yourself out in the event of a collapse. Finally, keep a digging utensil with you as a precaution while inside.


Though it takes time and effort, a quinzee ensures a warmer night in our winter wilderness. It also makes for happy campers, like Charles and Catherine from New York City, above.

Dog food?

My first dogsled camping trip of the season launched this week. It is four days and three nights on trail.

This morning around the campfire Jen (a guest from Minneapolis) peaks into the breakfast pot and says:

"Hhmm. That looks delicious. Uh, this may sound awful, but when I first saw that
I thought it was dog food."

We both got a good laugh out of the observation. And, after some butter, fruit and brown sugar mix-ins, people agreed the oatmeal tasted pretty good. It also helped keep us warm on trail today.

Boundary Waters Bus

Before restrictions on motors in the BWCAW, land-based motorized vehicles made their way into some remote places.

For example, this old International Harvester bus transported passengers across the Four Mile Portage between Fall Lake and Hoist Bay on Basswood Lake. The passengers would be either starting a canoe trip or going to one of the Basswood resorts.

This bus now sits in the woods near Bear Island River Road outside of Ely, rusting and entombed in a grove of saplings. The below photo shows the driver's side by the back fender. Although it is painted over, you can make out the service being marketed: Canoe Trips.

Today, paddlers can still obtain motorboat tows on Basswood Lake, but motorized land transport is no longer allowed over the Four Mile Portage. Instead of a road for buses, the Four Mile Portage today is overgrown (yet walkable) and partially flooded.

Pine Marten on the Hunt

This frisky Pine Marten is hanging around the cabin, eating birdseed from the feeders and chasing wildlife. I photographed him today.

Recently I watched him chase a Red Squirrel up a spruce tree, and then give up on the chase to await an easier ambush. Then I spotted him bounding through the fresh snow after a Snowshoe Hare. It didn't look like he had a good chance at running the rabbit down either.

But, the local critters know the Pine Marten is on the hunt. The squirrels are being particularly cautious around the bird feeders. They are staying in the trees, hopping from branch to branch rather than moving through the snow where they'd be easier prey.

Pine Marten are typically chocolate-brown, have a golden throat patch, and a 12 to 18 inch body followed by a seven to ten inch tail. They are smaller than the related fisher (30-47 inches long, including tail). As omnivores, they subsist on Red-backed Voles, squirrels, rabbits, mice, chipmunks, birds, insects, seeds, worms, and berries. They reportedly particularly like raspberries. Pine Marten are excellent climbers, freely jump between trees, and can rotate their back hips to run headfirst down a tree trunk.

They are active all year. In winter, you may see their paw prints in the snow. Their tracks are less than two inches wide and show five toe pads around a rounded heel pad.

The Pine Marten stick to high ground and loathe water that mats their unoiled fur. In summer, you may seem them on portages. However, the brown cat-size creature dancing along the shoreline rocks is more likely to be its water-loving relative with a contrasting white throat patch, the Mink.

Last Boat Ride of 2009

Most folks had their motorboats winterized by the end of October. Virtually all other boats were tucked away by mid-November. But, this photo shows how one motorboater can lay claim to the title of last boater on Shagawa Lake in 2009.

To say the least, it's unusual to be boating on an ice-covered lake. But that's what happened here. Someone used the Shagawa Lake landing for its intended summertime purpose near Grand Ely Lodge on the edge of Ely today.

Shagawa Lake was open water yesterday, and froze over night. This morning the sound of a boat crashing through ice resonated all the way to the Grand Ely, and people peaked out the window at the sight of a motorboat breaking its way through an apparently fully iced-over Shagawa Lake.

I don't know why the boat was out there, but some have speculated that the boat may have been retrieving nets from netting whitefish, or maybe he just wanted the title of last boat on Shagawa 2009.

Northwest Passage Dogsled Expedition - Why They Do This

Tomorrow Chris and Lisa start driving north. The accompanying photos show the sparkling new 14' sledge which they will christen once arriving in Inuvik.

Why do they do this, and why is this expedition unique?

This is nothing less than an epic journey. Chris and Lisa will face the extremes of adversity: bone-chilling cold of 50 below air temps and colder, brutal wind chills dropping temps to inhuman depths, hungry polar bears, blizzards, thin ice over deadly water, and the everyday challenges of life on a tipping edge that requires living in the moment to survive.

One must have a certain predisposition to entertain ideas of expeditions of this sort. Virtually no one on the planet - save that certain fraction of a percent of truly adventurous souls - would consider such a journey.

The dogsled journeys of Greenlandic polar explorer and anthropologist Knud Rasmussen originally inspired Lisa to consider this route. Rasmussen is credited as the first to cross the Northwest Passage by dogsled. His journey is recounted in a classic of polar expedition literature: Across Arctic America (1927). While reading the book, Lisa developed a romantic notion of dogsledding the Northwest Passage. The idea stuck.

As for Chris, he's stuck on dogsledding, the Arctic, pushing the envelope, and Lisa. The expedition was an easy choice.

This trip is somewhat unique in its noncommercial status, and walkabout nature. By that I mean it is really an expedition conducted for themselves. There are no corporate sponsors. There are no press releases or obvious desires for press coverage. There are no clients to satisfy. There is no book deal or obvious desire for one. There is no cause being advanced or charity being endorsed. The expedition doesn't even have an official name.

Instead, it is two people alone on the Arctic snow and ice with their dogs. Should they fail, it will be by only their own measurement - not the measurement of others - and not gauged by reaching a certain point on a map.

In the eyes of people like myself who look at those who see adventure and move toward it, they have already succeeded.

Northwest Passage Dogsled Expedition

Note: This is part one in a series about Chris and Lisa's Northwest Passage Dogsled Expedition.

Chris Maher, of Ely, and Lisa Strom, from Sweden, are making final preparations for an epic dogsled expedition of the Northwest Passage - from Inuvik (near the north end of the Northwest Territories of Canada) to Churchill, Manitoba.

Chris has guided dogsled trips at Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge near Ely since 2004. He's also guided North Pole dogsled expeditions in 2008 and 2009, and spent a year running dogs in Greenland. Lisa is also a very experienced dogsledder. She's guided dogsled trips in Svalbaard (north of Norway) for several years. And Lisa also guided North Pole dogsled trips for several years, as well as spending time dogsledding near Ely.

This week, they will leave for Inuvik. It is a 3,200 mile drive pulling a dog trailer with twelve dogs. Once in Inuvik, they will train dogs and take care of last minute preparations for a few weeks.

On January 1, they will begin dogsledding eastward. They have budgeted for up to 150 days of dogsledding, and hope to pull into Churchill by the first of May.

Today I helped them load 880 pounds of dog kibble and 500 pounds of lard. That's only enough for the first leg of their journey. They have already shipped dog food resupplies to native villages along the northern coast of Canada.

This photo shows Chris and Lisa in the Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge kennel with Frank "the Tank." Frank is one of the polar huskies they will rely on to travel across the arctic.

Additional blog entries will cover what makes this expedition unique, deep Ely connections to the trip, and how they get their car back from Inuvik.

The Beginning of Some Ice

On Thanksgiving Day 2008, we put off the turkey dinner due to ideal ice skating conditions. We had thick ice - maybe five inches - in the bay of Moose Lake, and it froze smooth.

The same bay on this Thanksgiving would support only swimming recreation. No need to delay any turkey dinners this year.

This photo shows the very beginning of ice forming along the shore of White Iron Lake today. Only the still bays have a skim of unsafe ice now, and the main bodies of significant size lakes are virtually free of ice.

Outdoor Adventure Expo at Midwest Mountaineering in Minneapolis

We are at the Expo today through Sunday talking with people about Boundary Waters Guide Service (http://www.boundarywatersguideservice.com/) and Boundary Waters canoe trips. We are also sharing info about dogsledding adventures with Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge (http://www.dogsledding.com/), and Wintergreen Northern Wear apparel (http://www.wintergreennorthernwear.com/).

Visit our booth, chat it up with us, ask for a very special free gift courtesy of Wintergreen Northern Wear (while supplies last!), sign up for great door prizes, and receive some really incredible Expo-savings when you register for a guided canoe trip, or a January dogsledding adventure. Oh yeah, and besides us, take in some really great free presentations about the Boundary Waters and Quetico.

Pot Black Miracle

To those of us who have spent what feels like an overly significant part of our lives attempting to scrub every speck of pot black from our camp cookware - let today be the beginning of a new era! Let this be the end of soot covered "mechanic's hands" stained from carbon that outlines one's fingernails, the wrinkles on our knuckles, and anything we've touched along the way. Hark, an epiphany!

Here is the Boundary Waters "tip & trick" for the ages: Leave your camp cookware sooty and black while on trail. Pack it in a stuff sack so it doesn't get other gear sooty while traveling. When you return home, put the pots and pans in your oven. (Note: don't do this with non-stick or painted pots.) Set the oven to "clean." Then, open the door when it's done to see the resurrection of your pots and pans - as sparkling as the day you bought them!

Wolf Attacks

Wolves are generally not dangerous to people, and I'm unaware of any human injuries related to wolves in the BWCAW. Instead, if we see wolves on a Boundary Waters canoe trip, we feel especially lucky and pleased.

The same can't be said for domestic dogs and their interactions with area wolves. Wolves are probably one of the greatest threats to my aging chocolate lab. My neighbor's dog was killed by wolves, and wolf attacks on domestic dogs are relatively common in the area. Many folks near Ely know people who've lost dogs to wolf attacks. And there are some fairly incredible stories of leashed dogs being attacked as well.

Unfortunately, more wolf attacks on dogs have apparently happened recently. This sign appeared at Ely grocery stores and at the hardware store this week.

The wolves near town seem to be getting less afraid of the residential areas. Earlier in the summer a resident photographed a wolf that repeatedly raided trash bags at an in-town apartment complex.

Also, one of the packs may be hanging around near town. Three wolves were spotted on the Old Airport Road in daylight recently, and I saw one cross Highway 1 just at the city limits in daylight today.

"Lakes, A Love Affair" Movie Trailer

Kerry McNally is a Twin Cities television personality and former Discovery Channel host. I guided him this summer on his first trip into the BWCAW. He found the Boundary Waters so inspiring that he's featuring footage from our canoe trip and scenic plane ride prominently in his new movie. It's called Lakes, A Love Affair. The DVD features striking footage of the Land of 10,000 Lakes - from Lake Superior to the BWCAW to Brainerd to the urban lakes of the Twin Cities. The DVD is available at http://www.lakesaloveaffair.com/.

Besides getting some stunning video on the canoe trip, we laughed a lot. In addition to being a television host and movie producer, Kerry is a stand-up comic. Really. He's performed comedy routines on stage in NYC. And keep your eyes out to see him on Letterman one of these days!

Nov. 23, 2009 UPDATE: The DVD is now for sale at www.lakesaloveaffiar.com for only $14.95 plus s&h.