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.

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 guides 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.

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.

Tamarack Trees are in Full Color

Tamarack trees are ablaze in golden yellows now. After a summer innocuously blending in with spruce and fir trees, they are bursting with color. They are particularly striking against a backdrop of evergreens. The photos show Ely-area Tamarack trees this week.

Once the dogsledding season arrives, the tamaracks will be totally barren. Tamaracks are the only conifer in North America that loses all of its needles annually. Speaking of dogsledding, we'll be relying on fires to keep us warm through the early winter evenings. Losing all of their needles is a good defense mechanism against extreme cold because moisture isn't lost through the needs, but it may not be so effective against unwary wood gatherers. To the unaccustomed eye, a tamarack in winter can be tricky to distinguish from a dead black spruce.

The tamarack wood is rot-resistant and has many uses. Native Americans used the thin, pliant and tough tamarack roots from trees growing in beaver ponds as lashing to connect pieces of birch bark to make canoes, and for building snowshoes. Native Americans also recognized the tree's medicinal properties. A compress of the inner bark was used to treat and soothe cuts, infected wounds, frostbite, and boils.

Naturalist John Josselyn wrote in 1672 that "the Turpentine that issueth from the Larch Tree is singularly good to heal wounds, and to draw out the malice... of any ache rubbing the place thereof." While that sounds intriguing enough, I don't know anyone who has made turpentine from a northeast Minnesota tamarack. If anyone has that experience, please let me know, and I'll report more in the blog.

Tamarack thrive in moist to boggy soils, so fall-colors hunters won't be disappointed by a drive down Highway 1.

October Snow in the Boundary Waters

As soon as October 1 rolls around, I'm ready for snowflakes that don't stick to the ground. Once the dogsledding season starts on December 1, I'll be ready to wake up to several inches of snow.

However, it is just plain premature for two inches of snow to be weighting down the tents of late-season BWCAW campers. But, that's what campers found this morning. As I write this, it is about noon and some flakes are still dropping, and the wind is gusting.

The seven-day forecast calls for highs only in the mid-thirties. Maybe we're in for an early freeze-up this year.

I snapped these photos this morning outside the cabin.

Poison Ivy in the Boundary Waters

Western poison ivy leaves are not a celebrated fall color, but they can be as crimson as a red maple leaf. The above photo shows poison ivy recently at the sand beach campsite on the west end of Mile Island on Fall Lake.

Some Northwoods guidebooks gloss over or fail to mention western poison ivy. Many people don't consider poison ivy a plant that grows in the Northwoods.

However, you will find it throughout the BWCAW. For example, this summer I've spotted large poison ivy stands at a campsite on the southeast end of Bald Eagle Lake, on the portage to Slim Lake (below photo, and video), at the sand beach campsite on the west end of Mile Island on Fall Lake, on the south end of Newton Falls portage, and elsewhere. It is out there.

One can identify poison ivy by how it looks. Visual characteristics include: (1) three leaflets ("leaves of three, let it be"); (2) a short woody stem that may look like a brown twig sticking out of the ground; (3) oftentimes growing in colonies standing about knee high or shorter; (4) green leaves changing to fall colors in autumn; (5) leaves oftentimes have a wilted appearance; and (6) the western poison ivy species in the BWCAW is not a climbing plant.

One can also identify poison ivy by where it grows. It grows in a variety of ecosystems, but particularly likes sun and dislikes permanently wet soils.

Sarsaparilla plants are sometimes misidentified as poison ivy. Sarsaparilla is a low-growing plant that grows profusely in the BWCAW. It similarly has three leaflets, but sarsaparilla is distinguished by a pair of leaflets further down the stem.

The oily toxin from poison ivy is almost immediately absorbed through human skin. Washing the affected skin within one to three minutes with cold water and soap may help prevent the itchy symptoms. Washing later may wash off the residual toxin and prevent its spread. Itchy blisters may appear promptly or not for 24 hours or longer. The itchy blister fluid does not contain the toxin and is therefore not contagious.

Many animals, including my dog, eat the leaves with no apparent harm. However, animals may carry the toxic oils on their coats and transmit them when they touch people.

Become familiar with poison ivy so you can squat in the woods with confidence. The alternative could be really uncomfortable.

Harvesting Wild Rice in the Boundary Waters

Today we paddled back in time and harvested wild rice by canoe in the BWCAW. Mirroring the traditional ways of the Sioux and Chippewa in this region, we paddled and portaged our canoe to a wild rice stand.

The above video shows us using smooth wooden poles, called flails, to tap off the ripe grains of wild rice, we slowly filled the bottom of our canoe. The wild rice has a relatively short season and we fortunately made it out just before most of the rice had dropped naturally into the water.

The below photo shows a close-up of the wild rice grains before they are parched and finished.