Young Fern Fronds Unfurling in the BWCAW

Summer is on its way! The leaves are exploding out everywhere, and closer to the ground, the ferns are coming out in their own way. The tightly-curled immature fern fronds are called fiddleheads. As a fiddle player myself, I can verify that they do indeed resemble the top of my instrument. It only takes a few days for the young ferns to unfurl, so it is a fun discovery to spy these young plants before they have their big flat leaves of the summer. We found these on a day trip this week into the BWCAW, on the Isabella River.

Bracken ferns are an abundant plant in the BWCAW. Some people say that bracken ferns are good mosquito repellent. Just take one full-sized leaf and set atop your head or stick in your hat, and see what you think.

Entry and photos by Wilderness Guide Kate Ford

A Canoe Trailer That Will Last

We picked up a new canoe trailer today at Remackel Welding in Forest Lake, MN.

Around Ely, canoe trailers bounce down some pretty rugged roads. Names like “Echo Trail” and “Tomahawk Trail” reflect the rustic nature of the routes here. These roads and harsh northern elements put canoe trailers to the test.

Meet one of the most durable canoe trailers available. This photo shows our six-place canoe trailer with box by Remackel Welding. As we talked with other outfitters about canoe trailers that last the longest under heavy use, we repeatedly heard about the custom trailers by Dennis Remackel. He’s been making them by hand for several decades.

Dennis gives people several options to customize their trailers. Rust is the nemesis of a trailer, so we chose to have the trailer hot-dip galvanized. Once welded together, the trailer is dipped in molten zinc resulting in a trailer that won’t rust and never needs painted. The cool-factor is pretty high, and the practical durability factor is even higher.

We chose a few other options also. We ordered an extended tongue to allow room for a couple canoes on the roof of the towing vehicle. That allows us to transport eight canoes - two complete BWCA canoe trips. Also, the canoe racks are removable so the "canoe trailer" converts to a simple utility trailer. We also like the added steps on the back of the trailer, wheel wells strong enough to stand on, and a plywood step on the tongue. The plywood is all marine grade.

If you take lots of canoe trips and want to tow your own canoes, then you may want to consider one of Remackel's four-place canoe trailers with a large box and optional box cover. See photos on the Remackel website.

Shown in front of the new trailer are Dennis Remackel and Kate Ford.

Sap Remover

Five-year-old Lucas trotted out of the woods with his hands above his head shouting: "I need the sap remover! I need the sap remover!"

Sure enough, the spring sap is running and he found it. But, no problem. He just needed the liquid hand sanitizer out of the toilet paper kit.

It's a good tip to carry liquid hand sanitizer on your Boundary Waters trip for the obvious purposes, and also to remove pesky sap that doesn't come off with plain soap. That's one of the reasons we include hand sanitizer in our complete Boundary Waters canoe trip outfitting packages.

March BWCAW Canoe Trip

It's almost never possible to do a Boundary Waters canoe trip in March. But, with our early spring, and summer-like temps, I eagerly watched the forecast in hopes of just such a March trip. Sure enough, the rivers freed up from ice quickly and even some of the lakes were going out by the end of the month.

One of the joys of life in the Northwoods is that we can take advantage of the lovely weather that arrives at unexpected times. It would seem pretty unreasonable to actually plan a March canoe trip here. But, with good weather and warm temps forecast, I charged out on March 31 for an overnight BWCAW canoe trip up the Little Indian Sioux River. The planned route took me south on the Little Indian Sioux, past Sioux Falls (shown in the photo), up the Little Pony River, through Bootleg Lake, then out the south end of Bootleg and back north on the Little Indian Sioux.

As I paddled toward Bootleg, my curiosity about whether it would be open or locked in ice yet grew. Fortunately, the typically low (and sometimes virtually impassable) Little Pony River had adequate water, and I portaged into Bootleg at about 6 PM. A stroke of luck meant the lake had opened up and was virtually ice-free except for some candle ice that collected near the portage. Lexee-dog seemed intrigued by the sound of the ice chinkling against my paddle and the canoe.

What a remarkable trip. With two days of t-shirt weather I observed a bonanza of wildlife celebrating the advent of spring. I saw all sorts of firsts for the 2010 ice-out season: beavers slapping their tails, muskrats, minnows, a leech, mosquitoes (two!), a fish jumping, mallards, a herring gull, Canada geese flying north, maybe an osprey in the distance, and some other ducks.

But the wildlife highlight of the trip occurred within about a mile of the takeout. As I rounded a bend, I spied two trumpeter swans leisurely preening themselves on the river. They let me relax and watch them swim gracefully for about twenty minutes. I used up the last of my camera battery life before they decided to fly off.

The swans' final act delighted me. I've never seen other birds do this, but I've seen it with trumpeter swans here before. They took flight going away from me, flew for a distance, then u-turned and flew back toward my canoe. They then did a fly-by directly overhead, not far above, with the sound of rushing air crossing their six feet wingspan. As I watched, they seemed to tilt their wings in a "welcome to our woods, happy to share" sort of message. The experience felt like the true launch of the paddling season.

I basked in the good feelings of watching such remarkable birds - creatures so pure and clean and white and ornate it seems they belong in my grandmother's china hutch. The experience will be a highlight of my year.

So pleased with the encounter, I decided against replacing my camera battery for the rest of the short paddle to the take-out. Then I rounded another bend and spied a moose grazing along the shore. That image will just remain in my head.

World Event Missed While On Trail - Boundary Waters Renamed

On the paddle to the takeout after a camping trip, the question often arises: "What major news did we miss while in the wilderness?" I returned from a two-day BWCAW trip late tonight and hardly considered what might have happened during such a brief jaunt out. However, I was shocked when I found this major international news in a press release in my email.

MINN. BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESS RENAMED

Ely, Minn. Signs Deal with Private Funding Source

ELY, MINNESOTA — April 1, 2010 — Ely, Minn announces today it has, signed a multi-year deal for naming rights to the legendary Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). The new corporate sponsor will be Minnesota-based International Dairy Queen, Inc. (IDQ).

The Boundary Waters region, on the US-Canada border between Ontario and Minnesota, is a popular destination for campers, as well as canoe and fishing enthusiasts, and those looking for natural scenery and relaxation.

As of today, the region will be officially known as the International Dairy Queen Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, or IDQBWCAW.

“We have been fielding offers for years, turning down everyone from AARP to the ASPCA. But this year, we had to make a difficult decision,” says Roger Skraba, Ely Mayor. “Beautiful unspoiled wilderness doesn’t pay for itself. And who doesn’t have fond memories of a Dilly Bar? It’s a win-win. This will usher in an era of great corporate, tourism and environmental partnerships.”

“We were looking for a way to promote the 25h birthday of our signature Blizzard Treat, as well as a unique tribute to International Dairy Queen in this, our 70th year,” says Michael Keller, Chief Brand Officer for IDQ. “When we thought about it, this made perfect sense. Ely has blizzards, we have Blizzards. They’re international, we’re international. They have a guy named Buster who hangs out at one of the local bars. We have a treat called the Buster Bar. It’s sort of serendipitous, actually.”

I know this is shocking news. Can you complain or stop this? Well, first check the date of the press release, and then you can go to the Ely Chamber of Commerce website (ely.org) for more info. We're happy to outfit your Boundary Waters canoe trip no matter what it's called.

End of the Dogsledding Season

Dogsleds are done for the Minnesota season. We took a last run with the dogs by wheeled cart this weekend. The above photo is Scott from the Twin Cities driving a dog cart. His wife, Christine, is on the cart behind him. The dogs kicked up some of our springtime mud onto Christine - but we were all smiles as you can tell. And the mud made for a good reason to take a sauna followed by a refreshing dip in the lake!

EPA Says Sulfide Mining Proposal is Environmentally Unacceptable - Sign a Petition for Govt Agencies to do what the EPA Says

In February, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared that the PolyMet mine proposal for a new sulfide mine in Northeast Minnesota presented unacceptable risks to the environment. The agency gave the proposal its lowest rating and termed the proposal, "environmentally unacceptable." The EPA has only branded 41 proposals out of almost 40,000 proposals in the last 23 years as environmentally unacceptable.

The EPA also said the project should not proceed as proposed, and that the company and the responsible government agencies (the MN Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) should do remedial work to bring it up to standards. In other words, the EPA said the proposal had failed the class and should not move on to the next level.

The “Send PolyMet to Summer School” petition (sponsored by Friends of the Boundary Waters) simply calls for PolyMet and the agencies to do exactly what the EPA said they should. Rather than proceed to the usual next step in environmental review, they should do more work and give the public a chance to review it and offer feedback.

We should protect the future of clean water, such as the water flowing over Curtain Falls in the Boundary Waters in this photo.

Sign the petition at http://ga0.org/campaign/polymet_summer_school.

Wilderness Wedding

We celebrated in a big way at Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge this weekend. Sunday was the marriage of two wilderness guides, Dave Freeman and Amy Voytilla. The couple planned an unusual wedding. Guests rode dogsleds, skied, or hiked to the wedding site - a campsite on the shores of White Iron Lake near Ely, MN. The tall pines made a beautiful cathedral! Happily, the weather was incredibly accommodating: temperatures close to 60 degrees, sunny, and barely a breeze. Following the ceremony, the wedding party and some guests departed, not in a limo, but by dogsled.
On Earth Day, April 22, the newlyweds will begin their 2 1/2 year "honeymoon." They will be off on a big journey: the North American Odyssey. Dave and Amy are part of the Wilderness Classroom Organization, and will be traveling 11,700 miles by kayak, canoe and dogsled over the next two and a half years. Their journey will be followed online by thousands of school children, who get to weigh in on their travel decisions, learn about the special places and animals of this continent, and learn to dream big themselves. You can check it out at http://www.wildernessclassroom.com/ or http://www.northamericanodyssey.com/.

We congratulate Dave and Amy (above) and wish them best of luck on their marriage, their biggest adventure of all!

Canadian Lynx Tracks

We came across these tracks on Pipestone Bay of Basswood Lake recently. My first thought was of a massively oversized rabbit. They're obviously too large to be a Snowshoe Hare, but they have a similar repeating pattern.

I had a hunch on the tracks' true origin, and checked with Tom Rusch at the DNR to get his thoughts on the animal that left them behind. Tom and I agreed that they look like Canadian Lynx tracks. Tom mentioned that, like Snowshoe Hares, the two big prints at the top of the "T-shaped pattern are the hind legs of the lynx, and the smaller prints are from their front paws.

Perceptive dogsledders preempt peeing dog

Bill and Ann on a dogsled trip this week figured out the dog Lewis (shown here). Lewis wanted to pee at the top of every hill.  His top-of-hill leg-lifting meant their dogsled stopped shy of the crest and they had to push it to get it over the top.

Then they got an idea.  As they approached the hilltop, and before Lewis marked the spot, they gave a preemptive command:  "On by. On by, Lewis."

It worked!  Lewis obeyed - or was distracted by the command - and thenceforth pulled their sled smoothly over the hilltops. Kudos to Bill and Ann!!

Snow Sculptures in Ely at the Winter Festival

The Ely Winter Festival wrapped up this past weekend, just as I wrapped up a dogsled trip. I made it to see the snow sculptures in Whiteside Park in the afternoon. Come late January every year, large blocks of snow get set up in the park, which professionals and amateurs then sculpt into unique, creative formations. This year was no exception with many artful and original ideas. Some pieces are cold-weather themed, some are not. The snow sculptures will start to melt soon, so if you're in the Ely area, you will want to make the trip to Whiteside Park soon to see the art before it's gone. Above is a clever sculpture entitled "A Study in Repitition." The below photo, from an autobiographically-inspired carver, a piece entitled "Snow Carver Carving."

By Guest Blogger: Dogsled and Canoe Guide Kate Ford

Sled-joring

Kids come up with the darndest of ideas! I've been guiding a parent-child trip, and we spent this afternoon playing on the lake by the lodge with a few dogs. Everybody tried skiing, and even those who were total beginners stayed upright much of the time. The skiing was a quick introduction to the next activity: the group was all excited, though perhaps a bit nervous, to give skijoring a try. Each person gave it a whirl around our corner of the lake, and our cooperative dogs happily pulled the people on skis behind them. Everybody decided that it was much easier than they expected and very fun!

While waiting their turn to skijor, the kids (ages 9 up to 16) came up with a new version of the sport: "sled-joring." They hooked themselves up to a dog or two and let the dog pull them on a plastic sled. They discovered that this way they had much less of a chance of falling down. Here, Bones pulls Douglas on their creative new setup.

By guest blogger: Dogsled and Canoe Guide Kate Ford

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 photo 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.

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.