Outdoor Activities
These days selecting a paddle can be a complicated and sometimes overwhelming process. With materials and designs of paddles constantly evolving, consumers have more options than ever to choose from. To help you make sense of the plethora of paddles available, local paddling experts have weighed in on what’s what in the world of paddles.
Northern Sky
What can beat watching the stars on a lazy summer night? Our first treat comes early, when Mars makes a close pass over the bright star Regulus in Leo, the lion. Looking to the west around 10 p.m. on June 6-7, you’ll see the reddish planet less than half a degree above Regulus, anchor of the Sickle of stars forming Leo’s head.
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What can beat watching the stars on a lazy summer night? Our first treat comes early, when Mars makes a close pass over the bright star Regulus in Leo, the lion. Looking to the west around 10 p.m. on June 6-7, you’ll see the reddish planet less than half a degree above Regulus, anchor of the Sickle of stars forming Leo’s head.
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On a snowy afternoon in mid-January, 50 8th graders pile off a charter bus, ready to spend the next four hours exploring a variety of winter activities at Positive Energy Outdoor (ed)Ventures, a not-for-profit organization I co-founded with my husband, Blake Cazier, in 2004.
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As we drive closer, my 5-year old daughter Grace says, “I’m faster without my poles.” My 8-year old son Sam says he’s going to try to use skate technique instead of just diagonal stride. There must be something in the air at the Boulder Lake Cross Country Ski Trails just north of Duluth. The kids turn into Nordic Evel Knievels.
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Our Northern Wilds has in its midst the world’s largest freshwater lake—Lake Superior—yet many northerners have never actually been ‘’on’’ the lake waters. Now thanks to Sail Superior, an afternoon day-tripping can take urban adventurers sailing past the breakwaters and out into the open waters of Lake Superior.
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Luke shouts, "Big wave!"
"What?" I ask, before a frigid wall of Lake Superior smacks me. I snort water out of my nostrils. My rain jacket is now a soaking joke. And we haven’t even started racing.
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"We are leaving for another world," remarked Captain Gary Lange as we slid away from the marina dock and headed down the mighty Nipigon River for Lake Superior.
Four of us were aboard the 47-foot trawler, Anica Lee—Lange, his friends Karlo Kaustinen and Chesley Imhoff, and myself. Lange described Karlo as "the only person other than my daughters who can operate my boats." Imhoff, known as "Ches," has roamed the island-studded waters of Lake Superior’s Canadian North Shore since the 1950s.
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Grace shouts, "Blue sign!" every hundred yards or so. I get a nice shot of adrenaline when she hollers this from six inches behind my head. We’re on our way along the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) above Silver Bay, and I need the prodding to go uphill with her 30 pounds on my back.
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Today when you mention planked trout or salmon, many people think of the thin, cedar planks that you can buy at many sporting goods outlets to cook fish over the grill on. But what we are talking about for this story involves something quite different, can feed larger crowds and is just as delicious.
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As my fishing buddies will attest, I like gear. But my travels as a fishing writer have forced me to scale down my gear to the bare essentials. What I’ve learned is for 90 percent of my fly in trips, I can get by comfortably with 10 percent of my usual tackle. Here’s a look at how to prepare for a fly in.
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