Explore the Northern Wilds
The Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center collected a “Community Effort” award from the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota this September. Betty Hemstad, past president and museum chairperson for the Gunflint Trail Historical Society accepted the award on behalf of the Gunflint Trail Historical Society and US Forest Service.
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High-Tech Tools, Games to Teach about New Lake Reserve
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High-tech educational tools and games will help people understand and get excited about the newly designated Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve (LSNERR). At least, that is the hope of the University of Wisconsin and University of Minnesota Sea Grant programs, which are funding the development of the tools to the tune of $166,000. The tools, available online in about two years, will include place-based games delivered through handheld mobile devices, an online “deep map,” geo-tours of the estuary and an array of complementary online resources.
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Mountain biking enthusiasts, rejoice! With the Cook County board acting as fiscal agent, a Gunflint-area mountain biking club called Velo Marais (aka “Team Bike Swamp”) has been awarded a Federal Recreational Trails grant through the Minnesota DNR to lay down an additional 20 miles of single track on county land at Pincushion Mountain—meaning the available single track mileage on Pincushion will increase by nearly an order of magnitude.
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This fall, two Minnesota residents completed a 1,200-mile, 97-day circumnavigation of Lake Superior by kayak. Greg Petry and Lucas Will left Park Point in Duluth on June 26 and returned on Oct. 3. They called the expedition “Superior Dream” and documented the journey in photos, blog posts and video.
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After Twenty Years, “The Kek” Still a Wild Challenge
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This November, Boundary Waters Advisory Committee (BWA Committee) held a dinner event to celebrate 20 years of reopening the Kekekabic Trail in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
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Banadad Trail Boasts Brand New Equipment
The Banadad Ski Trail System should look extra-spiffy this winter, thanks to a $6,000 Minnesota DNR/Federal Equipment Grant and a matching low-interest loan from Cook County, which provided the required matching funds.
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The Banadad Ski Trail System should look extra-spiffy this winter, thanks to a $6,000 Minnesota DNR/Federal Equipment Grant and a matching low-interest loan from Cook County, which provided the required matching funds.
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Speedy Musher to Win New Purse (Money, Not Handbag)
Trail Center Lodge, located about halfway up the Gunflint Trail on Poplar Lake, is offering a $2,000 purse to the first musher to reach the Trail Center checkpoint during the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.
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Trail Center Lodge, located about halfway up the Gunflint Trail on Poplar Lake, is offering a $2,000 purse to the first musher to reach the Trail Center checkpoint during the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.
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Dave and Amy Freeman of Tofte, Minn. are undertaking a 12,000-mile journey across North America, bringing over 60,000 children along for the trip.
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Located only 50 kilometers east of Thunder Bay, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park is best known as one of Ontario’s top summer destinations. Evade the crowds and experience a snow junkie’s paradise by traveling there in winter. A rented cabin provides a snug base camp.
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Duluth is blessed with over 120 miles of groomed cross country ski trails within a half-hour drive—a paralyzing plethora of choices. Here are four beginner-friendly local trails that have common traits: easy terrain, a short loop route, and a place to warm up afterward.
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When it comes to winter recreation, it can be tempting to stick to the same activities year in and year out. After all, you’ve already got the gear and know-how. But trying a new activity challenges your body (and brain!) and can help ward off mid-season boredom. Here are five Gunflint Trail area adventures that just might reheat your love affair with winter.
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The Powermonkey eXplorer (MSRP about $100) is a compact yet versatile little charger that is perfect for a backpacking trip or car camping. When you need a boost, simply plug your electronic device into the Powermonkey for a charge. It works with everything from cell phones to iPods.
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Isis bills itself as “a brand for adventurous women,” and the brand puts its stamp on outdoor clothes by making them girlier and more stylish than their plain-Jane counterparts.
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With shorter and much cooler days upon us, hunters in the Northern Wilds turn their thoughts to the out-of-doors and their upcoming pursuit of game. Grouse and archery deer hunters are first in the woods, followed by the duck and pheasant chasers in October. Then comes the granddaddy hunting season in Minnesota (and the entire upper Midwest): deer season. Thousands of deer hunters leave their jobs behind for a few days in deer camp, hoping to lay in a winter’s supply of venison.
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Right now, somewhere in Sweden, caviar (lojrom) from Lake Superior herring roe (fish eggs) is being served in a restaurant or being spooned from a jar onto a cracker or potato slices as a snack. Scandinavians love caviar. Since their own roe stocks are depleted, they import roe from around the world—including our own Lake Superior herring roe. The other parts of the herring are used for fertilizer, aquarium feed and gefilte fish.
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Late summer often showcases Lake Superior at its sweetest. The August sun sparkles on sapphirine water that offers a cool refuge from the heat of the day. But when fall rolls around, a change comes over the lake.
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When my eldest son was young, he came up to me in the kitchen and calmly asked, “Do you want to see the rarest bird that’s ever been in our yard?”
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The fur trade drove and shaped American history in surprising ways, as this lively volume by bestselling author Eric Jay Dolin shows.
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Each chapter in this delightful book comprises a collage of historical accounts from or relating to Minnesota children.
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Author John Caughlan of Superior Photography pursues his passion in all conditions, including raging blizzards like the ones that have claimed so many ships on Lake Superior.
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