Tag Archives: MN North: Gunflint Trail

A Fox’s Winter Wonderland

Year 6,

Winter has arrived in the Northland. You may be thinking … hey wait, it is only November 7th! However when the overnight lows for the last week have been 10F, and the highs only reach to the mid 20’s, it’s winter. The calendar is not important.

Today I moved up the shore of Lake Superior, and then inland on the Gunflint Trail. When I say I was remote and in the wilderness today, most folks can have no conception of what this really means. Only on the Gunflint Trail would moose give my car the tongue licking car wash … see my post from last March!

I actually started the day viewing the seasmoke over Wisconsin. Given the cold air temperatures Lake Superior was steaming up a storm. My local mallards were all down on the big lake because all the inland water is already frozen solid. However, the real treat of the day was watching “Red” hunt not once, but twice. During my explorations of the Gunflint this afternoon, I found my Red Fox hunting in the same exact spot fifty minutes apart. At this time of the year, mammals and birds start to hunt the roadside areas. There is more likelihood of catching a meal, and the snow is not quite as deep. I saw the fox make one successful kill during the 15 minutes I watched it hunt.

In total I moved 100 miles up the shore of Lake Superior today. Molly is attending a Northwoods writer’s conference, which allows me to escape into the woods!!!

Red Fox Hunting on the Gunflint Trail near the Canadian Border

Sunrise SeaSmoke Mallards off the Lester River on Lake Superior

Sunset at Grand Marias on Lake Superior

Gunflint Trail Car Wash: Moose Owned & Operated!

Year 6

If all the melting snow and slop has you in need of a car wash, just drive to the end of the Gunflint Trail near the Canadian border in the BWCA wilderness and park your car on the side of the road in the burned out region between Gunflint and Saganaga Lake. The moose will be with you shortly … however it is important to have salt on your car as the moose do not accept cash for payment.

Just after dark Saturday evening while picking up my boys at Saganaga Lake after their winter trek from Moose Lake near Ely to the Gunflint, three cars in succession got the “lick treatment” from two different moose!

I kind of feel like I should feature my boys. Skiing / snowshoeing 40 miles through the BWCA is a big deal. On the portages even with snowshoes the snow was up to their hips. Uff dah! When we had our celebratory dinner at Trail Center Lodge, the owners were so impressed with Carl and Erik, they offered to formally sponsor them for their next trek into the wilderness!

Dad (i.e. me) made certain I had two beers waiting for the boys when they finished! One quick aside, the Garmin InReach satellite communicators worked like a charm. Carl and Erik check in each evening and let us know all was fine. During the final day’s trek, they kept us updated on estimated time to the boat landing. This allowed Molly and me to be waiting when they finished.