Ice on Gunflint Lake

Oh my, a year and a day since my last post.  Wow, time really does fly.  2015 was an awesome year for us.  With any luck (and true diligence) I will be able to write a summary post soon.  But first, I think it is more important to address the pressing question of the day:  What is the status of the ice on Gunflint Lake?

Our freeze-up timeline this year was unlike any we had ever seen.  The western half of the lake, from our point to the northwesterly direction, finally froze around December 29th.  Everyone here for the holidays remarked on how unusual it was to see open water.  Some folks asked about the possibility of taking a sauna and jumping in to the lake.  We discouraged this, since our landing ramp is at an angle, and being ice-covered from the lapping of waves, one would have to slide in, and then somehow figure out how to crawl out on an uphill slope.  So we contented ourselves with watching this amazing beast of a lake, for that is what it tends to look like in the dark days of late fall/early winter, as it cools itself enough to freeze.

By January 4th, we finally saw ice on the eastern half of the lake.  For the next few days, it stayed frozen and it didn't snow.  The temperatures, however, were still not conducive to much ice formation.  Greg checked ice thickness at that stage (just past our point, very near to shore), and found approximately one and a half inches of "eastern" ice.  The painful part of this process was limited to viewing the incredibly smooth glass that invited skating on a mirror surface--so near to do, yet so far from possible at that thickness. He likened it to gazing at a field of perfectly-ripened blueberries that he was not allowed to pick.

Now the thermometer has finally dropped into the range of decent below-zero temperatures.  On Monday, Greg measured 6" of ice to the west of our point, and about 5" of ice to the east of the point.  There are a few inches of snow on top of it, but we are hoping that it is not enough to insulate the lake from more ice-making.  He has ventured out on the snowmobile, traveling down the shore to the west, and straight across to the north side. 

Trout season opens on Gunflint Lake this coming Saturday.  As with any ice travel, check with the local folks to see what the current reports are before heading out there. 

Active Wolves

In winters past, I have often written about hearing the wolves howling out on the ice.  I have always wished for a decent way to capture the sounds, to share it here with all of you.  Many nights, Greg and I would wake up and hear them, then scramble to start the video recorder or the camera, since we don't own any audio recording equipment.  We have so many bits and bobs of little video scraps, dark as night, with limited sound quality.  Never could we come close to what we actually heard.  Until now.

I found a small microphone recently that fits into the headphone jack of my iPod.  It looks like a regular microphone, complete with a foam cover; it's just a miniature version.  It is made by a company called Amp Ridge, and I bought it through the website PhotoJoJo, which is an awesome place to find all sorts of cool tools and gadgets for your iPod or iPhone camera.  I took a chance that this might be just the ticket I need to record the wolves.

My opportunity came two nights ago.  While Greg and I were eating dinner, we heard the wolves singing.  We stepped out the door, and to our delight, they were just down in front...the sound was coming from that close!  It was amazing!  This video is what I was able to record, and it is just a small slice of their performance.

Because it is a camera, and not an audio recorder, you have to endure the black screen.  But close your eyes and picture a pack of wolves out on the ice, singing their songs.

After they stopped, I proceeded to cook dinner.  Greg decided to go down to the ice, just to check things out.  He came back about ten minutes later to report that it was an awesome and eerie experience.  He couldn't see anything ahead of him, but he could distinctly hear the beat of the paws, as the wolves were running past him further out on the ice.  There were dozens of footfalls.  It was difficult to judge how far away they were, but it sounded as though some were headed to Canada, and some were just wandering around.  They returned later in the evening, and howled some more.  It was like our own personal performance.

I feel doubly lucky, for getting to hear the wolves, and for finally being able to share it here.  When I listen to this, I feel like I could just loop it over and over, and never get tired of it.  They are amazing animals.

It Looks Like It's Here to Stay

Finally, it is looking like true winter, both by land and by sea.  I was gone for several days in the last week, so I missed the warmer temperatures.  That was fine with me, as I didn't want to see our snow disappear.  By the time I returned, we were well into our new round of winter, with seven to eight inches falling.  Driving was a little slow, but I happily did it, because new snow is usually worth it.  Even better, this batch of snow means that trail grooming begins today.  Yay! Time to pull out the skis!

To top it off, the lake looks like it has finally, finally frozen completely.  While I was gone, Greg said that the lead on the north side had opened up.  When I saw it in daylight, I was surprised by the size of it.  Mercifully, we didn't have any wind, so the rest of the ice did not break up.  After a reading of minus five this morning, daylight revealed a white expanse. 

It looks like the Northwoods is wearing its holiday finery.  Let the celebrating begin!

Can you see the darker ice towards the north side?  That is where the new ice begins.

Grand Opening: Gunflint Tavern's Brewpub

A long awaited day is about to arrive.  This Friday, the Gunflint Tavern in downtown Grand Marais will celebrate the official opening of their new brewpub.  Paul, the head brewer, anticipates having four new beers on tap for all to enjoy.

As many of you already know, Greg's brother Jeff and his wife Susan own the tavern.  Approximately two years ago, serious planning began to install brewing facilities.  This was a part of the plan when they started the restaurant, and with some solid homebrewing experience already in the family, it seemed like a logical thing to do.  The brewing system was originally used in New Zealand, and over the course of time and a couple of owners, it made its way to California.  Jeff purchased it and had it trucked to Grand Marais. 

The install, like any good remodeling project, took longer than anyone expected.  A part of that was attempting to retrofit this particular system to work in this location.  Parts had worn out or were missing; to make matters worse, the manufacturing company had gone out of business.  Jeff, Paul, Greg, and numerous contractors, from plumbers to electricians to carpenters, were quite challenged at times to make something new work for it.  Hence, the amount of time it took to get things functional was endless. After what seemed like several lifetimes, and one declaration from Paul that he hates New Zealand, it is up and running.

Paul, with his occasional assistant brewmaster Greg, brewed up Sawtooth Mountain Pale Ale in late October.  Following that came Jasper, a brown ale.  When I stopped by to see him yesterday, Paul was transferring a batch of Belgian IPA and already had filled a tank with a Belgian pale.  It is those four beers that will be flowing on Friday evening.

A soft opening was held a few weeks ago, to test out the Sawtooth.  We attended the event, and I captured this video of the first glasses being poured, and Paul's comments about the beer.  Congratulations to all--Jeff, Susan, Paul, Greg, and all of the hard-working folks who came together to make this the first brewpub in Grand Marais!

If you would like to attend, the Grand Opening begins at 5 p.m. on December 5th. Live music will be provided by the Twin Ports band Black River Revue.