WHAT'S NEW

12-11-11... Out enjoying Brule Lake which froze over in black ice.  We skated to the west end and back in no time.

10-15-11... Feels more like fall now, compared to the crazy warm weather we have been having.  Pagami Creek Fire is 90% contained.  Our canoes that were used by the firefighters have returned.  They were VERY dirty but with the pressure washer and lots of scrubbing we got them cleaned up and put away for their winter slumber.   

9-19-11....Starting Tuesday everything from the Sawbill Trail to the east will be open for travel inside and outside the BWCA. Everything the with west of the Sawbill Trail will still be closed.  If you have any questions just let us know. 

Pictures from the fire: South side of Polly, Townline Lake

Pagami Creek Fire Update - September 13, 2011

6-11-11... Just returned from a short trip into the BWCA. 

4-06-11...Still lots of snow on the Sugarbush xc trails. Logged 70k in the last two days. Should be able to ski for at least two more weeks. Ice on area lakes is 2 to 3 feet thick. Ice-out could be late this year unless we get some heavy rain and wind this spring.

 

2-21-11...Sorry it has been awhile since we have entered anything but we were working on our new look.  Hope you enjoy it.

After a short shot of spring last week we are back to winter.  We still have a ton of snow to play in.  Trails have been groomed and in good shape after the thaw and we are receiving some fresh lake effect snow now to freshen things up.

12-8-10...There is some snow on the ground.  XC ski trails are open, check out www.sugarbushtrail.org for trail reports.  Looks like the cold temps are here to stay. 

 

New business in the area.  Cross River Rentals, local place for snowmobile rentals.

 

9-16-10...Used Gear For Sale:

We have been able to decide what canoes and kayaks we will have for sale.  We haven't decided on all prices yet, we will update them as soon as we know.

Models that will be available:

Current Designs Kayaks: Crosswind, Storm, Kestrel 170T

Wenonah Canoes: Seneca, MNII, Boundary Waters, Spirit II

Bell Canoes: Magic, Northwind

 

9-7-10..A note from a customer...

We took the day long tour to Palisade with Dave yesterday (9/5) and I just had to tell you that it was easily one of the most amazing days of my life. I can't thank you all enough for offering these services and allowing people who have the passion, but not the skills (yet), to have such an incredible experience. We will definitely be back!
Becky

 

7-27-10... A note from a customer....

I am sending this to say "Thank You" for making our recent trip to Brule Lake a unforgettable experience. Even though my wife and I had lived in MN most of our lives this was our first trip to the BWCA. Your experience in selecting the right equipment made all the difference in our trip. As a couple of inexperienced, over packed, forty something, city slickers headed out on to a Big Bad Brule lake, your suggestion to use a larger more stable canoe based on the wind conditions proved to be right on. Because of the great experience we had we are already planning our next visit and without a doubt you have earned our business. Looking forward to our next trip

 

7-14-10...Some friends just returned from a BWCA trip and shared some great pictures with us.

 

 
 

 

Great Sunset on Sawbill and the portage out of Cherokee towards Sitka Lake.

Moose on the road in front of them.

 

6-11-10... Just returned from a short 4 day trip into the BWCA.  Loons calling, the smell of balsam after a rain, the sight of a bull moose in velvet, watching cute grouse chicks scurry after their mom....I could go on and on.  It was a great trip.

 

This loon came right next to our site and let me get some great pictures before swimming away.

 

6-6-10...What month is it?  Feels like July. Weather has been beautiful, fishing has been good, and bugs haven't been bad.  Good time for a trip. 

 

5-13-10... The fire ban on the BWCA Wilderness will be lifted at noon on Friday May 14th.  We have finally received enough rain to have campfires again.....so pack the smores. Good Luck to all the angler's heading out for opening fishing this weekend, weather is going to be great.

 

3-28-10...We will be closed April 4- Beginning of May (will depend on the weather).  However we are always in and out of the office so please leave us a phone message or e-mail and we will get right back to you.

 

3-20-10...Mother nature decided it was spring last week and gave us beautiful temperatures which felt good but it took all the snow.  Lutsen Mountain is still open but the cross country ski trails have closed for the season. 

 

2-13-10... Did a short winter camping trip into the BWCA last week.  Had nice weather and good fishing.

 

    
Jeff with dinner ! Fresh Lake Trout              The day ended with a fabulous sunset!!
                                   
        Getting ready to head home.  Dogs helped Jeff pull the heavy sled out.
 

 

1-24-10...Rain on the shore but snow inland.  Wet heavy snow which is so beautiful in the trees.  They are saying we should get 7-11 inches by the time it is over on Monday.  Lots of snow to play in.

Picture was taken this morning, at Britten Peak Parking Lot.

 

1-21-10....Took the dogs skijoring out at Moose Fence today.  Great day out and they loved it.

Snow is still on the trees from our Christmas storm. Winnie is telling me to hurry up and take the picture so we can go.

 

1-1-10...Happy New Year!!!!! Thanks for a great 2009 and look forward to a happy and healthy  2010 for everyone.

 

12-25-09....Merry Christmas to everyone.  Santa brought us a great Christmas gift....snow!  It's a little thin on the shore since it rained all night, however it stayed cooler inland and there is 10-12" so far at Britten Peak and it is still coming down.  The rain has changed back to snow on the shore and we should get our winter wonderland down here as well. Grooming will start as soon as the snow diminishes and the temps drop some, it is wet heavy snow and it needs to dry out a little bit.

 

10-10-09...Had to pull the shovel out this morning to shovel off the deck.  Only 26 degrees brrrr!

Dogs don't mind the snow they know skijoring is right around the corner!

 

10-3-09...Our weather has made a Big shift over the last week. Extremely high winds, many downed trees, huge Lake Superior waves and much cooler temps. 
 

 

9-14-09...75 degrees today.  Is it August or September?  We will take it.  I was able to join some family on a short trip out on Brule Lake.  Beautiful weather, no bugs, great sunsets and moon rises and very little wind.  We even found some blueberries and raspberries to add to our pancakes.

 

   

 

9-2-09...September is here with some beautiful weather.  Anyone needing that last summer get away this weekend is the time to get away.  Weather is suppose to be fabulous....come enjoy!

 

8-16-09... A crazy couple of weeks. Lots of people up to the shore and going into the BWCAW. Warm summer temps and some nice soaking rain. Water levels are back up a bit. Reports of some over-crowding in the Brule area but nothing out of the ordinary. Bears have been a problem on Square and Kawasachong lakes north of the Kawishiwi entry. Good test for our food barrels which thus far have not failed as long as people use the cable lock system properly.

 

8-1-09...August already....summer is flying by. 
Just thought I would share how tough of a life Rocky has around here, taking it easy under a tree just watching the world go by. 

                 The "Dog Days" of summer...

7-29-09...Just picked some of our first raspberries of the season last night.  They are behind but were well worth the wait.  Fresh raspberries are so good on chocolate ice cream. 

 

7-8-09...Beautiful 4th of July weekend.  Lots of people out enjoying it. 

Kayak tours enjoyed some nice calm waters on Lake Superior

Group of kids from St.Paul headed out for a bike ride.

 

6-21-09...Check us out on Facebook.

 

6-19-09...We just received these fabulous pictures from Chad Rieder who took these shots on Kawishiwi Lake. www.chadrieder.com

 
        Sunrise Kawishiwi Lake                                          Sunset Kawishiwi Lake

 

6-17-09...You can never get tired of a great sunset.  When you can enjoy it while catching some fish it is even better. 

 

6-13-09... With the weather finally warming up the woods are coming alive.  The red wing black birds, who have made a nest in our ditch are busy keeping the crow away from their nest and let us know to stay away every time we get too close. Starting to see eagles and moose on our guided kayak tours. We have noticed tons of blueberry blossoms, can't wait until August to start picking.  The past couple days the Cedar Waxwings have been hanging out on our crab apple tree. I was able to get pretty close this morning to take this picture.

 

 

6-7-09...The other day Loka got a new Granite Gear dog pack from us.  Little did she know she would have to be carrying Guano around.

 

5-29-09...A large bear has already been visiting campers on Lake Polly north of the Kawishiwi entry point in the BWCAW. Secure your food in that area, even on the portages.

 

5-23-09...Memorial Weekend is in full swing and the weather is nice...finally.  I headed into the woods with the dogs yesterday to see what was blooming.  Marsh Marigolds were all I could really find.  We are behind up here with all the cold weather we have been having.  As you can see still no leaves yet, but that made bushwhacking up the creek much easier. 

 

                              

Jeff headed into the BWCA last weekend for his annual spring fishing trip with the guys.  Even with the high winds, snow, and rain they still had a great time and didn't go hungry.  Chris is waiting for his plate to be filled while Jeff is holding the stringer. Picture taken by Art "Fish Grabber" Miller. 

 

5-7-09...The Forest Service put a plane up and reports that the ice is out on the smaller lakes like Kawishiwi, Baker, Cherokee.  Sawbill still has ice but it is going quick and Brule and big lakes are still covered. 

 

5-3-09...Good news it's sunny and in the 50's....bad news still reports of 15-17" of ice on inland lakes.  Better news it is finally suppose to be warmer this week which should take care of that ice so we can start paddling soon:)

 

4-29-09...We took a break from working and had some fun yesterday afternoon.  We first went up to Blake and Jennifer Freking's Manitou Crossing Kennel where they raise and race Siberian huskies.  They have a litter of 8 puppies that are 6 weeks old and we went to play with them.  They are so cute.

 

 
Sitting and waiting their turn for a treat.               At this age everything is a toy for them to play with.
 

After the puppies we went to check out some waterfalls.  First we went to Illgen's falls and then High Falls.  They were both roaring and great to see.  Here is Illgen Falls.

 

4-28-09...Spring Hours Since we are still iced in up here we won't be open with regular hours until May 7.  However we are at the shop often working and getting ready for summer and taking reservations.  If we miss your call leave a message and we will get back to you.  Hopefully warmer weather will come soon so we can start paddling.

 

4-25-09...Fun in the sun.  We just got back from a little vacation to Florida.  Enjoyed visiting with family and enjoyed a 4 day kayak trip into the Everglades. 

 

 
One night we camped on a Chickee (platform in the water)  In the mangrove backwaters there isn't much ground to camp on so they built these platforms to camp on.

The other 2 nights we camped on keys (islands) closer to the gulf.  We enjoyed the sandy beach camping here. 

Sunrise at Pavilion Key.  We enjoyed great sunsets and sunrises every day.

We didn't see any gators while on our kayak trip. It is the end of the dry season and the fresh water rivers are dried up and the gators have headed inland to fresh water.  We went to the Corkscrew Wildlife Sanctuary just outside of Naples and we were able to see some gators like this big guy.

 

4-7-09...Bright blue sunshine today....if the snow isn't going to melt we should just get out and enjoy it.  So we headed up to Sawbill Lake for some crust skiing.  Skiing was good, little soft which the dogs didn't like since they kept breaking through.  We just let them run free since we could ski faster then they could pull us.  Still lots of snow up there.  Hope it starts melting soon.

  

4-1-09...Mother Nature played a nasty April Fools joke on us with 14-16" of wet heavy snow.  Give me 2 ft of lake effect snow any day but this wet heavy stuff is the worst. We cleared half of our parking lot and will let the other half melt.  Usually we love snow and always want more....this is why I think it was a nasty joke on us, be careful what you wish for.  We are now wishing for at least 50's, we need to start melting some of this snow. Here are some pictures from the last 24 hours up here.

 
Lake Superior was crazy during the storm.  This is Jeff and Rocky checking out the waves.

Rocky is saying "Lets get out of here."

It's hard to see but there is 27" of snow that needs to melt to get the van out, 16" of it came last night.

This is the top row of canoes that are stacked 3 high.

 

3-24-09...The Ice Storm didn't miss us this time and there are many trees and branches down.  It is unbelievable.  The amazing thing is we didn't lose power.  Hope for warm weather to melt this ice so the trees can spring back soon. 

  
Summit View Ski Trail                                      Pine in Ice

 
Britten Peak Trail Head                                      Our sign covered in Ice

 

3-23-09...Ice is accumulating up here and this is just the start.  This is suppose to continue for the next 24 hours.  What a mess.  I just have a feeling the power isn't going to last with the ice building up and the winds howling like they are.   Welcome to spring in the north woods.  We will keep you posted....if we have power.

 

Icicles on everything and growing quickly

  

 

3-19-09...  Just returned from my first winter camping trip to the BWCA. I headed in on Monday with a friend of ours, Ed and our 2 dogs Rocky and Winnie. Weather was warm but still a ton of snow and 3 ft of ice on Sawbill Lake.  Travel was easy on the lake, company was great and now this will be on our "to do more" list. Here are some pictures.

 

 
       Camping in a canvas tent with a wood stove is the way to go.

After Winnie was done with her job of pulling us and our gear in she took up a spot on Ed's sled for a nap.