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Monthly Archives: November 2008
What’s the Eskimo Word For “Snow That Doesn’t Come Soon Enough?”
The drudgery of waiting for decent snowfall got me thinking about that old adage. You know, the one about the Inuit language having hundreds of words to describe ‘snow.’ Turns out, that’s way off. In my extensive research during the last few minutes, I found counts as low as seven words. It’s all a dozen of one, half of six to me.
But I did find this list of words that could – or should – be Inuit words for snow. One of my personal faves: “Tlarin – Snow that can be sculpted into the delicate corsages Eskimo girls pin to their whale parkas at prom time.”
Re-living the Kekekabic Trail Ordeal
Instead of simply pontificating about ‘lessons learned’ from those 2 lost hikers along the Kekekabic, trail founder Martin Kubik decided to walk a mile in their shoes. Or make that, a whole bunch of miles. Following in their footsteps with camcorder in hand, Kubic sought out to find just what they were up against. A visible, tangible reminder of how trails can become dangerous — even in a non-mountainous region like ours.
Nice job! Kinda like an instant replay, only without John Madden doodling all over the screen.
UPDATE: Here’s a photo gallery of Kubik’s hike as well.
Superior Caribou?
So here’s a fun fact to share over your morning “Caribou”. The name of our local coffee chain isn’t as random or inaccurate as we all think. The North American version of reindeer were relatively common in northern MN until the 1940′s. While they’ve all but disappeared in Minnesota, they’re still hanging out nearby on Ontario’s Slate Islands. The northern Lake Superior chain is home to around 200 woodland caribou, comprising the world’s densest population for the species. One more fun fact while we’re on the subject, the Slate Island woodland caribou happen to have one unique trait: they enjoy eating fresh campfire ash.
Backpacker Magazine currently has an article and video on the Caribou. Go forth and wow someone over your next coffee.
Still Paddling to the Sea
For over 60 years, readers have traced the fictional journey of Paddle-to-the-Sea, a wood-carved canoeing Indian, across the St. Lawrence Seaway to the ocean. The children’s storybook classic is a must-have for any outdoorsy parent. So it’s great to see that it still inspires the creation of real-life Paddle-to-the-Sea boats.
The most recent report comes from White Lake, Michigan, where a resident spotted a carved paddler along the waterfront. Retrieving the object and calling the phone number written on its underside, she contacted the family who’d launched it from their Upper Peninsula town, some 220 miles away. There are some pretty cool similarities to the wind-and-current-driven course that the original Paddle-to-the-Sea took, as well as some familiar turns in its story. Stay tuned, though: Paddle’s new friends in White Lake are putting him up for the winter, so hopefully we’ll yet hear of his further adventures, come spring thaw. Via Canoeing.com.
One of these days, someone needs to slap an email address on one of those things and set up a GoogleMaps hack to track its course… anybody out there ever launched a Paddle of their own?
Planting Positive Change? Discussion Tonight
When blowdowns, forest fires and global warming all threaten to forever change the Boundary Waters, would it really help to plant more pine trees?
Tonight, the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness will host this discussion (7pm at Macalester College), led by U of M ecologist Dr. Lee Frelich. If you’ve not been to one of Frelich’s well-known presentations on the Boreal Forest’s future, brace yourself; the forecast is a grim one. Which is reason enough to attend tonight and see what – if anything – can be done to positively affect our little neck of the woods.
Hmm, makes me wonder if the nature photography slideshow to follow, isn’t meant to lighten the mood a little? Better bring some Kleenex, just to be safe.
UpNorthica Flickr Pool: Forgotten Fall Colors
Although the leaves had already fallen, we found nothing *but* color on a recent hike near Moose Lake. Head over to the UpNorthica Flickr Pool for a view of the gorgeous “post-peak” colors we saw.
Sculptor Sauli Miettunen’s Tree Art
Wish I could say you can find this sweet environmental art, somewhere off a lonely Gunflint Trail portage. I can’t though; it was done in Finland. But I can tell you that: 1) It rocks, and 2) Sculptor Sauli Miettunen made it.
The works have memories of and references to nature: animal vertebrae, trees and gardens, but above all, Miettunen’s sculpture includes man’s visit to and his tracks in nature. Man has left his mark in nature and nature is no longer an idyllic haven. Nature, however, can be a refuge, or even a work place[…]
His site has lots of museum pieces, but the outdoors/environmental art stuff (like this one and also this,) is definitely must-see material. Awesome! Via NotCot.
Envying Earl’s Canoe
A clip from Earl’s Canoe, a documentary about an Ojibway man’s construction of a traditional birch bark canoe. The camera follows his whole process, beginning with selecting bark in the woods of Madeleine Island. This definitely looks like one of those fascinating step-back-through-time films.
Minnesota Voted “Yes”… Now What’s Next?
With the passing of the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment on Tuesday [insert spirited “Woo hoo” here], you may now be wondering what the next steps are. The vote means a lot of money, but the needs across the state are great, so who gets how much?
This article gives a good idea of what to watch for in the coming months. I’ll be looking on, beaming all the while.
To-Do List on Election Day
Before you hit the polls, don’t forget to:
- Draw a deep breath when you first step outside
- Take a walk on a trail during lunch break
- Make a point of counting how many lakes and rivers you pass on your commute
- Think of your favorite outdoor destination in Minnesota
- Recall the best art and/or cultural event you’ve seen in the state. [Not the artsy type? Think of the Spoon Bridge -- Who doesn't love the Spoon Bridge?]
… and then, vote accordingly.
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