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Monthly Archives: October 2010
UpNorthica Travels: Three Day Trips Out Of Ely
Day tripping is a great introduction to the wilderness. Shorter routes can offer easy access those who don’t have much time or feel like they want to haul a bunch of gear. Toss in a day pack, and you’re ready to hit these routes. We traveled these routes on our most recent excursion.
Name That Tune… and the Bird Who Sings It
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard beautiful bird calls in the wilds of Minnesota, but never got around to identifying them. Plus, all the lushly-illustrated field guides don’t help much, if all you have to search by is what your ears have heard.
A few such mysteries were solved for me, when I checked out this bird songs interactive illustration (by Bill Reynolds) on MN-DNR’s site. In particular, the simple chant of the ovenbird and the lovely warbling trill of the veery will now be ever more appreciated, now that I know who’s making them.
Any favorites of yours successfully identified?
Photo Friday: Newpost Falls
It’s not often enough that even a good photo will seize you, drawing you into its world.
Newpost Falls in northern Ontario is the subject of this week’s Photo Friday pick. And look at that; it’s also suddenly appeared on our list of places to visit before we die!
Flickr user Markus J.Clement posted this and several other shots of the falls. He also has great photo sets of waterfalls elsewhere and various wildlife.
Thanks, Markus. We very, very much like your world.
Smart Gear Design Goes Beyond the Gear
I recently unboxed a new 0° sleeping bag and was really impressed. Not so much by the bag itself right away; but by what came with it: Enclosed in the packaging was a list of winter camping tips.
“Eating before bed and snacking stokes the digestion furnace.” “A short burst of exercise will speed heat the sleeping bag, but don’t sweat.” Things that, while known to me, a newbie winter camper might really benefit from. Both a resource and a nod to Ledge‘s passion for their work.
A similar experience was with the first MSR tent I tried. What’s this? Assembly instructions – printed on fabric and permanently stitched to the tent bag? Thank you! Why hasn’t every tent maker done this since we moved up from animal-hide-and-wooly-mammoth-tusk shelters?
UpNorthica Basics: Orienteering
Becoming an adept wilderness tripper involves a process of ongoing learning. Before we first started paddling the Boundary Waters, we knew our Orienteering (map and compass) skills were lacking. So we found easy opportunities to learn. You can too, and it can be a fun outdoor activity.
Tarptent’s Sublite Sil 2010
We’d like to do more solo-tripping next year. One way to have a successful trip is to choose a shelter carefully.
Take a look at Tarptent’s Sublite Sil 2010. Weighing in at 24 ounces, we are already thinking about how much lighter the pack will be. Made with materials like rip-stop nylon and no-see-um mesh, you will stay protected from the wind, rain and bugs.
With an interior height of 45″ and a floor that is 86″ long by 37″ at its widest, a really tall guy or gal would be able to sleep and sit comfortably. The canopy is adjustable for ventilation and view. The small vestibule will protect from rain and hold a daypack.
Set up requires either trekking poles or two sturdy sticks. We’re wondering if paddles might work as well. The Sublite comes with aluminum stakes, reflective guylines and a stuff sack.
Considering the thoughtful features, this tent seems like a good candidate for the soloist.
Buy here.
MSRP $209.00
Canoe Jousting? Kayak Jumping? I’ll Take Both, Please
This weekend, we found two great ideas for y’all fun-lovin’ paddlers. Too bad it’s so late in the season here, because both involve your body careening into the water.
Canoe jousting and kayak jumping were overwhelmingly popular attractions at the first RiverRocks Festival in Chattanooga, TN. The weekend-long celebration aimed to support conservation efforts in the Tennessee River Valley. Judging from the long lines of repeat jousters, it sounded pretty successful.
The canoe jousting saw 2-person teams trying to thump each other overboard, using large foam soccer-bopper sticks. Nearby, a 15-foot kayak jump (with a 1-foot kicker at the bottom) was also well-utilized. Spectators might have seen several corkscrews and 180s… a good share of epic fails…
Events like this sound fantastic, but moreover it gives us hope that these things are happening. It’s so much easier for people to support a cause when they’re smack in the middle of celebrating it. We’d love to see more conservation groups and tourism boards in Minnesota take this approach to raising funds and awareness.
Or at least fit the jousting into what they’re already doing… please? Just for us.
[Photo: Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free Press]
36 Years Later, Old Mine Runoff Still Pollutes Wetlands Near BWCAW
The BWCAW sulfide mining debate has escalated. The Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness reported today that two old mine sites are leaching toxic minerals into a wetland 3 miles from the BW.
The clincher: These mining locations have been out of operation for 36 years.
Earlier this summer, an Ely resident tipped off the organization to an apparent runoff source. Samples were taken and an independent lab analysis found “arsenic, copper, nickel and iron at concentrations hundreds of times higher than state water quality standards allow for chronic exposure.”
Interested? or maybe disgusted? Read on for more…
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