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Giant Lake Trout FREAKOUT
What’s bigger than the monster Lake Superior trout these guys catch? Their uproarious reaction.
Photo Friday: Icy Superior North Shore Sunrise
Photographer Josh Merrill drove 10 hours through the night to snap this pic at Gooseberry Falls. It was well worth it.
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Beargrease Race to Feature Legendary Musher Jeff King
The man they call the “winningest musher in the world” will figure heavily into this weekend’s race – but not as a competitor.
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Winter Tracks Fest is Seeking Snow Sculptors
As the season’s icy temperatures tighten their grip, the stalwart organizers of the Winter Tracks Festival just rub their hands together all the faster and come up with more fun activities for 2011.
New this year will be a Snow Sculpture Symposium, open to the public. Got some warm boots? A healthy sense of play? Can you fake being an artsy-fartsy type? Not quite? No worries; read on for why you’ll want to be a part of this.
Book Across The Bay
This last weekend saw the 14th annual Book Across the Bay an annual 10k snow shoe/ski race across the Chequamegon bay. This year the race had 3300 registrants raising money that goes to the Book Across the Bay Community Grant Program. This program gives funds to organisations that encourage physical and mental wellness among residents of the Chequamegon Bay region. Recently this has included the Legion Memorial Library in Mellen, the City of Ashland Parks and Recreation Department, and the UW-Extension, Bayfield County among others. According to the Event’s creators:
Book Across the Bay is the upper Midwest’s most unique winter event, open to skiers and snowshoers of all ages and ability levels. The 10-kilometer course, which is groomed for both classic-style and skate skiing, starts in Ashland and ends in Washburn, and follows a route not on land, but over the frozen surface of Lake Superior, the world’s largest lake. The event is held at night, and the course is lit by the stars above and up to 1,000 candles in ice luminaries that line the entire route.
For those of you wondering, yes the event does include beer and chili as mandated by the Wisconsin State Constitution. All post race aches and pains aside I have to say my first snow shoe race was a great experience and I’m definitely returning next year. More info on the Book Across the Bay site, and a growing photo set on Flickr.
Beargrease 2010 To Be Closer To Its Roots
Sunday begins the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in Duluth. The race is steeped in the history and legend of the North Shore mail carrier of the same name. And this year, organizers are bringing spectators closer to the race — and its roots.
Read on for a glimpse of what to expect. Then rush to pack your bags for the race!
Two Must-See Movie Showings Tonight
Dude, drop what you’re doing. Cancel all your evening plans (as if you have anything important on a Thursday night.)
There are two great outdoorsy films showing tonight in Minneapolis. Both are at cool venues. Both offer Super Extra Bonus incentives to attend. Your challenge will be picking which one to see. That’s right, they overlap (life’s just full of tough decisions.)
Skiing in the Shadow of Ghenghis Khan will introduce you to an ancient culture that literally skis, to live. Lakes: A Love Affair will bring you back to Minnesota to explore our own culture that lives to be ‘on the lake.’
Here, you click on through for trailers and synopses; I’ll get in the line for some Junior Mints…
Some Paddling Deals Worth the Drive North
In a day and age when people kayak down ski hills and surf in Lake Superior during winter, I’ve decided there’s no such thing as an ‘end-of-season’ anymore. For any outdoor activity in Minnesota. We just crazy that way.
That said, you’d be really crazy (in the literal sense this time) if you didn’t check out the monster deals on used kayaks and equipment at Superior Coastal Sports’ site right now. Word reached us last week of the deep discounts offered, but we just wouldn’t feel right to buy them all ourselves and not spread the word.
If you’re interested, John at Superior says, give me a call. But at last check, there’s still open water, so just don’t call it an end-of-season sale.
Two Harbors Gets 28 Miles of Trail
Photo: Flickr user 'loimere'
The “Second Best Long Trail in the Nation” (according to Backpacker Magazine) just got longer — and best-er.
A lucky hiker previews a 28-mile addition to the Superior Hiking Trail. What’s it like? Lovely views, including crossings over the Knife River and Stewart River. Moreover, the stretch fills a gap left wide open since the trail’s creation:
Although at first there was no obvious route to take around Two Harbors, determined SHTA volunteers spent years pouring over maps, speaking with landowners, scouting the woods, and hanging pink ribbons until a path around town began to take shape.
Zut Alors! It’s Rendezvous Time In Grand Portage
Fact: 200 years ago this week, voyageurs coming off the trail didn’t have the luxury of browsing the gift shop for birch bark picture frames and moose poop incense.
What they did have, was the Rendezvous: a merry mid-summer celebration with plenty of food, sport and dance. This weekend, you’re invited to join them.
Grand Portage National Monument hosts the annual event with an impressive schedule [PDF] of re-enactments, demos, workshops, games of skill, and kids’ activities. A few items that stuck out to me, after the jump…
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