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.

When our hosting service’s grid server suffered a security breach, we found some malicious code was causing our site to redirect users to random web sites. Many thanks go to our friend Matt for his troubleshooting expertise in eradicating the problem!

Now that it’s finally(!) been removed, we can’t wait to start show-and-telling about the best place on earth: The Boundary Waters. Let’s go!

Like a first time paddler launching into a vast island-dotted lake, the world became a lot bigger for me as I viewed “This is Canoeing,” the latest project from paddler/filmmaker Justine Curgenven. Gathered into this 2-disc set are 12 film featurettes, each bringing a fresh and memorable viewpoint of what it is to canoe today.

A veritable film fest in and of itself, “This is Canoeing” sees Curgenven globetrotting across the UK, Canada and the US for unique stories of paddling — no, I mean *really* unique. Like the 4-year old kid who runs rapids. The modern-day voyageur. The pair who teach canoes how to dance. There are solo-trippers, slalom champs and trusty canine sidekicks. There’s paddling, poling, sailing, lining and a few good spills. Canoes are harmed in the making of this film.

Read on for descriptions of each featurette, and more…

Mountain River
Curgenven joins others for a 2-week whitewater journey down The Mountain River in the Northwest Territories. Canyons and caribou herds aplenty are captured on this ‘best wilderness river’ in Canada.

Kevin Callan
The paddler/writer/humorist shows off the wonders of Algonquin’s Barron Canyon, while reflecting on the value of wilderness and being raised close to nature.

Canoe Dance
She’s a 5 time National Champion in Interpretive Freestyle Canoeing. He’s considered one of the 100 heroes of paddlesports. With music and movement, Karen Knight and Bob Foote perform a tandem ‘canoe ballet.’ Skeptical? Prepare to be blown out of the water (sorry if that doesn’t sound very graceful and ballet-lake, but you asked.)

Spirit Dancer
What’s Chris Cooper doing with a 42-foot Canadian voyageur canoe, all the way over in Scotland? Getting people to help him paddle it, of course. He visits castles, hears bagpipes and samples local fare with an entertaining cast of locals.

Becky Mason
The daughter of the late great Bill Mason stands — and paddles — on her own two feet. With one paddle. Forget it. Becky is an avid solo-tripper, freestyle canoeist and watercolor artist. She paddles one of her great inspirations, Quebec’s jewel-toned Lac Vert.

Riding the Moose
A group of whitewater canoeists deal with waterfalls, slides and injured pride as they tackle several Class 5 rapids, with mixed results. These little boats are canoes?? These people are sane?? Some mind blowing manoeuvers here.

Open Canoe Slalom
Being nominated “the paddler of the century” may suit John “Kaz” Kazimierczy fine. Winning a stunning 101 national first place titles in slalom, downriver and marathon doesn’t make him invincible forever, though. Will competitor Andy Walker beat him in the 2009 championships?

Birchbark Man
UpNorthica fave and Minnesotan Erik Simula is featured as he completes his 2009 epic solo circumnavigation of the Arrowhead. He catches fish, he patches his homemade canoe. He runs (!) across his portages. Criminy, what is the man *not* capable of? Lovely photography and a good share of introspection to be found, but I still wish Curgenven would’ve captured a lot more of the trip.

Ray Goodwin
This UK canoeing giant was the first to circumnavigate Wales, and the first to cross the Irish Sea unsupported in a canoe. Paddling and poling, he shows off mad skills in lakes and rivers, all without dumping his pooch into the drink.

Hailey Thompson
You’re pretty good if you make the US senior team for canoe slalom and compete in the world championships in Europe. But do all that by the age of 15, and you’re better than good — you’re Hailey Thompson. The Wisconsin girl is seen paddling her hometown in Wisconsin, racing, and making most of us other paddlers look like wimps.

Rannoch Moor
A 3-day adventure in the rugged Scottish Highlands. Portaging and whitewater. Sailing and poling. Thick Scottish brogues.

Dougie Down the Pet
A father and his 4-year old boy, Dougie, run the rapids of Algonquin’s Petawawa River. It’s only scary to watch the first few times every time, but the kid is adorable. Dear ol’ dad Scott MacGregor offers insights on raising kids to love the wild, that will challenge and inspire.

There is also additional bonus material, including full slalom footage from Andy Walker’s boat and a redeemable subscription to Canoeroots Magazine.

In some stories, Curgenven is the observer. In others, such as “Mountain River,” she joins the narrative, paddle in hands. She shares first views from atop mountains (and from within raging rapids.) And yet the focus rests not simply on her own encounters, but on the experience and soul of paddling, itself. In doing so, the production deftly avoids the stagnant backwaters of ‘trip report.’

The success of “This is Canoeing” lies in its breadth of material. Though wide, it is not too much for the viewer. The 12 featurettes reveal a world that, while wild and untamable, is also serene and calm. Discovered is inspiration to create, to wander and to achieve. We glimpse a reverence for paddling’s history, but looking forward, we see how our youngest generation shows great promise. It’s a vast, expansive world which, in some ways, can only be reached by canoe.

cackletv.com

Some 100,00 tents, in fact, will be needed to shelter an estimated half million refugees.

It didn’t take long for people to act. Minnesota’s own Gear Junkie (Stephen Regenold) soon found himself being nominated by bloggers to organize a tent donation effort. Turns out, he discovered, there’s one in motion already; one that you and I can help with, too.

The American Alpine Club has already sent one shipment of tents, and has called for outdoor heroes like you and me to help with a second shipment. Most needed are family-sized tents (though I’m sure anything will help.) You can find details and a mailing address here.

With a shipping date of February 12, this means you’ll have just a little more time to clean up yours and straighten out the tent pegs — or better yet, pick up a brand new tent or three for someone who really needs them.

Read on for a glimpse of what to expect. Then rush to pack your bags for the race!

New this year (and coolest) is the Sawbill Winter Camping Village. You can camp out just like John Beargrease himself likely did (tent rentals are also available.) You’ll be able to attend winter camping and cooking demos, and observe the racers at the manditory checkpoint. It’s FREE, all-ages, and no reservations are needed.

The new starting point this year will be closer to Mr. Beargrease’s original route (in spirit, if not also factually): the Lake Park Soccer complex on Jean Duluth and Riley roads.

Also touted is a live webcast and race coverage. This, along with checkpoint updates and daily recaps and videos will be available… But at a price. A service is providing said web coverage for a $10 annual fee. A slight bummer, but Iditarod has employed a similar subscription-based model in the past. I guess these things cost money to do or something.

Let’s not forget the race itself. Returning are many former champions and A-list contenders. Take your pick:

“We have Mark Black, Jason Barron, John Barron, Jamie Nelson, Blake Freking, all returning champions in the Beargrease so this is going to be the most competitive race we’ve had in a long time,” says Start Coordinator Bob James.

We’re really happy to see the race become bigger, better and beargreasier. Good luck to everyone!

Meet Lily the Black Bear. She’s become an internet sensation as an infrared den cam has captured her days and hours leading up to the birth; the first of its kind to be caught on video. Poor mama — such pressure, such loss of dignity. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE LIVE FEED RIGHT NOW!!!

Good thing researcher Lynn Rogers has kept the precise location of Lily’s den undisclosed (it’s somewhere outside of Ely.) With news networks as far away as Britain covering the story, the media circus is only a virtual one. She’s due today, guys, give her some space.

I’ve scoured all the ‘birth story’ mom blogs out there and haven’t seen any birth announcements or squirmy TMI photos yet, so check back here for updates.

UPDATE: Congrats to Lily, who gave birth to one cub (boy? girl?) at 11:38am yesterday. Here’s the birth moment on video.

As with their canoe packs, Duluth Pack’s choppers have maintained a certain loyalty among outdoorsy types. While most outerwear brands have chased after ever-newer materials and technology, the choppers have changed little since Ely tanner Henry began making them in 1974. Are they still tough enough?

Devoid of clever or fancy features, the choppers are made of quality material that’s constructed well.

The success of the choppers lies in how they insulate. Instead of pillowing and suffocating your hands with lofty fill, they use both rag wool liners and a comfortable envelope of trapped air. The result? In sub-zero temps, these were all I needed; the warmth never ran out. When active, my hands never felt sweat soaked or overheated. The liners wicked away the moisture while the moose hide kept in the heat.

I wish all gloves and mittens had removable liners. These worked well; cleaning and drying them out was a breeze.

In a variety of conditions and activities, they were impressively resilient. Whether pawing through crusty snow or slush, the moose hide held up well.

The cotton trim did fray easily on my pair, however, with the stitching soon following it.

Aside from that, I found myself favoring Duluth Pack’s Moose Hide Choppers often, leaving my high-tech gloves to pad the inside of the family hat-and-glove bin.

To truly appreciate this time-lapse, you need to watch it in HD. The tiny waterbugs at the bottom right are the 40 teams competing in the Quebec Winter Carnival canoe race. Dodging icebergs. Risking capsized canoes and probably luring hungry arctic wolves. In all seriousness, this kind of crazy stunt is a beautiful way to celebrate the sheer wildness of Winter’s offerings.

Which draws immediate comparisons; their Winter Carnival sure sounds more thrilling than Minnesota’s. What do we have? People casing the parks of St. Paul late at night for medallions. Icky Vulcans on parade who people shield their kids from. The occasional ice castle that you can watch as it melts beneath sponsored JumboTron video walls.

In a state wherein you can find polar bear swimming, dogsledding and snowmobiling over open water… perhaps we shouldn’t wonder why our Winter Carnival is so lame. Via Paddling.net.

The collection of articles covers how to dress, what to bring, and how to do what you need to do — all without losing precious body parts to frostbite. There’s a lot to be learned, so read on for our highlights.

Although ‘articles’ that double as checklists are fairly kluge, their categorized Winter Checklist covers the bases well. It also has a “Consider” section; a nice touch for newbies who unsure which items are absolute essentials, and which aren’t. The How To Cook article is helpful, especially with its guidelines on calculating how much cooking fuel to pack. The lackluster-and-very-brief Recipes & Menu Planner was the only major letdown for us (mac ‘n’ cheese? Hot cocoa? Really?) Overall, though, it’s worth your time.

We’d love to hear from you: What aspects of winter camping would you like to see featured on UpNorthica? How-tos? Articles? Recipes? Let us know!

It feels great to kickoff 2010 on a good note: Several positive changes are afoot on the BWCA’s Banadad Ski Trail this winter.

First, the way has recently been paved (no, not literally) for better winter travel. A DNR grant, as well as donated time from volunteers have resulted in some wider, clearer and flatter sections of the Banadad.

Which leads to the new managment: After twenty years, Boundary Country Trekking (a company) has passed the trail management along to the newly-formed Banadad Trail Association.

And then there’s Olga. As one of the yurt accomodations along the trail, the structure known affectionately as “Olga” has been rebuilt and restored to her former yurty glory. And if you’ve never stayed in a yurt before, they’re an experience not to be missed — almost a mashup between camping and cabining.

Winter is sorta whipping into shape again, so news like this should spur you to make skiing plans along the Banadad, about now-ish.

Recently posted in the Duluth News-Tribune:
“FOUND: Canoe on I-35. Call [# omitted] to identify.”

Awesome. Thanks for the tip, Andrew!

Ah, snow caves and igloos: Bringers of warmth and shelter amidst Winter’s deepest cold. Symbols of welcome and hospitality — perhaps never more so when they’re spared for the next weary winter camper who comes along.

So why do we have to drag them into the Leave No Trace debate?

There’s an interesting discussion over at NWHikers about whether or not snow shelters should be destroyed when it’s time to break camp. As with leaving firewood, isn’t leaving an igloo intact, considered an act of goodwill? And doesn’t it melt eventually, anyhow? Actually, the argued ‘whens’ and ‘whys’ make a bit of sense; it’s worth a read.

What do you think? Should snow shelters be left behind in the BW?

Via SnowCampers WinterCampers.
[Photo: Flickr user Paul Jerry]

When considering the topic of winter survival, I’m compelled to believe that snow forts just SO ROCK!

In what feels like a page stolen from a modern architecture journal, Wend Magazine has posted a number of unusual igloo creations.

Igloo construction tools (like Grand Shelters’ ICEBOX) are becoming more widely used in winter camping. So it’s more than just fun to see how creative people are getting with them — the gallery is actually a pretty good resource.

Even with an ICEBOX, it can take up to 4 hours to build an igloo. That doesn’t leave a wide margin of error, in terms of daylight. So maybe next time I endeavor to build one, I’ll steal this page myself (especially that rad Fortress of Solitude one.) Via WinterCampers.

This re-printed article on running with snowshoes has good advice for staying on top of your fitness — and on top of the snow — this winter. The advice on going small is something I’d say can be applied for trips into the BW during winter. You really don’t need shoes as big as canoe paddles.

Very helpful stuff; wish I’d followed the workout suggestions long before my last winter camping trip.

Yeah, that’s right, I’m doin’ it to you again: Just as you were getting antsy for a decent snowfall and all the fun of a Minnesota winter, I have to tantalize you with crazy warm weather activities again.

Nine-plus minutes may seem a little long for watching this guy SUPing in whitewater, but ride it out. It allowed me enough time to watch’n'learn a little from his technique. By the end, I felt like I’d taken the first session in an instructional course. Enjoy, but don’t get any ideas — even I would be wary of trying this for the first time, in December. Via Canoeroots.