That guy would, in fact, be photographer/paddling instructor/blogger Bryan Hansel, who recently christened North Shore Expeditions, his new kayak touring service.

No doubt, if you’ve spent any fair amount of time in Grand Marais, you’ll likely have seen him out on the water, giving kayak lessons when he’s not having his own fun.

But after doing private tours and instruction for several years, he’s decided to go big with his dreams to share a passion for paddling.

“I picked the tours and trips based on the ones that I enjoy the most,” he says.

In addition to lessons and shorter excursions, North Shore Expeditions will offer multi-day kayak camping trips on the Lake Superior Water Trail — something Hansel says no one else offers. Ditto, for some more ambitious destinations like Pigeon Bay and the Manitou River.

“I really love the Manitou River paddle. The river drops over a ledge and dumps directly into the lake. This waterfall rivals Spray Fall in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and hardly anyone ever sees it,”

And for paddlers who *really* want to go the extra mile, how about touring the entire North Shore — Duluth to Sault Ste. Marie? Hansel has trips like this in mind as well.

Confidence in leading such trips rests on not just experience, but also on Bryan’s high safety standards.

All of North Shore Expeditions’ guides (including Bryan) are American Canoe Association (ACA) certified Coastal Kayaking Instructors or trained ACA guides. First aid and CPR training ( whose certifications must be renewed every three years) is required of them, “so you’ll know that our guides know the latest safety and rescue techniques.”

“Not all the outfitters or guides on the North Shore require that, but I think it’s important. Lake Superior can be dangerous and the training helps make sure that those risks are mitigated for our customers.”

Us, we’re banking that by name association alone, clients will be more than confident enough, to follow Brian and company as far as their paddling arms can carry them.

North Shore Expedition’s newly-launched site has details on a boatload of tours, trips and instruction packages for kayakers of all skill levels.

We nordic ski throughout the winter and like to wear a breathable, warm beanie for our head. Something that isn’t too tight, bulky or fussy. You know, just right.

This month we’re giving away a Smartwool Cuffed Beanie. Made of 100% merino wool, which breathes and wicks away moisture.

We like that the wool doesn’t make us scratch . “These fibers are more flexible and softly bend when pressed against the skin and, therefore, don’t itch like other wool,” according to the company’s site.

The rolled cuff adds another layer of warmth right where you need it—your ears. This beanie comes in one-size-fits all and is black.

How to enter for your chance to win.

It’s easy. Head on over to Smartwool’s website and check out some of their other layering systems. Looking for dependable baselayers? They’ve got ‘em. Ours have withstood five years of beatings and are still like new. You’ll find plenty of good choices whether you hike, run, snow shoe or ski. Find warm layers for the kids. Then, come back here and write down what caught your interest in the comments area below.

At the end of the week, we’ll announce the winner here, as well as on UpNorthica’s Facebook page. Good luck!

For a ten-day canoe paddle, our lunches needed to be fast without forgoing flavor. We tried out Journey Bars. The company boasts that their flavors are “savory (not sweet) and are inspired by cuisines from around the world!” So, we loaded up the lunch sack with 18 bars of assorted flavors. Our choices consisted of Mesquite, Parmesan, Coconut Curry and Hickory BBQ. The company makes the bars using organic whole grains and natural ingredients like almonds, amaranth, flax and sesame seeds. Those with special dietary needs will be happy to know that some of the bars are soy-free and vegan.

Each day, we dug out a bar and some shelf-stable cheese. Overall, the bars were tasty, with texture similar to eating a thick cracker. Unlike sweet bars which sometimes make our stomachs turn, we felt pacified. We never experienced the ‘crash’ that results from too much sugar. We did have a couple of favorites. The mix of spices and hint of coconut in the Coconut Curry Bar were a good nod to Thai cuisine. The Mesquite gave off a subtle smoky flavor without overwhelming our taste buds. Best of all, we were still content to eat these by day five of the trip. Occasionally a bar was a tad dry, but it was hard to determine why. Be aware that they may affect your how shall we say, ‘output’, after a few days. The amaranth seeds don’t break down. The bars start at 170 calories, have 27g of carbs and around 6g of protein.

In the end we were glad we went with a savory bar and would use them again in future trips. Journey Bar has added two new flavors—Rosemary and Pizza Marinara.

Buy here.

Kicking off Monday, January 30, the Gunflint Trail Mail Race will begin. The race originated in the 70′s and faded out in the early 80′s as the Beargrease became an annual event. With its revival this year, 16 teams of mushers will compete, beginning Monday at 4pm on Devil Track Lake. The course will take them southeast to Poplar Lake. After a five-hour layover at Trail Center, they will retrace their route back to Devil Track. Racers are expected to finish before noon on January 31.

“Almost all 16 of the available race spots were filled by mushers from Cook County within days of announcing the race, ” according to sponsor, Stone Harbor’s website.

Everyone is encouraged to join in various festivities at Trail Center or Devil Track Lake. Stone Harbor will supply winter camping tents and gear available to anyone who wants to rough it on Devil Track Lake. If the weather is good, there will be snow kiting and Marquette ski demos. All of the events have been scheduled so that they don’t conflict with the remaining Beargrease activities.

Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply, The Landing at Devil Track, Trail Center, Cook Co Dog Mushers and the Cook Co Ridge Riders worked together to put together this years racing route.

UPDATE: The race has a website, which can be found at www.gunflintmailrun.com (thanks Erik!)

Image: Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply

The annual Winter Camping Rendezvous is taking place over the weekend of February 3-5, 2012. The event will be held at Sawmill Lake campground. The camp is located 20 miles east of Spooner, WI, about 2.5 hours from the Twin Cities. According to event organizer Rhonda Reynolds, the atmosphere is casual and includes, “visiting, cooking, skiing, and fishing.” Saturday night everyone will gather around the bonfire for a chili feed and more than a few campfire tales.

Cost is $10 per person. For directions and more info, check out Winter Camping Rendezvous.

Photos: Winter Camping Symposium/Rhonda Reynolds

Traveling along Hwy 61, we often tune into North Shore Radio. Along with the required stops for smoked trout and sugar donuts, listening to community news in puts us in a laid back mood. Located in Grand Marais, WTIP Radio is featuring 26 audio stories about the Lake Superior region. Not only will the series cover culture, but it will also look at environmental issues, development, invasive species and continued preservation of these waters.

Starting January 6th the series will run throughout the year, with a new audio feature every other week. In the first part of the series, Voices from the Lake, individuals within the community talk about what the lake means to them—be it a source of income, recreation or a place to relax and listen to the waves. One way or another, the lake affects people.

Catch more of the series here.

track images: Wildlife Management

Just in time for summer trip planning, Exped is releasing five new tents to the masses called the Mira and the Gemini series. According to their website, they are intended for the summer traveler and are “a careful balance between light weight and durability”.

The tents are designed with continuous pole sleeves for quick, one person set up—we suggest the newbie. The main guy-lines attach directly to the poles. The tent fly is made with a “rain shadow” which covers the door when the vestibule is open, keeping drips from migrating inside the tent. Each tent has one vestibule for gear storage. Packing down to less than twenty inches, all of the tents will fit inside a traditional canoe pack.

The Mira and Gemini tents will be available March 2012 and start at $329. Keep an eye out for them at Midwest Mountaineering’s Spring Expo.

Wielding a sharp axe and knife, bushcrafter, Graham Berry shows us how to create a feather stick from a larger piece of wood. With little more than a match he shaves out a tidy bundle of kindling. This might come in handy in crummy weather when you need to make a fire quick without having to search for small bits of dry wood.

We get our fires going using many different methods—sometimes out of necessity, sometimes just to increase our skills. How about you? What are some of the ways you start your fire?

Feather stick from graham berry on Vimeo.

Moving from a comfortable existence in Florida to fifty forested acres, John Coffer has no regrets. A brief documentary titled, This Must Be The Place, portrays his unique way of living for the past twenty-five years. He discusses how he finds fulfillment in managing his land, a handful of animals and his wet-plate photography business. His log cabin, built from a stand of red pine on his property, seems to be a study in efficiency and practicality.

“I like the idea of a log cabin is that nothing is absolutely precise, there’s a lot of round corners, it just seems more of a natural place to live,” he says.

His livelihood is complemented by his wet-plate photography business and workshops that he teaches. In keeping with the idea that less is more, he houses his photography studio in a canvas sided tent. But, he’s not shy about incorporated modern elements too. On his property, he has a wind generator, solar panels and a lap top computer.

Coffer’s life sure seems like a good example of living a richer existence. Heck, with a few techie gadgets, we’d sure be tempted to skip modern plumbing and find our own patch of woods.

COFFER from thismustbetheplace on Vimeo.

Via: Adventure Journal

A recent Star Tribune roundup of predicted culinary trends for the new year includes the use of pine needles:

Chefs will experiment with flavors of the forests, using subtle infusions of pine needles, Douglas fir and eucalyptus to flavor sauces, rubs, meats, jus and broths.

Long considered a good choice for survival food, the stuff is loaded with Vitamin C. Possibly the most common way it’s been served has been in the classic brew of pine needle tea. And how does it taste? Well, rather like how pine needles smell (sorry, we know that’s not quite helpful).

Besides the tea, we can’t say we’ve done much more with the stuff, in terms of eating (we did find this tasty-sounding recipe though).

One word of caution, though: Harvesting living plant matter within the BWCA is, uh, not quite kosher. So be mindful of where you cook with the prickly stuff.

We’re curious about you — have you ever cooked with pine needles?

According to their website, they hope to “raise awareness of the significance exploration and wilderness recreation can play in conserving our wilderness heritage.” But first, a route had to be determined. Pete Marshall, mastermind behind the expedition, began looking at maps, contemplating if there was a feasible route from west to east. “I’ve always known of several overland routes to some of the bigger lakes and waterways, but the mountains seemed imposing.” Familiar with other well-paddled routes, he began to to stitch them together, incorporating other waterways.

Want to follow along? Watch for future updates or donate to their cause on the expeditions website.