Poplar Creek Courier Brought to you by Boundary Country Trekking

Join one of this year's trail maintenance crews clearing the summer's accumulation of brush and downed trees along the Banadad Ski Trail.

The Banadad, located along the Gunflint Trail in Northeast Minnesota is the BWCA's longest Ski Trail. Most of the trail runs through the BWCA, a Wilderness area, where the use of power equipment for maintenance is prohibited. As a result to get the trail open for skiing each year requires some 600-650 hours of hand labor.

Your help is needed! Weekend Ski Trail Maintenance Trips are scheduled October 27-29 and November 17-19.

Lodging, breakfasts and lunches, trail tools and supervision are provided on all trips. You provide work clothing, sleeping bags and your labor. A minimal fee is charged to cover cost of food (breakfast and lunches, dinner on your own) and two nights lodging.

Cash donations also accepted. Check should be made payable to the Banadad Ski Trail Committee. Sign-up now for this year's trips!

____ October 27-29 Work Weekend (Cost $60) 2 days/2 nights -work on Saturday and Sunday AM

_filled November 17-19 Work Weekend (Cost $60) 2 days/2 nights -work on Saturday and Sunday AM

Call 800-322-8327 to reserve your space on the trail crew
BANADAD SKI TRAIL COMMITTEE
11 Poplar Creek Dr, Grand Marais, MN 55604
Email- bct@boundarycountry.com

View on Web at www.boundarycountry.com/trailwork.html

With seven inches of snow on the Trail, the Minnehaha Academy's girls ski team spent Saturday opening the westend of the Banadad. According to coach Anne Rykken, the team cleared brush from the westend trailhead to about a kilometer beyond the Dawkins bridge. The next day the crew moved down to the eastern end of the trail and cleared along the Lace Lake Trail.

The team is planning a Yurt to Yurt trip the first weekend in March at which time they can admire their handiwork.

The Gunflint Trail's first snow started to fall yesterday. As of today there is two inches of snow on the ground. More snow is predicted over the next three days. If you are planning to ski bring your rock skis. Look for temperatures in the 20-37 degree range.The Gunflint Trail's first snow started to fall yesterday. As of today there is two inches of snow on the ground. More snow is predicted over the next three days. If you are planning to ski bring your rock skis. Look for temperatures in the 20-37 degree range.  Image taken October 12, 2006 at the Poplar Creek Guesthouse's Banadad Ski TrailHead.

Boundary Country Trekking, which own and operate Poplar Creek Guesthouse B&B, grooms and maintains the 45 kilometer Banadad and Adjoining Ski Trails. The Banadad is the BWCA's longest tracked ski trail. The Trail is in the center of the 180-kilometer Gunflint Nordic Trail System. Getting the Banadad open each year for skiing require some 450-500 hours of hand labor. Volunteers recruited and supervised by Boundary Country Trekking contribute most of this work.

This year's maintenance began September 29 with three people, Barbara and John Bottger (Hungry Jack Lake) and Ted Young (Poplar Creek Guesthouse). The crew drove out the Moose trail by truck to the Croft Yurt then walked in a mile and one- half to the sagging Banadad Bridge. Picture is of John Bottger working on bridge. The decking on the bridge was removed and the rotting beams reinforced and the decking replace. After completing the bridge, the crew widened the approach to the bridge and cut out the over hanging brush along the way back to the truck. It drizzled all day. The work crew encountered three parties of moose hunters along the Moose Trail including one group that had set-up their hunting camp just off the trail and near the Bedew Creek. While working on the bridge two more moose hunters came though the Rush- Banadad Portage.

The next day, September 30, another crew of volunteers- Cindy Tiffany and Margit Jamieson (Gunflint Lake); John Bottger; Mike Nelson and Bryan Straniero, Adventuresome Christians 's staff and Ted Young tackled the eastern end of the trail. This crew hiked-in from the Poplar Lake Public Landing along the one and one-half mile maintenance access trail- the old Winchell Lake fire trail build by the CCC in the 1930's.

Arriving at the Banadad Five of the crewmembers headed west towards the Old Logging Camp cutting brushing as they went. This crew estimate they cleared and widened, at least, another mile of the Trail.

Young walked back east surveying the trail conditions between the access trail to the eastern trailhead and Poplar Creek Guesthouse a distance of 4 1/2 miles. While there were a few small trees that were cut, the rest of this section was in fairly good condition. Two moose hunters were encountered along the way. It was another gray day.