Gunflint Trail- Morning, November 28 at Poplar Creek Guesthouse B&B. There is eight and one half inches of snow on the ground and it is still coming down. While the Banadad Ski Trail is not tracked there is enough snow to ski. The Trail has been cleared from the east end to the Old Logging camp or 10 kilometers and from the west end in about six and one half kilometers. We are now starting to pack the trail and should have it ready to track, at least the east end, sometime within a week.
Two nights at about zero; the mid size lakes such Poplar are finally "making ice."
It was not that many years ago, when we lived on an island across from Windigo Lodge on Poplar that by Thanksgiving we were crossing the lake by snowmobile. One of our measures to determine if the ice was safe for our snowmobile was to let Windigo's Ekroot boys get out on the ice with their snowmobiles then we would give the ice another week before we ran it with our machines. In those day is was not uncommon to have several -20 days prior to Thanksgiving to help set-up the ice.
Now we are lucky if it gets down to zero. At least the last few days of zero and with only about an inch of snow cover has enabled the swamps and beaver ponds along the Banadad Ski Trail to freeze-up. Now all we need is more snow to get the trails open. And guess what? I just looked out the window for the first time this morning and it is starting to snow.
Christmas in America- A Photographic Celebration of the Holiday Season is a delightful book featuring stunning winter scenes from across the country by noted photographer Peter Guttman. Included in the book are photographs of Boundary Country Trekking's Little Ollie Lake Cabin and the Croft yurt, Arleigh Jorgensen's dog teams and Trail Center. The New York Times' says of Guttman's work, "Using light to its fullest, Mr Guttman creates stunning images no matter how far he travels."
The book is published by Skyhorse Publishing, New York, NY.
Boundary Country Trekking’s, Gunflint Lodge to Lodge Skiing program, this month, appeared in two Magazines- the November/December issue of AAA Living and the December issue of Midwest Living. In the Midwest Living article the author, Lisa Meyers McCuntick, skied from Bearskin Lodge to the Poplar Creek Guesthouse B&B and then travel on to Gunflint Lodge dinning at the Tall Pines Yurt's were she had the Mongolian Firepot Dinner, Trail Center Restaurant and Gunflint's Justines in route. Also appearing in the Midwest Living Magazine was recipes from Barbara’s Kitchen at Poplar Creek Guesthouse B&B and Gunflint Lodge’s Justine’s Restaurant.
Boundary Country Trekking, which maintains and grooms northern Minnesota’s Banadad and Adjoining Ski Trail System announce that this trail system is going carbon neutral beginning with the 2007-08 ski season.
According to Boundary Country Trekking’s Ted Young, “we intend to purchase carbon credits to off-set the carbon contributed to the atmosphere by our snowmobile grooming, our use of mechanized tools outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) and for the carbon added by the vehicles driven by our trail maintenance volunteers to travel to the Banadad.”
The Banadad, is a thirty-five kilometer trail network centrally located along the Gunflint Nordic Trail System. Most of the Banadad is located in the BWCA Wilderness. Within the BWCA non-motorized hand tools are used for maintenance. Some mechanized tools are used for maintenance outside the wilderness. Each fall volunteers most of who travel from the Twin Cities assist in the maintenance. Snowmobiles are used for grooming.
“Operating a carbon neutral ski trail system,” Young continued. “ is consistent with our company’s sustainable business policy and commitment to the environment.”
1f95Little Ollie Cabin- Midweek $99/night Weekends $125/night for two plus tax. Each extra person $15/night
Poplar Creek Retreat Cabin- Midweek $110/night $135/night for two plus tax. Each extra person $15/nigiht
Poplar Creek Guesthouse B&B: Ollie's Rm $110 and Dorothy's Rm $85 with breakfast for two/night. Barbara's Rm $95
Tall Pine Yurt- $69 for two $15 for each extra person/night
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