I hate to repeat myself but the last three weeks on the Gunflint Trail have been just glorious. It's the fall weather we all dream about. Temperatures have been in the 60's and 70's during the day. At night it gets down into the 50's. The lakes have been staying pretty warm. Barb Gecas at Heston's Resort said she has guests in this week who have gone swimming every day. Terri Caldwell at Loon Lake Lodge told me that they had guests swimming too. Terri even went in herself which does not sound good to me at all. The leaves are just starting to turn so there is lots of fall color left to come.
Lake trout fishing has been slow and it is probably due to those warm lakes. We need the surface water temperatues to drop to 50 degrees to bring the trout up. The other alternative is for the wind to blow steadily for several days from one direction. That will "turn the lake over" and bring the cold waters up.
Walleye fishing has been good. There aren't a lot of big ones but lots of eaters. Forrest Parson at Hungry Jack Lodge says his guests have been catching walleye in the evenings. He said they have also been doing well on pan fish in Little Iron Lake and bass are buiting everywhere. Debbie Mark at Seagull Outfitters says that Seagull Lake homeowners are catching walleyes in 14 feet of water. Barb Gecas says her guests had a ball catching northerns on Iron Lake.
Moose are starting to reappear in anticipation of the rut. Ted Young from Poplar Creek Bed and Breakfast says that a bull moose spent 45 minutes in their yard. Guests were taking pictures and videos left and right. The next morning one of the video cameramen came in very disheartened. He had been playing with his camera and managed to erase all the moose video.
Lin Sherfy at Rockwood Lodge had guests running in to tell her about a huge bull moose on the Gunflint Trail between Rockwood and Old Northwoods. Lin also had guests trying to portage from Morgan Lake to Jake. A bull moose blocked the portage and refused to let them through.
Teresa Baumann from Golden Eagle Lodge is still harvesting berries. This time it was chokecherries which she made into jam. It is a big project involving boiling the berries and mashing them through a sieve before making the jam. Lin Sherfy mentioned that there are still a few blueberries out there.
Sue Ahrendt from Tuscarora Lodge hiked the new Centenial Trail in her backyard. You start at the Kekekabic parking lot and go in near the Paulson Mine. On the way back you take a new loop. This loop gives you a beautiful view of the ponds on the Round Lake Road. At one point there is almost a tunnel made by the forest overhead. Another spot takes you up and down where a trestle for the railroad used to be. The entire loop is about 3.3 miles and ends up back at the Kekekabic parking lot.
Last night Barb Gecas went out on the lake in a boat after dark. This is the dark side of the moon so she was treated to a spectacular display of stars. She said the Milky Way was particularly stunning. I often advise winter guests to walk out on the lake after dinner for the same kind of start show.