Gunflint Trail experiences a variety of events this week.

Gunflint Trail fishing has been a little slow this week.  As Luana Brandt of Nor'Wester Lodge said, "The kids have been happy but their dads haven't been so happy."  It just means that kids love to catch fish no matter what the size while dads want bigger fish.  Andy McDonnell from Bearskin Lodge had a happy fisherman there.  The man caught a 10 lb walleye on a slip bobber with a leech.  Now that summer is here, leeches and crawlers are the preferred live bait.  This week may have been slow but next week could be an entirely different story.

Meanwhile other things have been happening.  Dave Seaton from Hungry Jack Outfitters had a new expereience routing one of his groups.  Everyone in the group was profoundly deaf.  Dave said there were lots of notes and hand signs.  He dropped them off at Saganaga and forgot his notepad so they were reduced to a small scrap of paper for notes.  One of the group's biggest concerns was how they were going to call Dave for a pickup.  The answer was to just stop by any outfitter on the Trail and they will make the call for you.  When he got home, Dave called everyone and, of course, all the outfitters agreed to help the party if they stopped.  Helpful neighbors is one of the perks of living on the Trail.

Sue and Andy Arhendt of Tuscarora sponsored one of the more fun events on the Trail this week.  On Thursday a small triathlon was held at their place.  About 40-50 people participated.  The event consisted of a 1/2-mile swim, a 3-mile bike ride and a 2-mile run.  The event was very casual.  Some people participate as groups and others alone.  The ages varied.  Some did just a couple sections.  Some wore life vests and flippers for the swim.  The rules were simple -- have a good time.  Everyone go a Tuscarora Tee Shirt and had dinner afterward.  This was the fifth year for the event.  Oh yes, the winner was Andrew Weckwerth who works at Tuscarora.

Many of the people who work at the businesses on the Trail get out and explore the area on their days off.  So Jake Kimps of Seagull Outfitters was telling me about how he spent a recent day off.  He decided to explore the lakes along the Kekekabic Trail.  This meant carrying a canoe into Mine, Bingshick and Fay Lakes.  He was hoping to catch some brook trout but didn't have any luck.  Just for your information, this little portage was five miles in and five miles out.  Even carrying a solo Kevlar canoe, it is a long haul.  I felt a little better when Jake told me he was 22 years old.  That's almost 1/3 my age.  Jake said there were moose in the ponds along the trail and blueberries on the south facing slopes.

Barbara Young from Poplar Creek Bed and Breakfast said there have been moose all around their grounds.  The only trouble is that they like to appear at 4:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m.  One of her housekeepers did encounter a moose while going to clean a cabin.  The housekeeper waited 20 miles for the moose to move away from the cabin door.