Weather changes everything on the Gunflint Trail. The last time I wrote, I had seen frozen lakes -- Iron, Little Iron, Swamper and a bunch of ponds. Delete all that. Since then the weather has warmed up and we have had rain. The ice everywhere has melted. The last couple of days the temperatures have gradually dropped. Yesterday morning it was 21 degres at my house. Hopefully this means that the lakes will begin freezing again. We will need some fairly cold weather to get the big lakes frozen and safe by the Christmas holidays.
The firearms deer hunting season ended last Sunday. Many of our hunters were disappointed but the deer seemed to appear more by the end of the season. One of the neighbors drove to town on Monday and saw eight deer on the road. Now that the season is over, those who feed deeer will start in.
The Trail is not only at the in between season for weather but also for game seasons. Some fish can still be legally caught but it is not very comfortable on the water. Most hunting is over. It is hard to tell from day to day what the temperature will be. Canoeing is not much fun. If you go overnight, the possiblity exists that the lake could freeze over while you are sleeping. Breaking ice with a canoe is not a good idea. So we are all waiting for winter.
Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it is time for winter. In addition to being cold today, it is clear skies and sunshine. A good cold night should help cool the lakes off. But what we really want is snow. All the resorts are ready to start accumulating snow for ski trails and snowmobile trails. Snowshoes and skies have replaced paddles and life jackets on the rental shelves. We hope to see some of you on the Gunflint Trail this winter.
Bruce and I are taking a two week driving trip that seems to cover half the country. I will write again after we get home on the 14th.