6/13/18 – Four Sawbill Crew members took advantage of a few days off work this week and paddled one of Sawbill’s most popular loop routes, the Cherokee Loop. The Cherokee Loop is a scenic chain of lakes that starts at Sawbill Lake, snakes up to Cherokee Lake and down through a series of lakes back to Sawbill. Since this a loop frequented by many Sawbill customers, the group of first year crew members  were eager to try it out themselves and see what it had to offer.

They set out on Sunday night (June 10th) and set up camp in the dark on Sawbill Lake. The following day, the crew paddled through the lakes and trekked many portages passing through Cherokee Lake to settle on North Temperance Lake, where a beautiful sunset and easy night’s sleep came quickly.

The true magic of the BWCA was captured on the third and final night upon Smoke Lake, the lake directly east of Sawbill Lake. Following a delicious and gourmet dinner of freeze dried chicken stew, storm clouds and rain showers began to quickly roll through. But instead of delivering a night of soaked gear and early bedtimes, this equation of light showers, storm clouds and a sunset cooked up a magnificent double rainbow resting beneath a pink sky.

And of course, what would a trip in the BWCA be without the fishing? The crew fished Smoke Lake and caught a variety of fish from Northern Pike to Small Mouth Bass, all from the same shoreline! Unfortunately, the crew was so full from their freeze dried dinner, that they did not cook up the fish they caught.

On the fourth day, the crew woke up at 5AM, broke camp and hit the water to be back in time for their 7AM shift at the store. What a great way to wake up for work!

The Cherokee Loop is an amazing loop for any level of BWCA enthusiasts. Each lake within the Cherokee Loop seems to have it’s own unique personality and ecosystem, making for a trip full of natural variety and surprises.

6/8/18 – A relatively dry spring has made for a relatively short lived black-fly season here at Sawbill. The little buggers appeared around Memorial Day but have largely abated already. Mosquitoes are out, but are most noticeable in the early morning and evening hours. We can thank our favorite fliers, the dragonflies, for keeping the pesky bug populations in check! The first big dragonfly hatch happened a few days ago, and the sky is swarming with the friendly bug-eaters.

Customer Frank Ferraro and his son were recently camped at the Sawbill campground and enjoyed the abundance of Canadian Swallowtail butterflies.

The blueberry bushes are flowering, signs of a bountiful harvest come August thanks to the black-flies who pollinate the bushes!

-Clare

6/3/18 –

-Paul

5/30/18 – Sawbill customers Bryan and Courtney Gibson shared the following note and photos from a recent trip:

“We did a 4 day Cherokee loop and saw 6 moose.   Four of them were on Sawbill, and the other two were on Weird Lake – one in the evening and one the morning after.  We also had him visit us during the night about five feet away from the tent!

The Cow on Sawbill lake had two little tiny babies!”

 

What luck! Thanks for sharing.

-Dan

5/30/18 – The season is finally changing. Ice changing to water, bare branches changing to leaves, and store closing hours changing from 7PM to 9PM. To kick off the changing of the Sawbill hours and the last of getting off work at 7PM, the Sawbill crew went for a post work sunset paddle (Wednesday, May 23).

The crew went for a paddle on the lake they know best, Sawbill Lake. Guided by the moonlight, the crew floated all around Sawbill Lake and found themselves in a little section of Sawbill Lake called Alton Pond. Alton Pond can be seen from the Sawbill Lake launch spot and pokes into the Boundary Waters.

This “pond” or alcove is notorious for being a nighttime hangout spot for a frog called the Spring Peeper. It is very difficult to spot a Spring Peeper, but very easy to hear them. Spring Peepers hang out in swampy and muddy areas and are especially active in the dark. Each night, the sound of these frogs resonate through the BWCA in a peaceful, steady croak. When surrounded by the Peepers up close however, the noise is LOUD! The higher the density of these frogs, the louder and more aggressive their croaking gets. After a night visit to this pond, your ears will surely be ringing.

Following the frog chorus, the Sawbill Crew capped the night with a moonlight swim at the Beach Club. However, they made sure to get to bed at a timely manner to ensure they could wake up for store hours now being open at 7AM!

So come on up to Sawbill. Summer hours have now begun from dusk until dawn and the crew is excited to outfit your BWCA needs!

– Nathan

5/29/18 –  Its been an eventful Memorial Day weekend at Sawbill with the unexpected sunny and 80-degree days replacing the forecasted rain.  In addition to the great weather, the fishing reports have been nothing but spectacular. On Wine Lake, lake trout are biting. On Alton and Sawbill, reports are of small mouth bass and walleye.  Reports of moose and calf sightings are a sure sign of spring! A cow and two calves were seen yesterday swimming along Sawbill lake just north of Barrier Island. Though the sun, temps and wildlife have all hinted at summer weather approaching, I feel we have more spring ahead of us.

In addition to the moose calves, Sawbill has been accommodating another wild guest: a woodchuck!  Seen prowling by the Somo and Yurt, eluding crew members during its stay, a pursuit of the critter has begun.  Hopefully capture and relocation are imminent.

With warmer temps and lack of rain come lower water levels.  Kelso river has been navigable, but always practice precaution while paddling a potential low area (like the Kelso river).  Sawbill lake has been pleasantly warm even with the ice going out only 22 days ago!

Finally, we had our final green (new) crew members arrive last Friday: Katie Kelley and Paul Senechalle (me).  Hailing from Edina, Minnesota, studying International Relations and Spanish at Colby College in Maine, Katie’s expertise comes from her love of the wilderness and her passion for canoeing and bouldering.  Paul hails from Saint Charles, Illinois and is studying Biochemistry and Education at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. Having a lifelong relationship with the Northwoods of Wisconsin and the prairies in Illinois, he is most excited to explore and help others to explore the BWCA.  

With summer fast approaching, the time we have to plan adventures dwindles.  Consult family members, friends and even pets (yes, I talk to my dogs) on dates you can make it here.  Prepare the supplies you already have and make sure your vehicle is ready for the journey ahead. The spring rains have brought new life and all its seasonal inhabitants back to Sawbill.  Come join us.

Wilderness awaits you.  

-Paul    

5/25/2018 – Summer is officially here at Sawbill! We kicked off the holiday weekend by welcoming a steady flow of customers, including a nine-person bike-packing group from Des Moines, IA. These cyclists began their 180-mile loop at Temperance River State Park and are looking forward to tomorrow’s stop at Sven and Ole’s in Grand Marais.

We were also joined by two new crew members this week: Nathan Strom and Andie Garza.

Nathan is from Woodbury, MN and arrived at Sawbill on Tuesday! He just finished his sophomore year at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, where he’s majoring in physics. When he’s not calculating how many Joules it takes to carry a canoe over a 400-rod portage, he enjoys playing the cello, climbing, and cross-country skiing. 

Hailing from Pharr, TX, Andie traded the Lone Star State for the North Star State this summer. She will start her senior year of college in the fall and is studying English and psychology. She is a self-described movie buff and wants readers to know that one of her favorite movies is “The Other Woman”. She was hoping to see some snow when she arrived; that means she just has to come back next summer and hope for a cold spring! 

 

Warm temperatures and sunny skies have really brought the forest back to life. The water is rapidly warming up and we are excited for a great summer here at Sawbill!

-Hannah

 

5/24/18 – If you are reading this blog, then you’ve likely noticed there have been some changes to sawbill.com. We have always been really proud of the content and layout of our website, but wanted to modernize the look and functionality with mobile devices.

We worked for several months with Grant Olson of Woodsy, to provide a conduit for all of our friends and customers to keep track of what’s going on in the Northwoods and to help them plan a successful canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

During the update, we archived all of previous years newsletters and weather history which can be found on this new site – it dates back to 1997!

Thanks to all who participated in our survey last year – that information helped immensely to understand how you all interact with the site and what you wanted to see in an update.

Be sure to reach out anytime if you are having difficulties with the site or find a bug. We’d be glad to help you out and fix any errors!

-Dan

5/23/18 – Kit and I ventured off on our first of many (hopefully) father daughter canoe trips. With Clare’s blessing and encouragement, some great weather and no signs of bugs, we headed up Sawbill Lake.

We didn’t head far, just across the Wilderness boundary where we camped on one of the first sites on Sawbill. We threw rocks in the lake, ate mac n cheese, read lots of books and snuggled in the tent. We enjoyed a morning of duck watching, fish jumping and some paddling along the shores of glassy Sawbill Lake. What fun!

Even though Kit just turned 2 last week, this was her third overnight canoe trip in the Boundary Waters. We hope for many more to come!

-Dan

In true May style, we welcome a couple more new beginnings here at Sawbill Outfitters. Now that a new fishing and paddling season has begun in earnest, it’s also the time that new Crew members join us.

Caitlin, a geography student at the University of Minnesota and also daughter of acclaimed canoe builder, Ted Bell, is joining us for her first season at Sawbill. As one might imagine, Caitlin has been paddling canoes her entire life and we are thrilled to have her bring that experience here.

Next we welcome Kate who arrived just on the heels of Caitlin. Kate is a sophomore studying economics at the University of Minnesota. This is Kate’s first season at Sawbill and she is eager to spend time on the Wilderness edge. We are excited to have her warm energy as a part of our Crew.

-Dan