7/8/05 – Sawbill customer Steve Gendron recently completed his annual survey of Sawbill area loons. He and his son Charlie Gendron, friend Sam Saice, and dog Bonker counted three loons on Sawbill Lake, two on Smoke, one on Flame, and seven on Burnt–including two juveniles.

7/7/05 – Mark your calendars: the Dome Dance has been set for Monday, July 18! This dance is a long-time Sawbill tradition. One night a year the crew, campers, and guests dance the night away in the geodesic dome out back. Contra and Appalachian Big Circle dances are called by Terrence Smith of Duluth (also famous as our Laura’s father). For those of you who don’t know, this style of dance is in the American folk-dancing tradition: it’s similar to square dancing, but it’s more relaxed, you don’t need a partner, and there’s live fiddle music! Music is provided by a live band of friends and family. Come and bring your water bottles and your dancing shoes. Festivities will begin around 8 pm. – Molly.

Clare Hansen and Pat Nash share a dance at last year’s Dome Dance.

7/5/05 – News flash for those planning routes for later this summer: the river east of Bug Lake on the Louse River route is no longer passable. Two beaver dams blew out and what was a river is now a long, winding muck hole.
The Forest Service has no plans to lengthen the Louse Lake to Bug Lake portage, so this section of the Louse River is essentially closed to all but the most adventurous campers until the beavers rebuild the dams. The Louse River is still passable via the northern lakes of Mesaba and Dent.

7/3/05 – Sawbill crew members Jeff Green, Pat Nash, Dave Freeman and I had an interesting day trip yesterday. We were all intrigued by a Fifties-era Sawbill map and route guide we were given last year by an old Sawbill customer. The map shows a navigable route cutting west from Kelso Lake to Kelso Mountain, descending into Barto Lake, then finally winding through the Barto Creek until the creek meets the Louse River (see map below).

Our first stop was at the peak of Kelso Mountain (more of a knoll, really). The Forest Service built a fire watchtower here during the 1920s. We knew the tower was removed during the early 1970s, but we were surprised when we couldn’t even find a space in the trees or a cement foundation. The wilderness has definitely gone a long way toward reclaiming this site.
Even though we couldn’t find much evidence of the tower, the wooden outhouse and wood storage shack were still standing–some of the few remaining human-built structures in the BWCAW.

A wooden outhouse is nearly all that remains of the Kelso Mountain fire lookout tower.
From Kelso Mountain, we hiked about a mile through a sparse pine and birch forest to Barto Lake. Barto has a reputation–probably undeserved–as a great Northern Pike lake. We fished for about an hour before declaring a draw.
We had heard that the Forest Service had built two campsites on Barto Lake in 1981 in anticipation of opening up the Barto Creek as a maintained BWCAW route. From what we could tell, the Forest Service built the sites but never went ahead with opening up the route. After a bit of searching, we located one of the two sites near a flat rock landing. Further searching turned up a steel fire grate with a tree growing through it and an old wooden box latrine.

Against all odds, a solitary tamarack tree grows through the fire grate on one of the abandoned campsites on Barto Lake. Dave Freeman observes the phenomenon.

Found it! Jeff Green locates the box latrine, also probably one of the last of its kind remaining in the BWCAW.
On to the Barto Creek, not so much a route anymore as a bushwhack. I’d like to officially report that whatever semblance of a route may have existed in 1958 when the old route guide was published is now completely gone.

The Barto Creek portages are looking a little brushy.
Most of the creek is still navigable, however; we managed to re-enter the Louse River before dusk and were camped on Wine Lake by 10 p.m.

Whopper Lake, just north of Barto Creek, is home to a family of four loons. One of the baby loons fearlessly swam toward our canoe even as we tried to keep our distance.

Pat marvels at a bleached moose jaw he discovered along the creek bed.

6/30/05 – Many loyal Sawbill customers remember our old rental dome with a great deal of fondness. Sure, it was sometimes referred to by customers as the “rental shack,” “outfitting shanty,” “gear kiosk,” “equipment hole,” “quonset hut,” and other less-than-flattering monikers. But many still consider quixotic dome an important Sawbill icon.
Some of the more nostalgic members of the Sawbill family have lately been wondering and asking about the fate of the ol’ Sawbill dome. So here you go:

The dome–still standing, and only a little worse for wear. The old equipment area of the dome is now the Power Dome, a center for weightlifting, aerobics, yoga and wellness.

Remember the video viewing area? It’s now been converted to the Sawbill band practice area and recording studio. Don’t forget the laundry room; it’s now a brewery. As you can see, the quonset hut of old is as multidimensional as ever.

6/28/05 – With the Fourth of July just around the corner, the Sawbill family has finally reached full strength. Straggler Shannon Grace is our last crew member to arrive for the 2005 season. Shannon graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison this spring with a degree in nursing. She will be studying for her boards this summer, so direct all medical stumpers to Shannon. To learn more about the Sawbill crew, including staff members’ favorite BWCA routes, check out our staff profiles.
Sawbill Campground hosts Jim and Rachel TerBeest arrived yesterday after a stressful 2-day drive from Omaha, Neb., during which they lost a wheel off their 32-foot trailer. Fortunately, no major damage was done and Jim and Rachel are settled in on campsite 17 and ready for another relaxed summer at Sawbill.

Welcome back to Shannon, Jim and Rachel.

6/25/05 – The prescribed burn started by the Forest Service on June 17 reignited today, after eight days of heat, wind and drought.
After returning from her afternoon walk at 3 p.m., Cindy Hansen called the Forest Service to report large plumes of smoke at the site of the prescribed burn, about a mile south of Sawbill.
By 5 p.m. today, three separate fires had sprung up. The first of a dozen or so Forest Service vehicles arrived at the scene shortly after 5 p.m. and began to control one of the blazes.
As we stood on the Sawbill Trail, large gusts of wind breathed greater life into the unattended fires, which moved slowly from west to east burning up brush and trees left unconsumed from the original prescribed burn.
By 7 p.m., the Forest Service had more or less put out all the hot spots. But as we learned today, this fire will never really be out until Sawbill gets a long, saturating rain.

At 3 p.m. today, Cindy Hansen observed large columns of smoke coming from the sight of last week’s prescribed burn.

By 5 p.m., the burn had fully reignited, drawing concerned and quizzical looks from passing motorists.

Duane “Bear” Cihlar, a senior Forest Service fire technician, observes the blaze minutes before the full fire crew arrives.

6/22/05 – Summer has arrived at Sawbill. After a week of sunny 70 to 80 degree days, it feels as if the season has finally begun. The fishing is also picking up. In the photo above, Joshua Swensen proudly displays his recent catch at Cresent Lake. The small mouth was caught using a worm and a #6 hook. With many members of the Sawbill crew enjoying time each day at the lake, it looks like it’s going to be a beautiful summer.

6/19/05 – Lida, Sonya and Alison work to decorate a cake for Sawbill’s first festive dinner of the year. The theme for the dinner was cliches and the crew dressed for the occasion. Notable costumes included “once in a blue moon” and “not the sharpest crayon in the box”. The party was held a month late in honor of Cindy Hansen and Pat Nash’s birthdays, both of which were on May 17.

Two forest rangers gamely pose for a picture.