9/7/07 – As of this morning, the fire ban has been lifted. This means campfires are now allowed in the BWCA as well as the campground. This news comes as a result of the 5 inches of drenching rain we received yesterday. The nearby town of Tofte soaked up 11 inches of rain.
Not only will this much-needed rain lift the low water levels around the Boundary Waters a significant amount, but it also brings to life the fall mushroom crop. Even this morning we noticed mushrooms of all sizes and textures popping up everywhere. – Caitlin


A view of the water level at the Sawbill landing this morning. We don’t have a “before” shot to compare it to so you’ll just have to take our word that this is much better than it was yesterday!

9/5/07 – Longtime Sawbill campground host Jim Ter Beest, an off-season Nebraskan, found a match for his personalized Boundary Waters license plate last week. Ter Beest snapped these photos of his and visiting Wisconsinite Ed Erickson’s plates, which share the region’s acronym and bare an affinity for Minnesota’s border lakes. The BWCA – a plateful even a cornhusker and a cheesehead can share and still have leftovers. – Lee

Jim Ter Beest’s license plate

Ed Erickson’s license plate

9/5/07 – Adam West, former Sawbill crewmember, and his partner, Jessica Stoefen, were up for a canoe trip recently. They took an ambitious trip and, among other adventures, found an entire moose skeleton near Flying Lake. They sent along this gorgeous photo of the skull embedded in the moss. – Bill

Moose skull near Flying Lake.

9/1/07 – I spotted this caterpillar crawling across a path near the outfitter late last week and couldn’t resist capturing it on film. Former Sawbill crew member John Oberholtzer said he’d never seen one like it. After Caitlin and I checked field guides and I scoured several caterpillar identification guides online, I still couldn’t find where it fit into the bounty of wildlife found here in the BWCAW. One of the Web sites said that because of the abundance of these critters, many are still unmatched to their mature butterfly or moth counterparts. So, whether it was simply unrecognized by me or hasn’t been catalogued by scientists, its bright orange, hairless body with distinctive black and light blue stripe merited display here. -Lee

The unidentified caterpillar negotiates the forest floor near the outfitter.

8/28/07 – After 30 years of living year round at Sawbill, Frank and Mary Alice Hansen are packing up and moving to the big city. Well, at least to Grand Marais. Prior to moving up to Sawbill full time, the Hansens commuted to Tofte for the canoeing season from their home in Bloomington. While I’m sure Frank and Mary Alice, both in their 80s now, won’t miss the dusty drives “into town,” we can be certain that their love for this special place remains. With Grand Marais only an hour away we’re hoping they will be back to visit frequently. – Caitlin

Everyone pitched in to load the moving van, including long-time ex-crewmember and Uhaul driver extraordinaire, Obie, as well as campground host Jim Ter Beest.

Frank and Mary Alice with their 26-foot truck.

8/27/07 – Jean Larson, a poet and Sawbill customer, sent us this poem and photo after her canoe trip this summer. She has been taking trips out of Sawbill for 15 years. Thank you Jean! – Caitlin
The Moonlight Act: Luna’ha
I drove up North alone under the search-lamp moon–
silver, some say, and it was–
following me along
the cliffs of Lake Superior, pale nightlight
reassuring as I slipped the lonely
curves
–then, into the woods
away from the big lake, sliding
like oil on water over gravel, moon flashing
through the filter of forest fangs, low
mountain–Sawtooth, they say–
so I sing to the moon for reassurance, call her
Luna, Lu-na’-ha
and laugh out of a sense of love–
for Luna’ha, deep forest, momentum,
and the moonlit act
of setting up my silver
tent beneath poles of pine
beside silence…. . . ..
the lake they call Sawbill.
-Jean Larson

Sawbill lake in the early morning. Courtesy of Jean Larson.

8/25/07 – Two of the greatest things about working at Sawbill are our fellow crewmembers and being able to spend time with each other while taking care of our work. This week Tiny and Lee cleaned up outfitting stoves and lanterns while discussing important topics ranging from the correct number of pumps required to pressurize a stove to women. All in a day’s work. – Caitlin

Lee and Tiny work on outfitting maintenance with a little bonding on the side.

8/24/07 – We received this beautiful picture from a recent Sawbill customer, Mark Manteufel. It was taken on a cold evening from an island site on the north end of Kawishiwi lake. I don’t think you can help but feel more peaceful when looking at it. Thanks Mark! – Caitlin

Dusk on Kawishiwi lake.

8/21/07 – Rain! It’s not often that grey and rainy skies are greeted with so much excitement and gratitude. It didn’t last long and was certainly not enough to lift the fire ban, but it was a start. You can see on the weather history section of our website just how light the precipitation has been in the last three weeks especially. Keep it coming! – Caitlin

A colorful Barberry bush catches a few raindrops.

Hazelnuts are favorite treat of the native Black Bears.

8/20/07 – Always looking for a challenge, Kari and Lida cruised around the Louse River loop last week in just 16 straight hours. This route typically requires 4-5 days to complete. These two extremely experienced crewmembers hit the water by 5:30 am and returned back to Sawbill by 9:30 pm exhausted but triumphant. Well done ladies! You can see in the picture below that the water levels are low, but still passable. – Caitlin

Kari pauses only long enough to strike a pose.