4/4/07 – Just when we thought spring had arrived in full force, and our thoughts began to turn to paddling, portaging and roasting marshmallows, a freak snowstorm hit Sawbill on Tuesday and buried us in over eight feet of snow overnight!

The Sawbill store is literally buried in a mountain of snow. Resident dogs Homer, Phoebe and River have resorted to building an underground tunnel system beneath the snow to navigate from building to building. It’s taken us nearly 24 hours of continuous plowing and shoveling to dig our way into the office to write this newsletter entry.

April fools! We did have a big snowstorm Tuesday, but we actually received eight inches, not eight feet. It’s still an impressive accumulation for this time of year, and according to resident weather expert and record-keeper Frank Hansen, eight inches is by far the most snow Sawbill has ever received on April 4th since he’s been here.

Trickery aside, this is what the Sawbill store actually looks like right now. It looks and feels more like January right now than April. We all know the old adage about Minnesota weather– if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute and it’ll change. Last year the ice went out on Sawbill lake on April 17th. Could we be paddling, portaging and making s’mores within two weeks? It seems pretty unlikely at this point! Only time will tell. -Ruthie

3/23/07 – It is a gorgeous day today. High temperatures are in the mid-50s, the sun is shining and light breezes are stirring. The air is crystal clear, but it has just a hint of springy smell in it. Can you say spring fever?

Although slightly damp on top, the lake ice is still two feet thick and quite solid. This view is of the Sawbill campground from the middle of the lake. The white pines are starting to look a little greener.

As I approached the head of Sawbill Creek to take this picture, a large fish darted out of the creek mouth and disappeared under the ice. I assume it was a northern, as they will be spawning soon, but it was so fast, I can’t say for sure.

Every detail is visible under the crystal clear water near the creek. – Bill

3/12/07 – Bill and Cindy just returned from a quick vacation in the Taos/Santa Fe area of New Mexico. They sharpened their snowboarding and downhill skiing skis respectively. Between flights down the mountain, they found time to catch some good live music and investigate refional food and drink specialties.

Bill and Cindy at the top of the Angelfire Ski Area near Taos, New Mexico.

3/6/07 – We’re pleased to announce a new member of the Sawbill extended family. Frances Alexandra Surbaugh was born on the afternoon of Sunday, March 4 to former longtime crew members, Kate and Steve Surbaugh. She weighed 6 lbs 14.5 oz and was 20.5″ long. Frances remarked that she “liked it in there,” but is currently training for some spring river skiing with her older brothers, Will and Tristan.

Frances Alexandra Surbaugh

2/24/07 – Finally! On Wednesday evening, the first substantial snow of 2007 began to fall. Overnight, Sawbill received about 7″ of nice, fluffy snow. What started out as inconvenient heavy, wet snow ended being this winter’s long overdue first ski in the woods. Even better, the forecast is calling for more snow over the weekend.
Bill recently bought a long-track, wide-track SkiDoo Skandic for grooming the ski trail through the campground and surrounding woods. Having only been on a snowmobile once before, when I was too young to really even remember, I asked to go along on the first grooming run.

Frosty and Bill set out on the new snow machine. Frosty got kicked off about 5 minutes later, because steering became too difficult pulling two people and the groomer. Frosty claims he’d rather ski anyway; it’s less noisy and you don’t smell like snowmobile exhaust after you’re finished.

Jessa gives her ski-of-approval on the freshly groomed trail. Conditions were superb: fast, sunny, and warm.
The wind has been howling and gusting all day, hopefully blowing some more snow our way.

Four to six-foot waves have been crashing into Tofte’s Bluefin Bay all day.

Breaking waves in Bluefin Bay

2/15/07 – We are still in the midst of a very persistent stretch of cold weather. Every morning is near -20, and the days are just in the single digits. It has been very sunny and cheerful though.

Sawbill Lake shines in the early morning at -23 degrees.
Cindy had a great wolf sighting on the Sawbill Trail a couple of days ago. It was fairly windy and she came around a corner in the car from the downwind side, so the wolf didn’t notice her for awhile. She said the wolf looked very healthy and bushy. When it did notice her, it ambled off into the woods, without showing much alarm.
The same day, I was at a meeting in the clubhouse at the Superior National Golf Course in Lutsen. In the middle of the meeting, I glanced out the window and saw a beautiful wolf strolling across the practice green. Three more wolves appeared and the meeting stopped cold as we watched the foursome head off toward the front nine. – Bill

We are often asked what we do in the winter. When it’s really cold, cabin fever can develop and scenes like this can happen. This is actually Cindy’s book club visiting Sawbill a few days ago.

2/7/07 – It has been cold here lately. Actually, these are fairly normal temperatures for this time of year, but we had become acclimated to the warmer temperatures during December and January. Now, we have acclimated the other way. Cindy commented this morning that it felt warm outside because it was “only” ten below and breezy.
We are still short of snow, but have a solid foot on the ground. Travel on the lakes remains almost perfect – as long as you bundle up. – Bill

The digital thermometer records a chilly morning recently.

1/26/07 – For the past couple of weeks, there had been some loose talk of putting together a short winter camping trip. After getting busy schedules synched-up, OB, Jessa, and I were able to get a few days off and head out into the wilderness.
It was fantastic: perfect skiing conditions, warm weather, and a good group of folks. Jessa and I skied out Saturday evening, under a starry night, with the quintessential sliver of a moon peaking out from clouds rolling in from the south.
OB and Bill had skied out that afternoon and set up the tent in a pre-determined location on the south end of Alton. We arrived around 6:30 or 7:00 PM. Another friend, Sally, skied out to meet us about an hour later, just as Bill was heading back to Sawbill for the night. Night-skiing on the lakes can be surreal, with a headlamp lighting up the previous ski tracks, but very little else.

A proud OB shows off his canvas tent which offered plenty of room for us to sprawl out and bask in the wood stove’s heat. Bill was nice enough to help him set it up, despite having work drag him back to Sawbill.

“Real nice.” OB digs into his high-calorie, deep-fried burrito. Even though it wasn’t very cold, we sure ate like it was.
The next morning after a very leisurely breakfast, we threw on our skis and set out for a nice day trip through Beth, Ella, and Grace Lakes. Conditions were very fast, making skiing nearly effortless. While the lack of snow in the forest has made for rough trail skiing this winter, the typically slushy conditions of the Boundary Waters proved to be stellar. – Frosty

Before starting across the Alton to Beth portage, we stopped to admire this giant Red Pine. We estimated it to be close to 100′ tall, with the first limbs nearly 60′ from the forest floor.

While this photo wasn’t taken during our short trip, we’ve been blessed with some beautifully clear skies that offer dramatic sunrises and sunsets. Taken Wednesday morning at -14 F.

1/26/07 – Carl Hansen has been an exchange student in Hamar, Norway for several months now. He is now speaking Norwegian as he hangs out playing video games with his friends. He really likes his host family and is challenged by taking chemistry in Norwegian! He won’t be back to Minnesota until July.

(l – r) Andreas, Carl, Johannes, Hendrik and Trons.

1/14/07 – Yet another reunion tradition at Sawbill: Sawbill Babes Weekend. Several ex-Sawbill crewmembers of the female persuasion gather each winter for skiing, games, wine appreciation, and general good times.

A new tradition was added to “Sawbill Babes Weekend” this year – a ridiculously choclatey triple layer chocolate cake from The 50’s Grill in Minneapolis. Clockwise starting at 1 o’clock: Michele Thieman, Jessa Wallendal, Sandy Zinn, Annie Strupeck, Clare Hansen, Beth Rehfus, and Cindy Hansen. Not pictured: Patti Olson, who was in bed with strep throat 🙁

The Babes prepare to work off chocolate cake.