8/15/06 – The fire ban will be lifted starting Thursday, August 17th. Fires will be allowed at any time within the BWCA Wilderness in the fire grates provided at the campsites.
The Cavity Lake Fire, the largest in modern history in Northeastern Minnesota, is all but out. The Forest Service is officially calling it 95% contained, but we don’t even smell a hint of smoke from it any more. The hard, soaking rain that we had two days ago certainly helped and it raised the stream levels a little bit too. – Bill

8/14/06 – Today marked the beginning of an exciting new adventure in the life of our youngest crewmember and Hansen family member Carl. Carl has left Sawbill to spend a year of high school abroad in Hamar, Norway. It was an emotional moment as Carl said his goodbyes but we all take comfort in the knowledge that Carl’s charming personality and winning attitude will contribute to an excellent school year in Norway, even if does not know the language! In other news the Sawbill area received some much needed rain yesterday and has only sunny skies in the forcast- Johnny

A picture of Carl from this last winter, Carl will get plenty of winter this year in Norway.

A map of Norway, note close proximity to Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea.

The Norwegian Flag. Red, White, and Blue are all present on this flag!

8/10/06 – Today was another beautiful day in August. The bugs were virtually nonexistent, the temperature was exceedingly pleasant, and everything else fell perfectly into place. The day also brought excitement in the form of a fish. – Johnny

This 21 lb. 45” Northern Pike was caught on an undisclosed lake in the BWCA Wilderness by fisherman Jonah. The crew has affectionately referred to this beautiful monster as “Jonah’s Whale.”

Another shot of the amazing fish.

A sunset over Sawbill Lake (not the pole that caught “Jonah’s Whale”).

8/10/06 – As of today, the route to Little Saganaga Lake through Mora Lake has been reopened. This was the only route that is commonly used by Sawbill canoeists that was closed due to the Cavity Lake fire. The fire is now 95% contained and is not expected to cause any further trouble. Below is the official notification about open and closed routes from the Forest Service:
Open Lakes/canoe routes:
The following lakes/routes are open for paddling & overnight camping. Not all campsites on these lakes are open. Closed sites will be posted as a closed campsite. There is no camping on Jap and Jasper.
– Alpine to Jasper (no camping), Jasper to Kingfisher, Kingfisher to Ogishkemuncie.
– Flying, Fay, Bingshick, Glee, Elusion, and Glossy.
– J A Paulson (JAP) is open for paddling through, both campsites are closed.
– Crooked, Tarry, Mora, Little Sag, Rattle, Gabimichigami, Agamok, Mueller and Ogishkemuncie.
Closed Lakes:
The following lakes are closed for the remainder of the season:
– Fern, French, Powell, West Fern, Peter, Virgin, Howard, Elm and Warclub.
Kekekabic Trail: The Kek Trail is currently closed due to the Level 2 Fire Restriction. When the restriction is lifted, the Kekekabic Trail will be closed for the remainder of the season from the Gunflint Trail traveling west to Strup Lake (near Kekekabic Lake).

8/9/06 – Ron Holtman and his friends have been customers here at Sawbill for many years. They sent along these great pictures from their trip last week.

A gorgeous sunset is the reward at the end of a long paddle.

The Holtman party relaxing at their campsite.

8/5/06 – The temperatures have finally cooled off a bit and we’re experiencing beautiful 80 degree days and cool evenings. We’ve even had a little rain during the past week which has put an end to the spread of wildfires.
Yesterday, Carl’s band, Freakers with Speakers, played in Grand Marais for the annual Fishermen’s Picnic and tonight Bill’s band, The Splinters, will take center stage. The crew is heading down for the party! -Corey

Homer models his new rainsuit.

Here we are in a 5 person frisbee circle with Carl in the middle.

Freakers with Speakers on the main stage at the Fishermen’s Picnic in Grand Marais.

8/2/06 – The sun rose with good news today as it brought both pleasant temperatures and increased containment of the Cavity Lake fire. The weather today was in the 70’s with a refreshing breeze from across the lake. The Cavity lake fire was also upgraded to 85% contained – although the limited fire ban remains in effect. This truly was a day sent on good intentions.

A rainbow that appeared above the store captured the eyes of many.

This friendly Dragonfly was nice enough to sit on my finger and eat Mosquitoes, which are near to being completely gone.

Today marks Homer’s sixth birthday. Homer is seen with his mother Daisy Mae, sister Cedar, and personal friend Izzy. Happy Birthday Homer!

7/31/06 – Today brought some much needed relief from the busiest weekend so far this year. All the crew say “thank you” to all the great people that we get to meet here at Sawbill. The heat index topped 100 degrees today, but the heat is nothing that a quick dip into water cannot solve. The heat has now been absorbed into a large and spectacular thunderstorm, with thunder claps overhead and a soothing rhythm pounding on the roof. The drenching rain is welcome to reduce the fire danger and increase the water levels. -Johnny

Cindy recognized this adventurer in front of the store. He is Scott Sorenson of Traverse City, MI. Since June 27, Scott has circumnavigated both the Quetico and the BWCA, a total trip of 535 miles. Cindy and Scott were reuinted for this picture after having met two weeks earlier on the Granite river while Cindy was on her own trip. Scott says “Hi to Dorothy.”

Some of the interesting clouds that could be seen over Sawbill.

Rain began to pour only moments after the picture above was taken.

Frog’s eye view of Sawbill during the midday rain storm.

7/29/06 – Here at Sawbill our busy week looks as if it will only get busier. It seems that the customers have brought the heat with them. The temperature has been forcast for the 90’s all week. With the heat pushing down on the crew’s backs, we have searched for new forms of amusment, often found in our two lovable dogs Izzy and Homer. -Johnny

This picture of Matt at the Christmas party inspired Izzy

We all thought that Izzy looked quite the part in her new Matthawk

Izzy seen posing with her new friends, Brittany & Jakob Weninger and their dog Lizzy. (Homer seen sneaking into the picture)

7/27/06 – It has been a beautiful summer for good weather and today was as good as they come. It was in the middle 80s with just a light breeze. The bugs are just about gone for the summer – just a few mosquitoes at dawn and dusk.
The big Cavity Lake fire was never threatening us, but it has gone into hibernation during this mild, calm weather. The Forest Service is calling the fire 45% contained today and expect that number to go up over the next few days. They have half a dozen or more aircraft working the fire and nearly 500 people on the ground. The fire is almost exclusively confined to the area that blew down heavily in the July 4th, 1999 storm. A few entry points on the Gunflint Trail are closed or restricted, but the vast majority of the BWCA Wilderness is open.
As a result of the fire, there is an open fire ban in about half the BWCA Wilderness.

Here is a map of the area where open fires are currently banned. Stove are, of course, allowed everywhere. The Sawbill Campground still allows open fires.