6/30/04 – The past few days
have been just gorgeous! The cold and wet weather that hung around for most of
June has transformed into warm, sunny days that make you want to lounge on a secluded
beach for hours soaking up the suns warm ray.

Sawbill customer
Dave Boser sent us several photos from a recent trip to Cherokee Lake. Below is
one of my favorites. – Dave

Sunset on Cherokee Lake

6/27/04
– Last week the Bullhead Water-Lilies sprang to the surface of the shallow ponds
surrounding Sawbill. Their bright yellow buds and broad green leaves add a splash
of color to the shimmering surface of some of my favorite moose haunts. Last night,
Alison and I hopped into kayaks and set out to check on their growth. Portaging
the kayaks down to the lake is an awkward, hand-cramping ordeal, but once in the
water kayaks are a joy to paddle. After an hour of paddling into a strong north
wind, we ducked into a narrow, log choked passage, which connects Sawbill Lake
to Handle Creek. More lily pads had burst to the surface and last week’s tightly
closed flowers where starting to unfold, exposing their golden petals to the evening’s
last rays of light. We drifted slowly over the masses of lilies lost in thought.
Eventually the trees’ shadows reached across the mirror smooth water, shielding
me from the sun’s warmth. Sadly, I realized it was time to leave. As we turned
our kayaks toward Sawbill, I found comfort in returning soon to check on the water-lily
garden. – Dave

6/26/04
– A sunny Saturday has caused a flurry of activity around Sawbill. The store has
been busy all morning, and canoes are flying off the racks. Before we know it
the 4th of July will roll around, and the busy season will be here.

Last
night most of the crew went for a paddle after closing. We broke into small groups
and slowly paddled around Sawbill Lake. The moon shown through a thin layer of
clouds to the South, but the northern horizon was clear and speckled with stars.
Viewed from a canoe on a calm clear night, our backyard is hard to beat. – Dave

Loren, our newest crew member, and Lida testing out the Hansen’s wooden canvas
canoe built by master canoe builder, Joe Seliga.

6/24/04 –
Sawbill Poet Laureate Ed Dallas paid us a visit after a canoe trip last week.
Ed took his son and three of his fellow West Point graduates on a canoe trip to
celebrate their graduation. Below are two Haikus that Ed wrote during their trip.

Last
night 13 of us – the whole crew minus Scott, who is recovering from jaw surgery
– hopped into four cars at 9:15 PM for a night on the town! Our mission was to
showcase the Sawbill musicians at the Gunflint Tavern’s open mic night. Usually
every Wednesday the Tavern is hopping and bopping to unpolished tunes played by
Grand Marais’ finest amateur musicians. Last night the Tavern replaced open mic
night with a 3- piece band. Things were pretty slow when we arrived, but the Tavern
was soon filled with dancing crew members. After a few dances, our musicians got
antsy, so we moved our party to Artist’s Point. Adam, Jeff, Pat, and Alison’s
music blended with the crashing waves, crisp air, and star-filled sky to produce
some great music. I may be
living up to my nickname "Gramps" when I say this, but I don’t care.
I have seen a seen a few Sawbill crews come and go in my day, and I think it is
safe to say that this year’s crew is a keeper!

Jeff
Green singing "The Emily Song" accompanied by Pat on Bass, Adam on Guitar,
and Alison on Cello.

Sawbill
Newsletter editors Alison and Molly hard at work correcting countless spelling
and grammatical errors.
Warm Fuzzies are definitely in order!

6/23/04
– Walter and I slid our canoe into the lake at 7:00 this morning looking for a
few fish and a little adventure. We left Sawbill Lake and headed up a narrow winding
creek. Water levels have started to drop and the lower water makes travel harder
on these seldom-traveled trickles of water. As we neared the next lake, a young
cow moose came into view. The moose stood calmly looking at us for several minutes.
Assured that we were friends, she let down her guard and took several long drinks
of cool water before continuing on her way. Energized by the encounter, we paddled
on and soon came to our first portage. Following narrow, moss-covered trails maintained
by four-footed travelers rather than humans is hard, but rewarding. Crashing through
alder and weaving our way over and under downed trees, we slowly made our way
north. Following game trails makes me slow down and watch my feet, and in the
process a whole new world comes into view. If getting to the next lake is my only
goal, I grow impatient when the brush gets thick or the mud sucks at my thighs.
But by taking advantage of my slow progress – savoring the delicate details of
a blooming lady’s slipper, or the earthy aroma of a beaver’s home – I am able
to enjoy where I am rather than focusing on where I hope to end up. For me this
is a much more enjoyable way to travel.

Before long we pulled
over one last beaver dam and paddled out onto our lake. After rigging our fishing
poles we let a gentle breeze carry us down the lake. As the rocky shoreline drifted
by, we lobbed spoons next to the fallen trees that lined the shore. The northerns
seemed ravenous as they attacked our lures over and over. If our lures’ large
treble hooks did not penetrate a fish’s bony mouth on the first bite, it would
often attack again and again until it was finally hooked. After several hours
of action-packed fishing, we pulled our canoe back over the last beaver dam and
retraced our steps back to Sawbill. – Dave

Our
skinny friend taking a drink.

A
Stemless Lady’s Slipper that we came across this morning.

Stemless
Lady’s Slippers have a deceptive pollination system. Bumblebees are lured into
the pouch of the labellum through the slit in the front, attracted by the bright
color and sweet scent of the flower. Once inside, they find no reward, and discover
that they are trapped–with only one point of escape. Inside the pouch, there
are hairs which lead to a pair of openings, one beneath each pollen mass. First,
however, the bee must pass under the stigma, so if it bears any pollen from a
visit to another flower, it will be deposited before picking up a fresh load,
thus preventing self-pollination. Unfortunately, the bees quickly learn from their
experiences and soon avoid C. acaule flowers. Thus, like several other orchids
in our flora, they are dependent on naive bees, and generally experience very
low pollination rates (Davis 1986).

Walter
displays the smallest fish of the day.

6/21/04 – Moose have
been all over the roads this spring. Last week Bill and Carl Hansen saw a moose
and two calves on their way home from town. Customers have been entertaining us
with stories of moose sightings, and I have started to drive much slower. I love
my Honda Civic, but I do not think that my car or its passengers would be in very
good condition after crashing into a moose! After 8 months of scraping by on leaves,
cedar boughs, and other less tasty morsels, the moose are finally able to return
to the shallow lakes and marshes for some real food. The longest days of the year
cause the aquatic vegetation to grow rapidly and the moose are taking advantage
by hanging out in shallow water to eat, eat, and eat some more. Crescent Campground
hosts Jo and Bill Koski came across a young bull moose feeding in a shallow marsh
near Two Island Lake on their way into Grand Marais. Joanne used her new digital
camera to take a bunch of great photos. She said that she and the moose really
connected, and that the moose actually talked to her by making grunting noises.
I think Joanne "The Moose Whisper" Koski has a nice ring to it. Great
photos, Jo! – Dave

6/18/04
– The weather is warming up, and swimming is becoming down right enjoyable. I
have always found that you can judge fishing by the crew’s swimming habits. In
the spring, crew swims consist of quickly stripping down to swimming attire as
you summon up the courage to jump off the dock. Then, as soon as your toes are
touching the water, you are scrambling to haul yourself out of the frigid water.
This time of the year, the lake trout are cruising the shallows and biting like
crazy, and you can’t catch a small mouth if your life depends on it. When the
water warms enough for people to actually stay in the water for several minutes
the small mouth start biting and the lake trout head for deeper, cooler water.
I noticed the season’s first dragon flies crawling out of their larva cases at
the end of a portage and realized that soon the black flies will be gone, the
lake trout will be deep, and spring will turn into summer. Walter and I crouched
next to these amazing creatures as they struggled through different states of
emergence. They live for several years as larva before crawling onto these rocks
to break out of their hard shells, dry their wings, and take flight. I hope the
chance to soar through the air and gobble up black flies was worth the wait.

Even
with the warm weather, we were able to trick a few lake trout into biting. Walter
felt the powerful surges of his first lake trout, rod bending, reel screeching,
a green monster flashing in the crystal clear depths. The smile on his face made
the long miles and hard portages disappear.
– Dave

Walter
shows off his first lake trout before watching it swim away.

Munching
on hamburgers and watching the sunset, we both
agreed that there were few
places we would rather be.

6/17/04 –
The finer points of beard growing have long been a topic of discussion amongst
the Sawbill Crew. We have talked about having an official beard growing competition
for several summers, but until now no such competition has taken place. I am proud
to report that the first annual Sawbill Beard Off has officially begun! Over the
next six weeks you will be able to laugh and cry along with the competitors through
weekly Beard Off updates posted right here on the Sawbill newsletter. You will
also be able to use sophisticated online polling techniques to vote for your favorite
beard in several different categories and help judges decide who will be crowned
2004 Sawbill Beard Off Champion. Please send all fan mail to beard_off_2004@sawbill.com
.

The beard off athletes posed for photos during the 2004 Sawbill Beard Off
pre-shave warm up held in the Mobe.

Jeff might not grow the thickest beard, but with shades like those, he will be hard to beat in the style category.	Walter’s Dad told him not to grow a beard this summer before he left his Indiana home. Walter is throwing caution to the wind and growing a beard anyway. The media buzz so far is "Rookie of the Year" for this promising young beard grower.

Dave is a long time beard grower, first time competitor. He plans to use a peanut butter based facial mask to increase hair growth.	All eyes are currently on Pat "the stash" Nash. This man’s face is like a chia pet. He is expected to win the total growth category by at least an ounce. It is people like Pat that make Beard Offs so exciting.

?
Because
of a wedding, Adam Hansen
will be joining the Beard Off a few days late.
Adam
will be focusing on the longest neck
hair category, but Jeff is hoping
to
give him a run for his money.

6/16/04 –
Yesterday morning Alison and I were sitting in the store waiting for the first
customers of the day to arrive. It has been busy around Sawbill, but Tuesday mornings
can be pretty slow. Conversation wandered from subject to subject as we tried
to stave off boredom, and eventually our conversation got stuck on the finer points
of the laws governing the Catholic church, a bit on an odd subject considering
neither of us are Catholic. However, as I sifted through countless piles of useless
information stored in my brain I came across an interesting bit of history. I
informed Alison that in the 1700’s the Pope had sent a high ranking member of
the church to Canada for a visit. Many of the French Canadian fur traders, often
referred to as Voyageurs, were Catholic and they did their best to follow the
rules set forth by the Catholic church. The Voyageurs often found it hard to refrain
from eating meat on Fridays and one of their favorite foods was beaver meat. During
the church officials’ visit he decided that since beavers have scales on their
tails and they spend most of their time in the water they are a type of fish.
Because of this he decided that it was OK for Voyageurs to eat beaver on Fridays!
Alison was a little skeptical so we decided to go strait to the top for an answer.
Are beavers still considered acceptable fair on Fridays during Lent? With a quick
Google search we found the Pope’s address in Vatican City. We wrote the Pope a
letter and we are now anxiously awaiting his reply. – Dave

Alison mailing our question to "His Holiness Pope John Paul II"

6/15/04
– Visiting at Sawbill this week were Phil and Fran Higley. Their visit led us
all to think of the history of Sawbill Lodge, the American plan resort that stood
at the south end of Sawbill Lake from 1934 to 1983. Phil is the nephew of Jean
Raiken, the first and longest owner of Sawbill Lodge. He was a guide for the lodge
for a number of years through 1956. Fran accompanied Phil to Sawbill one summer,
working as a waitress. We enjoyed looking at their photos and talking with them
about the lodge. – Dave

Phil and Fran Higley

6/12/04 – Catching a mess of lake trout
last week was a ton of fun, and last night’s festive dinner was icing on the cake!
Crew member Pat Nash brought home a 8.7-pound monster and claimed the prize for
the largest fish of the trip. What was his prize, you ask? Nothing short of a
festive dinner in his honor.

Normally the crew gobbles down
their dinner at 5:45, but once or twice a summer we find an excuse to host a festive
dinner. Festive dinners take place at 9 PM after we close, and they all include
a huge spread of food and a theme. Some of my favorite memories from past festive
dinners include a toga party where several crew members wore togas made from old
blue plastic tarps, and a disco party when Bill came running into the mobe wearing
skin tight polyester pants yelling "the wolves are howling, the wolves are
howling!" causing everyone to rush outside. We formed a sweaty mass of wriggling
lycra on the porch where we enjoyed the chorus for several minutes before returning
to our own party.

The theme for last nights festive dinner
was "The Pat Nash Fish Fry". Lida, the head cook, spent 8 hours preparing
cheese cake, home fries, salads, asparagus, and a beautiful fruit plate that was
the spitting image of Pat’s monster fish. Adam and I were in charge of cooking
the fish. We filled two ovens and the grill, and we still have 3 fish left to
cook. At 9 PM everyone converged on the mobe, dressed like Pat Nash, ate more
fish than I thought was possible, and partied the night away! Man, it’s good to
be at Sawbill. – Dave

The
Crew enjoying "The Pat Nash Fish Fry"!

Lida shows off her fish shaped fruit plate and a hot pan of baked lake trout.
Great job Lida!

6/10/04 – OB’s back! Long time sawbill crew
member John Oberholtzer moved back to Grand Marais several months ago. Last night
OB came up for a paddle and a sauna. We hit the water around 6:30 PM and made
our way up Sawbill towards the Smoke portage. He paddled Smoke Creek almost by
accident on his first BWCAW canoe trip as a teenager but had not been back there
since. Snooping around in the Boreal Forest with OB is always a fascinating, and
yesterday was no exception. Half way down Smoke Creek we left our canoe to explore
a series of old beaver ponds and gurgling streams that empty into Smoke Creek.

I always enjoy wandering with OB because he is constantly
aware of the subtle smell of a patch of earth, the distant drum of a Grouse, or
a handful of miniature purple violets hidden in the tall grass. He looks at the
forest in an unusual way, and when you’re with him, he makes you slow down and
appreciate the little things that are so easy to pass by unnoticed. As we crept
through the tangled forest we came across a giant moss covered boulder. Cresting
the boulder we noticed a six inch crack reaching down into the earth. The bottom
of the crack was filled with ice and when we peered into the crack it was like
standing in front of a refrigerator with the cool air covering our faces. I instantly
remembered stumbling upon the same spot several years ago on a similar walk. Have
people used this place to preserve food during the hot summer months? Does the
ice effect when the plants living by the crack bloom?…..This enchanted spot
lingered in our minds as we headed back to our canoe and continued on our way.

We were soon paddling South on Sawbill Lake heading home to
join the crew for a sauna and the chance to spin a few tales about our little
adventure. Our conversation wandered from family and friends, to work and plans
for the future, but it always seemed to come back to the wilderness surrounding
us. – Dave

John Oberholtzer checking out the start of an amazing blueberry crop.

An ice-filled crack in the middle of the forest.

6/9/04 – Former
crew member, Ellen Bagnato, gave birth to Taj Lock Bagnato on Wednesday, May 26
at 6:59 am.  He weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz and was 19.5 inches long. His parents
have told us, "He is incredibly healthy, alert, and perfect!!"  

Ellen and Taj

Each year the Sawbill men take a day to
paddle, swap stories, laugh a lot, and do a little fishing. I always look forward
to this annual event, and this year’s trip lived up to its ever growing reputation.
The weather was beautiful, the fish were biting, and Nathan Terbeest caught his
first lake trout. Nathan has gone on many of these outings, but for some reason
we have never been able to get his fish in the boat. The first lake trout Nathan
hooked was about 5 years ago. He was so excited that he broke his fishing rod
in half when we set the hook and continued to fight the fish for several minutes
before it finally broke his line. A few years later he hooked one that was so
big it would not fit in our net….after several failed attempts to squeeze it
into our net it broke the line and we watched it slowly swim away. This time we
could not fail. Nathan is getting married in 10 days and the thought of ending
his unmarried life with out fulfilling his dream of catching a lake trout would
be unacceptable. So armed with a strong line, spare polls, and the largest net
I have ever seen we went fishing. Nathan landed two beautiful trout, including
an 8 pound monster. Now the crew is looking forward to a lake trout feast! – Dave

Scott, Pat, Nathan, Adam, Jeff, and Dave displaying some of the fish that
they caught.
 

6/7/04 – Sawbill’s newest employee, Walter, arrived several days
ago and he has been spending a lot of time in a canoe exploring near by lakes.
Yesterday Walter and I took advantage of the high water levels by paddling Smoke
Creek. Smoke Creek is a ribbon of water that twists its way from Smoke Lake into
North Sawbill. The creek is often so narrow that a canoe can barely squeeze between
its banks. Paddling a narrow creek provides a unique view of the boreal forest
that is hard to match.

Nathan TerBeest, a long time Sawbill employee, came
up for a short visit. Nathan is getting married on June 19th and he decided to
squeeze in a short fishing trip before the wedding. Nathan, Adam, Scott, Jeff,
Pat, and I are leaving to tonight. We hope to fool a few fish and treat the rest
of the crew to a fish fry when we return in a few days. Bill and Joanne Koski,
the Crescent Lake Campground hosts, have returned for another summer! Joanne stopped
in this morning for a visit and we enjoyed catching up after the long winter.
– Dave

Walter
winding his way though Smoke Creek.

Nathan, Joanne, and Bill chatting in the store.

6/5/04 – Everyone on the
crew pitched in last night and cleaned the store as a group. This allowed us all
to go out for our first all crew paddle of the summer. Paddling the Kelso Loop
was wonderful under a clear star filled sky. As we paddled down the Kelso River
the largest shooting star I have ever seen shot across the sky. The white blaze
was visible for approximately 8 seconds as it crossed in front of us and disappeared
behind the trees. For the rest of the paddle people were whispering about how
they had never seen anything like it.

More and more customers are coming
every day and the calm days of spring are over. Sawbill crew members new and old
are constantly zipping here and there stocking, cleaning, renting, and helping.
The water is warming up, the fishing is improving, and the black flies are every
where….summer is here! – Dave

The
sun setting over Alton Bay.

6/3/04 – Several inches of rain in 48 hours
caused Sawbill’s water level to rise almost a foot. The buzz around Sawbill was
that the loons’ nest would be flooded, so I snuck out for a paddle yesterday to
check on the loons and their nest. I found the nest surrounded by water, but the
egg was sitting high and dry about 3 inches above the water line. Good news, except
that the parents were nowhere to be seen. Hoping the parents would return from
a fishing trip soon I left the little brown egg and paddled and portaged over
to Alton Lake to wet my line. As I returned to the Alton to Sawbill portage I
was drawn to the roar of Alton creek, which leads out of the bay south of the
portage into Sawbill. Normally Alton Creek is just a trickle and doesn’t even
show up on most maps, but after the constant soaking we received last week the
creek had jumped its banks and formed a watery maze rushing through a dense cedar
thicket. I decided to follow the creek to Sawbill and began wading through the
foot deep ice water pulling my canoe over and around a labyrinth of downed trees
that choked the stream. After several minutes the stream became too steep for
wading and I was forced to shoulder my canoe and bushwhack along the creek toward
Sawbill. Ten minutes later I slid my canoe into Alton pond and paddled through
its narrow mouth into Sawbill…… My heart sank as I paddled by the loons nest
and saw the egg still sitting unattended……Returning several hours later I
could just make out one of the loons sitting on the nest under the moon lit sky.
Tonight is the full moon and the crew is going for a paddle so we can check up
on the loons again tonight! – Dave

Alton Creek surging towards Sawbill.

The loon’s nest holding back the flood and waiting for Mom and Dad to return.

6/1/04 – Tom (Hawk) Jensen sent along these pictures of his son-in law’s
dog (is that a dog-in-law?) taken on Cherokee Lake on opening weekend.

5/31/04
– Resident meteorologist Frank Hansen reported that Sawbill has received 1.82
inches of in the last 24 hours, and it is still raining! According to Frank this
is the most rain we have received in a 24 hour period in several years. Rain rain
go away and come again some other day!

If you called several days ago to
see if we had found your digital camera accessories, please call us back because
we think we have the box of accessories you were looking for. – Dave

Dave, Sonya, and Pat take a breaking from canoe repair.

5/29/04
– I awoke at 5 a.m and traces of fog visible through my window urged me to rise
early. I began trotting towards the landing with a canoe on my shoulders and a
paddle in hand when I caught site of the lakes mirror smooth surface. Sawbill
was layered in fog making it hard to distinguish where the water ended and air
began. A juvenile bald eagle eyed me as it scanned the shoreline for a meal, its
molted coat catching the golden rays of the pre-dawn light as it flew.

Paddling
North the bow of my canoe pierced the lake’s glassy surface. A loon preened and
stretched it wings before diving for a fish. Its mate sat near by keeping a single
speckled egg warm and safe. Loons mate for life and take turns guarding their
nests and looking for food. Floating in the silence, my mind wandered back to
the pairs courtship dance and haunting calls I witnessed a few days ago. With
some diligent parenting and a little luck there will be three loons leaving Sawbill
in the Fall. – Dave

A
loon on its nest on sawbill Lake

Sunrise on Sawbill Lake

5/28/04 – Memorial Day Weekend arrived this
morning in typical fashion, with several groups jockeying to be the first out
the door and on the water at 7 a.m. They are enjoying a truly beautiful day today
in the north country, so I can’t blame them for being eager. The sky is robin’s
egg blue, the water is azure, and the trees are fresh green. The leaves are just
beginning to peek out. This is one of the latest summer onsets in recent memory.

Despite
cold water temperatures (50 degrees at the surface yesterday), walleye fishing
is starting to pick up–mostly males caught so far. The northerns are biting well,
too, although it seems like the smaller sizes are more active. A few early butterflies
have appeared, the warblers are singing their hearts out, and yesterday I saw
two beautiful rose breasted grosbeaks. Their song sounds like a robin that has
had musical training.

Some
brand, spanking new canoes for your paddling pleasure?

5/15/04 – Last night
at 12:01 the Minnesota fishing season started. Yesterday we had several groups
head out to their favorite fishing spot ready for that first cast of the year.
The temperature dropped below freezing again last night and the puddles around
the store were frozen this morning when I woke up. Clear sunny skies soon unveiled
a beautiful day for paddling and maybe a little fishing. Bill and I spotted a
Pine
Martin enjoying the morning sun. These lightening fast little predators are
always a treat to see.

We have also added Online
Reservation Forms to our website. Feel free to use these secure forms to make
a reservation for your next trip.

– Dave

5/13/04- A storm caused our
main phone lines to go out at approximately 5:30 PM last night. Bill was able
to get the phones working again around noon today and the phone has been ringing
off the hook ever since. We are sorry if our phone troubles caused you any inconvenience.
Life in the woods is never dull! I guess having your phones stop working for a
few hours is a small price to pay when you live a stone’s throw from the BWCAW!

Waiting
for your call,

– Dave

5/8/04 – For the first time
ever, Sawbill is holding a huge used and overstock equipment sale in the spring/summer.
This sale features a stock of unusual items which we will not be selling again
for the foreseeable future, including solo canoes, three-person canoes, kids’
and infant life vests, packs, paddles (canoe and kayak), rain gear, and loads
of other stuff. Proceed to the Used Equipment
Page for more information.

5/1/04
– The ice is out on Sawbill Lake. Today (May 1) is the statistical average for
ice out on Sawbill Lake since records have been kept. How’s that for exciting?
Unlike most years, when the ice is totally finished off by a period of warm weather,
the ice is receding slowly this year. Alton Lake still has a few inches of ice,
and we assume the larger, northern lakes, like Cherokee and Little Saganaga,
are still frozen. Baker and Kawishiwi Lakes are confirmed open.

As
for us at the ranch, we spent the day detailing our new fleet of Wenonah MN2s,
MN3s and Prisms, getting them ready for the rigors of rental. We are expecting
Santa Claus to bring us some more shiny new boats next week from Souris River,
Bell and Alumacraft.

4/28/04 – Steve Wilbers, noted author and
long time Sawbill canoeist, has compiled an excellent chronology of the BWCA Wilderness. He has it broken down into four different options:
long, short, wilderness management,
and natural history.

Sawbill Lake at Noon on
April 28th. At least a couple of more days until the ice is gone.

4/27/04 – Sawbill Lakes ice is no longer
safe to stand on to drill a hole. From shore, it looks like about
a foot of total ice, although much of it is highly degraded.
Yesterday had a high temperature of 34 degree with snow falling
off and on all day. Last night the low was 18 degree. Today it is
in the high 30s with snow showers. Warm weather is in the
forecast though. If that holds, the ice should go out during the
weekend. Predictions are always dangerous though 🙂 – Bill

4/22/04 – The ice is now 16" thick
with 9" of slush on top and 7" of hard ice underneath.
The forecast calls for a couple of cold nights, but then high
temperatures in the low sixties over the weekend.

4/19/04 – Our first new crew member, Molly
Breslin, arrived yesterday from California by way of Illinois.

Molly in a late April snow shower at the
Sawbill Lake canoe landing.

The official ice thickness measurement was a bit
of a challenge today. An even inch of rain yesterday left the
lake with 8 – 10" of slush on top of ~10" of hard ice.
The slush was just deep enough to go over the tops of my boots,
giving my feet a refreshing slush treatment.

An inch of rain creates deep slush on top of
10" of solid ice on Sawbill Lake.

Cindy, Carl and Clare Hansen return today from a
10 day visit to the Caribbean island of Anguilla. Cindy’s step
father has a house there that he is kind enough to let us borrow.

Carl, Clare, and Cindy suffering in the
Caribbean.

4/13/04 – We’ve been getting lots of
questions about the ice, how thick it is, etc. So visiting
former-crewmember Eric Frost, his girlfriend Jessa, and I headed
out to explore the Kelso Loop by ski and report back to you. The
ice on South Sawbill Lake is 27" thick. The Kelso River is
about 15 percent open, as is Kelso Bay on Sawbill Lake. We were
able to ski around the open water, but I don’t think we’ll
attempt it again this season.

One of our beloved golden retrievers,
Sunnie, fell through and needed my assistance to get back on the
ice. I crawled over to her on my belly and yanked her out by her
collar. She immediately showed her appreciation with a full body
shake inches from my head. Loyal readers of this page will
remember Sunnie’s late brother, Gust, who died a few years ago
when he fell through the ice exploring Sawbill Creek by himself.
This is a wonderful place for animals, but not without hazard.

4/6/04 – Adam and Dave are back from their
adventures. They are very tanned, but only on their faces.

It is melting very fast here. The high is
going to be near 60 today. The lake has been perfect for ski
travel, but I would start to worry about ice integrity pretty
soon. Cindy and I are going on vacation this week, but I will
encourage Adam and Dave to start testing the ice thickness and
reporting the results here. – Bill

Latest Update from Adam and Dave on the Wilderness
Classroom Adventure in northern Manitoba. Last update.

3/24/04 – We received a surprise visit
today from former Sawbill crew member Jeff (Tuffy) Thompson (1995
– 1998) and his girlfriend, Lynn Schrader. He had not visited for
several years and was amazed by the remodeling of our main
building. Jeff is currently a graduate student at the University
of Missouri School of Journalism in photo journalism. He was
recently awarded a "Pictures of the Year International Excellence
Award" for his photo story of the great Iowa bicycle tour, Ragbrai. This is one of the world’s most prestigious photo
journalism awards. When Jeff worked at Sawbill, he was once
assigned the job of building a quick three-roll toilet paper
holder for our public bathroom. Rather than the simple t. p.
holder we had in mind, he spent nearly a month crafting a canoe
theme t. p. holder masterpiece. When we remodeled two years ago,
we took great pains to preserve Jeff’s creation and install it in
the new public bathroom. Who knew that it was a precursor to a
major artistic career. Some day it will be worth millions as an
original Thompson.

Jeff (Tuffy) Thompson checks
the function of his famous toilet paper holder. Jeff with his
girlfriend Lynn, who had no idea the range of Jeff’s youthful
accomplishments.

One of Jeff’s award winning
photos. The entire photo story is at www.poyi.org.

3/21/04 – Spring has not sprung here at
Sawbill yet. Last night the temperature hit one degree below
zero. The sun light lasts well into the evening now and the sun
feels strong during the day. I expect the next week will bring
some significant thawing. In a couple of weeks, we’ll start our
annual ice-out watch here on the newsletter.

In case you haven’t been following the
Wilderness Classroom Adventure, here is a picture of Adam on the
trail in northern Manitoba.

Looks like fun!?

3/10/04 – In the great American tradition,
Clare’s sixteenth birthday was followed by that other important
rite of passage, getting a driver’s license. It is a great relief
to us (especially Cindy) that Clare will now be able to drive
herself and Carl to and from school each day. This will reduce
our mileage and increase our hours of sleep significantly. Clare
headed off bright and early this morning with Carl riding
shotgun. They ended up being late to school and hopefully learned
a valuable lesson about driving on backwoods gravel roads at the
same time. I’ll spare you the details, but no damage was done,
except possibly to Clare’s driving reputation…

Clare exudes confidence as
Carl prepares for the worst on their first day of solo school
commuting.

3/1/04 – Ed Dallas, the Poet Laureate of
Sawbill, sent along this evocative haiku today:

Sawbill tradition
each fish gains a pound or two
around the campfire

2/27.04 – Last night was Carl Hansen’s
acting debut at the famous Grand Marais Playhouse. He received
good reviews for his performance in the Playhouse’s Ten Minute
Theater Festival. Today is Clare Hansen’s 16th birthday. Happy
birthday Clare!

Carl, in costume,
contemplates Clare as she turns sweet sixteen.

2/18/04 – We received the following email
and photos from Bob Henry. The "CCC" he refers to is
the Civilian Conservation Corps camp that was located on the
Sawbill Trail 6 miles south of Sawbill Lake. It was a large camp
with hundreds of men. The CCC was a very successful federal
program to create employment for young men during the depression.
– Bill

Bill & Frank
Hansen:
I am sending an attachment of photos from 1958, when my dad,
Wayne "Pinky" Henry stayed at the campground with his
siblings. Wayne began his Sawbill journey back in the 30’s at the
CCC just South of Sawbill Lake. I began annual visits in 1961,
and enjoy my annual trips. Feel free to share this on your
newsletter if you wish. Thank you for years of service and great
memories. Wayne passed away in 1968 at only 51 years of age.

Bob Henry

Pinky Henry with an early
pop-up camper at Sawbill (not sure of exact location). The
Sawbill Lake canoe landing in 1958.

Alton to Sawbill Lake
portage, looking toward Sawbill. The narrow gauge railway
extended into the water so boats could be floated on to the car
and pulled across portage. The railway was removed in the early
’70s.

2/17/04 – We had a number of former Sawbill
crew ladies visit over President’s Weekend. Eight former crew
members joined us for coffee, visiting, cross country skiing,
wine, game playing, and laughter. Patti Olson, Michele Thieman,
Annie Strupeck, Beth Rolf, Sandy Zinn, Ellen Lock-Bagnato, Kate
Surbaugh, and Steve Surbaugh (not a lady, but oh well) were in
attendance, at least for part of the weekend.

Michele, Sandy, Ellen,
Patti, Beth, Annie, and Cindy. Not pictured – Kate and Steve.

Adam Hansen and Dave Freeman
have posted the first update from their two month sled dog adventure in northern Manitoba. – Bill

2/12/04 – Last summer, a black wolf hung
around the Sawbill Trail. He was nearly fearless and approached
within a few feet of cars and campsites. He never seemed hostile,
but clearly was seeking out human beings. We guessed that he was
a wolf/dog hybrid or had been raised in captivity. This fall he
moved down near Highway 61 and became well known among the
residents of Tofte. We feared for his safety as there are still
uninformed people who shoot every wolf they see. In the end, it
was a speeding car on Highway 61 that killed him. His body was
recovered by the local game warden and there is some talk about
getting permission to have him stuffed for educational purposes.

The distinctive black wolf seen by many Sawbill
visitors during the summer of ’04.

On the same day that the black wolf died,
Carl Hansen took a hard fall on his snowboard while riding at
Lutsen Mountains. He separated his shoulder and is now sporting a
magnificent rainbow colored bruise from his shoulder to his
elbow. It prematurely ended his season with the Cook County High
School cross country ski team. Carl is healing fast though and
expects to be back on his snow board and cross country skis this
weekend. – Bill

2/8/04 – Frank Hansen turned 83 years old
on Friday, February 6th. He is in good health and spirits.

I just returned from delivering Adam and
Dave to Norway House, Manitoba, where they have embarked on their
two month sled dog adventure in the wilds of Canada. We had a
great trip up with frequent stops to let the dogs stretch their
legs. We speculated about what the dogs thought of downtown
Winnipeg. They all had their noses poking out of their boxes as
we negotiated the busy streets. Everywhere we went, we were
treated to the warm Manitoban hospitality. Dean McLoed and his
family were very kind to us in Winnipeg. They let us keep the dog
truck in their driveway overnight and helped us exercise the team
in the local dog park. We also visited the St. James Ravensway
School where Dean is a science teacher. He happened to be
teaching an interim class on winter camping skills, so Dave and
Adam’s appearance was well timed. In Grand Rapids, Manitoba we
met up with Gerald McKay and his friend Preston. We spent the
night at Gerald’s house and they accompanied us on the four hour
drive up to Norway House where they introduced us to several of
their friends and relatives. Both men are born and raised in
northern Manitoba and had many good stories to tell. their
lifestyles are similar, in many ways, to the lifestyle here in
the northwoods of Minnesota. Their lakes, rivers and woods are
similar, and they have even have Lake Winnipeg, which has a
similar feel to Lake Superior. They have a deep sense of their
history and a great sense of humor.

Adam and Dave got underway by dog power on
Saturday, February 7th. They will be posting journal updates three times a
week. – Bill

Adam rides the dog
sled as Gerald McKay drives and laughs. Lichen watches the big
world unfold during the 20 hours of driving to Norway House.

1/29/04 – Adam and Dave have been up on Frost Lake for the
last four days on a training trip before they depart for northern
Manitoba. They have had a good test with 10" of snow on the
first day and temperatures of -30F last night. They were actually
due back yesterday, but the heavy snow and slush between the lake
ice and snow cover slowed them down. You can read their journal entries on-line.

My regular sunset ski was a
chilly one last night with temperatures at 5 PM reading -16F and
dropping. A 25 mph northwest wind added to the face numbing
conditions. Part of our ski trail runs on an old logging road. As
I crested a small rise I was surprised to see a large, black
animal about 20 yards ahead. It was late twilight, that time of
day when objects appear in silhouette, with all detail lost. At
first I thought it was the large black wolf that has been a
regular visitor for the last year. It turned out to be a moose
calf. It stopped when it saw me. We looked each other over and it
ambled off behind a row of spruce trees. On my next loop around
the trail, the calf’s mother was standing in the same spot. She
was unwilling to move, so I respectfully skied around her. I was
happy to return to a warm, inviting house after my ski, instead
of spending the night bedded down in the snow like the moose. –
Bill

The Sawbill Store
hunkers down under 3′ of snow and -30F temperatures.

1/20/04 – We have been enjoying some real
northwoods winter weather and activity recently. Last night the
temperature dipped to -26 F. Adam and Dave’s dog team has been
living on the Sawbill parking lot for the last couple of weeks.
Every day they take a run out into the wilderness as they toughen
up man, beast, and equipment for their big WildernessClassroom.com adventure to come. With the cold temperatures and
18" of new snow in the last week, conditions have been
perfect for sub-arctic training. The dogs are friendly and well
socialized. They each have a distinctive personality and several
are real characters. – Bill

Adam feeds the team. L – R:
Thistle, Daisy, Munchkin, Fennel, Saylex, and Lichen. Homer
lounges near the sled while the "working" dogs eat
dinner.

Adam gives Munchkin a hug.
She is the mother or grandmother of the other five dogs.

1/7/04 – The howling of sled dogs is
floating through the air as the thermometer heads for -20 degrees
F again tonight. Dave Freeman and Adam Hansen of WildernessClassroom.com are living at Sawbill as they train for their two
month sled dog adventure in northern Manitoba. Beginning in
February, the six alaskan huskies and two men will be in the deep
frozen wilderness while staying connected to hundreds of school
children via satellite phone and the internet. I will be putting
more information about their journey here in the near future.

Lynx are being sighted with regularity all
over northeastern Minnesota in the last couple of years. The
University of Minnesota has managed to live trap a few, including
one quite near Sawbill, and track their movements via radio
beacon collars. You can see the maps of the lynx’ travels at the Canada
Lynx of the Great Lakes website.
Lynx #5 is the one that was trapped near here. We saw it
ourselves several times during the last year.

Canada Lynx are again fairly
common in Northeastern Minnesota. (Photo from U of M)

Here are a few more pictures
from the fun we had over the holiday season:

Holiday greeting on Sawbill
Lake for passing satellites courtesy of Tess Dornfeld.

(L-R) Nathan, Belinda, Max,
Kari, Ruthie, Carl, Lida, Homer, Tess, Clare, Carol, Kirk, and
Britta. Sawbill crew – past, present and future – on Sawbill Lake
at the stroke of midnight 1/1/2004.

Kari and Clare return from a
snowmobile ride. Lida showing the effect of a 16 kilometer
backcountry ski to Smoke Lake at -10 degrees F.

12/31/03 – This is a surprisingly busy time
of year at Sawbill. It is the time when we are constantly
surrounded by family, friends, former and current crew members.
The days are filled with cross country skiing, downhill skiing
and snowboarding, ice fishing, cooking, eating, drinking, game
playing. laughing, saunas, music, dancing, and constant
conversation. In between visitors, we have been traveling to
Carl’s cross country ski meets and practices. Tonight we will
bring in the new year with board games and the traditional
midnight ski. We are thinking of everyone who is not with us and
hoping for you to have the happiest, most peaceful new year
possible.

While walking across the lake to set up the
fish house we came across the very fresh footprints of a large
lone wolf. Perhaps it is the black wolf that we have been seeing
all year. He was most recently sighted by the county grader
driver just a few miles north of Tofte. It is not unusual for him
to travel over twenty miles in one day. – Bill

Ruthie maintains vigilance
in the traditional Minnesota manner while Bill baits a hook in
the background. Ruthie, Bill, Adam and Clare Hansen show off the
result. (Photo by Lida Storch.)

12/15/03 – Brian Tofte and his son, Eric,
were fishing on Sawbill Saturday when a mink came running across
the lake and ran right up to Eric. He started feeding it minnows
and it hung around all afternoon.

Eric Tofte and his new friend on Sawbill Lake
about half a mile north of the canoe landing, 12/13/03.

12/11/03 – The great horned owl that ran
into Cindy’s car awhile back is now a resident of the Minnesota Zoo. Although
he recovered from his trauma pretty well, the vets at the Raptor Center
determined that his eyesight was damaged enough that he shouldn’t
be released back into the wild. – Bill

12/10/03 – Schroeder resident, Charles Lamb, and his son Will
have been fishing regularly on Alton Lake. They came in about 9
PM last night and reported good walleye fishing. They had been
getting just a few fish per day.

Last weekend was a festive one here at Sawbill. Some of us
traveled to the big city of Duluth for two days of bowling,
movies, shopping, holiday parties and meetings. On Sunday we
gathered our Christmas tree, an elaborate event that includes
many odd traditions and jokes. Eventually, we did return with a
lovely tree. We also celebrated Carl Hansen’s 14th birthday.
Cindy out did herself with a custom cake portraying Carl, Clare
and Bill on their snowboards and Cindy on skis having a close
encounter with a tree. – Bill

Carl and Clare scout for, and finally cut the
perfect tree.

The tree after it has been trimmed and the
famous cake depicting a typical scene at Lutsen Mountains Ski
Area.

12/4/03 – – This is supposed to be our “quiet��? time of
year, but with two teenagers in the house, and the holiday season
upon us, it seems we never sit down. We did get the phones
working again, thanks to our dedicated technician, Steve Schuh.
Hopefully, they will stay fixed for awhile.

We started cross country skiing here at Sawbill on Sunday,
November 30^th. That is a little later than usual, but
with the winters we have these days, we are grateful to be skiing
at all. The trails in the woods don’t have quite enough snow to
ski on yet (~10��?), but the unplowed campground roads are
groomed to perfection. The lake formed a fair amount of slush
after the heavy snow landed on relatively thin ice. The slush, in
turn, froze during the last couple of cold nights, so travel on
the lakes is pretty good right now. – Bill

11/26/03 – Our phone is working again, at least enough to get
calls that come our way. The whole system should be fixed by
tomorrow afternoon.

We had just one more lovely day of ice skating on Sawbill Lake
last Saturday before seven inches of snow fell. Carl and I skated
all the way to the north end of the lake, about five miles, one
way. On the large center section of Sawbill. the ice was a huge,
perfectly smooth black sheet.

Carl strides across a
flawless surface just before 7" of snow ended lake skating
for the year.

11/24/03 – Due to a bizarre combination of circumstances, all
three of our radio phone systems have been out of order for the
last few days. We hope to have them fixed soon, but in the
meantime you can reach us by email. Sorry for the inconvenience.
– Bill

11/21/03 – After the recent warm spell, the temperature
dropped last night and froze the standing water on Sawbill Lake
in a continuous smooth surface. This is what we wait for. I put
the blades on just before sunset and headed out. Sawbill was
frozen about 4" thick in most places and about 2.5"
thick in some places. There is still open water around the tips
of the islands and points, so a skater has to stay alert. I
thought Alton would be fun to skate on too, but I received a
surprise when I walked across the portage. Alton is still
completely unfrozen! – Bill

Sawbill Lake as seen
from just in front of the portage to Alton (notice skate tracks
in foreground) and Alton Lake as seen from the end of the portage
– 11/21/03.

11/19/03 – Being that Sawbill is at the end of the road, my
daily exercise often consists of running, somewhat monotonously,
up and down the Sawbill Trail. In spite of repeating the route
literally thousands of times, I always see something that makes
it interesting. On Monday, I was outbound at about quarter to
five. As I passed through the grove of mature aspen trees about a
mile and a half from Sawbill, I heard one of the trees crack
loudly during a brisk gust of wind. It particularly got my
attention because I was knocked cold by the falling top of an old
aspen about eight years ago. Although waking up in the middle of
the woods with a headache and no short term memory was an
interesting experience, I have no desire to repeat it. Nothing
fell this time though and I continued my run. On the way back, in
exactly the same spot, another gust of wind brought the
unmistakable sound of a tree breaking in half. As I looked up, I
saw about forty feet of aspen tree falling right at me. A few
quick steps took me out of harm’s way, but the tree came to rest
less than five feet from where I had been running when it started
its descent. Both of the dogs, who were running with me, lay down
and curled up into balls when the heard the crash. The rest of my
run was nearly effortless as the adrenaline worked its way
through my system. It is just a reminder that forest is beautiful
and benign, but ultimately has no feeling, one way or the other,
for we who pass through it. – Bill

11/18/03 – Long time Sawbill crew member and current
University of Chicago student, Ruthie Hansen, has published an
article in the hip new Chicago area on-line magazine Gapers Block.
She describes the preparation of "queso" which is
familiar to all Sawbill crew members from the last decade.

11/16/03 – It has been a truly quiet week at Sawbill. After
the cold snap that iced over the lakes (4.5��? thick as of
yesterday) we got more snow and the temperatures have warmed up.
We are disappointed that the lakes have not been suitable for ice
skating this season. Skating is one of the great joys of living
in the north woods in the rare years when the ice is thick and
smooth enough. Our friend and noted author, Peter Leschak, says
it well in his recent
essay in the Minnesota Volunteer Magazine.

Meanwhile, we have been brainstorming alternative methods of
frozen lake recreation. Carl Hansen, and his cousin, Will
Hutchinson, decided that Sawbill Lake would make a good driving
range to hone their golf swings. They painted a few balls dark
green, recruited Homer the retriever as an automatic ball return,
and hit the links.

Carl and Will showing
good form on a wide fairway.

While the boys were golfing, Cindy Hansen was hosting her
annual Christmas cookie baking marathon. Her sister, Sherrie
Hutchinson, niece Anna, nephew Will, joined the rest of the
Hansens in kicking out a few hundred cookies.

Anna reaches for just
one of the many decorated sugar cookies on the countertop.

11/7/03 – Sawbill Lake froze over yesterday, November 6th.
This is a fairly normal date for ice up. In recent years, we’ve
been averaging a later ice up date. We have about 5" of snow
standing on ground. The ice is not safe for travel yet, but it is
supposed to be below zero tonight, so that should firm things up
fast.

Sawbill Lake as seen
from the canoe landing at 1 pm on Friday, 11/7/03.

10/30/03 – Tomorrow is my final day of working at Sawbill.
After 2 1/2 years, its time for me to move on to a new adventure.
The time I’ve spent here will always be something held very
dear in my heart. I’ll miss the calm of the lake, the silence
of the air, and the brilliance of the stars. I’ll miss the
excitement of the first customers of the season – and the
excitement of the last customers of the season. I’ll miss the
Beach Club and late night swims. I’ll miss the sauna – oh,
the lovely, lovely sauna. I’ll miss Homer and Sunnie and even
Alice the ornery cat. I’ll miss the Hansen’s who have shown me
so much warmth and generosity and have truly welcomed me into
their family. And I’ll miss writing about all of these things.

As hard as it is to leave this place and these people, I know
that Sawbill is something that becomes a part of your soul, and
you can hold onto it even when you’re not here. Once you’ve
been a part of Sawbill, it becomes a part of you. – Beth

10/30/03 – Justin Lee, who travels all the way from Singapore
for his annual Sawbill canoe trip, sent this link to
pictures from his most recent BWCA Wilderness experience. The
underwater fish photos are excellent.

It looks like winter might be here to stay. Although Sawbill
Lake isn’t frozen yet, we are getting a little more snow
everyday. – Bill

10/27/03 – Former Sawbill crew members Dave Freeman and Eric
Frost are starting another educational adventure with their
non-profit organization Wilderness Classroom.
They have just arrived in Costa Rica for two months of exploring
that beautiful and interesting country. They will be joined for
the first few weeks by Erik Hoekstra, another former Sawbill crew
member. You can follow their progress by reading their "Notes
From the Trail" on the web. – Bill

Current Sawbill crew member, Adam Hansen, will be working with
Wilderness Classroom for the next six months or so. He is helping
with logistics during the Costa Rica Project and will be joining
Dave for the Boreal
Forest Project, a several hundred mile, two month sled dog
trip in northern Manitoba during February and March.

Sawbill is thrilled to be a sponsor of this wonderful
educational initiative. – Bill

10/26/03 – We had hoped that the solar flare activity during
the past few days would bring some northern light activity here.
The days have been cloudy but the nights have cleared off. The
stars have been sparkling, but, unfortunately, no northern lights
have been in the sky.

We spent the better part of the afternoon putting canoes away
for the winter. Cindy then traded in all the fishing poles,
tackle boxes, and snorkel gear on her porch for skis, snowboards,
and sleds. Snow is predicted for tomorrow and tuesday. We’re
hoping for lots. -Beth

10/24/03 – An unexpected snowfall greeted us this morning. At
least an inch of heavy wet snow is already on the ground and more
continues to fall. A gray fog hangs in the air since the
temperature is hovering right around freezing. As I walked over
to the store this morning and a bright red pine grosbeak perched
on a snow covered tree branch – standing out like a christmas
ornament. Many of the winter resident birds have arrived –
including evening and pine grosbeaks, purple finches and juncos.
-Beth (pictures by Bill)

Snowy Sawbill

10/22/03- Last Saturday was pumpkin carving night! Cindy,
Carl, and Clare picked out some interesting pumpkins to challenge
our creative skills this year – but we carved our fingers raw and
came up with quite a batch of jack-o-lanterns. Kari and Adam
teamed up and created Split Personality Pumpkin. Adam carved
Kari’s likeness on one side and Kari carved Adam’s on the
opposite. Carl, wishing crew member Missy could be here in
person, somehow managed to capture her vibrant personality in his
creation. My friends who were visiting went more for the horror
angle, and created a masterpiece that is sure to give the kids
nightmares. Former Crew member Carol Winter and her husband Kirk
Dornfeld and their family was also here for the big event and
carved up outstanding pumpkins as well. -Beth

Split Personality
Pumpkin – First its Kari, then its Adam (including Adam’s facial
hair experiment), We call it "Tastes like Chicken" and
a pumpkin version of Missy.

Witches dancing on
cauldrons. The Crazy Carving Crew (Carl is missing from the
picture).

10/20/03 – For the first time since early May, we have no
customers in the wilderness here at Sawbill. All the canoes are
safely back in the yard after a busy summer season. This is a
poignant time of year for us. The chief joy of this business is
the vivid, interesting, and friendly clients that we are
privileged to deal with day to day. However, we always have a
bittersweet feeling at this time of year. It is a relief to see
the end of the 14 hour days, relax a bit, and enjoy the peace and
quiet the envelopes us. There is still plenty of work to do.
Taking inventory, draining water systems, putting canoes and
equipment into storage, and a hundred other chores will occupy
our days for the next few weeks. But the end is in sight and we
are all grateful. Grateful for the opportunity to live in this
unique corner of paradise; grateful for another safe and
successful season; and grateful to all of you who make this a
special place of trust and renewal. – Bill

10/15/03 – We have an update from the University of Minnesota
Raptor Center on the two raptors that were rescued near Sawbill
this year. The sharp shinned hawk chick that was found on the
Sawbill Trail this summer has been released back into the wild in
the same spot were it was found. It spent a couple of months at
the Raptor Center recuperating, growing up, and being trained to
hunt. The great horned owl that flew into Cindy’s car last week
is now at the Raptor Center where it is alert and eating well.
The veterinarians are treating an injured eye and hoping for a
full recovery.

The Forest Service completed three fairly large prescribed
burns in the BWCA Wilderness last week. What follows is their
official report:

Kekekabic Lake Fire – This is a 2,618-acre unit situated along
the western edge of the Gunflint Trail. Kekekabic a blowdown unit
associated with the 1999 July 4th Storm. The unit was ignited at
1300 on October 9th utilizing a PSD and two helitorchs. Vigorous
fire behavior was observed in the areas of pure blowdown. In
areas of 50% or less blowdown, low to moderate fire behavior was
observed. No significant events reported. Only 80% of the unit
was ignited. However, the dry weather over the past two days
enabled the fire to spread into the unburned portions of the
unit. Kekekabic is 100% complete.

Arc Lake Fire – This is a 2,633-acre unit located inside the
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) just to the west of
the Gunflint Trail. Arc Lake is a blowdown unit associated with
the 1999 July 4th Storm. Unit was ignited at 1000 on October 10th
using a PSD, two helitorchs, and hand ignition. As expected,
areas of blowdown burned intensively while areas with no blowdown
did not sustain fire spread. Objectives were met with no
significant events reported. Only 90% of the unit was ignited,
but the dry weather yesterday evening and this morning enabled
the fire to spread into the unburned potions of the unit. Arc
Lake – is 100% complete.

Honker Lake Fire – This is a 1,553-acre unit located inside
the BWCAW. Honker is a blowdown unit associated with the 1999
July 4th Storm. The unit was ignited this morning using a PSD and
two helitorchs. Approximately 75% of the unit was ignited before
a strong, wet weather system shut down operations. Objectives
were met with no significant events reported. Honker is 75%
complete at this time.

Future Plans: Cool, humid weather has settled into the area
for the next few days – effectively shutting down burning
operations. Top of the Trail ICP will be completely demobed by
Sunday October 12. If the weather cooperates, the Superior
National Forest plans to continue to burn blowdown units until
winter weather finally shuts down operations. This will be the
last update until such time.

Total acres completed during this effort: 6,401
Cost per acre (estimate): $55
For further information contact:
Ellen Bogardus-Szymaniak
(218) 327-4571 (office)

10/12/03 – We received a couple of messages from canoeists who
were out during the bad weather a couple of weeks ago. Scott
Durnell sent this link http://www.durnellcentral.com/modPhoto/albumview.asp?albumid=72
to 109 images from his recent trip.

Jack and Debbie Cook sent the following note and picture from
their trip:

Hi Bill,
I just wanted to drop you a note of thanks for our memorable Ella
Lake trip. Deb and I are very appreciative of the hospitality
you and your crew showed us. We are already looking forward to
next season. Attached is a photo from our adventure, and I’d
like you to note two things. From the marks on the side of the
tent, you can see the ol’ Eureka withstood the polar bear attack,
and I am safely inside while my wonderful wife is out is the
elements taking the shot. I think next year on the Outfitting
Reservation Form, in the weather column, we’ll check the sunny
and 60 box instead of the snow and 30! Thanks again, and I wish
you and your family well. Also thank Beth for her help, Deb and
I will miss her next time.

Jack Cook waves from
the comfort (?) of his tent on Ella Lake, October 1st, 2003.

10/10/03 – Strong breezes over the past two days have blown
down most of the leaves – but the tamarack trees are glowing
gold. The warm weather has continued, but rain is predicted for
tomorrow. -Beth

Fall has arrived at
Sawbill Lake

10/08/03 – A flash of summer-like weather has distracted us
from work for the past few days. Lunch outside, an afternoon
hike, long paddles and even a quick swim by Bill (the rest of us
just watched in amazement) have all taken priority over what is
on the work schedule. While the peak leaf color has passed, the
birch and poplar still have some brilliant yellows hanging on and
the warm sunlight is showing them off today. The leaves on the
ground have begun to dry out and are taking on the familiar smell
of fall. This is all quite a change from a week ago when heavy
snow showers made it impossible to see the opposite shore of the
lake. The warm weather is supposed to hang on through the
weekend. -Beth

10/6/03 – We received this nice note from David Poretti the
other day:

Howdy!

I just wanted to drop you a note of thanks – not only for the
last trip but
for all the others as well.

The folks I brought up had little or no camping experience, and
the
prospect of a BWCA trip was very intimidating and exciting for
them. With
your helpfulness, their experience was very positive, and now
they can’t
wait to come back up again! It took me a while to convince them
that they
really didn’t want to see a bear or a moose up close, but they
did get an
opportunity to dissect bear poop (one of the deposits we found
had poop
with several undigested M & M’s, another was very fresh –
still moist).
Even having breakfast in a downpour didn’t dampen their sprits –
they were
very happy that we had set the tents properly and that everything
stayed
dry through the rainstorm – and that I was able to cook a hot
meal in the
rain – they also learned a lot about themselves and the things
that they
can do while they got some practice and lessons in problem
solving without
going back to your shop to buy the remedy!

Finally, your generous help in providing tools to detach and
reattach the
battery cable for my friends car was much appreciated, as were
the jumper
cables, though it turns out that we didn’t need them.

I am looking forward to next spring when I can return to the
Garden of
Eden!

I hope you guys all have a great fall and winter, and find time
to have
some fun!

David Poretti

10/5/03 – Driving home from our night
out in Grand Marais last night, a great horned owl dropped
straight out of a tree and ran into the passenger side fender on
the truck. It was lying unconscious on its back in the middle of
the road, but was still breathing. Kari gently scooped it up in
her fleece jacket and placed it in the back of the truck. By the
time we got back to Sawbill, the owl had revived and was standing
up. We left the doors to the back of the truck open all night,
but it was still sitting there in the morning. It was very aware
of its surroundings and even puffed up to several times its
normal size when it saw Homer the dog walk by. This morning, Dave
took it down to bird rehabilitater, Bernie Brooks, in Tofte.
Bernie will feed and water it before handing it off to the Raptor
Center at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities.

The great horned owl
hit the side of the truck hard enough to leave a dent.

Last night was the homecoming dance at the Cook County High
School. The entire fall Sawbill crew, along with visiting former
crew member, Dave Freeman, went down to see Clare make her
entrance in her formal dress. After the dance started, we all
went to the Gunflint Tavern to hear our friend and long time
Sawbill camper, Pete Mathison, play bass with virtuoso mandolin
player Chris Silver. – Bill

L – R: Dave Freeman,
Beth Rolf, Clare Hansen, Adam Hansen, Kari Anderson-Herman, Missy
Peschman.

9/30/03 – Well, the snow accumulated overnight. The best part
about the first snow is the subtle, fresh smell that presages the
deep cold to come. – Bill

9/29/03 – We had our first snow today! There were a few flakes
this morning and then several showers of heavy, wet flakes this
afternoon.

Can you see the
flakes against the life vest washing wall?

Adam, Clare, and Carl Hansen had a successful hunt for grouse
yesterday. Adam acted as the guide, Carl did the shooting, Clare
rung their necks and they all helped with the cleaning. If they
get a few more next weekend, we’ll all enjoy the eating. – Bill

Happy hunters, Carl,
Adam, and Clare Hansen.

9/25/03 – Our used equipment is now on sale. We have a good
selection of canoes, packs, tents, life vests, stoves, tents,
Thermarest sleeping pads, sleeping bags and cookkits. You can see
pictures and specifications at Used
Equipment For Sale – Updated for Fall 2003.

9/24/03 – Rob Lerman, from New Jersey, and Chris Twarok, from
Virginia, sent along these pictures from their recent canoe trip.
They said the eagle kept them nearly constant company on Cherokee
Lake, including waiting each evening for them to clean their
fish.

9/22/03 – We received this lovely email from Mark Kitzing
today:

I was sitting here looking at pictures from the Sawbill area
and thought I’d share a thought.

The Paddle

The paddle leans on the thwart
I place on leg over the side and let the water
run off the other before sitting
I center myself on the seat
I hold the paddle

I hold the paddle with a familiar feel
The wood feels right in my hands
The varnish feels smooth
The worn areas with less are held

The paddle strokes three times
I switch sides with water dripping a bit on the
packs
The paddle glides through the water several
times
The paddle makes an outward move as it leaves to
enter again

The paddle switched sides
The paddle in my hands, left hand on top, right
on the shaft
The paddle moves my arms shoulders, and waist
The paddle in my hands

Anyways, we’ve been up your way many years now, my first to the
BW was 1969, and for a long time yours has been our destination.
Kids are in college now. They grew up with at least one yearly
trip from the age of three. Sometimes we’d canoe trip and others
we’d stay at the Forest Service campgrounds. It’s been my wife
and I the last couple of years. Just wanted to thank you for
providing the canoes I’ve used for many years from your livery.
I guess I’m in a mood brought on by an evening of the sound of
rain, acoustic music, and a hint of fall.

Mark

9/20/03 – We had 2.5" of rain here yesterday. It was
great to see the puddles standing in front of the store. It is a
beautiful sunny day today. Everything is washed clean and fresh
in the crisp fall air.

A hard, all day rain
is a welcome sight after a dry summer.

Even though we haven’t had our first frost yet, the chill in
the air inspired Ed Dallas, the Poet Laureate of Sawbill, to send
along this little poem:

autumn canoe trip
both hands hold the coffee cup
morning frost

9/17/03 – The fall colors are just getting underway here in
canoe country. In the hills above Lake Superior the maples are
nearing their peak. Here at Sawbill there are splashes of color
in the underbrush but the trees are sill mostly green. That
should change this week though. The white and red pines are all
showing a tinge of orange as their older needles drop. The
tamaracks save their glory for the end of October. After all the
other leaves have departed, tamaracks, the only conifer to lose
all its needles each year, blaze with gold glory.

A black wolf has been spotted by many Sawbill campers over the
last week. He is coal black from head to toe with wild yellow
eyes. He may be an escaped or released domestically raised wolf
because he seems to seek out human beings. He shows no sign of
hostility, but at over 100 pounds, he is not to be trifled with.
I suspect that he will end up gracing numerous calendars and
postcards in the next few years as he has been much photographed
recently. – Bill

9/11/03 – A long string of beautiful sunny days and cool,
clear nights have planted us firmly into fall. The maple leaves
have begun changing colors and splashes of red, yellow, and
orange in the trees are increasing. The annual group of Carleton
College freshmen orientation trips has come and gone – the weather
was about as perfect as it can get in September and lots of
smiling faces returned after their four days in the BWCA. We’ve
shifted into our early fall hours and we are open from 8 am to 8
pm, seven days a week. The water levels are a little below normal
but nothing that should hinder any routes. The fish have been
biting like crazy over the last two weeks – lots of walleyes and
small mouth bass stories being reported.

We’ve had a number of inquiries about selling used equipment
and canoes this fall. We will be ready to start selling canoes
and equipment in a few weeks and will post it on the website when
its all set to go.-Beth

 9/3/03 – FIRE BAN LIFTED! This fax just arrived from the U.S. Forest
Service:

September 3, 2003

Contact: Dave Schmidt, 218/626-4300

Susan Alexander, 218/626-4323

SUPERIOR NATIONAL FOREST LIFTS RESTRICTIONS ON CAMPFIRES

As of midnight, Thursday, September 4 (12:01 a.m. Friday, September 5, 2003),
current restrictions on campfires in the Superior National Forest will be
lifted. This means that campfires will be allowed at any time within steel fire
grates at all designated campsites inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area
Wilderness. Campfires will also be allowed any time in dispersed and developed
campsites outside of the Wilderness.

As always, visitors are encouraged to use a camp stove but if a campfire is
preferred, follow these simple guidelines:

Keep it small.

Be sure the campfire is completely extinguished before you leave.

Pour water on the campfire and stir until it is cold to the touch.

Please be responsible with all campfires.

9/1/03 – Today is Mary Alice Hansen’s 80th birthday. She has had several
parties in recent weeks, but we had a quick celebration in the office this
afternoon.

Mary Alice Hansen admires her candle
blowing skill.

Monty Mertz sent us this lovely description of his recent canoe trip:

Dear Bill & Cindy:

I just wanted to share with you how much we enjoyed our BWCAW trip again this
year, and the great service you provide.

We have an annual tradition of at least one trip with family to the BWCAW every
year for the past several years.  The core group is myself, Monty Mertz,
and my now 20 year old son, Taylor.  We are from Fargo.  We bring
along my 79 year old father-in-law, who is a retired Norwegian farmer.  He
lives in Fargo now.  Also included every year is my wife’s brother, Steve
Erickson, and his son, Shane, who is now 25.  Shane is a pilot and lives
in Grand Forks and Steve is a NWA Captain and lives in Prior Lake.  We
have included other in-laws and friends, but this is the core group.  

This year we paddled into Vern, from entry 40 on Homer,  on August 4th,
and spent five nights on the middle camp site on the South side of the lake.
 Even though this area has the damage from the fire, the view from that
camp site is just fine.  

We had really pristine weather and very few bugs.  The water was perfect
for refreshing swims.  Vern is a really clean lake with a rocky bottom, no
muck.  

Steve and Shane are hard core fishermen, and they caught some really big
Walleyes, in Pipe and Whack.  They got close to a cow moose that was
feeding one day.  

We heard wolves every night we were there.  I have an authentic
hand-carved Indian flute, and I played it for a few minutes the first night
after dark, and within thirty seconds of stopping playing, this group of wolves
started up across the lake to the North, and were answered almost immediately
by another group to the South east.  Really really cool.  

Another really fun thing was a pair of mature bald eagles took up residence
right across the lake for a full day after we put fish guts on a flat rock
right across from our site.  They worked on the guts all day, sitting in
two trees between snacks.  It was so calm we could hear even the smallest
noises they made.

The wild berries were unbelievable!  We portaged into the next lake to the
West, and picked blueberries and raspberries, there were millions.  We
caught a glimpse of a bear just this side of the portage one day.  

We also climbed this big rock face on the far end of Vern one day.  The
pictures I am sending includes the four of us at the top of the rock.
 Grandpa did not make the climb, so he is not on the picture of the group
at the top.  

I always get some really amazing pictures every year.  I am sure you get
lots of them, I hope you enjoy these.

When I am not in the BWCAW I am planning the next trip.  I wish I could go
more than a couple of times a year.  I am addicted!!

Regards,

Monty G. Mertz

Vern Lake scenery. The hills around
Vern burned in 1995.