5/13/19 – This past week, Sawbill welcomed 4 new crew members to the BWCA! Mia Pudas was the first to arrive last Sunday the fifth. Mia is from Eden Prairie Minnesota and she joins us for her first season after a number of family trips to Sawbill. She just finished her first year as an Electrical Engineering major at Michigan Tech. Next, Mathew Campbell joined us from Duluth Minnesota to fill the shoes of his older brother and long time crew member Tyler. Matthew is studying English and Psychology at Dakota Wesleyan University. He has been a camper at Sawbill for many years and is excited for his first year on the crew. Sawyer Laird came next all the way from Lowell Michigan. He is an Outdoor Recreation major at Central Michigan University and is ready to share his passion for the wilderness with Sawbill. Lastly, David Kelm arrived on Friday after completing his first year as a Political Science major at Concordia College Moorehead. Please join us in welcoming the new crew members to Sawbill!

-Matt

From left to right: Mia Pudas, Matthew Campbell, David Kelm, and Sawyer Laird

5/11/19 – This Thursday, the Sawbill store officially opened with spring hours! From now until Memorial Day, the store will be open from 8 am to 7 pm, and after Memorial Day we return to our normal summer hours from 7 am to 9 pm. Mother nature decided to help us celebrate our spring hours with four inches of new snow on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Luckily, it was all melted by the afternoon due to rising spring temperatures! Summer is just around the corner.

-Matt

5/7/19 – Today is Kit Shirley’s 3rd birthday! She celebrated by eating cupcakes with her friends and listening to her favorite musician, Bob Marley. The crew also made Kit a treasure map, which led her on a fun scavenger hunt around Sawbill – thanks team!

Another cause for celebration was the annual opening of the Sawbill Beach Club! A quick dip was followed by a toasty sauna.

-Clare

May 6, 2019 – Yesterday evening we watched as a steady north wind blew the remaining floating chunk of slushy ice south to Sawbill’s outlet at Sawbill creek. Kawishiwi and Baker Lakes are also out. Brule and Alton are still locked up with ice. Welcome to paddling season!

-Dan

5/3/19 – Cold and snowy would aptly summarize the past few days, but lucky for us the tides seemed to have shifted, at least for now. Current conditions include sunshine, a steady warm breeze, and a temperature of 45 degrees. We still have a few inches of snow on the ground, but it is dwindling fast. -Jessica

4/30/19 – It seems we have the dubious distinction this morning of having received the most snow in the spring storm yesterday! With just short of 16 inches falling throughout the day, we had to scramble to dig out the shovels we had stored away for the year. While we practice patience waiting for it to melt, we are focusing on cleaning our indoor spaces, repairing gear, pricing new inventory, and of course utilizing our wood fired sauna to boost morale.

While the forecast is calling for a high around 38 degrees for the next few days, things should warm up again on Friday. Once the weather turns back in our favor melting happens quickly up here. We are hoping to be on the water around the end of the first week of May. Stay tuned!

-Clare

4/28/19 – Measuring the ice is a time honored tradition for new Sawbill crewmembers. This week we welcomed Allison, a recent graduate of UW Eau Claire, for her first season at Sawbill.

It’s been sunny and windy, two key components of ice out, although it has been getting down to 27 degrees at night still.

As of this morning, the ice is measuring at 11 inches thick, with roughly 3 of those inches being clear ice. The rest is a sloppy mix of slush, candled ice, and water.

The crew did an ice-out check on a couple of lakes in the area yesterday evening. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it. They report that Baker lake is officially ice free and Crescent lake is not far behind.

Happy Spring!

-Clare

4/26/19 – The lake is finally starting to show signs of melting. The last few days we’ve noticed quite a bit of slush on the lake along with the steady growth of open water near the Sawbill Creek outlet. Yesterday we measured 17 inches from the bottom of the ice to the top of the slush. About 8 of those inches were clear ice, while the top 9 inches seemed to be candled and slushy. -Jessica

4/21/2019 – Kit and Huckleberry led a tour down to the lake and along the lake path today. Follow along as they show the current snow depths and how a large puddle is forming on Sawbill Lake. Ice out should be happening in a number of days.

-Dan

4/16/19 – Last week I was in Minneapolis to attend the NCAA Final Four with my mom and Grandpa. My 93 year old grandfather has been attending the Final Four for 50 years. He was a high school administrator and coach in Montana for many years. My mom has been attending Final Fours with him for the past 25 years. With the event being held just down the road this year it was a good opportunity to join them. 

While in Minneapolis, I had the great fortune of getting together with Sawbill Alum, Pat Nash, who I worked with in 2009. Also joining in the improptu reunion were my brother in law Adam Hansen, of considerable Sawbill fame, and Lisa Burtch and their almost-one-year-old son Louis. Good times!

-Dan