7/2/14 – We had a great time hosting the Adventure Crew 835 from Woodridge Church of Medina, Minnesota last week. It was a pleasure having this group of outstanding youth and their competent leaders in the Sawbill Campground. They were kind enough to send along a group picture. – Bill

Crew 835 from Woodridge Church.
Here is this week’s edition of the Cook County West End News from WTIP, North Shore Community Radio.

7/1/14 – Watching the sun rise on a nice clear day over a lake is always a worthwhile idea. Nothing is better than getting up while it is still just dark, hopping into your canoe, and paddling out to enjoy a peaceful sunrise. That is exactly what some of our crew went out to Brule Lake to do, where they captured the awesome image below. For those camping overnight in the Boundary Waters, or just staying on the other side of the boundary, capturing your own sunrise is a great way to start your day off right! – Mark

Sunrise over Brule Lake!

6/28/14 – The season is really starting to pick up here at Sawbill, and some of our crew members have taken off to the waters for a few days of blissful relaxation. Crew member Carla, and her sister and friend will be exploring the Kawishiwi and beyond this week, while crew member Peter and a few buddies from home will be headed up to Brule Lake to start their excursion. We can’t wait for pictures from both of these groups once they return. It’s great to see our own crew getting to experience and do what it is we love to do and help you guys experience as well. As fellow paddlers, we’re sure the canoe bug is always biting you too.
In addition we would also like to welcome the families and friends of crew members Ana, Lindsey, Kevin, and Matthew. It’s a full house up here at Sawbill! – Mark

Carla and her crew get ready to paddle out for the week!

6/25/14 – Merry Christmas in June! Here at Sawbill we have gone all out to celebrate this much-anticipated holiday. Cookies and pies, turkey and mashed potatoes, Christmas carols and presents, and snowflakes and decorations everywhere. Season’s greetings to everyone from the Sawbill crew! – Peter

Last night the whole crew got together for a festive dinner cooked by Emma and Mark, culminating in a Secret-Santa gift exchange.

6/21/14 – Crew members Carla, Britta, and Jessica got back last night from a 5 day trip around the Little Saganaga West Loop, paddling from Sawbill through the Lady Chain lakes, then passing Malberg and Makwa on their way to Little Sag and Tuscarora. They saw lots of wildlife, including a bear and her three cubs on Duck Lake. Unfortunately no pictures of the bears, but Carla was able to get plenty of other keepers! – Peter

Our intrepid paddlers, from left to right: Jessica Hemmer, Britta Dornfeld, and Carla Hill.

Some daring people dive off these cliffs on the northwest side of Makwa Lake into 60 feet of clear, cold water. The girls stayed at the beautiful campsite here.



Carla captured this incredible series of photos of a sunset on Hazel Lake during their first evening on the water.

6/20/14 – Here is this week’s edition of the Cook County West End News from WTIP, North Shore Community Radio. – Bill

6/19/14 – Several Sawbill crew members have gone out paddling recently, which has opened up plenty of opportunities for the traditional crew prank of snoosing, that is, hiding useless junk in the gear packs of the snoosees for them to discover while on the trail.
Last week Mark and I carelessly left our packs out the night before our departure, so we ended up paddling and portaging 60 miles with an impressive collection of miscellaneous equipment hidden in our stuff.
Since then, vigilance has greatly increased. We were barely able to hide anything in the packs of the Sawbill ladies for their trip this week, and before Nils left on Tuesday he was able to extract everything except a big crescent wrench and an air hockey striker.
Legendary snooses of the past have included a vacuum cleaner, a giant plastic penguin named Roscoe, and of course the infamous time that a pair of determined snoosers caught up with their victims while on the trail, stole their lightweight kevlar canoe in the middle of the night, and swapped it for the biggest, heaviest Grumman they could find.
To read more about the heroic snoose exploits of a decade ago, take a look at our newsletter entries from July 11-13, 2004. – Peter

Mark on Tuscarora Lake with some of the items that we discovered in our gear that evening. The big pancake griddle was a bear to portage, but we know that it could have been a lot worse!

6/15/14 – Now presenting… our legacy ladies! For the first time in recorded history we have three current crew members who descend from former Sawbill staff. Emma, Ana, and Britta each have a parent who worked here during the late seventies/early eighties. Additionally, our last legacy lady is visiting crew member Ellyn Krieg (’10-’12), whose father worked here during the very same time period. Clearly the Sawbill spirit is a heritable trait. – Nils

Left to right: Emma (daughter to Scott Nelson), Ana (daughter to Rose Koch), Ellyn (daughter to Paul Krieg), & Britta (daughter to Carol Winter).

6/14/14 – Rainy June days have put a damper on many canoeing trips lately. Yet, the stormy weather also provides necessary nourishment to local flora. Many wildflower species have been flourishing recently, aided by the combination of extended sunlight and heavy showers. – Nils

Wild Clematis in full bloom along side the Sawbill Trail.

Nodding Trillium found along the hiking trail to Carlton Peak near Tofte.

Blue-bead Lily on the Superior Hiking Trail.

6/13/14 – Here are the last two editions, June 12th and June 5th, of the Cook County West End News from WTIP, North Shore Community Radio. – Bill