Women's Retreat at Boyds

Pat mushing her team

Lauren lets her team rest while her passenger jumps out for photos.

At the truck waiting their turn

Boyd's elaborate Women's Retreat ice house

Rustic yet ritzy interior

The dogs and I just returned from a Women's Winter Retreat at Boyds Mason Lake Resort. Unfortunately, winter turned into a hopefully only momentary spring and rained out our second day of mushing instruction. Weekend temps began very close to freezing, making our Saturday mushing experiences rather warm with slightly mushy trails. By Sunday morning, the snow pack was saturated with water creating slushy trails that we and the dogs would sink completely through. There was standing water on the lakes.

Thankfully, the other activities for the weekend could continue as planned. The folks at Boyd's had plenty of other things on the schedule. Included were things like balsam fir wreath making, trap shooting, a cook out on the lake and last but not least; ice fishing. An elaborate ice house had been built just for the women retreats. No detail was missed from its knotty pine paneled interior to the crystal chandelier that was hung from the vaulted ceiling. A woodstove kept everyone warm while they sat at one of six seats in front of their ice holes watching the underwater video camera, sipping wine and chatting about the day's adventures. The walleye and perch were biting last evening. The largest fish caught over the weekend was a 24 inch Walleye.

Never ice fished? Well, no worries. Boyd's experienced ice fishing guides, Teddy and Billy will teach you everything you'll need to know. I think they even baited a few hooks and took off a few fish if you aren't interested in either but want the ice house experience.