Show and Tell

Gunflint Pines Resort and Campground

All of Karen's sled dogs are rescue dogs!

Kids and dogs alike, enjoyed every minute of their time together

Since our adventures for the day were not possible due to the poor trail conditions from the previous few days of warm temps and rain, we found ourselves at a nearby lodge using the wifi service since ours continues to cut in and out. Yesterday it was out. (and today...)

We were warned that forty five 5th graders were about to descend upon us so we should be prepared. They had come up from Grand Marais for a day of outdoor winter fun that included sledding, snowshoeing, ice fishing and skiing. The owner of the Gunflint Pines Resort and Campground mentioned, in passing, that it would have been nice to have a team of sled dogs here for the kids to visit. Hmmmm.....well we're here with no adventures scheduled for the day so our guest musher, Karen, went to retrieve her dog truck and dogs. The dogs spent the next hour being petted and hugged by the kids. Win, win!

Winter Left and Now Has Returned

The dog yard withe the snow covered High Cliffs as a back drop

A beautiful sight!

Phoenix and Oken gazing through the brush

Klaus seems a bit perplexed. He thought it was spring already!

The others are excited about the snow as they jump and play

Sunday evening once our PUWWA2009 participants departed and after a long run with the dogs, we heard the weather forecast on the radio indicating that anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ice was expected beginning Monday morning through Tuesday afternoon. Being too exhausted to pack up that evening and head out, we did run the dogs to the truck to spend the night so that we could head out early on Monday morning otherwise we could have been stuck for a couple more days. Not he worst place to be stuck, however we were needed back at Gunflint Lodge.

Monday morning arrived and we headed to the truck with the last load of gear in the snowmobile sled at 4AM. We then walked the little dogs and Zulu out from the cabin, dropped the sled dogs and we were on the road by 5:30AM. We arrived back at the lodge at 7:30AM and just one hour before the rain began. Since then, up here at the lodge, 46 miles up the Gunflint Trail, we have had no ice. Just temps in the upper 30s to 40 and rain. Yes, rain.

Overnight the temps dipped to close to freezing and we awoke to a beautiful sight. Snow! Snow thickly covered everything. Only about 2 inches, however snow is so much better then rain. Unfortunately, however, the trails and lake conditions are still not conducive to dog mushing so our adventures had to be canceled yet again today in hopes that the cold front expected to arrive this evening helps to harden things up a bit for tomorrow. A quick excursion on the lake with the snowmobile proved to be a wet one. No portion of the lake traveled was free of the nasty slush. On the upside, once the cold comes back, the lake conditions will excellent with a hard packed surface, allowing us to travel just about anywhere on the lake without the worry of slush or harsh conditions.

PUWWA2009 Pictures

Points Unknown cabin

Chris, me, Scott and Karen

Jenn with her team

Stacy, Karolyn and team in the hardwood forest

Tuloon and Phoenix with Zodiak in wheel leading Cheryl around the cabin loop

McKenzie and Oken waiting for their turn to run

Card games in the cabin

Scott with one of his delicious creations

Karloyn with Tukisi

Zulu at 12 1/2 yrs old

PUWWA2009

Group shot

The Cheryl and Sandy team followed by Jenn's three dog team

Stacy lead by Klaus with Tukisi and Isis in wheel

Mary on her solo run with a 4 dog team

Watching others being harnessed to run

This year's Points Unknown Women's Winter Adventure was held from February 5th to February 8th at the Points Unknown cabin off the Arrowhead Trail and north of Grand Marais, MN, USA. Six women traveled from central and southeastern Minnesota and Iowa to attend. The adventure was an intense introduction to Dog Mushing.

The adventure began with temps in the 20s during the day, making it up into the 30s on the final two days of the weekend. Overnight temps were in the teens to the 30s. We had an overall mild weather weekend compared with last year's adventure that saw temps in the 20s below zero during the day!

Through a process of fully supported small steps, the participants learn to run a team of sled dogs through the scenic bush trails of northern Minnesota with and without a passenger.

Our mushers-in-training were excited to begin the fun; balance training, dog handling and care, harnessing, etc. Our new mushers proved to be very quick learners and had many successful runs with the dogs.

In addition to dog mushing there were moonlight snowshoe hikes, excellent meals from Scott at Corner Table, rousing card games and lots of fun conversation.

Question of the weekend - "Will there be an advanced Dog Mushing Adventure in the future?" Plans are in the works for such an adventure in 2010. You must have already attended a Points Unknown Adventure to attend. After a quick refresher, we'll spend the next two full days on the trails with the dogs and head back each evening to the cabin. If interested, please reserve your space as soon as you see it posted on the Points Unknown website as this year's adventure filled quickly!

Scott, Chris and Karen..... you all add so much to these adventures! Thanks so much for all of your thoughtful hard work!

Satisfied Guests!

Photo courtesy of Deanna Belden

While many youngsters are uncomfortable being in a sled by themselves, Adam was raring to go and enjoyed every minute of his solo run as a passenger.

Photo courtesy of Deanna Belden

Liz talks with Adam about the dogs

Photo courtesy of Deanna Belden

The Belden family during an Open Dog Yard event

We were happy to be able to host the Beldon family on numerous adventures during their stay at Gunflint Lodge. Adam is 5 years old and already has a passion for sled dogs. He wanted to know everything there was to know about them and soaked up everything we gave him! The family went on two separate adventures, attended numerous Open Dog Yard events and attended an evening dog mushing presentation during their stay.

The below email is included by permission of the sender.

"Hi Linda,

I just wanted to send a note to thank you for the great time two weekends ago with the dogs. Adam had the time of his life. Liz and Helen were so wonderful to him and did a great job making it special. We also loved meeting Ilu and he is of course Adam's favorite of your dogs. 

A friend of ours loaned us his skijoring gear this weekend and Holly pulled Adam around on our sledding sled and everyone had a blast! Holly has always been a puller on walks, and she did great with the harness.

Thanks again for such a great experience.

Deanna Belden"

Preparing to Leave for PUWWA2009

Scott from Corner Table

Chris with Copper

Scott taking off with his team

Preparing or a run

Karen with Copper

Two guest mushers have arrived at Gunflint Lodge. Don Deckert will be here assisting Liz and Helen on client dog mushing adventures over the next week while Karen DeBoise and I leave for the Points Unknown cabin tomorrow morning. The women arrive for the Points Unknown Women's Winter Adventure 2009 on Thursday afternoon.

All staff from this adventure will be arriving two days before the participants so we can prepare for their arrival and take some time to play together on the trails with the sled dogs for a day. Chris, our dog handler, brings his dogs Frankie and Lilly along for the adventure. We'll run three teams and do a fun 12 mile run through the narrow, hilly and windy bush trails leading from the cabin.

Scott Pampuch from Corner Table Restaurant is our guest chef for the adventure. This is his second year with us and we can't wait to see what delicacies he has in store for us this week!

Loon Trail and Lake Run

Highland Trail

Dropping into the swamp on the Highland Trail

Loon Lake with its scenic high cliffs

Following the well marked Beargrease Trail

Heading towards Loon Lake landing to jump back on the Highland Trail

The spectacular cliffs on the landing road

In preparation for a scheduled Loon Trail and Lake Run with guests on Saturday, I took a dog team out today to make certain there were no spots in the new trail that needed attention.

An eleven foot toboggan sled was taken with a straw bale for extra weight. A five dog team pulled me and the lot. In hindsight, a heavier load would have made it easier to navigate around some tight turns but all in all, the run went well.

This run begins in the dog yard and goes around our Highland Trail Loops then cuts across to the Loon Lake landing road and down on to the lake. The total mileage of this run is 14. The GPS reading from my route today indicated it was exactly 14 miles from start to finish and it took us 1 hour and 55 minutes with a couple of short stops. This adventure with clients, should take roughly 2 1/2 hours which includes time for teaching how to harness and getting to know the dogs.

The Loon Trail and Lake Experience is the most diverse of any adventure offered at Gunflint Lodge. The wooded Highland Trails are absolutely beautiful with the fir trees weighted down with snow. The trails are windy and narrow and the dogs just can't wait to see what's around the corner! Once we drop on to the landing road then onto the lake, guests are welcome to hop back on the runners and run the team. We have a wonderful trail down the south shore of the lake that was recently used for the John Beargrease Marathon. The scent of other dog teams that have recently gone down the lake gets our dogs excited to go even faster during this portion of the run!

Loon Lake is narrow with high cliffs on the south shore. Once at the end of the lake, a little island is our turn-a-round point and we return the same way we came in and head back 4 miles down the lake to the wooded trails; six miles of wooded trails in all.