Autumn Splendor and
Many people say autumn is their favorite season in the Northern Wilds. They are enraptured with the autumn foliage—bold swaths of gold and orange that grace craggy hills and reflect in brilliance from mirror=still lakes. They like the way you can be outside and not encounter biting insects. Or how you can hike or paddle in comfortable temps. Some even like the stormy weather, especially the way it creates big waves on Lake Superior.
We like all of that stuff, too, as do our writers and photographers. In this issue of Northern Wilds, we join them on some of their favorite fall adventures. Photographer Mike Furtman takes us into the marsh, which is alive
with wildlife at this time of year. We join hunter Gord Ellis in the woods to learn about how to use trail cameras to record not only game movements, but also comings and goings of all manner of wildlife.
Kayak guide and photographer Bryan Hansel teaches us what makes a wave, while Elle Andra-Warner explains likely happened when the legendary Edmund Fitzgerald went down on a storm-tossed Superior. Be sure to check out the North Notes section for a spectacular photograph of an angry wave racing up the cliff beneath Split Rock Lighthouse.
We also have some news for our readers and advertisers. Beginning in December, Northern Wilds will be a monthly publication. We will merge it with our sister publication, North Shore Highway 61, which covers arts and entertainment and contains our Ultimate Real Estate Guide. The new Northern Wilds will continue to be available free on over 200 locations from Duluth to beyond Thunder Bay, as well as being mailed to all Cook County households.
We are excited about this transition, because we can now create a magazine that truly reflects everything this wonderful place has to offer. Folks who live and visit here love the North Shore and the wilderness beyond for many reasons—the scenery, the wealth of outdoor fun, the vibrant arts scene, good restaurants, interesting people and friendly communities. You’ll find a little bit of all of that in our next issue. We hope you like it.— Shawn Perich and Amber Pratt
The supplemental draft Environmental Impact Statement for PolyMet’s project is scheduled to be released for public review in late November. The report details the plan to open Minnesota’s first copper, nickel, and other precious metals mine near Hoyt Lakes. We look forward to moving toward what everyone in Minnesota wants – a healthy environment and a healthy economy.
Participation in outdoor recreation reached a six-year high in 2012 with 142 million Americans ages 6 and older enjoying the outdoors. That is an increase of about 800,000 outdoor participants since 2011 and equates to a participation rate of 49.4 percent. The findings are part of The Outdoor Foundation’s 2013 Outdoor Recreation Participation Report, the leading report tracking American participation trends in outdoor recreation with a focus on youth and diversity.
over the past five years. The sport increased participation by 211 percent.
• Stand-up paddling had the highest number of new participants in the past year. More than half of standup paddling participants tried the sport for the first time in 2012.
• Almost one-quarter of all outdoor enthusiasts participate in outdoor activities at least twice per week.
measured by number of participants and by number of total annual outings.
• Youth who do not participate in outdoor activities say they are not interested in the outdoors. For young adults, lack of time is a bigger barrier than lack of interest.
activities in elementary school.
• As seen in previous reports, outdoor participation is highest among Caucasians and lowest among African Americans.
• Introducing outdoor recreation and physical activities early in life has a lasting effect. Among adults who are current outdoor participants, 75 percent had physical education and 42 percent enjoyed outdoor
Participation in Outdoor Activities Hits Six-Year High DNR offers fewer wolf licenses, lowers 2013 harvest target
The seventh annual report is based on an online survey of more than 40,000 Americans ages 6 and older, and covers 114 different outdoor activities, making it the largest survey of its kind. The study, which provides an in-depth look at youth, shows mixed results about outdoor participation among America’s youngest generations. While youth and young adult participation remained steady since 2011, adolescent participation dropped. The low participation rate can be attributed to a 6 percent loss in participation among adolescent girls. On the other hand, adolescent boys’ participation continued to rise, adding 3 percentage points since 2010.
Some of the additional findings include:
• While 13 million Americans started participating in outdoor activities in 2012, 12 million stopped. This is a net gain of 1 million total outdoor participants and a churn rate of 6.8 percent.
• The number of total outdoor outings increased, reaching an all-time high. Americans took 12.4 billion outdoor excursions in 2012, up from 11.5 billion excursions in 2011.
• Adventure racing grew the most
• Running, including jogging and trail running, is the most popular activity among Americans when
• Although Hispanic Americans have one of the lowest outdoor participation rates, those who do participate go outside as often as Caucasians, who have the highest participation rate.
A smaller Minnesota wolf population means fewer hunting and trapping licenses will be available when the wolf season opens Saturday, Nov. 9. The Minnesota DNR set the statewide target harvest of wolves at 220, 180 fewer than last season.
Hunters and trappers applied for 2,000 early-season and 1,300 late-season licenses issued by lottery. That’s a reduction from 3,600 early-season and 2,400 lateseason licenses in 2012.
“The changes are a management response to the most-recent wolf population estimate,” said Dan Stark, the DNR’s large carnivore specialist. “As with other game species DNR manages, adjustments are made to regulate hunting pressure and harvest to ensure long-term population sustainability and provide hunting and trapping opportunities.”
Minnesota has the largest wolf population in the lower 48 states. The DNR’s 2013 wolf population survey estimated 2,211 wolves last winter compared to 2,921 in the winter of 2008. The most-recent estimate does not include the birth of as many as 2,600 wolf pups this spring, some of which will survive into winter and be counted in next year’s population.
The DNR manages wolf harvest, in part, through a system of hunting zones. The target harvest in the northwest zone is 145, down from 265 in 2012. The target harvest in the northeast zone is 65, down from 133. The east-central zone target harvest is 10, down from 18. With the possible exception of the east-central zone, those harvest targets will be split between the early and late seasons. The statewide bag limit is one wolf, and licenses are not zone specific.
Wolf licenses cost $30 for residents and $250 for nonresidents. The early season purchase deadline is Friday, Nov. 1, with surplus licenses going on sale at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 6. The late season purchase deadline is Friday, Nov. 22, with surplus licenses going on sale at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 27.
The DNR sets wolf seasons and quotas based on long-term sustainability, as it does with more than 50 other game species, including many other furbearing mammals. The DNR received strong direction from the Minnesota Legislature to conduct a wolf season and manage wolves as a prized and high-value fur species by setting the season when pelts have value.
Annual Split Rock Lighthouse
Beacon Lighting
continuously in the Visitor Center Theater through the afternoon. A second, hour-long film on Great Lakes shipwrecks will be shown continuously on a small monitor in the exhibit gallery of the Visitor Center.
The Fog Signal Building and Lighthouse will be open to the public from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. with costumed guides on duty to greet visitors and provide historic site and shipwreck information. At 4:30 p.m., the lighthouse will be temporarily closed to allow for a ceremony on the lighthouse steps. The ceremony will include the reading of the names of the men lost on the Fitzgerald and the ringing of a ship’s bell. At the conclusion of the ceremony the lighthouse beacon will be switched on, the lighthouse will be reopened and visitors may climb the interior stairs for a rare, close-up view of the lighted, third-order Fresnel lens.
Thunder Bay Holds Second Deer Hunt
A 30-minute film, “The Edmund Fitzgerald Investigation,” will show
On Nov. 10, 1975, the Great Lakes freighter Edmund Fitzgerald was lost with her entire crew of 29 men near Whitefish Bay at the eastern end of Lake Superior. Every Nov. 10, at dusk, the beacon at Split Rock Lighthouse is lit in memory of those men, the famous ship and all the sailors lost on other Great Lakes shipwrecks.
The lighthouse and fog signal building will close at 6 p.m. The beacon will be on until approximately 7 p.m. The special, reduced, historic site admission fee for this event is $7. Children ages 5 and under are free. Visitors are urged to bring flashlights for use after sunset and to dress warmly.
The City of Thunder Bay is holding its second Deer/Bow Hunt, according to Northwest Ontario Sportsman’s Alliance. The hunt was initiated last year and considered a success. Hunting is allowed only on private land where the hunter has previously obtained written permission. Traditional bows and crossbows are allowed. Baiting is allowed from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15. Hunting is only allowed from elevated stands at least 3 meters above the ground. Hunters are encouraged to limit shot distances to under 30 meters and only take “vital” shots to minimize wounding. Maps of open hunting areas and hunting rules are available on the city website, www.thunderb ay.ca.
Angry waves strike the cliff beneath Split Rock Lighthouse, just visible above the trees.
Crossing Borders
Studio Tour 2013
Sept. 27-Oct. 6
Enjoy the fall colors while participating in a free self-guided tour of a select group of professional artist studios located along the North Shore of Highway 61. Learn about the process each artist goes through to create a masterpiece. Artwork will also be available to purchase. A wide array of art will be featured this year such as pottery, weaving, jewelry, glass sculptures, leather, wood carving, metal works and more. Visit www.crossingbordersstudiotour.com for more info.
NHFS Family Weekend
Oct. 17-20
The North House Folk School is offering a lineup of family friendly courses. More than a dozen courses will be offered, including wooden toy making and baking. Minimum ages vary for each course. There will also be a dance, pizza bake and stories around the campfire. For more details, visit www.northhouse.org.
Moose Madness Festival
Oct. 18-20
Moose Madness is taking over Grand Marais with moose-related activities that are fun for the whole family. Signs of moose are all over town; follow the clues to find the Hidden Medallion. Drury Lane Books will be hosting a Full Moose Reading with Tom McCann on the Lakeshore and Murray-theMoose will be around town for photo opportunities. Don’t forget to check out last year’s Northern Wilds Moose Madness Poetry Contest winners. Visit www.grandmarais.com for more info on moose-related activities.
Fall Food & Wine Lover’s Weekend
Nov. 1-2
Enjoy a full-course meal and wine tasting with the annual Fall Food and Wine Lover’s Weekend at Bluefin Grille in Tofte. Start off with a four-course dinner on Friday at 7 p.m. for $75 per person. A wine tasting will be held on Saturday at 1 p.m. for
Guests inspect bowls created by local potters for the annual Food Shelf fundraiser in Grand Marais. | JOAN FARNAM
$35 per person and a five-course dinner will be served at 6 p.m. for $85 per person. Visit www. bluefinbay.com for more details.
Empty Bowls and Silent Auction
Nov. 14
The Grand Marais Art Colony presents the annual Empty Bowls and Silent Auction fundraiser for the Cook County Food Shelf. For a $10 donation, guests can pick out a handmade bowl and fill it with soup made by local restaurants. The silent auction opens with lunch at 11:30 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. Soup will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and again from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Empty Bowls will take place at the First Congregational Church in Grand Marais. Visit www.grandmaraisartcolony.org for more details.
- Oct 17-20, 2013hands on coursework • pizza bake contra dance • storytelling
Girls Gone North Weekend
Nov. 15-17
Need a weekend away from the family? Bluefin Bay presents a weekend retreat just for girls with numerous workshops to attend. Activities include yoga, hiking, music, a spa, a guest speaker and more. For more info, visit www.bluefinbay.com.
Winterer’s Gathering & Arctic Film Festival
November 21-24, 2013
Celebrate the crafts, customs, landscape, history and stories of winter travel and traditional life in the North. The weekend event features speakers, workshops, a winter tent camp, gear swap, community dancing, evening films and more. Featured speaker is Paul Schurke, the founder of Wintergreen Dogsledding Lodge in Ely, who will share his story of retracing Shackleton’s harrowing 1916 journey across Antarctica. Garrett Conover, author of “Beyond the Paddle” and coauthor of the “Snow Walker’s Companion,” will offer sessions on wilderness travel, winter provisioning and writing. Visit www.northhouse.org.
AMSOIL®
Duluth National Snocross
Nov. 29-Dec. 1
Duluth’s Spirit Mountain ski area is host to the biggest snowmobile event of its kind: the AMSOIL Duluth National Snocross. Sanctioned by the International Series of Champions (ISOC), pro riders compete for the prestigious C.J. Ramstad Memorial Cup. Part of the AMSOIL Champion Snocross Series, it’s bright lights, big city, triple
jumps and it all plays out on tons of man-made snow. You can view all of the action from either outdoor bleachers or from inside the cozy chalet. www.VisitDuluth.com
CALENDAR
SEPT. 27-28
Lake Superior 20/20 Studio
Art Tour
Artist studio tour in Lake County www.lakesuperior2020.copm
SEPT. 27-OCT. 6
Crossing Borders
Studio Tour
Artists’ Studios along Hwy. 61 Grand Marais www.crossingbordersstudiotour.com
OCT. 4-5
Dinner aboard the North Shore Scenic Railroad Duluth, 6 p.m. www.northshorescenicrailroad.org
OCT. 11, FRIDAY
Social Dance with Ole
Olsson’s Oldtime Orkestra Log Building. Cook County Community Center
7:30-10:30 p.m. Grand Marais
OCT. 11-12
Oktoberfest
Canadian Lakehead Exhibition Thunder Bay, ON www.thunderbay.ca
OCT. 12, SATURDAY
Night Sky of the Northwoods
Soudan Underground Mine State Park, Tower, MN
7:30 p.m., www.ely.org
Scandinavian Dance Workshop
Log Building. Cook County Community Center
10 a.m. to noon Grand Marais Info: 763-566-8255
7th Annual Fitger’s Harvest Fun & Harvest Run Fitgers, Duluth www.fitgers.com
OCT. 17-20
Family Weekend
North House Folk School Grand Marais, www.northhouse.org
OCT. 18-20
Moose Madness Festival Grand Marais, www.grandmarais.com
OCT. 19-20
Wild Family Weekend
International Wolf Center Ely, www.wolf.org
OCT. 31, THURSDAY
Halloween
NOV. 1-2
26th Annual Gales of November
Canal Park, Duluth, www.lsmma.com
Fall Food & Wine Lover’s Weekend
Bluefin Bay, Tofte www.bluefinbay.com
NOV. 2, SATURDAY
A Wine Affair Community Auditorium Thunder Bay, ON, 5 p.m. www.tickets.tbca.com
NOV. 10, SUNDAY
Beacon Lighting to Commemorate Edmund Fitzgerald Split Rock Lighthouse Two Harbors, 12 p.m. www.splitrocklighthouse.org
NOV. 14, THURSDAY
Empty Bowls and Silent Auction
First Congregational Church Grand Marais, 11:30 a.m. www.grandmaraisartcolony.org
NOV. 15-17
Girl’s Gone North Weekend Bluefin Bay, Tofte www.bluefinbay.com
NOV. 16-17
Art & fine Craft Show
Valhalla Inn, Thunder Bay, ON www.artisansnorthwest.ca
NOV. 21-24
Winterer’s Gathering & Arctic Film Festival
North House Folk School Grand Marais www.northhouse.org
NOV. 23, SATURDAY
Holiday Bazaar & Quilt
Drawing in Schroeder
Cross River Heritage Center Schroeder, 10 a.m. www.crossriverheritage.org
NOV. 23-DEC. 28
Bentleyville “Tour of Lights”
Bayfront Festival Park, Duluth www.bentleyvilleusa.org
NOV. 24-25
Banff Mountain Film Festival 2013 Duluth
NOV. 28, THURSDAY
Thanksgiving
Gobble Gallop Duluth, 9 a.m. www.gobblegallop.com
WEEKLY EVENTS
THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY
William A. Irvin
“Haunted Ship Tours” Duluth www.duluthhauntedship.com
North Shore Scenic
Railroad’s Fall Color Tour Two Harbors 10:30 a.m. www.northshorescenicrailroad.org
What Makes a Wave?
By Bryan Hansel
The most devastating storm on the Great Lakes happened in early November, 1913, when two storm fronts converged. High waves, reportedly 35 feet tall, and winds sunk 19 ships and stranded 19 others. More than 250 people lost their lives. On Nov. 10, 1975, a storm with hurricane-force winds on Lake Superior sank the 728-foot Edmund Fitzgerald and killed its entire crew of 29. Waves that night could have reached 45 feet. There are at least a half a dozen more November storms that caused significant shipwrecks on the Great Lakes, and many of those wrecks
are because of waves. An astute lake watcher may have noticed the correlation between wind and waves, but what exactly creates those waves?
In the fall, two opposing forces create storm systems that meet on the Great Lakes. The dry, polar winds send strong storms south, and the Gulf of Mexico sends warm, moist storms north. The storm fronts meet over the Great Lakes where the waters are still warm from the summer’s heat. Just as over the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic during hurricane season, warmer waters feed the storm systems, causing them to grow in intensity and in some cases become an extratropical cyclone.
These fall storms generate strong winds, often blowing at gale force levels or above, and winds are one of the three factors in wave formation and growth. The other two factors are fetch (or the distance the wind blows over water) and the duration of the blow. Winds that blow longer generate larger waves, so if there’s a gale force wind or above blowing over several days, the waves will grow as long as there’s a long fetch for the wind to blow over. Sailors and kayakers often use the Beaufort wind force scale to help predict the wave height based on the wind speed. The Beaufort scale tells us a Force 8 wind, also known as a gale, blows at 34 to 40 knots and given enough fetch and time can gener-
ate waves averaging from 18 to 25 feet.
When weather reports give the direction of winds, it’s the direction that the wind is blowing out of, and to experience big waves, you’ll want to be on the downwind side of the lake. For example, if the wind is blowing from the northeast at a gale on Lake Superior, then the best place to experience big waves is Duluth, which sits on the southwest corner of the lake, downwind of 300 miles of fetch. That doesn’t mean you won’t see big waves elsewhere, because the Apostle’s will be hammered on a northeast blow, too. Shovel Point in Tettegouche State Park is an amazing place to watch the waves.
Lake Superior’s legendary storms create ocean-like waves. | BRYAN HANSEL
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Beaufort Wind Force Scale
From: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/beaufort.html
The wind speed, duration and fetch aren’t the only factors that shape a wave. When a wave contacts a beach, it breaks and creates either a spilling, plunging or surging breaker. The impressive breakers are the spilling and plunging types. A spilling breaker results from a shallow, gradually slopping beach. As the wave approaches the shore, it touches bottom and gets steeper until it breaks, sending the crest down its face. These types of breakers are gentle and appear as multiple foam-crested waves washing ashore. Many sand beaches on Lake Superior’s south shore have this characteristic. A plunging breaker happens on steeper beaches or at places where the depth changes abruptly; the entire energy of the wave breaks at once and its weight smashes into the beach. Many north shore beaches have this type of breaker.
Perhaps the most exciting breakers to watch occur when a wave meets a cliff or breakwater. The wave reflects back out to sea and can create a chaotic mess
of pyramidal-shaped waves that look like the inside of an egg carton. In some cases, when the incoming and outgoing waves meet it causes an explosive wave that sends breaking water vertically. On other cliffs the waves can break vertically and splash up the cliff face.
This fall, to get into the right place at the right time, check the near-shore marine forecasts on Lake Superior for the downwind sides of the lake (The Weather Underground makes it easy: http://www.wunderground.com/ MAR/LS/141.html). NOAA’s forecasts give the predicted wave height for each day. When the waves look good, especially when they get above 10 feet, it’s time to make a road trip for a little wave watching.
Bryan Hansel is a writer, photographer and sea kayaking instructor who lives in Grand Marais. During the fall, you can find him either behind the camera or launching his sea kayak into the waves on Lake Superior. His website is www.bryanhansel.com.
STORM FESTIVAL
More of what you love... More often.
Canadian Corps of Voyageurs
B ringing H istory A live
By Elle Andra-Warner
Ever wonder what it must have been like to be in the voyageur militia about 200 years ago, or being on the battlefield during the War of 1812 as a redcoat (British) soldier? In Thunder Bay, you can go back in time and ‘’live’’ that history with members of Canada’s longest continuous historical re -enactment group, the Canadian Corps of Voyageurs.
Bert Winterburn and Chris Mills are two of the Corps’ long-time members. Winterburn became involved in 1979 after he purchased a flintlock musket at the Hudson’s Bay Company store in Winnipeg and the Canadian Corps of Voyageurs at Fort William Historical Park taught him how to use it. In 1981, Mills’ interest in Canadian history led him to join the corps after first being a junior interpreter at Fort William Historical Park, the re-constructed inland headquarters of the North West Company (NWC) located on the outskirts of Thunder Bay.
The group gets its name from the original Canadian Corps of Voyageurs formed in October 1812 by NWC’s chief director William McGillivray. He was given the rank of lieutenant colonel and instructed to form a company of about 500 NWC voyageurs in Lachine, Quebec, with officers to be selected from the Scottish gentlemen partners and clerks of the NWC. The historical corps was disbanded in March 1813, although voyageurs remained active in the war.
The modern-day Canadian Corps of Voyageurs was founded in 1976, with their “home” being Fort William Historical Park. Today’s corps is a group of about 40 men, women and children volunteers who re-enact the military history of Canada during the War of 1812 and the early 1800s in North America, in particular the NWC voyageur militia, De Meuron’s Regiment and British infantry. In addition to events at the fort, the corps takes part in re-enactments in United States and other parts of Canada.
Throughout the year, the corps assists the fort with
different school programs that focus on life at Fort William and Upper Canada during the early 1800s, as well as providing interpretive activities in soldierly skills including drilling, musketry and artillery. And during the fort’s annual Voyageur Winter Carnival, visitors can shoot a musket at the corps’ shooting booth for a small fee.
The corps participates in about a dozen special events and demonstrations each year, both at the fort and in the community. You’ll see them at Thunder Bay events as an honour guard; providing heritage colour; firing salutes to start races, golf tournaments and charity events, and welcoming ships, including Canadian warships and international tall ships (like the HMS Bounty in 2010).
military discipline.
For the past few years, they have provided dramatic re-enactments at the fort of the historic Siege of Fort William and the fictitious Battle of Fort William during the War of 1812. It all seems real when you smell the gunpowder, observe the grey haze, see the red coats, hear the shouted commands and watch the
“We are always looking for new members and invite them to come out to the Fort, be a voyageur and experience the Corps. Take some time, a year or so, to see how you like it,” says Winterburn.
The Canadian Corps of Voyageurs are a dedicated group of volunteers, passionate about Canadian history and enthusiastic about portraying life, both do -
is a full service yarn shop supplying the community with beautiful yarns, books, notions & classes.
Check out our website and blog for classes & events website: www.yarnharborduluth.com or find us on Facebook! blog: yarnharbor.wordpress.com
Yarn Harbor
Thunder Bay’s Canadian Corp not only perform at re-enactments, but also at local events.
The School Where Kids Learn Outside
By Shawn Perich
Veteran rescue team and ski patrol member Pete Smerud of Finland has a story about an unusual call for assistance he received at the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, of which he is the executive director. He was told a young student was complaining of a lower leg injury after returning from a hike. But talking to the boy, he learned it wasn’t really an injury.
“When I examined him, it turned out he was sore. He had never been sore before,” Smerud said.
The boy was a victim of exercise. The 2½-mile hike was the most physical activity he had ever experienced. Smerud tells the story to illustrate the challenge of delivering environmental education to kids who
have spent little or no time in the outdoors. The challenge applies not only to 12-year-olds, but also to college students pursuing master’s degrees in environmental education or families participating in naturalist programs held at North Shore resorts.
Smerud told me about these challenges as we hiked around the dramatically scenic Wolf Ridge property. The center began 40 years ago in Isabella and moved to its present location on a high ridge above Lake Superior in 1988. Through acquisitions and land exchanges, Wolf Ridge now has 2,000 forested acres containing a trout stream, two lakes and a couple of ridges high enough to be called mountains. We climbed to the top of one of them, Mount Marshall, named for the late Duluth philanthropists Caroline and Julia Marshall, who helped acquire much of the property.
Standing on a rocky knob, we could look one direction for a sweeping view of Lake Superior and then another direction toward Wolf Lake and forested hills beyond.
“When the bugs aren’t too bad, we’ll take kids out here to spend a night camping without a tent,” Smerud explained. “They wake up the next morning to the sun rising over Lake Superior.”
While such an experience would be a great way for just about anyone to start the day, for many kids visiting Wolf Ridge, it may their first chance to connect with nature. Some kids may have never before been outdoors at night, and some, coming from urban environments, may see stars for the first time. Many kids haven’t experienced what today is called “unstructured time.” In the not-so-dis-
tant past, we called it “playing outside” Smerud said Wolf Ridge has offered an art class called “Earthworks,” where students go outside and use natural materials to create art intended not be permanent, but to rot or wash away, like a drawing in beach sand. Basically, it’s an opportunity for kids to discover nature through play. Some might build a fort; others might make a decoration with rocks and moss. All get some hands-on time with nature. Along the same lines, a popular resort naturalist program is a two-hour agates class where kids and their parents wander on a Lake Superior beach and pick up rocks.
Wolf Ridge also teaches kids outdoor skills such as paddling and rock climbing. In winter, they have a chance to learn what goes on beneath the ice of a frozen lake, including spending
time inside a dark house on Wolf Lake watching perch through a large hole in the ice. If they choose, they can even try ice-fishing for perch at the end of the class. Nordic skiing is popular, too. Every winter, 6,000 kids are introduced to cross-country skiing at Wolf Ridge. Indoors, the center offers classes that have changed with the times. Environmental education began with the ecology movement of the 1960s as a way for kids to learn about nature and science. By the 1980s, classes included a cultural history of how people have lived on and used the land. Teachers, who attend Wolf Ridge with their students, often incorporate what the kids learn at Wolf Ridge into the lesson plan for the entire school year in topics such as Minnesota history.
In 1988, the center held its first intergenerational environmental education programs, inviting grandparents to take classes with their grandchildren. Although some educators questioned whether the classes would work, Smerud said they’ve been tremendously successful.
“The grandparent-child bond gives
kids an entry into nature,” he said. “Grandparents see the need for kids to make that connection.”
The concept of sustainability was added in the 1990s with a class called Conservation Lifestyles, where students learned how aspects of their daily lives affect the environment. By the 2000s, climate change, renewable energy and even the relationship between food and farming were included in lesson plans. In case you were wondering, children also learn about the roles hunting and trapping play in wildlife management.
A forest ecology class applies the concept of sustainability to a real-world situation. The 12-year-old students go into the woods and learn about forest management activities, including timber harvest and reforestation. Back in the classroom, they are given a map of the forest, with instructions to design a timber harvest. Some of the students play the roles of foresters; others are wildlife managers, water resources specialists or ecologists. All are told they need to protect water quality and habitat while meeting the forester’s harvest goals. Before the exercise is complete,
12-year-old foresters and ecologists may be shouting at one another as they attempt resolve issues. After the class, students are asked how they think adults deal with the same issues when setting up timber sales. They are surprised to learn adults may start shouting, too.
If there is any evidence that environmental education makes a difference, it’s that 12-year-olds often return during their college years for part of their coursework for University of Minnesota Duluth’s master’s program in environmental education. Smerud can name many former students and interns who have gone on to careers in natural resources or similar fields. Wolf Ridge provides education to about 15,000 annually, including 12,000 school kids. This has a noticeable ripple effect on the North Shore, which parents often discov er for the first time when their kids attend the center.
“We introduce thousands of families to the North Shore every year,” Smerud said.
While a few days of environmental education can’t replace what previous generations learned simply from playing outside, it’s about the best option for giving kids an introduction to the outdoors. In an era when we won-
door activities, it’s good to know kids still have chance, at least once, to see the nighttime stars
Autumn Autumn Autumn
In the Marsh In the Marsh In the Marsh
Through My Lens
BY MICHAEL FURTMAN
Hunters know that one of the best places to be in autumn is in the marsh.
Why? Because in the fall, marshes provide migration stops for birds, are favorite haunts of predators, and are a hotbed of activity for many other creatures preparing for winter or fleeing ahead of it.
Here in Northern Wilds country, with a landscape often dominated by rocky shored lakes and rivers, shallow marshes are a magnet for wildlife. This is true year round, but in autumn we see an influx of nonresident species, adding to the abundant resident wildlife. In September, warblers and other songbirds often utilize brushy perches along the shores because many depend upon insects for food, and while the large summer hatches of bugs are largely gone, the birds know there are always hatches occurring right up until freeze-up. Mallards and other ducks, as well as sora rails, look for patches of wild rice, and migrating tundra swans root in the shallows for tubers. Even species not so common in our area, like sandhill cranes, pause here during migration. It is the best time of year to see the rusty blackbird, which of its kindred is the most beautiful. And since marshes are typically connected by streams, they are choice areas of travel by many non-migrating, local wildlife. White-tailed deer frequently move along these corridors, and I’ve noted that big bucks often choose a wetland’s dense stands of grass, brush and cattails as safe havens.
For all these reasons, I hang out on marshy ponds and creeks in the fall, ready to photograph whatever may come my way. Rarely do I come away without a full flash card, and the photos are frequently not of the critter that I had intended to photograph.
Last September, I went to a marsh in hopes of photographing the handful of handsome drake wigeon -- a species not often seen in our area -- that had appeared a day before. The light had been awful that day, so I returned the next morning. Although the ducks were there, what drew my attention instead was a mink hunting the opposite shoreline. It would slip into the water, disappear below, and emerge with a leopard frog nearly every time. What surprised me is that instead of eating the frogs, it was scampering to a hollow stump and stashing them. I’d never heard of such behavior.
I moved around the shoreline quickly and quietly each time it disappeared beneath the surface, until I reached the spot where it would emerge on its way to the stump. It spotted me and hid, but not before I was able to get a few shots as it carried a frog like a Labrador retriever fetching a duck.
On a foggy October morning, I was wandering up a shallow creek that led to the shores of a marsh. I could hear the distinctive call of sandhill cranes but couldn’t see them over the tall cattails. Fortunately, the marsh was formed by a tall beaver dam, and when I climbed up it, I could see the handsome cranes waded back
and forth feeding in their stark gray winter plumage. No doubt they had roosted in the marsh overnight, a favorite means of avoiding predators. I quietly took photos while they fed, then backed away to let them do their thing.
I had been so intent sneaking up on them that I hadn’t realized until I turned away that I had walked by a handsome whitetail buck bedded in marsh grass. He startled me as he lifted his regal head, but did grant me a couple of photos as the sun, now burning off the fog, painted the grass and the buck with its warm rays.
A Trail Camera Primer
For most of my life, when I saw a moose trail, paw print or buck scrape, I had to use my imagination to picture what had been there previously. Was the buck a huge racked brute, or spindly spike? Was the moose trail used only occasionally, or quite regularly? There is something to be said for mystery and imagination. However, seeing an actual picture of a bull walking down that very same trail in the middle of the night, is pretty cool. In 2013, that type of picture is possible thanks to the modern trail camera.
Canadian Trails
BY GORD ELLIS
batteries. Cheaper cameras can drain these types of batteries in just a week or two. In cold weather, it may be just days before the units are dead. Some units do allow you to attach an external 12 v battery power source, and that can help. These external batteries are bulky and heavy. I’ve found trail cameras that use eight AA alkaline batteries to generally be more reliable and better in cold weather.
Flash/Infra Red
Trail cameras are an incredible tool for the hunter. However, they have also been adopted by biologists and conservation groups around the globe. Several years ago, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources used them to help document the presence of wolverine near Red Lake and elsewhere. The trail cams were set up near bait sites, and several wolverine were caught on camera.
If you have ever played around with a trail camera, you likely know how addictive they can be. If you have never bought a trail cam, but are considering it, there are a few things to consider.
Battery Life
Trail cameras can be bought for as little as $50, and some are even less online. In the vast majority of cases, these cheap units are powered using C or even D
When trail cameras first appeared, all but the most expensive models used an old fashioned camera flash for night shots. Today, the opposite is true. Most trail cams now use infrared flash technology. Not having a flash blasting animals in the middle of night is a good thing. Infra red also uses less battery power, and the night shots also seem marginally better with infra red. There are still trail cameras out there that use old-school flash, and for the most part, the critters do seem to get used to it.
Picture Resolution
As is the case when buying any digital camera, the better the resolution of a trail cam, the more money you spend. Higher pixel counts allow for a larger and more detailed image. Camera resolution is measured in mega pixels (mp). So a 12-mp trail camera would be on the
Quality Outdoor Experiences
· Ice-fishing on remote inland lakes
· Catch walleyes, smallmouth bass, and pike
· Catch-and-release for wild brook trout
· One-on-one trophy whitetails
· Bow, rifle, & muzzle-loader · Wolf hunting
high resolution side, while a 1 or 2 mp resolution would be low. Unless you expect the picture to end up in a magazine format, or printed as an 8x10, you don’t need to break the bank here. A quality image is usually found somewhere between 3 and 6 mega pixels. Many trail cameras allow you to alter the resolution as well, so you can dial it back or improve it, depending on the situation. A 4-mp resolution trail cam is usually fine.
Trigger Speed
Faster is better, right? When it comes to trigger speed, that is generally the case. In my experience, this is the main problem with lower-priced trail cams. A slow trigger speed means the animals may be out of the picture before the shutter fires. Or the subject of the picture may be ultra blurry. I’ve seen cameras that will only capture a decent picture if the animal is standing stock still. The faster the trigger speed, the better the chance of capturing Mr Big dashing by your stand. Once again, many units today allow you to turn up or slow down the trigger speed, depending on the game you are recording.
Trail Cam Placement
Most trail cams recommend a range between 10-15 feet from the area you want to focus on. While getting the camera back a ways might give you a better view of the entire area -- a field for instance -- it’s possible you may end up with a lot of shots of birds, squirrels and waving grass.
It’s also a good idea to keep the camera as scent free as you can. Bears will try and eat a camera that has any food smells on it. I’ve had them bite the casing. The nose of a whitetail is so sensitive they can smell even the smallest amount of human odor. A simple pair of gloves will reduce the transfer of smells to a camera when you pull the SD card.
When you check your trail cam, spend as little time as possible actually in the area you’re monitoring. Save the picture browsing for the truck or home computer. This is easier to do, thanks to removable SD cards. Carry extra
batteries as well, as sooner or later you will find them dead. Having a trail cam unit with dead batteries is very frustrating but extremely common. Use a trail cam in one place for long enough, and you will see patterns emerge. You’ll see deer activity increase during the rut and decrease as winter approaches. Since I’ve started using my trail cams, there have been pics of bucks fighting, owls grabbing mice, and bears sniffing the camera. All very cool stuff. Trail cameras really do open up the wilderness world in a unique and entertaining way.
A trail camera strapped to a tree can photograph passing wildlife day and night.
A Mama moose and calf…going away.
Whitetail bucks spar under the cover of darkness.
Ice Gear 2014
By Javier Serna
It’s never too soon for hardcore hardwater anglers to start thinking and talking about their favorite pastime, and now is the season that many of this winter’s new offerings are released.
Every year, companies that specialize in ice fishing try to outdo themselves and their competition, and this year is no exception.
Here’s a sampling of some of the new gear available this winter.
Electronics
After a couple of quiet years in the new offerings department, Vexilar is launching a couple of products sure to get the attention of ice anglers.
The most intriguing of the two is the Fishphone ($189.95), which turns your smartphone (iPhone or Android) into a underwater camera monitor. The software is smart enough to allow you to record video or take still images and send them along to friends via e-mail or text. Cell phone coverage isn’t needed for it to function either.
Vexilar also is releasing a new flasher unit, the FLX28 ($639.95 with an Ultra Pack; $599.95 with a Pro Pack). This new unit has three digital layers, includ-
ing the outer ring that marks fish, lures and depth, as always. The middle layer digitally marks the depth increments depending on the setting, while the middle layer tells you what range setting you are at. New to this device are five color palettes. The device also has an auto range mode, that will automatically select the best range, though it can be overridden.
Augers
Clam, known for its high-quality ice shelters, is spreading its wings into other areas of the ice fishing game. Its gift to the ice auger world is an auger conversion kit and auger ($149.99), which converts most 18volt cordless drills, of many brand types, into an ice auger that can drill 35 holes through 20 inches of ice on one charge (depending on your drill and battery).
Strikemaster launched its first fourstroke engine auger last year, and this season will add a 10-inch version ($599.99) to its auger, powered by a Honda 35cc Lite engine. It’s the lightest 10-inch auger on the market, weighing in at 26 pounds.
Shelter
Clam was thinking about the mobile ice angler when it designed its new Warrior model ($529.99). Not only does it come with a custom travel cover, keeping snow out while travelling, especially for those tugging it at high
speeds behind a sled. But is also has a special mount on top that keeps your auger securely fastened while moving. It’s a roomy shelter, with 20 square feet of fishable area.
Otter has redesigned its line of shelters and introduced the Pro XT1200 ($679.99$1,099.99), a fully thermal line that is made in four sizes from a wide one-man model to a three-man size. Also new is the XT650 ($599.99 - $799.99), a thermal top model available in three sizes, from one man to three man.
Baits
VMC has long held a high reputation among soft water anglers for providing high-quality, chemically sharpened hooks. There’s been little of that quality available to ice anglers.
Now VMC is launching itself into the ice fishing lure market, with a set of spoons and jigs featuring their incredibly sharp hooks. There will be four types of spoons (Flash Champ, Tingler, Tumbler and Rattle spoons, $3.69-$4.99) and five jigs (Minnow, Tear Drop, Pug Bug, Larvae and Wax Tail jigs, $1.99-$3.29) that come in a variety of sizes to tackle everything from panfish to pike.
Northland Tackle has a handful of new offerings tailored towards walleye anglers, including a tweak to its popular Buckshot Rattle Spoon. The Buckshot Glider Spoon ($5.99) has wings, giving it a different, more horizontal action, especially on the fall.
Also of interest to walleye anglers will be a couple of new soft plastic offerings under its new Spoon Dippers ($3.49) line using its impregnated Impulse technology. As the name suggests, these are designed to be tipped on spoons. The Perch Eye will give Minnesota anglers an edge they can’t legally have otherwise, as it’s illegal to use an actual perch eye for bait. The soft plastic imitation will keep you legal. The other offering is called Minnow Head, giving anglers a non-perishable live bait alternative to the common practice of tipping spoons with the pinched off head of a minnow.
Clam has also jumped into the ice fishing lure game, with several new baits, including three designed for walleye including the Bomb Spoon ($3.99), Blade Spoon ($3.99) and Pyscho Shad ($7.99).
The Bomb Spoon has an epoxy- and gem-adorned treble hook that allows lots of water to be covered vertically. The Blade Spoon flutters and is more of a horizontal offering. Both of these spoons are available in 1/8- and ¼-ounce sizes. The Psycho Shad is a lipless hard water crankbait that gets its name from its unpredictable nature. Drop it on a slack line and it slowly quivers down the water column.
Clam Ice Auger Conversion Kit
Clam Warrior and Auger
Clam Warrior
Otter Lodge
VMC Pug Bug
Northland Buckshot Glider
Clam Bomb Spoon
A Strange Year in the Garden
Joan Farnam
Gardeners got a taste of what climate change can mean to their vegetable production this year. They also had lessons on micro-climates and how diverse they are on the North Shore. Both played a role in what David Abazs of Round River Farms in Finland calls a “weird year.”
It sure has had its ups and downs.
the Accidental Gardener
BY JOAN FARNAM
At this writing, in late August, it’s hot and humid in Grand Marais. Hot being 75 degrees with 80 percent humidity. Over the hill on the Gunflint Trail, it’s in the mid-80s with similar humidities.
In short, great weather for growing tomatoes and squash.
But this weather didn’t kick in on the North Shore until mid-August, two
weeks ago.
Up until then, the growing season has been a puzzler.
In late May and June, for example, it was cold and rainy with very little sun. At one point, I started to think about nuclear winter. Everything you planted just sat there and didn’t grow at all, even the cool-loving vegetables like broccoli and peas. They need sunlight, and they weren’t getting any.
The ground was really cold, too, so germination was an issue for many.
Peas, which technically can be planted as soon as the ground can be worked, didn’t even germinate for some gardeners, and they had to replant, sometimes more than once.
And when the peas finally came up,
Do You Own Land?
they didn’t start really growing until sometime in late June. Carrots struggled, too.
And the stories people tell about their gardens are so different, depending on where they are. Close to the Lake Superior, it’s always cooler, but this year, that meant that highs were in the 40s rather than the 50s. That does not make a tomato plant very happy.
But, over the hill that surrounds the Big Lake, gardeners reported temps in the high 50s and 60s, good for everything. But they also almost got nipped by frost in July.
And then there are those, like Jay Andersen, who gardens in what we call the Banana Belt, a micro-climate a few miles from Lake Superior just below the crest of the hill, who said he didn’t notice any anomalies in his garden this year at all. Everything was growing as usual.
Meanwhile in Hovland, which is clos-
er to Lake Superior, spinach was still growing like crazy until this heat spell in mid-August. No one there can usually depend on eating spinach or lettuce out of their gardens in August, but this year they could.
Flowers have their stories, too. Louise Kondakow, who works at Vanderwees Home & Garden in Thunder Bay and is an experienced and passionate gardener, said she has never had day lilies in full bloom at the end of August.
“It’s been a very, very strange year,” she said.
The irony is that that as soon as it warmed up and the sun came out, many crops just exploded. At Round River Farm, for example, which has a CSA (Community Sustainable Agriculture), they filled their members’ boxes with 15 different kinds of vegetables over the Labor Day weekend, including peas and beans. Their sweet corn was ready, as
Taste of the North
Venison Mushroom Simmer
From Best of the Best from Minnesota Cookbook
This recipe originally came from the “Maple Hill Cookbook”, published in Hibbing, Minnesota in 1992.
2 pounds venison steak, cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons shortening
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 (4-ounce) can undrained mushroom pieces
2 beef bouillon cubes
it usually is this time of year, but the tomatoes and squash are three weeks behind.
These stories of a strange year in the garden can be repeated by everyone on the North Shore, and we’re just going to have to get used it, Kondakow said.
Climate change is here, and what that means is that the weather won’t be predictable. “We’ve got to roll with the punches,” she said. “It’s going to put gardeners to the test.”
Row covers should be ready all season, and planting different varieties of the same vegetable could help gardeners hedge their bets a little, said Diane Booth, a gardener and Cook County’s extension agent.
In short, we don’t know what’s coming down the pike—be ready for anything. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a late frost this year—my winter squash could really use a little more time.
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
2 1/2 cups water 1/4 cup cornstarch
In large skillet or wok, brown meat in shortening. Add onion and garlic; cook until tender. Add soy sauce, mushrooms, bouillon, salt and pepper, and 2 cups of
Finally! A decent harvest. | JOAN FARNAM
Cascades Restaurant
BWCA Reader
Edited by Barry J. Johnson
The BWCA ReAdeR L.L.C., 2013, $11.99
Editor Barry J. Johnson has collected a range of essays about the canoe country from amateur and professional writers. Most are engaging tales about the adventures that occur on canoe trips, including the memories of people who traveled there before it was designated by Congress as a wilderness area. Interspersed throughout the book are BWCA trivia quizzes and historical information. All told, the book is a great read for any canoe tripper on your Christmas list. It’s available at a handful of outdoor stores and at BWCAReader.com.—Shawn Perich
Dutch Oven Breads
By Mark Hansen
hoBBLe CReek PRess, 2013, $14.99
If you thought the bread machine was a modern invention, guess again. You can bake bread in your backyard with traditional cookware—a Dutch oven. The author has written and blogged extensively about Dutch oven cooking. The book explains how to bake various breads with a “black pot” and has recipes, too.—Shawn Perich
Gut It Cut It Cook It
By Al Cambronne and Eric Fromm
kRAuse PuBLiCATions, 2012, $24.99
This is one of the best instructional books for home venison processing, because Cambronne is an experienced technical writer and the author of training manuals. Well illustrated with color photos, the book offers clear, do-it-yourself instructions for skinning, butchering and packaging a deer. It also includes a companion CD that contains 50 venison recipes not found in the book. While a novice may still want the assistance of an experienced mentor when cutting up a deer for the first time, with this book, you can do it on your own.—Shawn Perich
Pow Wow Summer
A FAMILY CELEBRATES THE CIRCLE OF LIFE
By Marcie Rendon
Photos by Cheryl Walsh Bellville
MinnesoTA hisToRiCAL soCieT y PRess, 2013, $7.95
Following an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) family through a year of winter preparations and then a summer of attending pow wows, this book gives a fascinating glimpse into culture of northern Minnesota’s native people. Color photographs breathe life into the book, which is written for both young and adult readers. Very likely, most readers will consider attending a pow wow next summer.—Shawn Perich
Sweet Corn Spectacular
By Marie Porter MinnesoTA hisToRiCAL
soCieT y PRess, 2013, $16.95
We got this book a little late in the season for a summer review, better now than never. The author professes to be married to the King of Corn Freaks, a man who can eat corn with every meal. This has led her to experiment with preparing and cooking corn. The book has over 70 corn recipes, from sweet corn quiche to cream puffs with filled with a sweet corn pastry cream.—Shawn Perich
Shimano Spinning
Rod and Reel
I spent the summer fishing for bass and walleyes with a Shimano Saros 2500F spinning reel matched with Shimano’s 7-foot Compre CPS W70 MC twopiece rod. It’s balanced, medium-light outfit well-suited to light tackle fishing. The rod was sensitive, yet had the backbone to handle a 3-pound smallmouth. Like all Shimano reels, the Saros 2500F has a smooth action and consistent drag. Alas, I’d didn’t catch any whoppers to give the rig a real workout, but I have no doubt it is up to the task. It’s a welcome addition to my fishing tackle arsenal.
—Shawn Perich
By Deane Morrison UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA STARWATCH
October - November 2013
This fall the astronomy world eagerly awaits the spectacle of Comet ISON’s maiden voyage through the inner solar system.
ISON is speeding in from the farthest reach of the solar system, a home for comets called the Oort Cloud. On Oct. 1 it sails above Mars in the eastern predawn sky, an event that will, if we’re lucky, be imaged by the Mars
Curiosity. In early November it slices down through the plane of Earth’s orbit and passes Mercury and Saturn low in the east as it plummets toward the sun.
The comet makes a hairpin turn around the sun on Nov. 28, rising steeply into the northern sky as it begins its return journey. It’ll slice its way up through the plane of Earth’s orbit and appear straight above us in December.
ISON’s brightness is unpredictable, so follow the news as the comet’s saga unfolds. An animation of ISON’s orbit is at http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/ comet_ison/, a website of NASA’s twin STEREO spacecraft.
While ISON grabs headlines, Venus quietly climbs a bit higher above the sunset horizon, setting nearly three hours after the sun by Nov. 30. In the east, Jupiter, in Gemini, rises earlier each night as Earth gains on it in the orbital race. Jupiter glows amid the cluster of bright winter stars as they begin to invade the evening sky.
October’s full hunter’s moon rises, beautifully round, on the 18th. But November’s full beaver moon, shining the night of the 17th-18th, unfortunately interferes with the annual Leonid meteor shower.
Through it all, the Great Square of Pegasus dominates the southern sky. The line of stars extending northeast from the Square’s northeast corner marks the constellation Andromeda, and above the line, not quite halfway to W-shaped Cassiopeia, is the faint smudge of the Andromeda Galaxy. Our Milky Way’s closest neighbor, the galaxy appears almost directly overhead during prime evening viewing hours in October and November.
The University of Minnesota offers public viewings of the night sky at its Duluth campus. For more information and viewing schedules, see: Duluth, Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium: www.d.umn.edu/planet
Edmund Fitzgerald: The Great Lakes Legend That Keeps Going and Growing
By Elle Andra-Warner
The story of the Edmund Fitzgerald is known throughout the world, and, even 38 years after its tragic end, continues to make news whenever there is another investigation into the cause for its sinking, or perhaps a new book, film or exhibit.
Strange Tales
BY ELLE ANDRA-WARNER
Shortly after 7 p.m. on Nov. 10, 1975, the 729feet bulk cargo vessel Edmund Fitzgerald plummeted 530 feet to the bottom of Lake Superior just 17 miles from the entrance of Whitefish Point, Mich. She took with her all of the 29-man crew, including Capt. Ernest McSorley. No distress call was heard, and there were no witnesses.
It wasn’t the largest marine disaster on the lake (more than 45 lives were lost Nov. 7, 1885, when the Algoma wrecked near Isle Royale), but thanks largely to the haunting ballad, “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, the Edmund Fitzgerald has become the most famous shipwreck of the Great Lakes.
A marine casualty report by U.S. Coast Guard put blame on the ship’s crew for improperly fastening the hatches, causing her to take on water during the violent seas. A controversial decision, it was rejected by most of the maritime community, many who felt the Fitzgerald, which was long overdue for repairs and refit, should not have been sailing that last voyage.
What really happened to the Fitzgerald during the brutal blizzard has become one of the great maritime
mysteries. Many theories, books and studies have fuelled the making of the legend and the public’s continuing interest. There was even an academic article, published in June 2013, examining why the public continues to be enthralled by the Fitzgerald—“Classical Tragedy and the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald: Why the Legend Lives on” (Jacqueline Justice, Journal of American Culture, 2013).
So, what does keep the legend going and growing? Here’s an overview of some “legend-keepers.”
• One stimulus for the past 25 years –longer than the 17 years the Fitzgerald sailed – comes from the Great Lakes Brewing Company’s award-winning Edmund Fitzgerald Porter.
Although the Edmund Fitzgerald went down 38 years ago, the legends surrounding the ship’s fate remain alive. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
• An exhibit, open until Oct. 31, at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, Whitefish Point, Mich., features images of the Fitzgerald taken by amateur photographers.
• Alongside the exhibit is a unique display—the world’s largest known LEGO model replica of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Measuring more than 12feet long, it was created by Kalamazoo maritime historian and high school teacher John R. Beck, using 80,000 pieces of LEGOs.
The search to solve the mystery of why the Fitzgerald sank – and debunk the Coast Guard findings -- was taken on by the famous father-and-son shipwreck dive team, Mike and Warren Fletcher. For their 2010 TV series, “Dive Detectives”, they consulted with experts and used wave-generating technology at the Canadian National Research Council’s Institute for Ocean Technology to simulate the actual storm conditions faced by the Fitzgerald. Their
conclusion: It was a rogue wave—a massive wall of water perhaps 50-60 feet high – that slammed the already unstable vessel and caused her to go down.
The rogue wave theory researched by the Fletchers was so compelling that Gordon Lightfoot changed a line of his lyrics in “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” whenever he sings it in concerts.
Adding his voice to the ongoing discussions is a member of the original team that designed the Fitzgerald, Raymond Ramsey, a retired naval architect and author of “SS Edmund Fitzgerald: Requiem for the Toledo Express” (2010). He suggests that the Fitzgerald was not seaworthy on her last voyage.
In an Nov. 12, 2009, article in the Grosse Point News, Ramsey said, “After she was delivered, the Coast Guard authorized the ship to carry more cargo. But they did not do any structural modifications. So, you had an already questionable hull compounded by carrying another 4,000 tons of cargo. Something had to give.”
And the Fitzgerald story may not be finished. In a March 2013 report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Fitzgerald is listed as one of 87 wrecks that “pose a potential pollution threat” to US waters (she lies in Canadian waters but close enough to pollute American waters). NOAA recommends that ‘’the site be noted in the Area Contingency Plans so that if a mystery spill is reported in the general area, this vessel could be investigated as a source.”
After 38 years, we still don’t know what really happened to the Fitzgerald. Could it happen again? I asked some veteran Great Lakes captains. Their answer? “Yes.”
Towering Pines Canopy Tour
Towering Pines Canopy Tour at Gunflint Lodge is the most exciting new way to experience the wilderness get a bird’s-eye view plus a thrilling ride through the treetops! It’s a two-and-a-half hour nature adventure led by two sky guides.
Open daily April 26th to November 11th.
$79.00 per person Call 218-388-2296 for reservations. Breakfast, lunch and dinner available, too.
Gunflint Lodge is 43 miles up the Gunflint Trail from Grand Marais.
Minimum age is 10; maximum weight/person is 240 lbs.
Welcome to Golden Eagle Lodge, a family oriented, year round resort located on the historic Gunflint Trail of Northeastern Minnesota. We are on the north shores of Flour Lake surrounded by the Superior National Forest; as we are the only residents on the lake, you can look forward to the quiet and solitude offered only from the true wilderness setting. We offer modern, housekeeping cabins to ensure comfort during your stay in the North Woods.
Each season has something special to offer; excellent fishing and canoeing in Summer and nationallyrenowned Nordic Cross-Country Skiing in Winter.
Our 4 Seasons page will describe in detail how each season can help shape your vacation.
Try our 9-site campground which offers a quiet and personal service; each site comes equipped with water and electric hookups. We go out of our way to ensure every aspect of your visit will convince you to come back and see us again.
We know much time, effort, and expense is invested in a vacation, and we would be honored if you considered us as your vacation destination. You won’t be disappointed!