Dreaming of the Summer

In an effort to counteract the hot weather I expect to experience this coming summer I decided to set us up for a big cool down ahead of time. Not that it's possible to gain a head start that will magically allow me to store coolness today as an antidote to being warm this summer.  Wouldn't that be nice?  But you can't blame a guy for wishing for these things and even though I know it's impossible to store comfort for future use, I went ahead and tried anyway.  How did I do this?   I planned a family outing to go snowmobiling in the cold and snowy north of Minnesota. 

I know most of my friends know about snowmobiling and I'll try not to bore them but if this is new to you then I hope you'll know more about it when you're finished here.  And if your wondering what this has to do with a boat trip to the Gulf of Mexico I'll make a link by showing you where the Blue Fin boat and my snowmobile crossed the same path.

Six of us made a trip to Crane Lake, MN, rented three snowmobiles, and spent a day out in the cold and snow cruising the wild trails and establishments. (The establishments can be wild too with patrons enjoying adult beverages on weekend evenings.) The group included son Matt and girlfriend Erin, daughter Ellie and boyfriend Aaron, wife Mary and myself. We paired up on two- person snowmobiles and spent most of Sunday Feb 17 traveling the trails near the Minnesota-Canada border.

 A large part of our journey was through Voyageurs National Park and some of it was through state forests and road right-of-ways. About 60% of the time we travel on frozen lakes and the rest is on trails and forest roads. The establishments I mentioned above are conveniently spaced about 20 miles apart and make nice gas, food, drink, and warm up stops. In total we spent the better part of 9 hours outdoors speeding about in the snow and traveled a distance totaling about 120 miles.

There is no real purpose to this variety of recreational snowmobiling but I do believe some make it a goal to see how many refreshment stops are possible in a one day period. While I'll not be critical of them for their passions, I must say that I like snowmobiling as it is something I do infrequently and it's most enjoyable to see outdoor scenery in this way that's different than any other. It allows one to get to places that would be nearly impossible to traverse without the ground and lake surfaces being solidly frozen.

I marvel at the seemingly impossible task a snowmobile is able to accomplish. Fifty years ago no one would have thought it possible to glide 2 people and a machine across the snow at speeds over 50 MPH. To appreciate this you only need to drive off into the wilderness and step off your snowmobile. If you begin walking through the snow you quickly realize that a distance of just a mile or two would strain all but the most fit among us to the limit of our endurance. You are trapped and totally dependent on the machine. The thought of this adds to the sense of adventure but then having an extra machine or two along on the trip softens any concern in this area. I also marvel at the ability of a city-slicker like myself to get out into such remote places by simply renting a machine and heading on out. You can be many miles into the wilderness, to places impossible to reach, and in less than friendly weather.  I'm quite sure I wouldn't be able to do this any other way. 

So how does one go about making plans for a trip like this?  I'll step you through it.

First we needed a place to stay.  Being about 250 miles from home it's too far to get to Crane Lake for snowmobiling and back in one day.  The place we found was a nice three bedroom house within walking distance of the snowmobile rental business. It was nice and cozy.

Three bedroom house in Crane Lake, MN
Mary on the left getting ready to try out her snowshoes.

Of course we needed to make a rest stop on the way to Crane Lake.  To satisfy our hunger Ms Erin did some searching and found the Duluth Grill.  It was very tasty and she picked it because some famous gentleman with unusual hair had visited here.  Not sure who he is but here's his picture.  I was assured everybody knows him except me.

A famous guy who said we'd like
 the Duluth Grill

After our dinner we needed to burn off a few calories so we went for a walk.  The 2 E's posed for a quick photo.

Ms Erin and Ms Ellie.  Happily taking a walk.

Now onto the matter of snowmobiling.  

Here we are sitting at the entrance to Voyageurs National Park. Our trip is just starting on the three identical rented snowmobiles and the tanks are full of gas. We have a few miles under our belts and this was a good time to check to make sure everyone was comfortable and they didn't leave something behind. The temperature was about 15 degrees in this pic and that was a nice break as it had been much colder in the days before. The cold weather returned after our trip so we had good luck in that department.

  At the entrance to Voyageurs National Park.
Lined up and ready to go.

Once underway we travel alternately between land and water (ice).  It makes an interesting ride because at one moment we're out in the open on a lake surface and then suddenly we reach a shoreline and glide right on into a trail under a wooded canopy while barely slowing down. In and out of the woods and onto the lake surface is repeated over and over all day and makes for a contrasting variety. We generally move along averaging about 25-30 MPH and occasionally the younger ones will peak at 40-50MPH on some of the clear stretches.

Mary.  Sitting tough on her machine. Lookout world!

Very nice scenery on Namakan Lake.
Stopping to taking a brief rest.

Considering the distance we travel you might wonder how we find our way and keep from getting lost. The answer is simple.  We follow sticks that are put in the ice marking the trail.  The clubs make a good effort to stake a safe passage along the lake surfaces and they are color coded matching a map we had along with us.  (No dependence on electronic devices required.) But it is still possible to get lost on the lakes as the stakes are about 500 feet apart and in heavy snow you can loose sight of them. We experienced this in the afternoon when the wind combined with snow had us running blind for a few miles. You do your best to steer a course as straight as you can and wait for the next stake to appear out of the haze.  In the woods the trails are easy to follow but knowing which way to go at some of the trail intersections can be confusing. You need to draw the map in your mind and make sure you don't unintentionally take a wrong turn. They really are a maze to a stranger and you can easily go many miles before you realize you made a wrong decision somewhere behind. That's a strong reason for keeping the gas tank topped off.

Hundreds of Miles of Trails.
We only covered a fraction of them.

One place I like to visit is Kettle Falls. It's an unusual place that's located at the end of a 14 mile trail we had to retrace to get back to Ash River, MN. There is no road access to Kettle Falls anytime of the year and to get there you either go by snowmobile in the winter or boat in the summer.  It's famous for the old time lodge and boat portage that operate there.  You can check it out for yourself. 

   <Kettle Falls>  

Open water at Kettle Falls looking east.  
Canada on the right and Minnesota on the left.

This is a point of trivia if you think about that geography.

As we moved along Matt took us to a campsite he had visited by boat last August with his Erin and friend Rich from Boston. Of course the boat he used was The Blue Fin and this made the first real test of the motor as the rest of the boat modifications we had planned were only partially finished. He had traveled pretty much the same route on water via the lakes that we had just made with the snowmobiles. Here we were about 20 miles from our departure point at Crane Lake. It was a quick trip on the snow but in the boat he made it in the dark and arrived at this campsite around 3:00 AM.  His night time travels also imposed a good test on the Humminbird navigation/depth finder with the MN Lake Master charts. I had mentioned that this came along with The Blue Fin when we purchased it and here it was finding it's first good use.  With no visibility in the dark and no shoreline lights/features from which to reference, he was left only with the e-charts to use as his guide through the waters. (He never does things the easy way.) He did make it there OK so the motor and navigation equipment passed their first test. 

The campsite looks strikingly different in the winter.  Matt is standing as close as he could guess the shoreline to be.  The snow is powdery and about 25 inches deep. 

Matt standing at a campsite he stayed in last summer. 
The Blue Fin boat brought him here in August 
and the snowmobile brought him here today.
Next stop, the Gulf of Mexico!  (the boat that is)

I wanted to share the sensation of going along the trails and out onto the lake.  I spent most of the day trying to keep up with the kids and I was determined to catch them for the brief moment I was shooting this video. Of course the faster I went to catch them the faster they went.

Out of the woods and onto the lake.  Trying to catch up with the kids.

Running in real time.

Special thanks to Matt for planning this whole adventure.