Is This Spring?

Spring Shuns Minnesota
April 2011, The Mountain Times
http://www.mountaintimesoregon.com/modules.php?name=Columns


“Is it spring yet?” I say aloud to myself standing in a vacant parking lot between Highway 61 and the shoreline. Next to my truck with a dripping kayak at my feet, I have some fast bluegrass playing out through the passenger window while I peel off the top half of my wetsuit.

It’s 10 degrees above freezing but with the sun setting on a cloudless day and Lake Superior gently sloshing on the cobbles, the two mile paddle I just finished has me convinced that the warm season is at the door. Maybe it’s not breaking down the hinges but it’s certainly on the welcome mat.

The very next day, a buddy and I are standing on the thin shoulder of Cook County Road 7 behind my truck, which is parked more in the snow bank than on pavement. While we zip our packs shut and buckle our touring bindings I make Tischer wait on the tailgate as a few cars speed by.

She is shivering with excitement, waiting to leap into the woods.

Beyond the snow bank is someone’s property, but to the right of that and past the guardrail is a smooth white slope down into Cut Face Creek. From here, a mile and a half from the lake, it drops more than 400 feet back down to the shore where Nate’s vehicle is waiting for us.

It looks much more appealing to us than heading further inland where it mellows and sprawls into shrubbery filled flats.

The previous weeks have been mixed with rain, wind and sunshine. Knowing this, our better judgment is that we can stick a fork in stream skiing for the season.
However, we crave one more descent.

After skidding down the embankment and spending 20 minutes climbing over tree limbs and trunks, the first bit of slush appears in our ski tracks. As I watch Nate pull himself out of the crater he’s just made following a crust breaking crash, I wonder again to myself, “Is this spring?”

This question becomes more legit a few more stream bends down when we encounter open water, the beginning of a trend.

As we quickly scamper across patches of 4-6 inch deep slush and hope that our old school leather backcountry boots and gaiters keep out the cold river, it is apparent that the warmth and sun have been reaching into these narrow canyons. Tischer wades through, the chilly brown water reaching halfway up her four legs, without even a thought.

On the third day, I have to work. It’s an exciting day with the hype of a huge winter storm that much of Minnesota is bracing for. It ends up developing in areas to the south but spares us the precipitation, instead thrashing the north shore with constant winds and big gusts. And when wind blows across Lake Superior, it means good surf on the receiving shoreline – and this day we shall receive.

I hurry home to let Tischer out and meet Nate on my deck. It’s another bluebird day, though the sun is getting low in the sky, and we gear up in our paddling clothes. Eight miles down from my place is a fantastic surf break at Mile Marker 121. As we pull up we see three other surfers already paddling out. They turn out to be from Thunder Bay, Ontario, just down for the afternoon to partake in the stellar conditions.

The surf is big in the middle, rolling in tall and smooth. Some of the waves close out altogether but some curl steadily to one side or the other. I watch the Canadians catch a few good rides and also get pummeled by a couple frothy explosions.

Nate and I take turns surfing his white water kayak as the sun sets. If it weren’t for the ice and snow on shore, looking down the line into the golden reflection of surf-able waves the scene appears tropical.

It’s then, though, standing on the frozen cobbles as darkness creeps in, that the cold sinks deep into my bones.

To avoid soaking his seats we drive home with the windows down hoping to keep our wetsuits frozen. At home we stand in my kitchen prying pieces of gear off and throwing them into my shower to drip dry.

Is this spring? Does it matter?

Finding Another Mountain Home

My February 2011 column for the Mountain Times.

"With the main attraction in my one room cabin being the sight of Lake Superior out the sliding glass door, the view is a magnificent encouragement to use that doorway most often. Unfortunately there is no gutter to catch the snowmelt when it runs off the dark metal roof and I always end up with a frozen speed bump across the entrance.

I was just outside chiseling that slick take-me-down from my deck and realized how I am making this place my own..."




To read the whole column click HERE .

A Good Winter is Upon Me

Mountain Times Jan 2011 Column

"Tischer and I have made a move north, unpacking into a two-room cabin on the outskirts of the small harbor town of Grand Marais, Minn.
 
We are nestled between the Midwest’s version of elevation, the Sawtooth Mountains, and that magnificent and now very familiar inland sea I just finished paddling around.
 
It is our new ski cabin, this time with a sliding glass door leading onto a deck overlooking the now really frigid waters of Lake Superior.

On the second night at home with Tischer curled up on her soft wool blanket I settled onto the cushion beside her, a small notepad in my hand. "


To read the rest click HERE .


http://www.mountaintimesoregon.com/modules.php?name=Columns 

Mountain Times December 2010 Column

"I went to bed warm despite the 30-degree night air, in part because of the whiskey and beer that accompanied me at the campfire.  It was our last fire, and yet only our fifth overall of the trip.  

Within its heat the flicker of orange flame separated us from the close sloshing waves of Lake Superior as the twinkling lights of Duluth sat on the horizon in the near distance.  

After 96 days of kayaking we were almost home."

To read the whole column click below:
http://www.mountaintimesoregon.com/modules.php?name=Columns

1,200 Superior Miles

My April column for The Mountain Times:

"Last month I wrote about a ski decent of a Lake Superior north shore stream where ideal conditions to do such an activity typically exist during January and February, when it’s cold and snow ridden. Now, only 25 days later we here in the land of 10,000 Lakes are only a few days away from a completely snow-less month of March, the first ever in modern record.

This spring is like no other that I can remember. The snow is already all gone, both on the boulevards and in the woods. The same rivers I was skiing on only weeks ago are now gushing with frigid melt water, leaving gawkers to eye the rising flood levels while white water kayakers are rejoicing."

Click HERE  to read the whole column (and scroll down past the first two columns).

A year ago Tischer

Check out a cool picture taken by my good friend Andy Westbrock of Tischer standing on a gigantic tree stump on the frozen shore of Clear Lake.  He snapped it a year ago while T and I were still living on Mt Hood in Oregon.  Good times.  The photo appears on Andy's blog.

Greenland Inuit Kayaks

This past week I met with a boat builder in Grand Marais to talk about a kayak that Greg and I were hoping would fit the purpose and needs of our Superior Dream trip.  The kayak is an Inuit skin on wood frame from Greenland.

A shorter version than one we would paddle.

It's a beautiful boat with a unique stowage system dating back many years.  If no pigment is used over the nylon skin the hull is transparent, letting you see the ribs, gear, and paddlers legs inside.  It certainly gives the appearance of a delicate craft and though it does demand a bit more consideration with rocky shorelines and stormy landings, according to both the course description and builder it is bomb proof.

This is a 6oz nylon, we'd use a 14oz

This kayak would add a uniqueness to the trip and we're very intrigued with the idea of circumnavigating Lake Superior with it.  We would be able to make a few simple modifications to it to allow for filming and the addition of a rudder.

With a dark pigment added

Obviously if we are going to kayak around The Lake, first and foremost we need kayaks!  Thanks to Mark Hansen and North House for taking the time to show me around and discuss kayak logistics.

We'll see what happens...

Skiing in a "Superior" Place

The Mountain Times- March 2010 Column:
"An old ski track recently filled in with light snow was evident to my buddy Focht and I from the bridge overhead. We stood on a northern Minnesota county road that crossed over the Cascade River nearly four miles up from where it tumbles into the largest of the Great Lakes, Lake Superior.  On this day we had come to ski it.

Waking up that morning lakeside in an old fishing shack turned charming cabin, Focht and I watched the steam linger over a calm mood of The Lake. From surging waves the night before a thin layer of ice painted the rocky shore just feet from where the non-insulated cabin stood. We huddled around the small wood stove hot with red embers, our faces inches from the single paned window, cloaked in toasty rays from the rising sun far across the water."

To read the whole story click HERE (and scroll down a smidge).

North Shore

I am up in Grand Marais and along the North Shore of Lake Superior this week meeting with various folks to discuss things pertinent to Superior Dream.  The most important of which regards the boats we hope to build and paddle on our trip.

I met with Mark Hansen, the kayak builder and course instructor, this morning to find out more about the Greenland Inuit style kayaks and to get an understanding whether or not they would be an ideal fit for our trip.  We talked design, modifications, and materials at his shop just north of town and then he drove me down to the school to look at a variety of actual boats that have been built over the years.

Afterwards, on a walk around a sunny and warm downtown Grand Marais, I had some great impromptu conversations with a few local faces.  I even stopped into Northern Wilds for a long overdue face to face "hello" with an editor and staff I've worked with a couple times in recent years.

Now, Jasmine and I are sitting at the Java Moose basking in the sun, staring at the harbor.  The water is calm and inviting and I can't help but imagine myself paddling out on it.  I picture us rounding the break walls point on our way into town sometime early July, on the start of our Superior Dream journey.

Things are looking up.  The boats seem to be a good fit.  Now to approach them with the idea of a sponsorship opportunity that I believe has some amazing potential for all!

It is a great day.

MT column, circa 2007

This was my first submission to The Mountain Times, back in October of 2007. Either it or my continued submissions prompted then editor Steve Willent to offer me a column space. Sweetner.

Another Week in MN Bliss

I spent the last week up in Duluth, MN again, playing on north shore streams, listening to great musicians, being around fires, running along the Lakewalk, and drinking fantastic beer; all in the company of warm and inspiring friends!  

So glad to have people and activities such as above in my life.  So. Glad.

Simple things like an old battery operated radio playing country music from a snowbank and a fire brings a smile to Jasmine's face.

The Mountain Times - Feb Column

Call Of The Wild - Minnesota Style

"The smell of reheated pesto eggs Benedict wafts out from the microwave and fills my friends kitchen. It was my breakfast yesterday at a downtown joint that lures slow moving Sunday risers in with the promise of a quaint songwriters showcase and a Bloody Mary bar, which could be a complete meal in itself. 

This morning it retells our story from two nights ago."

Click HERE to read the rest of the column.

(Jasmine and I under the Lift Bridge)

Post Plunge Photo Session...

...captured on film as we linger behind the bleachers.

Polar Plunge WBL 2010

Yesterday, amidst ice fisherman, law enforcement and an enthusiastic crowd, team Nipples Cut Glass plunges into a hole cut in White Bear Lake on a sunny January day with the temperature hanging around 4 degrees.

Jumpers included Bano and I (speedos), Jen (ladybug), and Zeb (daisy duke wearing construction man).

Jumping the Cascade River

A quick look at the start of our 3 mile Cascade River descent.  Only a couple spots where I had to tip toe around some falls or open water.  Conditions were excellent.  This leap is nothing extraordinary but it brings a smile every time, especially when I think about the thin slab ice I was landing on and launching off of.  Mother Nature was kind on this day.