Spring Snowset

Last Day of Break

Well that went awfully fast.  I can’t believe Christmas break is already over.  Today I pretty much laid around the house watching Sawyer with Erin.  The Vikings game was on in the background which was really a waste of my time.  After the boy took off Erin was driving her Dad to Virginia I got my winter gear on and shoveled off Jim’s roof.  He was planning on doing it tomorrow, and since I had the time I figured I’d take care of it for him.  He does most of the driveway plowing so I hope it evens out a bit.

I also put in for a BWCAW permit today.  The lottery for the 2011 canoeing season has opened and will close on the 15th.  We put in for the Nina Moose entry point hoping to get into Lady Boot bay on Lac La Croix for some fishing.  We hear its pretty amazing there.

We are also planning on a Quetico trip this summer as well.  This will be my first trip into the Canadian version of the BWCA.  After doing some research on the web it looks like their permitting system is shut down right now for a revamp.  We’ll apply for the Canadian permits when they open back up for business.

Its back to school tomorrow.  Its crazy how fast the first half of the year has gone.

Busy

A lot has been going on lately.  I’ve just begun a Master in Educational Technology from the University of Alaska Southeast.  The program is all online except for one summer class held in Juneau.  I’m currently taking 3 classes totaling 9 credits.  This all on top of teaching and continuing my efforts with BWCACAST.

On the BWCACAST front, I’m still kicking out episodes from the summer trips.  I’m currently releasing episodes from the trip we took in July with my parents.  I have one ready to release this coming Tuesday, so be sure to drop by the site and check it out.  I’ve also got a couple of really fun episodes in the works.  First I did an interview with a man named Joe Priatle from Ely.  He’s 91 years old and has been making snowshoes for 70 of them.  He was kind enough to allow me to film him re-rawhiding a pair of snowshoes my Uncle Zac gave me.  It was a lot of fun watching him start out with the rawhide straps in what seemed to be a haphazard criss-cross and evolve into an amazing web.  I’ve also had the good fortune to team up with www.blackriversleds.com.  They make a very nice toboggan sled for winter camping.  They sell the sleds completed or you can buy a kit from them.  I’ve partnered up with them to do an episode on putting one of their kits together.  I’ve got all the parts and hope to shoot putting it together this coming weekend.  With the sled finished up we are planning a winter camping trip in the middle of February.  I don’t think we’ll go very far back into the BWCA, because we’ll be leaving after school on Friday and have to be back by Monday.  It should be a good time though.

School has been going well.  Our student broadcasts seem to fluctuate from week to week with more and less professional shows.  For whatever reason some of my students feel that everything needs to be funny and joking around takes precedence over just about anything else in their lives.  I continue to work with them to provide a quality news program once a week.  My web design students are great to work with.  We keep plugging away at a variety of php mysql open source cms’s, blogs, galleries, and soon wiki’s.  On a side not I’m really hoping for a snow day tomorrow.  Its been snowing since last evening and doesn’t plan to stop until tomorrow at 4:00 PM.  The National Weather Service says we shouldn’t drive unless we really need to and yet our school district hasn’t made the decision to close school for tomorrow.

Erin and I spent yesterday making venison snack sticks.  We kind of got a late start on things.  But we took 10 lbs of venison, 8 lbs of lean burger, and 2 lbs of pork.  Ground them all up together.  Split into two 10 lbs batches we added in the seasonings for a pepper batch, and a hot batch.  It then took us about an hour to stuff the first batch into collagen casings.  Once stuffed we hung the snack sticks in a smoker and smoked them for 3 hours.  During that time we stuffed the second batch.  When the first batch was done smoking we put them in the oven at 200 degrees to finish them off.  The second batch went into the smoker.  This all went down around 9:00 PM.  It took over 3 hours for the first batch to reach the recommended 160 degree internal temperature.  Sot it was 12:15 AM before I was able to take them out of the oven and put the second batch in for their cooking time.  I ended up having to get up at 2 Am, 3 AM, 4 AM, and finally 4:30 AM before the second batch was done and I could turn off the stove and get some good sleep.  Needless to say I took a nap today.

Hokey Pokey Camping

Our feeble attempt at camping this weekend began Thursday night after work.  We pulled together most of the gear we would need for a BWCA camping trip in the fall.  We were pretty tired, so we didn’t get finished with the packing, just got a decent start to the venture.  Friday morning I helped Erin get the canoe on her car and threw what we had ready into her car as she left for work.  I still had to pull together the rest of the gear hoping against hope that I wouldn’t forget anything.  I finally got on the road about a half an hour later than usual, but I made it to school with a few minutes to spare.  So to follow the hokey pokey theme Thursday night we put our right foot in and took our right foot out.  Friday morning we put our right foot in and shook it all about.

After work that day Erin and I met up at the Y-store and drove to Soudan where we dropped my car off at Erin’s grandparents house.  We transferred the rest of the gear from my car to hers and headed to Ely.  Mind you at this time of the year dusk is showing up earlier and earlier each day.  We pulled into Ely and had to pick up some last minute things that we had forgot to pack for the trip and grab something for dinner.  At this time we assessed how much time it’d take us to actually get to the Moose Lake entry point and decided we would be just putting into the water when the darkness would be settling in over the lake.  We made the decision to hold off actually starting the trip till the next morning.  We ended up staying the night in Ely where we watched the twins throw their game two against the Yankees away in the bottom of the 9th inning.  The next morning we awoke to a blanket of snow on the ground and a pretty brisk wind whipping across the tree tops.  We decided to push on and headed down the Fernberg Road to the Moose Lake entry point.  As we approached the lake I was beginning to second guess our trip.  There were some fairly decent waves rolling across the lake.  Now if this had been a summer day it wouldn’t have been as big a deal, but since the temps were below freezing it added a whole new level of concern.

We pushed on and loaded up our canoe and headed out in the waves.  The wind was blowing in the same direction we were paddling, so we were making some pretty good time without much effort.  Our concern was that if we had to paddle back against this same wind the next day it would make the 8 or so miles pretty tough.  We paddled about a mile and decided it be smarter and safer to call the trip off.  There’s no reason to force on when things could turn quickly for the worse.  Truly we probably would have been fine, but it would have been a chilly wet trip.  So back to the hokey theme, we started our trip Friday night, then stopped it not too much longer, only to start it the next morning and stop it again an hour or so after beginning.  Lots of back and forth.

Instead of camping we went to a tea shop in Ely, and then to a movie in Virginia.

A week on the water

I sit here on my couch looking out the window over a calm lake vermilion.  You can see the reflections of the trees on the opposite shore in the near still slightly ripply water.  The only waves are created by the occasional boat passing by.  We truly live in an amazing area.

I just got back from our second trip into the Boundary Water Canoe Area.  This was our long trip of the summer.  I think I’ve talked about it in previous posts, but we started on the eastern edge of the BWCAW in a lake called Little John Lake.  From there we headed west traveling through 31 lakes and 6 rivers covering approximately 94 miles.  This brought us to about the half way point on the Voyagers Highway.  This “Highway” is the same route the fur traders used to transport their winter catches from as far north as Athabaska country all the way to Grand Marais where there was a substantial trading post. When deciding the location of the international border between the United States and Canada they agreed that this commonly used route would be the dividing line, and that all of the lakes and portages (the hiking trails connecting the lakes) could be used by people of both nations without the need to pass through customs.  So on our entire trip the shoreline on our right was Canada and the the shoreline on the left USA.

As we paddled and hauled our gear over this historic route, it was amazing to think about the individuals who passed over the same ground we did years ago.  Also to think about the equipment they used and the weights they had to haul really made us appreciate the struggles they would have endured.  There is one portage we encountered along the way that was 660 rods long and aptly named “Long Portage”.  Portages usually range in the 30 – 170 rod range, and there are 320 rods in a mile.  So needless to say a 660 rod portage is quite the undertaking.  This is where you take all your gear out of your canoe and carry it across including your canoe to the next lake.  A two mile hike doesn’t seem that difficult if you are on a backpacking trip, but the packs we use are designed for canoeing.  They are wide to fit in the canoe nicely and one feature that hiking packs have that these packs do not is the very important waist belt to help carry the load on your hips.  These are strictly shoulder packs and at 60 – 70 lbs they are a bit to lug around.

We got to see some cool wildlife.   I was filming a loon swim across the lake when Matt nudged me and pointed out a beaver dragging a green leafy branch down the bank towards the water.  I quickly began to film him doing his work.  As he began swimming with his branch I was zoomed in relatively close on him when the loon popped up right in the frame.  It was pretty cool.

The first few days were kinda chilly and a little rainy, but then turned to sunny blue skies.  It was nice to dry out and feel the hot sun on our faces as we paddled across these lakes.  One of the difficult things we dealt with on the trip was a constant head wind the entire 7 days.  The wind apparently tends to blows out of the North West and since we were heading West for our trip it made for some difficult paddling at times.  Luckily when we were crossing the bigger lakes it wasn’t too strong and we were able to avoid the large waves that often accompany gusty days.

I’d like to at some point do the entire Voyagers Highway through the BWCAW, but that will have to wait for another year.

Oh Matt (Erin’s cousin) was with on this trip.  He is a math teacher down in the cities.  He helped figure out that we each paddled approximately 20,911 paddle strokes.

For now it’s nice to be back hanging out with Erin.  It feels like I’ve been on a dead run since school got out on May 29th.  I had the 4 day BWCA trip on May 30th, two days after returning from that trip Erin and I flew to Australia for three weeks, four days after returning from that trip I took this 7 day BWCA trip.  So now I’m looking forward to some down time.  Maybe sleeping in and not doing much.

Here are a few pictures from our Voyager Highway Trip.

Winter Show

Last Sunday, Jesse and I headed out to shoot another winter episode for BWCACAST.  Our journey this time led us to the Little Indian Sioux entry point.  It was really warm out and very sunny.  Jesse was armed with his fancy DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera, and I had my video camera.

One of the nice things about shooting shows with Jesse is that he is very patient, and willing to wait around while I set up shots.  There were a few times where I walked a long ways ahead to set up the camera, then hiked back and the two of us would walk continue on our way with the video camera shooting us.

On the way we came across something I had never seen before.  Jesse knew exactly what it was right away.  A bird had taken a small animal out of the snow and in the process left a wing print in the snow.

We made it out to the Devils Cascade, which was about 5 miles from the entry point.  I think I added about another mile to the trip with all the running around with the camera.

The return trip was pretty rough on me.  I am pretty much out of shape, and I think my body is only rated for about 6 or 7 miles of snowshoeing, not 11 or 12.  So there was a lot of grimacing and breaks on the way back.  I was still hobbling around at work on Monday and Tuesday.

I am hoping to head out again this weekend to shoot another show.  Hopefully Jesse will be able to join me as well.

10,000

This evening around 9:01 PM BWCACAST had its 10,000 video downloaded.  I am very excited about this milestone being reached.  We’ve relased 22 episodes so far and are really looking forward to the shows to come.  We are currently in the process of getting DVD’s made of the first season dubbed “The First Portage”.  We should have them up on the site for sale in the next couple months.  Thanks to everyone that have faithfully followed us from the beginning.

BWCACAST Season Two

Tonight Jim and I scoured the maps and planned our trips for the upcoming summer.  We are currently in the lottery phase of bwcaw permits where you sign up for the entry points and dates you’d like, but you also put in alternate entry points for each date.  They draw names and issue permits this coming Friday and you find out by next Tuesday what you end up with.  After this point they display on their website all entry points and the dates that still have permits to issue.  You can then go and reserve them until they are gone.

BWCAW has completly rebuilt their website.  They are now part of recreation.gov, and I have to say the new site is very nice.  It seems like they have used some of the newer techniques like AJAX to make the reservation process much more stremlined.  They have also integrated google maps with all the entrypoints marked on the map.  A very nice touch.

Anyway, Im really excited for the upcoming trips, its always fun to head off into the wilderness.

Break has come to an end.

Let me be the first to tell you that the last week and a half has been very very nice.  I really enjoyed sleeping in every morning and playing outside on the nice and not so nice days.

I feel I accomplished a lot over break with a new bwcacast episode being shot, five episdoes edited up, some snowshowing on the lake with Erin, and some skating at the outdoor hockey rink in cook.

We went to a couple of movies “Yes Man” and “Marley and Me”.  Both were fun movies.  Erin and I unfortunetly got the gigles at the end of Marley and Me when there were people in the theater that were so caught up in the movie that they were actually sobbing.  Let me tell you its not good to get the giggles in a “quiet” theater surrounded by very upset people.  Luckliy we were able to control ourselves enough to not cause a scene.  The movie was a little sad, but man… Its a movie folks, its not your dog.  🙂

I am hoping that the new year of work will go by as quickly as the last few months.  I am ready for another summer of adventures.  If you haven’t heard, we booked tickets for Austraila in June.  I can’t wait for the trip.  Its going to be a ton of fun traveling the Great Ocean Road with Erin for three weeks.

I have also strated planning trips into the BWCAW.  I need to get some dates from people that will be going with to see what will work out best entry permit dates.

For now I have another few months with students and teachers to focus on.

I hope everyone has a nice January.

Snowshoeing and Editing

Erin and I took off to shoot our first winter episode for BWCACAST.com.  I was planning on heading out to Hegman Lake on Wednesday (New Years Eve Day) because the weather forecast showed a sunny day.  Well Tuesday morning Erin got up before me and checked the weather.  She came back and woke me up suggesting we go then instead of Wednesday and that the weather was supposed to clear up for the day.

With this sudden change of plans I hopped out of bed and started rummaging around the house collecting all the gear we would need for the little adventure.  I was planning on pulling all the gear together that evening, so we were a bit unprepared.  I dug around in the closet and pulled out my cook stove, fuel, nested cook kit, and backpack.  Along with the basics we added some extra layers, face protectors (for the wind) and some extra mittens.  Erin not only got some hot water in a thermos, but also made some tasty egg sandwiches to get some nice warm food in our bellies before we headed out in the cold.

We threw our gear in the car and headed down the road.  We got about half way down Raps road (the road we live on) and I realized I had forgotten a headlamp and tp.  The headlamp in case we were out into the evening hours, and the tp is pretty self explanatory.  So we turned around to retrieve the much needed supplies.

Once on the road we made it to Ely around noon where we stopped at Will Stegers shop so I could buy a pair of mukluks.  With my new purchase freshly sprayed water sealant we headed down the Echo trail.  We pulled into the Hegman lake entry point a little after 1:00 PM.  We hopped out of the car and donned our snowshoes.  I got the video camera out and on the tripod and we started down the trail.

It was great that Erin got me motivated to go that day because as soon as we were on the trail, the skies cleared up and it was nothing but sunshine and blue skies for the rest of our trip.  Erin is great to shoot shows with, she is patient during all the retakes, and the time consuming shots that require us to set up the camera, walk by it, then go back and retrieve it.  She also gives pointers on different shots to get and what might enhance my on the spot dialogs I have with the camera.

It took us a little over two hours to snowshoe the 2.4 miles out to the pictographs and back.  We were able make it back to the car before the sun went down.  It really was a perfect day to be out in the woods.  On the car ride back we called up Erin’s mom and had her fire up the sauna.  So we swung by her place and relaxed in the sauna and visited for a couple hours.

With this newly shot footage and some time to actually get some editing done, I spent the last couple days hammering away at new episodes for BWCACAST.  I had already edited up a couple of shows last week, and released one of them the day we were out shooting our winter episode at Hegman.  All in all I now have 5 shows that are newly edited.  So if your a fan of the show here is what you have to look forward to in the coming months.

Exploring Kifes Lower Arm – Released Tuesday December Dec. 30th

Leaving Knife Lake – Jan 13

Lakes 1-2-3-4 – Jan 27

Hiking the Angleworm Trail – Feb 10

Snowshoeing into Hegman – Feb 24

Along with editing today I did catch part of the Winter Classic.  It was really cool to watch Detroit and Chicago play on the outdoor rink.  I am not surprised the venue was sold out in less than an hour and that tickets were being scalped for over a $1,000.

About halfway through the second period, Jesse and I went out snowshoeing to slim chance the same place Erin and I had gone to on Sunday.  Jesse and I went further up the trail back to a little slough.  Well I was following Jesse across a bit of ice and happened to break through.  The snowshoes I was using weren’t as big so they didn’t displace my weight as much and through the ice I went.  Luckily I only went in up to my calves.  My mukluks did a phenomenal job of keeping my feet dry. I hopped out as soon as I could and used a bunch of dry snow to wick away the water on my mukluks and snow pants.  After that was taken care of Jesse and I continued to explore round the area where we flushed a grouse and a couple of deer.  After hiking around we hopped back on our trail and headed home.