Press release 8/30/05
A proposal from the USFS to utilize a vacant lodge property on Saganaga Lake as a museum was the instigation for a group of area folks to get together, get organized and see what they could do. On Monday August 29th the Gunflint Trail Historical Society held one of its first organizational meetings. They’ve accomplished a fair amount this summer and have plans for much more.
This all started when the scenic by-ways committee was contacted by the Forest Service and told that the former Chik-Wauk Lodge property was not being used up to its potential and possibly there were other alternatives for it. The Forest Service bought out Chik-Wauk Lodge in 1980 with provisions from the 1978 BWCAW bill. It had been owned at that time by Ralph & Bea Griffis who had operated it since 1957. The Griffises under an arrangement with the Forest Service continued to live in the lodge building until the fall of 2000. It was their hope that the building would someday be put on the National Historical Registry. The building in question is a wonderful stone structure built in the early 1930’s by Art & Ed Nunstedt. It houses a spectacular fireplace of granite with amethyst and quartz accents. It’s located at the end of the Gunflint Trail on a couple of small bays at the end of the Sag channel that so far have been relatively spared by blow-down and fire. Since the Forest Service has taken over, the remainder of the old frame structures that were in disrepair have been removed and the grounds have been used for camping by portage crews and fire fighters and also the volunteer archeologists working on the Trail "digs". The old lodge building hasn’t lent itself to any of their particular needs of housing or storage.
The Forest Service was looking for a group to partner with to explore this museum concept. After a couple of initial meetings it was determined that yes there was a great deal of local interest in this idea and the Gunflint Trail Historical Society was formed. The Chik-Wauk project was the driving force behind the group’s organization but its mission really goes beyond this one project. There are so many properties and interesting folks that have passed through this area that have some wonderful stories. Therefore the mission statement is stated as: this society shall preserve the history of the Gunflint Trail and its early settlers for residents, guests, travelers, and future generations.
The Chik-Wauk Lodge is currently in a future use review by the Forest Service and has to be evaluated by it’s engineers for structural soundness and then the decision will be made by them whether it is economically feasible to put the building back in public use. Hopefully this decision will be made in early 2006 and that the go ahead will be given to get the building on the National Historical Registry. In hopes of this proceeding the museum committee of the GTHS is in the process of formulating plans for displays and exhibits inside the building as well as possible interpretive nature trails around the property to give folks a chance to experience what the Gunflint Trail and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area has to offer with the wonderful granite outcroppings, pine forest, and rich biodiversity of plant, animal and bird life. The Gunflint Trail Historical Society will be involved in fundraising, memberships, marketing, and gathering of materials. It also plans to be accredited with the MN Historical Society and registered with the IRS as a 501c(3) non-profit organization. If you are interested in learning more you can contact any of the board members or officers Betty Hemstad, Sue Kerfoot, Barb Tuttle Kathy Lande, Lee Zopff.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Oberstar Meeting -
To: Congressman James Oberstar Date: July 7, 2005
From: Concerned Gunflint Trail businesses and residents
RE: Some of the issues we are confronted with on the Gunflint Trail
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection "I-68" regulation-This regulation requires any person traveling from the U.S. into Canada and returning at any location other then an official border crossing, i.e., Grand Portage, must have in their possession an "I-68" form. This means if you go fishing through Saganaga into Caches Bay or Northern Lights or are on a canoe trip where you cross into Canada at anytime during your trip you must have this form with you when you re-enter the U.S.
Currently this form is only issued, in our area, from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's office at the Grand Portage Border Crossing. The cost is $16/individual/year and it includes your photo I.D. and fingerprints. For canoe outfitters and lodges to require that their guests must first travel to the Border Crossing at Grand Portage to pick-up their 'I-68' form prior to entering Canada is totally unworkable. Incidentally this laminated form is much to large to fit into a wallet or even your pants pocket.
One solution to this problem would be installing Outlining Area Reporting Systems (OARS) at Saganaga and Gunflint Lakes. Because of the cost of this equipment- about $10,000 for each location, help is needed in funding this project.
Canoeist, fisherman, snowmobilers or anyone crossing and returning into Canada at a "remote border crossing" can thank Home Land Security for the extra hassle- no telling what you fisherman are hiding in those walleyes you are bring back.
2. Continuing administrative/implementation problems with the local U. S. Forest Services.
Item- The inclusion of the so called "vegetable Lakes" as a non-motorized recreation area into the new Superior National Forest Management Plan. Under this new designation many resident from the Gunflint Trail, Grand Marais and Grand Portage who for years have accessed the "vegetable Lakes" by ATV or snowmobile to fish will now find it much more difficult and for many impossible to reach these lakes. Locals are calling this de-facto wilderness land grab by the USFS just another broken promise of the 1978 BWCA Act. They are laying much of the blame for designating the vegetable Lake area as non-motorized on the Gunflint District Forest Service’s Ranger, Dennis Neitzke.
Item- Two favor access routes into lakes along the Canadian Border - the North to South Lake Portage and the snowmobile trail into South Fowl Lake were recently closed to all motorized use by Dennis Neitzke. This action was taken even though this route had continued in use after the passage of the 1978 BWCA Act.
.
While Neitzke and his superiors have promised that they would find acceptable alternate routes, as usual locals have yet to see any action.
Item-Following the July 4 Storm the US Forest Service’s plan for storm clean-up was generally well received by residents of the Gunflint Trail. Now five years later, many residents of the Trail are beginning to question some of the Forest Service storm recovery actions.
The Forest Service told us that along lakes, whenever possible, that they would not let their controlled burns go up the waters edge. Yet on Magnetic and Poplar along with several other lakes the burns did go right to the shoreline. Also along the Gunflint many of the prescribed burns and/or logging sales go right up to the road seemingly without regards to the scenic nature of the Gunflint Trail. As for the Forest Service promise to protect the area’s important ski trails, as one resort owner put it "While my ski trails may have been damaged by the storm, the real damage was done by the Forest Service and their storm clean-up. "
Many of the islands of Seagull Lake were burned even though it was hard to envision the
storm downed trees on these islands as much of a threat to any people living on the lake. In the case of the burning of Three Mile Island, many of the island’s ancient pines were destroyed even though the Forest Service had pledged these trees would be spared.
In the upper Gunflint Trail one of the area's must historic and a favorite hiking trail was partially destroyed by another Forest Service Controlled burn. This year the Forest Service is proposing to burn in the Mid Gunflint Trail area between Hungry Jack, Moss and Duncan lakes where the Caribou Rock Hiking Trail is located. Many in the area feel this burn could gravelly impact this scenic hiking trail.
Then there is the BWCA. The original BWCA's Fuel Treatment Plan stated that 73,124 acres were to be treated within the BWCA by 2007 of which over 56,000 acres were to be burnt by 2004. To date it appears that only a fraction of this goal has been met. With one hundred and eleven miles of fire control lines that must be cut by hand (no power tools) required for these BWCA burns, it is little wonder that so little has been accomplished! Our question is if the fuels buildup in the BWCA was such a threat to the residents of the Gunflint as the Forest Service told us, why is the job not getting done? And most importantly why waste precious time using time consuming hand tools?
3. The Chain of Lake Lawsuit - at least in this case the U.S. Forest Service is supporting this suit.
Need to lengthen Cook County's Airport Runways - while several Gunflint Trail business have been calling for this action for over a decade to date no action has been taken.
From: Concerned Gunflint Trail businesses and residents
RE: Some of the issues we are confronted with on the Gunflint Trail
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection "I-68" regulation-This regulation requires any person traveling from the U.S. into Canada and returning at any location other then an official border crossing, i.e., Grand Portage, must have in their possession an "I-68" form. This means if you go fishing through Saganaga into Caches Bay or Northern Lights or are on a canoe trip where you cross into Canada at anytime during your trip you must have this form with you when you re-enter the U.S.
Currently this form is only issued, in our area, from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's office at the Grand Portage Border Crossing. The cost is $16/individual/year and it includes your photo I.D. and fingerprints. For canoe outfitters and lodges to require that their guests must first travel to the Border Crossing at Grand Portage to pick-up their 'I-68' form prior to entering Canada is totally unworkable. Incidentally this laminated form is much to large to fit into a wallet or even your pants pocket.
One solution to this problem would be installing Outlining Area Reporting Systems (OARS) at Saganaga and Gunflint Lakes. Because of the cost of this equipment- about $10,000 for each location, help is needed in funding this project.
Canoeist, fisherman, snowmobilers or anyone crossing and returning into Canada at a "remote border crossing" can thank Home Land Security for the extra hassle- no telling what you fisherman are hiding in those walleyes you are bring back.
2. Continuing administrative/implementation problems with the local U. S. Forest Services.
Item- The inclusion of the so called "vegetable Lakes" as a non-motorized recreation area into the new Superior National Forest Management Plan. Under this new designation many resident from the Gunflint Trail, Grand Marais and Grand Portage who for years have accessed the "vegetable Lakes" by ATV or snowmobile to fish will now find it much more difficult and for many impossible to reach these lakes. Locals are calling this de-facto wilderness land grab by the USFS just another broken promise of the 1978 BWCA Act. They are laying much of the blame for designating the vegetable Lake area as non-motorized on the Gunflint District Forest Service’s Ranger, Dennis Neitzke.
Item- Two favor access routes into lakes along the Canadian Border - the North to South Lake Portage and the snowmobile trail into South Fowl Lake were recently closed to all motorized use by Dennis Neitzke. This action was taken even though this route had continued in use after the passage of the 1978 BWCA Act.
.
While Neitzke and his superiors have promised that they would find acceptable alternate routes, as usual locals have yet to see any action.
Item-Following the July 4 Storm the US Forest Service’s plan for storm clean-up was generally well received by residents of the Gunflint Trail. Now five years later, many residents of the Trail are beginning to question some of the Forest Service storm recovery actions.
The Forest Service told us that along lakes, whenever possible, that they would not let their controlled burns go up the waters edge. Yet on Magnetic and Poplar along with several other lakes the burns did go right to the shoreline. Also along the Gunflint many of the prescribed burns and/or logging sales go right up to the road seemingly without regards to the scenic nature of the Gunflint Trail. As for the Forest Service promise to protect the area’s important ski trails, as one resort owner put it "While my ski trails may have been damaged by the storm, the real damage was done by the Forest Service and their storm clean-up. "
Many of the islands of Seagull Lake were burned even though it was hard to envision the
storm downed trees on these islands as much of a threat to any people living on the lake. In the case of the burning of Three Mile Island, many of the island’s ancient pines were destroyed even though the Forest Service had pledged these trees would be spared.
In the upper Gunflint Trail one of the area's must historic and a favorite hiking trail was partially destroyed by another Forest Service Controlled burn. This year the Forest Service is proposing to burn in the Mid Gunflint Trail area between Hungry Jack, Moss and Duncan lakes where the Caribou Rock Hiking Trail is located. Many in the area feel this burn could gravelly impact this scenic hiking trail.
Then there is the BWCA. The original BWCA's Fuel Treatment Plan stated that 73,124 acres were to be treated within the BWCA by 2007 of which over 56,000 acres were to be burnt by 2004. To date it appears that only a fraction of this goal has been met. With one hundred and eleven miles of fire control lines that must be cut by hand (no power tools) required for these BWCA burns, it is little wonder that so little has been accomplished! Our question is if the fuels buildup in the BWCA was such a threat to the residents of the Gunflint as the Forest Service told us, why is the job not getting done? And most importantly why waste precious time using time consuming hand tools?
3. The Chain of Lake Lawsuit - at least in this case the U.S. Forest Service is supporting this suit.
Need to lengthen Cook County's Airport Runways - while several Gunflint Trail business have been calling for this action for over a decade to date no action has been taken.
History of Hungry Jack Lodge
Unusual and unforgettable is the history of Hungry Jack Lodge to those who have had a part in building it and to those who have visited it. Hungry Jack Lodge is situated on Hungry Jack Lake in the heart of the Superior National Forest. The journey to the lodge is one of the most beautiful drives in the country. From the North Shore of Lake Superior, at Grand Marais (a town whose principal industries are still logging and fishing), you travel back into the woods half way up the Gunflint Trail to the resort. The surroundings are astoundingly alive and pure. You can smell the clean air, hear the solitude, and taste the flavor of the wilderness.
Hungry Jack Lake received its name in 1884 when U.S. Government surveyors were plotting the land and charting and naming the lakes. The surveyors had hired
Andrew Jackson Scott Sr. (Jack Scott) (1843-1930) a noted guide, hunter and trapper, to guide them through the country that he knew so well. It was late fall when they reached the shores of what is now named Hungry Jack Lake and set up a winter camp. When they ran low on food supplies, the surveyors decided to snowshoe 32 miles into Grand Marais for the necessary provisions. When they arrived, a blowing snowstorm hit. This storm plus holiday celebrations in town prevented the surveyors from returning to camp for two weeks. When they finally returned, poor jack who was nearly starved to death heard them approach and ran from the shack. One surveyor yelled "Hey are you hungry Jack?" Jack replied "Am I hungry Jack! I'm nearly starved to death!" And from that day on, the lake has been named Hungry Jack.
In 1923 the Gunflint Trail from Grand Marais was extended to Hungry Jack Lake as a forest fire prevention and fighting trail because of its central and key location to the canoe routes through Superior National Forest. A lodge was built at this point in 1924 by Jesse Gapen, grandfather of Dan Gapen - Gapen Tackle Co. Of Minneapolis.
Hungry Jack thus served as a "gateway" to this lake and forest region, hence the lodge was named. Though the Gunflint Trail was extended, Gateway-Hungry Jack Lodge, at the end of this original road, remained as a "gateway" to an unspoiled wilderness region. Jesse's' original lodge was a very rustic log cabin, sturdy and homey, however, fire destroyed it in 1931. Though the depression had hit hard and things were tough, Jesse was determined to rebuild the lodge. He hired 40 men and foreman Bob Zimmerman. Together they cut down huge white pine trees from the shores of Hungry Jack Lake, floated the logs to the lodge site and pulled them from the lake with teams of horses. The men worked through the winter of 1931-32, and the new lodge was open for business the summer of '32. The lodge was the largest log structure in the Midwest, measuring126 feet by 64 feet. The center ridge pole ran the entire length of 126 feet. It was magnificent! Throughout the following years, local craftsmen carved furniture and utilized natural material including cones, deer and moose hides, birch bark, etc. Many people came to stay at Hungry Jack Lodge and returned again and again.
In 1958 the lodge and resort was sold to the Patrick McDonald family. They proudly ran it for 14 years, then sold it in 1972 to Jerry Parson - A Duluth native. In purchasing this beautiful resort, Jerry fulfilled his life's dream of owning a lodge and living in the wilderness he so loved.
In December 1972, the lodge was entirely destroyed by fire again! The magnificent structure was reduced to ashes with only part of the fireplace left standing. This time the fire was believed to have started from a faulty flue in the chimney. It was indeed a tragic and sorrowful fate. Though sad and discouraged, Jerry's true pioneer spirit kept him from giving up and he began making plans for a new lodge. He found a beautiful log structure in Grand Marais owned by the Department of Natural Resources - State of Minnesota. It was previously used as the game wardens headquarters and was unoccupied. Jerry purchased the building from the state of Minnesota and planned to move it to Hungry Jack Lake. However, the building could not be moved in one piece as it was too wide for the roadways. This obstacle could be overcome by dismantling the building log by log and transporting it piecemeal. So the very painstaking labor ensued of removing each log, marking it, and transporting it 32 miles to Hungry Jack Lake. This laborious task was accomplished by a local logging contractor who use a large boom truck semi. It took two months to dismantle the building and one day to transport the logs.
Construction of the new lodge began on the same site as the previous lodges. It is certainly the most spectacular site on the lake where the land forms a point and the lake therefore surrounds the lodge on three sides. A full basement was dug and laid. Before the lodge was built, all the logs were restored to their natural finish, as they had linseed oil on the inside and yellow paint on the exterior. This was done by stripping each log by hand using a draw knife. The logs were then reconstructed in their original position with fiberglass insulation placed between each one. No lifting equipment was used, only the strong backs of Bill Gentry, Jerry Parson, and Archie Kirk, Jr. These three men worked long hard days to complete this mammoth project as winter was approaching and the lodge had to be completed by Christmas 1973. A full house of guests has been promised lodging for the holidays. Happily, Jerry moved into the new lodge on December 15. It was quite a day. The two large stone fireplaces were lit and much rejoicing followed.
The lodge stands large, sturdy, and beautiful. A local artist has painted a wall mural depicting "Wild Life in the North Woods." Much of the furniture is hewn from logs and hand carved. It has a very rustic and warm atmosphere. The resort also has 13 smaller cabins for accommodations all facing the lake. May the new lodge be longstanding.
Hungry Jack Lake received its name in 1884 when U.S. Government surveyors were plotting the land and charting and naming the lakes. The surveyors had hired
Andrew Jackson Scott Sr. (Jack Scott) (1843-1930) a noted guide, hunter and trapper, to guide them through the country that he knew so well. It was late fall when they reached the shores of what is now named Hungry Jack Lake and set up a winter camp. When they ran low on food supplies, the surveyors decided to snowshoe 32 miles into Grand Marais for the necessary provisions. When they arrived, a blowing snowstorm hit. This storm plus holiday celebrations in town prevented the surveyors from returning to camp for two weeks. When they finally returned, poor jack who was nearly starved to death heard them approach and ran from the shack. One surveyor yelled "Hey are you hungry Jack?" Jack replied "Am I hungry Jack! I'm nearly starved to death!" And from that day on, the lake has been named Hungry Jack.
In 1923 the Gunflint Trail from Grand Marais was extended to Hungry Jack Lake as a forest fire prevention and fighting trail because of its central and key location to the canoe routes through Superior National Forest. A lodge was built at this point in 1924 by Jesse Gapen, grandfather of Dan Gapen - Gapen Tackle Co. Of Minneapolis.
Hungry Jack thus served as a "gateway" to this lake and forest region, hence the lodge was named. Though the Gunflint Trail was extended, Gateway-Hungry Jack Lodge, at the end of this original road, remained as a "gateway" to an unspoiled wilderness region. Jesse's' original lodge was a very rustic log cabin, sturdy and homey, however, fire destroyed it in 1931. Though the depression had hit hard and things were tough, Jesse was determined to rebuild the lodge. He hired 40 men and foreman Bob Zimmerman. Together they cut down huge white pine trees from the shores of Hungry Jack Lake, floated the logs to the lodge site and pulled them from the lake with teams of horses. The men worked through the winter of 1931-32, and the new lodge was open for business the summer of '32. The lodge was the largest log structure in the Midwest, measuring126 feet by 64 feet. The center ridge pole ran the entire length of 126 feet. It was magnificent! Throughout the following years, local craftsmen carved furniture and utilized natural material including cones, deer and moose hides, birch bark, etc. Many people came to stay at Hungry Jack Lodge and returned again and again.
In 1958 the lodge and resort was sold to the Patrick McDonald family. They proudly ran it for 14 years, then sold it in 1972 to Jerry Parson - A Duluth native. In purchasing this beautiful resort, Jerry fulfilled his life's dream of owning a lodge and living in the wilderness he so loved.
In December 1972, the lodge was entirely destroyed by fire again! The magnificent structure was reduced to ashes with only part of the fireplace left standing. This time the fire was believed to have started from a faulty flue in the chimney. It was indeed a tragic and sorrowful fate. Though sad and discouraged, Jerry's true pioneer spirit kept him from giving up and he began making plans for a new lodge. He found a beautiful log structure in Grand Marais owned by the Department of Natural Resources - State of Minnesota. It was previously used as the game wardens headquarters and was unoccupied. Jerry purchased the building from the state of Minnesota and planned to move it to Hungry Jack Lake. However, the building could not be moved in one piece as it was too wide for the roadways. This obstacle could be overcome by dismantling the building log by log and transporting it piecemeal. So the very painstaking labor ensued of removing each log, marking it, and transporting it 32 miles to Hungry Jack Lake. This laborious task was accomplished by a local logging contractor who use a large boom truck semi. It took two months to dismantle the building and one day to transport the logs.
Construction of the new lodge began on the same site as the previous lodges. It is certainly the most spectacular site on the lake where the land forms a point and the lake therefore surrounds the lodge on three sides. A full basement was dug and laid. Before the lodge was built, all the logs were restored to their natural finish, as they had linseed oil on the inside and yellow paint on the exterior. This was done by stripping each log by hand using a draw knife. The logs were then reconstructed in their original position with fiberglass insulation placed between each one. No lifting equipment was used, only the strong backs of Bill Gentry, Jerry Parson, and Archie Kirk, Jr. These three men worked long hard days to complete this mammoth project as winter was approaching and the lodge had to be completed by Christmas 1973. A full house of guests has been promised lodging for the holidays. Happily, Jerry moved into the new lodge on December 15. It was quite a day. The two large stone fireplaces were lit and much rejoicing followed.
The lodge stands large, sturdy, and beautiful. A local artist has painted a wall mural depicting "Wild Life in the North Woods." Much of the furniture is hewn from logs and hand carved. It has a very rustic and warm atmosphere. The resort also has 13 smaller cabins for accommodations all facing the lake. May the new lodge be longstanding.
Monday, June 27, 2005
History of Old Northwoods Lodge
Old Northwoods Lodge sits on the site of the original Northwoods Lodge, one of the founding resorts on the Gunflnt Trail. In the early 1930s, Dr. Rempel, a Russian CCC Camp Director, owned and operated the Northwoods Lodge, a premier hunting and fishing destination for visitors from the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, and Chicago. In 1937, fire claimed the first lodge, and another was built in its place the next year. The original native stone firepalce, which was part of the second lodge, still stands beside the new cedar log lodge. In the heyday of the 1940s and 1950s, there were 22 cabins at the Northwoods Lodge resort. In the late 1950s, the property changed hands, and E.H. Ruidl became the new owner. When the lodge burned again in 1965, the resort folded. Over the years, several of the outlying cabins and lakeshore were sold, and in 1990, when present owner Gale Quistad bought the property, there were seven cabins remaining and no lodge. "It looked like a ghost town from the movies," explains Gale. "It has been unattended for 25 years, and if I was going to open it up as a resort again, I had my work cut out for me." Gale worked for the telephone company for many years and remodeled a cabin at a time in the hours when he wasn't working. He completed and opened about one cabin a year for the next five years. Gale met Yelena Yevseyeva while vacationing in Russia, and sometime later they were married. Yelena immigrated to the United States and made her new home here on the Gunflint Trail. Now they two of them had a big project about to begin: it was finally time to build a new lodge. Reservations: 1-800-682-8264Local Calls: 1-218-388-9464Contact us by email.Contents 2005 @ Old Northwoods Lodge. All rights reserved.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Banadad Ski Trail Recieve Trail Improvement Grant
Project Description:
The USFS's Trail Inventory lists the Banadad as a Skiing and Hiking Trail. The Trail is an 18 mile linear trail of which 15 miles are located within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Ted Young, of Boundary Country Trekking, is the trail's Maintenance Supervisor. Within the BWCAW all maintenance work must be done with hand tools and access for maintenance is by foot i.e., walking. The grooming of the Trail by snowmobile is authorized by the 1978 BWCA Act and provided by Boundary Country Trekking under agreement with the Gunflint Ranger District, USFS.
The annual cost of maintaining and grooming the Banadad for skiing ranges from $10,000 to $12,000. A portion of this cost is the Minnesota DNR's calculation on the value of the in-kind contribution of volunteer labor.
This cost is financed by: (1) a $6000 grant from the Minnesota DNR's Ski Pass Grant-in-Aid (GIA) program administered by Cook Country. This GIA funds are provided to the Banadad in the name of the Gunflint Recreational Trails. (2) A $1000 "Trail Partners Grant" provided by the Gunflint Ranger District USFS to Boundary Country Trekking. (3) The balance is contributed by volunteer labor. Each year some 400-500 person hours of volunteer labor, including Boundary Country Trekking's staff, goes into clearing the summer's accumulation of down trees and brush. Residents of Cook County provide over half of this volunteer effort.
Yet even with these efforts the remote interior sections of the Banadad have received little maintenance attention since the trail was opened in 1983. Just imagine how much work can be accomplished if you have to walk in five miles first before you even start working and then you have to walk out when you finish.
Currently there are approximately eight remote interior miles where the brush and conifers are threatening to choke off the trail. This is not a job that we have been able or will be able to successfully accomplish with our volunteer labor. If this brush and conifers are not cut back within the next few years the Trail will become impassable and will have to be closed.
Proposed Project:
Our proposal to deal with the brush and conifers choking off the Trail's remote interior is to hire a trail crew(s) to get out there and get it cut back. This crew would work out of base camps, setup by the crew, near the portion of the trail they were working on. The crew would spend several nights at each camp. Access to these base camps would be either by canoe or foot depending upon the most accessible route into each camp. The trail crew will also use the E. J. Croft Yurt as a base camp to access a portion of the project area.
It is our intent to hire and supervise a three to four person trail crew(s) including one trail boss. We anticipate that area residents experienced in trail clearing and camping would primarily be hired. Boundary Country Trekking will provide camping equipment, the yurt, and canoes. The Gunflint Ranger District USFS will provide all hand tools.
Based upon our experience volunteer crews working on the most accessible sections of the trail, with hand tools and not counting their travel time, require 75-100 hours to clear one mile. The Trail's remote interior (the project area) is considerably more overgrown than the more accessible portions of the Trail. Therefore we estimate that up to 160 hours of labor/mile will be required to clear the Trail within the project area.
Project Area
The project area consist of eight remote interior miles. Starting at the Logging Camp, which is six miles west of the eastern trailhead, to the intersection of the trail with the section line between sections 3 and 4 of R3W T64 near the large beaver dam approximately four miles in from the west end trailhead. (See map)
Project Standards
Widen the eight interior miles of the Banadad Ski Trail within the project area as follows:
1. Where brush is the dominant vegetation- cut/clear brush along trail right of way to minimum width of eight feet (8') and remove all overhanging brush.
2. Where conifers are the dominant vegetation- cut brush and conifers to create a minimum of six 6) foot trail right of way. Thin conifers on sides of right of way to promote growth of remaining conifers and trim all over hanging conifers branches up to a minimum of ten (10') high.
3. Throughout project area trim all over-hanging conifer branches up to ten feet and remove overhanging brush.
Projected Projects Life Expectancy:
Based upon past experience, we anticipate that within the project area when the "project standards" are achieved only minimal annual maintenance will be required for the next ten to fifteen years.
Financing the Project:
Projected total cost of this project to clear eight miles of the Banadad is $17,670.
If the project is approved it would be implemented over the next two years beginning in the summer of 2005 (FY 2005 and FY 2006).
We are requesting an $8000 grant from the Cook Country Recreation Fund for the expressed purpose of financing the clearing of 4 interior miles of the Banadad Ski Trail. In addition we are pledging the following grant-matching contributions which would be used to clear an additional 4 interior miles of the trail and provide the equipment needed to accomplish the project:
Boundary Country Trekking (BCT) Pledges to Contribution-
$4,000 cash ($2,000/year for 2 years) which would go towards the wages and outfitting of the trail crew.
2. $3,840 worth of In-kind labor over the next two years.
$1630 in kind contribution of camp gear and canoes from BCT
$200 in kind contribution of hand tools from USFS
The Gunflint Ranger District's "Trail Partners" grant to Boundary Country Trekking of $1000 in 2005 and an anticipated $1000 grant in 2006 will be used as a portion of cash match. The District has also pledged a USFS trail crew to clear one interior mile in 2005 and another mile the next year. However, because of the tenuous nature of USFS funding Boundary Country Trekking pledges to make up for any of the pledged USFS contribution not provided.
NOTE: During this project Boundary Country Trekking will continue to maintain, primarily with volunteer trail crews, the remaining ten, more accessible, miles of the Banadad. This regular maintenance will require 500-600 person hours of hand labor. None of the requested and/or pledged project funds or in kind labor will be used for maintaining the more accessible portions of the trail.
Trail Usage and Community Involvement. During the winter the Trail is used exclusively by cross-country skiers. While a completely accurate count of skier days is not known, our best estimate is that this year there was between 700-900 skier days. This estimate is based on our tabulation of the BWCA day permits we turned in to the USFS which in 2005 showed 544 skier days. The permits, we turned in were from only two of the trail's three permit boxes. The other box is manned by the USFS. Add to this the fact that at least 30% of the skiers (many of which are locals) traveling on the Banadad never bother to fill out a "Day Permit."
Of the permits we turned in, 116 of the 544 (20%) skier days were from Cook Country (local).
As previously mentioned Cook Country residents currently provide over half of the volunteer labor required to get the Trail open for skiing each year. Last fall 23 of the 42 volunteers that worked on the Trail were from Cook County.
During the spring-summer the Trail is used by day hikers who start at either end of the trail and hike in and out a few miles. Many of these hikers are property owners living near the Trail. During fall the Trail is used primarily by bird, moose and deer hunters, again most of whom, particularly the bird hunters, are local property owners. No accurate record of this usage is available.
The USFS's Trail Inventory lists the Banadad as a Skiing and Hiking Trail. The Trail is an 18 mile linear trail of which 15 miles are located within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Ted Young, of Boundary Country Trekking, is the trail's Maintenance Supervisor. Within the BWCAW all maintenance work must be done with hand tools and access for maintenance is by foot i.e., walking. The grooming of the Trail by snowmobile is authorized by the 1978 BWCA Act and provided by Boundary Country Trekking under agreement with the Gunflint Ranger District, USFS.
The annual cost of maintaining and grooming the Banadad for skiing ranges from $10,000 to $12,000. A portion of this cost is the Minnesota DNR's calculation on the value of the in-kind contribution of volunteer labor.
This cost is financed by: (1) a $6000 grant from the Minnesota DNR's Ski Pass Grant-in-Aid (GIA) program administered by Cook Country. This GIA funds are provided to the Banadad in the name of the Gunflint Recreational Trails. (2) A $1000 "Trail Partners Grant" provided by the Gunflint Ranger District USFS to Boundary Country Trekking. (3) The balance is contributed by volunteer labor. Each year some 400-500 person hours of volunteer labor, including Boundary Country Trekking's staff, goes into clearing the summer's accumulation of down trees and brush. Residents of Cook County provide over half of this volunteer effort.
Yet even with these efforts the remote interior sections of the Banadad have received little maintenance attention since the trail was opened in 1983. Just imagine how much work can be accomplished if you have to walk in five miles first before you even start working and then you have to walk out when you finish.
Currently there are approximately eight remote interior miles where the brush and conifers are threatening to choke off the trail. This is not a job that we have been able or will be able to successfully accomplish with our volunteer labor. If this brush and conifers are not cut back within the next few years the Trail will become impassable and will have to be closed.
Proposed Project:
Our proposal to deal with the brush and conifers choking off the Trail's remote interior is to hire a trail crew(s) to get out there and get it cut back. This crew would work out of base camps, setup by the crew, near the portion of the trail they were working on. The crew would spend several nights at each camp. Access to these base camps would be either by canoe or foot depending upon the most accessible route into each camp. The trail crew will also use the E. J. Croft Yurt as a base camp to access a portion of the project area.
It is our intent to hire and supervise a three to four person trail crew(s) including one trail boss. We anticipate that area residents experienced in trail clearing and camping would primarily be hired. Boundary Country Trekking will provide camping equipment, the yurt, and canoes. The Gunflint Ranger District USFS will provide all hand tools.
Based upon our experience volunteer crews working on the most accessible sections of the trail, with hand tools and not counting their travel time, require 75-100 hours to clear one mile. The Trail's remote interior (the project area) is considerably more overgrown than the more accessible portions of the Trail. Therefore we estimate that up to 160 hours of labor/mile will be required to clear the Trail within the project area.
Project Area
The project area consist of eight remote interior miles. Starting at the Logging Camp, which is six miles west of the eastern trailhead, to the intersection of the trail with the section line between sections 3 and 4 of R3W T64 near the large beaver dam approximately four miles in from the west end trailhead. (See map)
Project Standards
Widen the eight interior miles of the Banadad Ski Trail within the project area as follows:
1. Where brush is the dominant vegetation- cut/clear brush along trail right of way to minimum width of eight feet (8') and remove all overhanging brush.
2. Where conifers are the dominant vegetation- cut brush and conifers to create a minimum of six 6) foot trail right of way. Thin conifers on sides of right of way to promote growth of remaining conifers and trim all over hanging conifers branches up to a minimum of ten (10') high.
3. Throughout project area trim all over-hanging conifer branches up to ten feet and remove overhanging brush.
Projected Projects Life Expectancy:
Based upon past experience, we anticipate that within the project area when the "project standards" are achieved only minimal annual maintenance will be required for the next ten to fifteen years.
Financing the Project:
Projected total cost of this project to clear eight miles of the Banadad is $17,670.
If the project is approved it would be implemented over the next two years beginning in the summer of 2005 (FY 2005 and FY 2006).
We are requesting an $8000 grant from the Cook Country Recreation Fund for the expressed purpose of financing the clearing of 4 interior miles of the Banadad Ski Trail. In addition we are pledging the following grant-matching contributions which would be used to clear an additional 4 interior miles of the trail and provide the equipment needed to accomplish the project:
Boundary Country Trekking (BCT) Pledges to Contribution-
$4,000 cash ($2,000/year for 2 years) which would go towards the wages and outfitting of the trail crew.
2. $3,840 worth of In-kind labor over the next two years.
$1630 in kind contribution of camp gear and canoes from BCT
$200 in kind contribution of hand tools from USFS
The Gunflint Ranger District's "Trail Partners" grant to Boundary Country Trekking of $1000 in 2005 and an anticipated $1000 grant in 2006 will be used as a portion of cash match. The District has also pledged a USFS trail crew to clear one interior mile in 2005 and another mile the next year. However, because of the tenuous nature of USFS funding Boundary Country Trekking pledges to make up for any of the pledged USFS contribution not provided.
NOTE: During this project Boundary Country Trekking will continue to maintain, primarily with volunteer trail crews, the remaining ten, more accessible, miles of the Banadad. This regular maintenance will require 500-600 person hours of hand labor. None of the requested and/or pledged project funds or in kind labor will be used for maintaining the more accessible portions of the trail.
Trail Usage and Community Involvement. During the winter the Trail is used exclusively by cross-country skiers. While a completely accurate count of skier days is not known, our best estimate is that this year there was between 700-900 skier days. This estimate is based on our tabulation of the BWCA day permits we turned in to the USFS which in 2005 showed 544 skier days. The permits, we turned in were from only two of the trail's three permit boxes. The other box is manned by the USFS. Add to this the fact that at least 30% of the skiers (many of which are locals) traveling on the Banadad never bother to fill out a "Day Permit."
Of the permits we turned in, 116 of the 544 (20%) skier days were from Cook Country (local).
As previously mentioned Cook Country residents currently provide over half of the volunteer labor required to get the Trail open for skiing each year. Last fall 23 of the 42 volunteers that worked on the Trail were from Cook County.
During the spring-summer the Trail is used by day hikers who start at either end of the trail and hike in and out a few miles. Many of these hikers are property owners living near the Trail. During fall the Trail is used primarily by bird, moose and deer hunters, again most of whom, particularly the bird hunters, are local property owners. No accurate record of this usage is available.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Hungry Jack Lake
Hungry Jack Lake History
By Maryanne Norton- 1998
As evidenced by Paleo-Indian stone tools found nearby, there was human activity in the Hungry Jack Lake area as early as 10,000 years ago. These people were nomads who hunted large game with spears tipped with locally quarried stone. As climatic warming began, about 7,000 years ago, cultural changes occurred, and the Archaic Indians began to hunt, fish, gather vegetables and use copper tools. The later Woodland Period, from 200 BC to 1650 AD, produced more cultural changes, including use of birch bark canoes, the bow and arrow, fabric weaving, net making and the addition of wild rice, berries and nuts to the diet. It was during the Woodland Period thattribes were organized.
Present day Cook County had been Chippewa land until the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe opened the area to white settlement. Mineral exploration soon followed. In the search for copper, silver and gold, the Grand Marais to Rove Lake Road, predecessor of the Gunflint Trail, was laid out around the east end of Hungry Jack Lake, on its way to the Canadian border.
A well-known story is that of the naming of Hungry Jack Lake. By the fall and early winter of 1873/74, federal surveyors were working in the area. They camped on the shore of an unnamed lake. When food ran very low, two of the surveyors snowshoed into Grand Marais while guide Andrew Jackson (Jack) Scott remained. Two weeks later as they approached the camp, one surveyor called out, "Are you hungry, Jack?" The lake immediately was named Hungry Jack Lake, inspired by Jack Scott’s two weeks of hunger and thirst.
The Gunflint Trail was extended to the west end of Hungry Jack in 1923, and the first buildings on the lake, two log cabins, were built by Jesse Gapen and Robert Wegg on a site they leased from the U.S. Forest Service for a resort. In 1924 Gateway Lodge opened to the public and was run by the Gapen family until 1958. The present lodge, now called Hungry Jack Lodge, is the third on this site; the first two burned in 1931 and 1972.
The Forest Service surveyed twenty-one lease lots for summer homes along the north side of Hungry Jack, on lakeshore extending east from the lodge to the West Bearskin portage. Benton and Mary Byers on Lot 1, just east of the lodge home built the first summer in 1923. During the 1920s and 30s, all lots were leased and cabins built, for a total of nineteen by the 1940s. The forest Service surveyed five more lots in the 1940s on lakeshore east of the Bearskin portage. Cabins were built on those lots by 1950.
The first building on Hungry Jack’s south shore, which is private land, was Swanson’s Lodge, built in 1935 by Anna and Algot Swanson. Swanson’s closed in 1970 and two of the cabins have been sold to individuals. The lodge and remaining cabins are used as a private retreat.
Sunset Point, now Hungry Jack Canoe Outfitters, was built in the 1960s and originally operated by Harry and Margaret Nolan. Other homes and cabins on the south shore, sixteen in all, were built from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Land on the south shore east of Mount Anna and on the east end of the lake is Forest Service land not open to development.
A small strip that fronts both Hungry Jack and West Bearskin Lakes in the northeast corner of Hungry Jack Lake is private land. Here, in the 1920s, Oscar Hauschild purchased old logging camp buildings for a summer home, accessible at that time only
by boat from Hungry Jack Lake. Later another cabin that became the home of guide Billy
Needham was built on this land. A road now reaches these locations.
At the very eastern end of Hungry Jack Lake a cliff rises almost two hundred feet out of the water. Known as Honeymoon Bluff, it is a popular spot accessed by a hiking trail off Clearwater Road. This too is federal land.
Logging in the Hungry Jack area was difficult because of the hills and rocky terrain, but in the late 1920s the General Logging Company built a logging railroad from Lake County to Rose Lake on the Canadian border. A spur line ran along the south shore of Hungry Jack from the west. When general logging failed during the depression of the 1930s, the spur line was abandoned and the tracks were torn up by 1940. Evidence of the logging road can still be seen along South Hungry Jack Road. The north side of Hungry Jack was not heavily logged and so today old growth white and red pines still stand on the summer home lots and along Hungry Jack Road.
By Maryanne Norton- 1998
As evidenced by Paleo-Indian stone tools found nearby, there was human activity in the Hungry Jack Lake area as early as 10,000 years ago. These people were nomads who hunted large game with spears tipped with locally quarried stone. As climatic warming began, about 7,000 years ago, cultural changes occurred, and the Archaic Indians began to hunt, fish, gather vegetables and use copper tools. The later Woodland Period, from 200 BC to 1650 AD, produced more cultural changes, including use of birch bark canoes, the bow and arrow, fabric weaving, net making and the addition of wild rice, berries and nuts to the diet. It was during the Woodland Period thattribes were organized.
Present day Cook County had been Chippewa land until the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe opened the area to white settlement. Mineral exploration soon followed. In the search for copper, silver and gold, the Grand Marais to Rove Lake Road, predecessor of the Gunflint Trail, was laid out around the east end of Hungry Jack Lake, on its way to the Canadian border.
A well-known story is that of the naming of Hungry Jack Lake. By the fall and early winter of 1873/74, federal surveyors were working in the area. They camped on the shore of an unnamed lake. When food ran very low, two of the surveyors snowshoed into Grand Marais while guide Andrew Jackson (Jack) Scott remained. Two weeks later as they approached the camp, one surveyor called out, "Are you hungry, Jack?" The lake immediately was named Hungry Jack Lake, inspired by Jack Scott’s two weeks of hunger and thirst.
The Gunflint Trail was extended to the west end of Hungry Jack in 1923, and the first buildings on the lake, two log cabins, were built by Jesse Gapen and Robert Wegg on a site they leased from the U.S. Forest Service for a resort. In 1924 Gateway Lodge opened to the public and was run by the Gapen family until 1958. The present lodge, now called Hungry Jack Lodge, is the third on this site; the first two burned in 1931 and 1972.
The Forest Service surveyed twenty-one lease lots for summer homes along the north side of Hungry Jack, on lakeshore extending east from the lodge to the West Bearskin portage. Benton and Mary Byers on Lot 1, just east of the lodge home built the first summer in 1923. During the 1920s and 30s, all lots were leased and cabins built, for a total of nineteen by the 1940s. The forest Service surveyed five more lots in the 1940s on lakeshore east of the Bearskin portage. Cabins were built on those lots by 1950.
The first building on Hungry Jack’s south shore, which is private land, was Swanson’s Lodge, built in 1935 by Anna and Algot Swanson. Swanson’s closed in 1970 and two of the cabins have been sold to individuals. The lodge and remaining cabins are used as a private retreat.
Sunset Point, now Hungry Jack Canoe Outfitters, was built in the 1960s and originally operated by Harry and Margaret Nolan. Other homes and cabins on the south shore, sixteen in all, were built from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Land on the south shore east of Mount Anna and on the east end of the lake is Forest Service land not open to development.
A small strip that fronts both Hungry Jack and West Bearskin Lakes in the northeast corner of Hungry Jack Lake is private land. Here, in the 1920s, Oscar Hauschild purchased old logging camp buildings for a summer home, accessible at that time only
by boat from Hungry Jack Lake. Later another cabin that became the home of guide Billy
Needham was built on this land. A road now reaches these locations.
At the very eastern end of Hungry Jack Lake a cliff rises almost two hundred feet out of the water. Known as Honeymoon Bluff, it is a popular spot accessed by a hiking trail off Clearwater Road. This too is federal land.
Logging in the Hungry Jack area was difficult because of the hills and rocky terrain, but in the late 1920s the General Logging Company built a logging railroad from Lake County to Rose Lake on the Canadian border. A spur line ran along the south shore of Hungry Jack from the west. When general logging failed during the depression of the 1930s, the spur line was abandoned and the tracks were torn up by 1940. Evidence of the logging road can still be seen along South Hungry Jack Road. The north side of Hungry Jack was not heavily logged and so today old growth white and red pines still stand on the summer home lots and along Hungry Jack Road.
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