Due North to the BWCA....

Well,  I've had more than a few aspirin the past few days.  That's not a bad thing;  Just a sign that this trip north was pretty darn intense.  Last Monday,  photojournalist Aaron Achtenberg and I got up at the crack of dawn and drove north, way north to Minnesota's remote Gunflint Trail.  Needless to say, they've have PLENTY of snow up there.   Our destination?  Tuscarora Outfitters, owned by my good friends Andy and Sue Ahrendt.

Snow on the Gunflint Trail!  Our goal was to hike in winter camping gear to a remote BWCA lake and do a little winter camping and fishing. So,  Monday night, we got to work and packed up our gear for the big trip in on Tuesday.   Our plan?  Snowshoe 5 miles into Tuscarora Lake.  That doesn't sound like a big deal, until you consider the 46 inches of powder in the woods and our gear sleds, which averaged 75-100 pounds apiece.    

     

 Tuesday morning, my alarm sounded at 5:15 am and I packed on the layers for the big trip in.
We started with a carb-loading meal of egg bake and Sue's now-famous Tuscarora Mountain caramel rolls.... Too big and gooey to comprehend.  As they say in camp, "It's the Tuscarora way..."  Carb-loading
After breakfast, we stepped out into the cold and snow and headed southwest.  We set out from Round lake and slowly got our legs moving.  We snuck into Missing Link Lake and eventually Tuscarora Lake.

 You can see just how much snow we dealt with as we slowly lumbered along.  Snowshoes are an absolute must in these kinds of conditions.  Thanks Tubbs for keeping me on the trail with the new binding system!

In that picture above, our other trail partners for the trip, Roy Alexander and Bob Simon.  We all tried to take turns breaking trail.  Essentially, one guy would hop up front and break through the deep snow awhile and eventually drop back.  Someone new would take the lead. 
My Otter Sled PulkThank goodness for snowshoes!
By far, the biggest challenge of the hike in was Tuscarora Lake's portage.  A roughly 428 rod hike up and down the woody terrain.  A rod equals 16.5 feet, so that meant a portage of 1.5 miles.  Wow, bring on the aspirin.   
                             

 f              

After a quick trail lunch of sandwiches and Cliff Bars,  we eased down the last bit of the Tuscarora portage and hit the lake.  Another mile or so and we wandered into camp. When we arrived, what a surprise!  Someone had left behind half a dozen well-constructed quinzees still sitting in good order with a fresh layer of snow.  While the guys put up their Snowtrekker Winter tent (complete with stove) I decided to move into quinzee #5.  
Quinzee  Inside...

Andy in our camp kitchen

We fished lake trout that first evening and the next morning.  I had forgotten the perils of hand augers.  Oh well...As for the fishy pictures, I'll just have to make you wait for the story, which will hit the air next fall on Due North Outdoors and Minnesota Bound!
Our trail to nowhere leads somewhere........

 These kinds of "intense" trips don't just happen. We had a lot of support on this one.  Thanks to Otter Outdoors, Snowtrekker Tents, Tubbs Snowshoes, WSI Sports and Tuscarora Outfitters!!! You guys rock!

Tip-Up!!!

 Okay,  the fish doesn't always have to be the biggest or baddest in order to be the best.  Below, the exact reason I LOVE to fish....

*Jingle*  *Jing*  *Jingle*   Tip-Up!!!!

 I jumped up from the panfish hole I was looming over and ran a few yards to the brightly-colored tip-up.  It's black signal flag stood at attention.   I couldn't see the spool moving, but I knew that the circle hook dangling below rarely misses when a fish hits the bait.  I yelled at Ian and his dad to hop out of the shelter and come on over.   As I gently lifted the tip-up from the hole, Ian grabbed the line and started hand-lining the stubborn fish in,  his mittens still on.   When the fish ran, Ian and I  loosened our grip and let the fish pull a bunch of line.  Ian fought that fish like an old pro. 

 Soon enough, we managed the northern pike up and out of the ice hole and we snapped a few shots of Ian with his first winter northern pike.  

As I understand, there was a bit of wash done when Ian and Dirk got home.  It had something to do with the bear hug Ian gave that fish before he dropped it back down the hole..... Way to go Ian!

*********SHAMELESS PLUG*************

Notice that red coat I'm wearing? If you don't own one, you should.   I've always LOVED Wintergreen Northern Wear's winter gear and they're now a partner of Due North Outdoors!  Their Expedition Fleece Anorak is the absolute cat's meow.  Heavy duty fleece outerwear with Wintergreen's trademark trim. Awesome!

A Damn Cold End....

Ripley, Our Lead Dog...

So, how cold is *cold* to you?  What I'm asking;  Just how low does the mercury need to dip before you call it quits on a hunt?  I ask only after my last pheasant outing of the year.  Actually, I might better be served calling it a cold war versus an outing.  Pheasants Forever buddy Anthony Hauck and I got the crazy idea to hook up with fellow ringneck junkie John Maile and walk one last piece of habitat in 2010. Your average end-of-season hunt, with a single twist....We'd hunt on snowshoes.  Not so much out of want, but more out of necessitiy.

My Trusty "Tubbs"

 Keep in mind, Minnesotans just wrapped up a record December for snowfall and we figured we'd need a bit of help getting around the field.   As we geared up in 10 degree weather, I don't think any of us had any idea we'd have such a tough hunt.  Photojournalist Aaron Achtenberg could feel his hands freezing up, even as we still layered on our gear.   As we set out from the trucks, we walked west directly into a stinging wind that darn near instantly numbed any exposed skin.  We also found ourselves trudging through  several feet of snow.  In spots, we cut through drifts more than waist deep.  Not easy going, but the snowshoes certainly helped.  In the deep stuff, you need to kinda lift your leg straight up to clear the shoe of brush and snow and step forward.   Once you get the hang of "marching, it's not a bad go.   

The Crew...

We first walked a two or three hundred yard food plot and noticed quite a few birds pushing out of the far end into thicker cover.  At one point, I watched a tight plume of thirty or forty pheasants bump out.  I don't know that I've seen pheasants fly so closely together.   They almost looked like a flock of blackbirds.  After no luck in the food plot, we hopped across the road and tackled a roughly 50 acre slew of cattails.  For this task John and I ditched our snowshoes to cut up the middle while Anthony walked the edge.  We fought waist deep cattails, flushing hens much of the way across the slew.  Near the end,  a big bird startled me as it flushed just a few feet ahead.  I noticed the white collar and mounted my gun and quickly pulled the trigger.  Bang!   The rooster kept flying.  I rechecked my aim and pulled the trigger a second time.  No response.   Turns out the cold weather had gummed up the grease in my chamber and the second shell never quite popped into place.   I chuckled a bit as the rooster headed for some far-away hiding spot and disappeared over the far hill.... 

How did I miss?

A few minutes later I called over Aaron and he pointed the video camera as I pulled off my sunglasses.  My right eye had just about frozen shut and he had a hard time keeping a steady shot as he laughed at my predicament.    I pulled off my glove and gently pulled away the ice and regained use of both eyes.  I wish I had snapped a still shot of my eye.   Wow,  it was proving to be a damn cold end to the hunting season....

Tools of the Trade

By day's end, we had seen more than 100 birds, but only shot at half a dozen or so roosters.  We wrapped up the season with one of the coldest hunts I can remember.   Strange, but the toughest hunts are also the most profound.  I'm guessing none of us will soon forget the 2010 season...

 Done...

Oh, one other note.  Thanks to Anthony for all the still photos.  I normally like to take a bunch of photos on these shoots, but turns out my little Panasonic camera also succumed to the extreme conditions.   Watch for the story on this hunt in Due North Outdoors next fall!

Things Heat Up On The Ice!

 The Otter and Strikemaster Ready To Go!Well, I'm glad to say I've not got a few days of ice fishing under my belt.  Great to see such a good early season going, although the big storm this past weekend is surely going to screw up A LOT of ice conditions around Minnesota and Wisconsin.  I met up with fishing buddy Matt Bistodeau and we set out to fish a favorite panfish lake of mine on the west side of Minneapolis.  Matt's never fished it, so I was pretty excited to show him all the hype.  We hiked out onto the lake to a favorite spot of mine, a roughly 15 minute walk.  I pulled my Otter Sled loaded with my Strikemaster Solo and plenty of fishing gear.  No sweat pulling that thing through the snow.  I love being mobile like that without needing a machine.  Matt and I set up and started popping fish almost instantly.  I jigged a small Northland Gill Getter tipped with two wax worms.  That rig proved lights out for bluegills. 

 Another Big Bluegill

 Eventually I changed over to a Bro's Bloodworm and it also proved pretty deadly.   Matt was first to start pulling up the crappies.  Granted, we found no giants,  but catching a couple dozen 10-11 inchers sure makes for a fun night.  

 Crappie!

 A Slab!

Add to that the thirty or fourty nice bluegills, including a couple of three-quarter pounders and you've got an AWESOME evening on the ice.  We had nearly constant action from 3:30 until we picked up at 8 pm.  I'm thinking the combination of early ice AND the big front moving in had those fish scrambling to eat.  About halfway through our evening I watched a fat, red blob come up on the Vex and quickly grab my jig.  My drag zipped as the fish took line.   I had to be pretty gentle considering I had 2 pound stringed up. After a fight of three or four minutes, I coaxed a nice little pike through the hole.  Man, I love early ice....   

No Giant, But Sure Fun!

Matt's 37th Fish.....

Okay,  so I've got my "panfish itch" scratched (at least for now). Next up?  It's time to find a few walleyes! 

A Snowy Rooster Roadtrip To Take To The Bank!

 Where's the road?

Well, you can take this story to the bank, so to speak... Ha!  Friday morning, we hit the road and headed west, right into the heart of an early winter snowstorm to meet up with hunting buddy Jason Markkula.  The Jeep bounced around a bit as it cut through half a foot of powdery snow blowing around in the wind.  Way out in the country, you lose sight of the horizon in this kind of weather and it can just about make you dizzy!  For a good chunk of our trip, we snuck along at 30 miles an hour in near white-out conditions.  I wondered, as I white-knuckled the wheel, if we'd be hunting in this same rough weather once we reached Hendricks. 

 The Jeep! Hendricks is a small Minnesota farmtown of roughly 700 people and it's home to "The Bank";  Jason Markkula's bank.  See, a few years ago, Jason, a longtime PF member, paid exactly $1 for Hendricks' old bank building. Yep, he bought a bank for a single buck.  How cool is that? 

The Bank!

Jason spent some quality time cleaning scraping plaster, rebuilding the roof, leveling the floor, all that kind of stuff and two years later ended up with one of the coolest flippin' places on the planet.

Hangin' in the Bank"The Bank" is now Jason's private pheasant hunting camp complete with 100-year-old tile floors, an antique oak bar/kitchen,  a sleeping room, the original old brick walls, even a wash room with the old bank vault door.  Talk about having some privacy!

The old logo on the vault door

 The old vault door has a cool three-door system with multiple bolt locks....

 Jason said he always wanted to own a bank.  Now he's got one and it's become quite the social spot.  It's certainly the local watering hole for Pheasants Forever members.  Friday night, we hung out and drank a little beer while Franz, the "celebrity chef", whipped up a few of his favorite wild game appetizers.  

Franz Starting on the Wild Game Buffet - Notice the Chef's Coat?Outside, Hendricks' winter festival parade slowly rolled by.  A pretty cool thing to experience.   Watching the Parade

 I even stumbled upon the "bread trailer".  A guy in town bakes bread in a modest mud oven and then parks the trailer in town where you drop in a donation and take your bread.

The Trailer...

 Think super-dense, chewy, homemade stuff.  

The Bread...

Saturday, we woke to sunny skies and hit the field.   We hunted a good chunk of the day fighting wind and temps right around 12 degrees.  Chilly.  Chuck, our "semi-pro hunter" managed to bag the first bird.  

The "Semi-Pro" with another bird

 We followed with a few more as the day progressed.  Then we settled back into the bank and drank a bit more beer.  Our choice?  "Rooster Lager" and "Walleye Chop"....for good reason too.  See, Jason brews both those beers and donates some of the profit from both beers back to "The Build A Wildlife Area" program.  Pretty cool  As Jason says, "The more beer we drink the more wild land we save..."   I like the way he thinks.    Check out www.beerforwildlife.com  for more info...

Up next, we've got ice.  I'll be out fishing this week and I'll follow up with a report shortly!