Canoe Trip or Fishing Trip?
Memorial Weekend 2010
written by MMG

With a Kevlar canoe rented from Midwest Mountaineering, and the fishing gear loaded, only time would tell who would come out victorious – Mike who was calling this a fishing trip, or Melissa who was calling it a canoe trip.

Saturday, May 29th
After a full day of work yesterday and a stop of The Cove in Beaver Bay, we got to Kimball Lake campground (about 10 miles outside of Grand Marais on the Gunflint) around midnight. It, of course, was full and we didn’t have a reservation. So we found a boat access down the road, pretended not the see the “No Camping” sign, and got a few hours of sleep in the truck. At 5 a.m. there was an emergency run to the Holiday gas station in Grand Marais to buy life jackets (our comfy whitewater PFDs we forgotten in the basement). By 6:00 Mike and Piton were in the canoe doing a test run on Kimball Lake. This was Piton’s first time in a canoe and given how he performs in a pontoon, especially with fishing lures flying around, there was great cause for concern about how this trip would go.

The plan was to fish Kimball this morning and then later start our 4 lake loop. Since Piton didn’t quite prove himself on his test run, we left him in the truck and set out to catch 3 rainbow trout and 1 perch on Kimball. From there we headed to Pine Lake, loaded the canoe to the brim and set sail.

Mike was brave enough to try fishing with both Piton and all of our gear in the canoe. Thankfully he didn’t catch any, and Piton didn’t tip us over. Once across Pine, we portaged to Kemo Lake. Mike fished for lake trout on Kemo with no luck. So far, Mike’s fishing trip and my canoe trip were both proving to be true (I happily paddled as Mike happily fished). At the campsite on Kemo I set up camp and Mike portaged over to Talus Lake to fish for rainbows (no luck). Pita pizzas, Monopoly Deal, another try at the rainbows on Talus (two successes: I caught a nice 15 incher and Piton didn’t freak out) and a campfire rounded out the night. Fish count: 5. Number of times Piton capsized us: 0.

Sunday, May 30th
Mike and Piton were up at dawn to go after the rainbows on Talus. After breakfast, we packed up and headed on. Talus was the first lake of the day (no fish), followed by East Twin (no fish), and finally Pine to finish up the loop. We got our portages down to one trip per portage after doubling back on our first portage yesterday, but later questioned this (or the amount of gear we brought) after the mile portage between Twin and Pine. Back at Pine, we loaded up the truck and drove to Two Island Lake. There we set off against gale force winds in search of a campsite (there are no established sites on this lake). About half way across the lake we found a great spot on one of the many islands (the name is deceiving) on the lake.

I quickly set up camp in anticipation of the rain while Mike was out to try to catch dinner. He came back soaked (and skunked) while Pitonand I napped in the tent. With no fish to eat for dinner, we were stuck with shells and cheese. Fish count: 5. Number of times Piton capsized us: 0.

Monday, May 31st
This morning I was up early and with a few casts from shore was able to pull in a small mouth bass. Poor Mike had to get out of bed to dig out the swallowed hook, but was optimistic that our luck had changed. So we packed up but left our camping gear on the island since we’d be coming back past it on our way out. We headed to the end of Two Island and had a short portage to Dick Lake. Finally, some action! The small mouth bass started hitting followed by the northern pike. The highlight was pulling in two 17 inch bass. My dad’s prediction that I would pull in the biggest fish proved to be true.



Somehow Mike became the paddler and Melissa the fisher today. (Mike would like some credit for his guide service inserted here. I will also add that I had the lucky lure and some helpful hints from Mike.) Could it be that I actually enjoy spending the day fishing? With a couple northern for lunch we headed back to our site on Two Island and fried them up. A good way to end a FISHING trip. Fish count: 25! Number of times Piton capsized us: 0!

Al-Skan Saferi Day 9

Day 9, 3/18/2010 Lowe River Delta

No winds on the pass, went down to the river again, winds were gusty 15-20 mph. Put up the 13m frenzy, I wast lit-up! Seth was fly'n happy with his 12m Manta. Wind got fluky after a couple of hours of kiting, one second I was lit and the next minute the kite was falling out of the sky. Time to pack up, the frontal winds moved in.

We went to "The Rendezvous", a Helli skiing lodge, for beers. It was cool meeting some of the staff and guides and their stories, who were mostly from Jackson Hole. The theme from the staff is that they work for "Helli Crack".

Later that night Vern and Kristen meet up with us at Worthington Glacier were we parked the RV. We played some crib and had a couple of beers. Stayed up late and got up late, good times!!

Al-Skan Saferi Day 8

Day 8, 3/17/2010 Kiting Thompson Pass

We finally got to experience T.P. Kiting, The winds were light at 12-15 mph. We had a good day of touring and some nice glides. Could have used a little more wind, the snow was plentiful, and the sky's were bluebird. Great day of kiting, this is what we came to the Big AK for!



Seth's maiden voyage

Al-Skan Saferi Day 7

Day 7, 3/16/2010 First Day of Kiting

No Wind up on the pass, so we headed for the thermal winds blowing down the Lowe River Valley into Valdez. Winds were 30-40mph on the Lowe Delta, Seth was flying a 7 meter and I was happily flying a 4 meter Access. with temps in the high 30's and daylight till 8:30 we kited till the winds died around 7pm. We again park the RV at the Valdez Harbor, played some Crib and at dinner in the RV.


Seth feel'n out the wind!





Seth, Lit-Up!




Seth

Al-Skan Saferi Day 6

Day 6 Tavel Day Ancorage to Valdez

Rented the RV and drove 7 hrs to the port town of Valdez, Ak. We found a place to park the RV on the water front of the harbor.


Morning View from our backdoor!!!


Thompson Pass

Damn I look good in the morning.

Matanuska Valley

Al-Skan Saferi Day 5

We are now good at making skin tracks

3/15/2010 Last day of Avalanche Training

The last day of Avy Training put Seth and I in the backcounty, skinning up Pete's South Peak. We put all our new skills together with a 3 hr skin up and spectacular powder run down. Seth had an awesome bind inverted Areaola move on a blind roller going at mach 1. All I saw was Seth hitting some thing, flying through the air upside down then disappearing over a ledge. Sweeet! They (AAS) then gave the MN Flatlander's a certificate and said "have fun in AK"

We made it back to Anchorage while it dumped 14" more in Turnigan. We then went to Adam and Vern's Sunday night hockey game, were we were joined by Kristen, Wes Tibets, Mandy, and the Elley Family.

High view of Turnigan Pass


Pet's Peak from the Road

Al-skan Saferi Day 4

4/13/20
Day 2 of Avalanche Training Turnigan Pass, AK
Another blue bird day in AK! The day was spent evaluating snow pack, digging snow pits, skinning up Lip's Peak, and ended with awesome powder run. The amount of snow is unbelievable, the total snow pack was 12'! For some reason the two flat landers from MN were picked to break trail on the skin up, very, very exhausting. We met up with Adam, Vern, and Kristen for a beer and burger at Chair 5 in Girdwood. Another great day in AK!
Digging a snow pit

Seth breaking trail

Lip's Peak

Skinning

The Al-skan Saferi Days 1-3

Day 1

Seth and I flew out of MPLS on Wednesday night and got into Anchorage at 2am, and took a cab to Adam's, Vern's, and Kristen's place. No one was home because the were on an adventure of their own in the Tordilla Mountains an Hour fly in to the east of Anchorage. So we did what any good guest would do, crack open a couple of their beers and cooked up some moose brats. We went to bed about 7am Minnesota time.

Day 2 Thursday

Spent the day prepping gear and shopping for food. We reserved a 4x4 RV for the upcoming trip to Thompson Pass near Valdez. We got word from Vern that they were being flown out of the Tordillas because their trip was plagued by 3.0' of snow and -20 temps. Did I mention they were staying in a tent on a glacier with no roads within 100 miles. With that scenario they called their pilot to check in, the decision was made for them to scrap the trip and get flow out.

Vern and Kristen were flown out before dark, but with darkness setting Adam had to seek refuge at the Chugiak Mountain Guides cabin below the glacier.

Seth and I got a chance to visit with Vern and Kristen about their little adventure, before we headed out on our own. We reached the Chugiak Ranger Station bunk house around 11:00 pm and found an open room with 2 beds, thankfully no sleeping on the floor for 3 nights.

Day 3 Avalanche Safety Training Turnigan Pass, AK

The day started at 7am with paper work and a 3 hr classroom session on rescue techniques. We then went to the pass for hands on rescue work with beacons, probes, and shovels. Seth and I caught on quickly and did very well in our time avalanche scenario finding the victim in 6 minutes. The scenery was awesome, I have never been in snow over 8' deep. We picked up our technique of traveling on our skinned split boards quickly. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

SCSU Kite Clinic

January 30-31, 2010

This weekend we (mostly Mike) helped out with St. Cloud State's Outdoor Endeavors kite clinic, which was sponsored by MN Adventure and Velocity Kiting. Mike, Aaron, Jeremy, and Seth volunteered their time to instruct the 8 SCSU students and Outdoor Endeavors staff. Saturday winds were low, so trainer kites were flown most of the day by the first-time kiters.

The instructors must have heard the wind calling their names Sunday morning because they were out there before 8 a.m. The students rolled out to the ice around 9 a.m., so it was time for the instructors to go to work (except for those who were hungry and went to breakfast!). Everyone was able to get up on larger depowerable kites today, and they sure made their instructors look good. Impressive, guys and girls! I even saw some jumps and some ice road crossings. Despite the cold temps (5~10 above), the students showed their persistance and put in some long days. They left with some good skills and big smiles. The clinic continues at the end of February.

Your dad will have you kiting soon, Caleb!

ND Kite Session @ Pirate's Runway

January 23-24, 2010
It all started with an "Alert5" that went south with the weather. Seth and I were supposed to meet up with Bryce for a winter camping kite trip, but the plans changed as the perfect winter kiting trip went out the window with the weather report. Conditions were supposed to be 30F and nice winds at 13-18 mph. Well, as it turned out, most of Minnesota was 35F and raining. Seeing the weather report starting to change, Seth and I changed plans and decided to check out some kiting terrain that I had found while working in North Dakota.

ND has a lot to offer to kiters- consistent wind, good snow pack, and lots of terrain. But beware of barbed wire and Bison!

We started Saturday off with a hot breakfast of blueberry pancakes and bacon, provided by our gracious hosts Dave and Sally Ahonen, who put us up for the weekend.
ND had gotten a little rain on Friday night but it didn't destroy the 2 feet of snow pack, though it did make the snow a little sticky. Winds were steady at 20 for most of the day, dying off in the late afternoon.

The best part of ND is the rolling terrain! Plenty of hills to kite up and glide off. Seth had many lofty long glides off of "Little MT Hagen", and I my first real take of hang time.

The wind died at 3:30 as the weather report predicted, and Seth and I both concurred that it was going to be hard to kite on lakes again. We retired to the Ahonen home for delicious venison pot roast and Dave's "Skunk Piss" homebrew! It was a fine day!

Sunday the 24th, 2010

Well, the weather forecast didn't quite hit the mark and the new snow and wind definitely didn't arrive on time. Seth and I decided to check out some terrain in eastern MN that looked like it had good terrain potential. We got up and had another great breakfast put on by the Ahonen's and headed out to scout before the wind came up. That was a bust, with the humidity being 100% the fog was thick and we couldn't see 100 ft in front of us, let alone scout out new terrain. We then opted for a smaller lake that was nearby and set up in light wind and fog. The lake was slushy under 6" of snow, and riding was fair. After the fog cleared and the terrain was visible the area was deemed to have great kiting potential.

Sorry Seth, I have to post the second worst landing of the day!

It was an awesome kiting weekend - can't wait to get out to ND again!

Mt. Bohemia, Days 5-6

Friday, Jan. 1, 2010

We were up at 7 a.m. after a few hours of sleep in order to be on the hill when it opened. We got a few inches of fresh powder over night, so we wanted to take advantage of that.

Melissa had some solo runs while Mike napped in the afternoon, then she tried sledding with Piton.

Friends we met last night, Chris & Georgia, invited us to their cabin for dinner. Another couple Rob & Jennifer also joined us. Card games and conversation made for a fun night.

Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010

To celebrate 8 years of knowing each other (we met on 1-2-02), we spent the day snowboarding on fresh powder ~ it was awesome! We found some new tree runs and gave Mt. Bohemia's triple black diamond "Extreme Backcountry" a try. The bus picks you up at the bottom of this section and brings you back to the main lift.

We tore down camp at the end of the day and headed to Houghton for dinner. We found a great Chinese restaurant, then made it as far as Lake Gogobec where we stayed in a motel. Piton was happy to have heat throughout the night for the first time all week.

Mt. Bohemia, days 3-4

Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009

Omlets in a bag make a great breakfast while winter camping. We went in search of wind today, but had no luck. Instead we found some really nice XC ski trails in Copper Harbor. We spent the afternoon as tourists - lunch at Mariner North and shopping at the Laughing Loon. Tonight we tried making pizza in the tent on the wood stove for dinner. Unfortunately our pizza bread crust was a bit past expiration (by a few years), so it wasn't the best pizza we've ever had.

Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009

Pancakes & bacon (finally bacon!) for breakfast, followed by an inquiry about the local lakes. We noticed there are no tracks and no fish houses on the lakes around here, and found out it is because the ice is not thick enough yet. There goes snow kiting. So, we decided to hike up a ridge in Copper Harbor (Brockway Trail) ~ Mike in his tele skis and Melissa in snowshoes ~ with our snowboards strapped to our backs. We made it to the summit (1386 feet) in about an hour and a half, strapped into our boards and got back down in a matter of minutes. Good times! We stopped at Zik's for a drink, then headed back to the tent for chili. To bring in the new year, we went to Bear Belly Bar in Lac La Belle for a drink or two, then drove to Copper Harbor - back to Zik's to listen to a sweet bluegrass band called Chasin' Steel.

Fireworks in town at midnight marked the new year. The band kept playing until 2 a.m. Mike "siezed the moment" and couldn't resist $1.50 cans of Pabst.