A dog team in hot pursuit of skier Heidi Loosen at "Man versus Dog"
The first reaction most people had when they heard about Bearskin’s “Man versus Dog” Wilderness Pursuit ski race was generally, “Pffffft. That’s crazy. Skiers can’t beat dog teams.”
This mom and daughter enjoyed being out in the snowstorm Tuesday.
It snowed yesterday. Really, really snowed. It started to snow lightly around noon. By 2 PM we were encouraging our employees who had to drive a distance to head home. Those of us who remained had a very quiet afternoon in the lodge, watching the big snowflakes tumbling and blowing all afternoon. By dinner time it was snowing hard enough that it was difficult to see the lake. Late in the night the moonglow started to light up East Bearskin Lake and we knew the snow must have stopped.
The forecast for the upcoming weekend includes some colder temperatures, but with the potential for sunny days. The snow continues to be wonderful. Guests repeatedly tell us that the snow is the best it’s been in a decade and that the quality of the grooming has been excellent.
As I type this, I’m watching a group of women skiers from Cabin 3 glide by on the lake path. Frost is making the trees along the lake’s bank look like white cotton candy today, so right now the skiers appear to be posing for an idyllic Christmas card photo. (Where’s the camera, where’s the camera? Never nearby when we need it!) To keep up on current trail conditions, check out our trail reports at http://bearskintrailreports.wordpress.com/
Cabin 8 today, surrounded by snow. Picnic, anyone?
Following an extremely busy holiday season, Bearskin life has slowed down a bit for a week or so. After everyone almost universally has some days off during the holidays, it seems that most folks have to go back and accomplish a few things at work before they opt for another vacation. If you like your cross country ski vacations to be quiet and the trails to be uncrowded, the first two weeks of January are a great choice.
What a week it has been! Somewhere in the past few days there was a holiday. Grandpa McCloughan came to visit, our own little tree was hurriedly put up, gifts were exchanged and when we weren’t all working, our family attempted to do the Christmas spirit thing. A pre-Christmas sleigh ride and service at Okontoe helped provide some connection to the reason for the season.
But mostly our time for the past week was spent preparing for two huge new changes at Bearskin: The restaurant opened and dog sledding rides started.
Nobody spends more time on the Central Gunflint Trail System than our son Quinn. Between his constant obsessive grooming trips with the pisten bully or G2 and his daily long ski excursions, he often spends 6 – 8 hours a day on the trails.
After all that time out in the woods you’d think he would have some good animal sighting stories to retell. But no, most of his interesting animal observations have been made out by our dumpster, not up on the ski trails. He makes so much noise in the pisten bully or on the grooming snowmobile that all he ever sees are the tracks of animals that used to be on the trail.
