Outdoors Posts

Ice Angler Rescue

Ice anglers rescued after ice sheet breaks away from shore.

KBJR. WCCO-TV. Star Trib. Duluth News-Tribune.

I was skating that ice 48 hours ago, so I’m going to crawl under my bed now.

Skated the big lake today

Skated the big lake today in -30 windchill or so. Had it all to myself because I’m a baller, shot caller, 20-inch blades on the Impala

The Slice: A Skaters’ Waltz in Duluth

Enjoy a skaters’ waltz across Duluth’s harbor and see familiar landmarks from a different perspective.

In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.

Two new movie packages join Banff Mountain Film Festival

Two new Banff Mountain Film Festival movie packages hit the internet on Feb. 4 as part of the virtual world tour. Ruby and Sapphire movie bundles are joining the Amber and Onyx movie packages that are already online. The Duluth Cross-country Ski Club receives part of the proceeds when viewers use the link on duluthxc.com to get to the BMFF content.

More Wild Ice

Skating Duluth’s inner harbor at “the slip.” Photo gallery below.

Wild Ice

The Slice: The Heart of Piedmont Ski Trails

Take a cross-country ski tour with Glen Nelson, one of the pioneers of the Piedmont Ski Trails in Duluth.

In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.

Iceboating at Duluth’s Park Point

Chip Jacobs explains the allure iceboating on the Duluth Harbor.

In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.

Into the Dad Zone: An Epic Skate in the BWCA

Like a lot of folks who love the outdoors I try as hard as possible to get my kid to love being outside as well. To create that connection is like walking the razor’s edge. You push too much and they hate it. You push too little and they get consumed by electronics, friends and all the other noise going on in their young lives.

I would say my actions fall on pushing the outdoors too much. I personally have come to the conclusion that I have one life to live and I am sure as hell going to live it as much as I can.

There is no question, I am happiest outside having an adventure. That has been one consistent theme in my life since I was a kid. That theme is a core part of my being and one aspect of my life I want to give to my child, it’s my legacy … and well, it’s all the legacy I have to give!

So when free time presents itself, outside is where I will be. If my wife is working and I have the kid for that time period, then we are going outside. It’s just a matter of how and where. Usually those two answers are dictated by weather, season and what the conditions will allow us to do. There is always something special to any time and season, if we are aware enough to recognize it.

Makwa Ziibiins Miikana: Bear Creek Trail to Wisconsin Point

Last week Bear Creek Trail in Superior opened to hikers, bikers and snowshoers. It’s a 2.25-mile crushed-concrete pathway connecting the Osaugie Trail at Bear Creek Park to Wisconsin Point Road. An extension is in the planning stages that will create an additional trail on the other side of Wisconsin Point Road to parking lot #1. But what is already built is excellent.

Duluthians consulted as national resources for bicyclists

Avesa Rockwell and Jeremy Kershaw have been consulted as experts on bicycling in Shape Magazine. Kershaw and Rockwell lead Heck of the North, a company that plans events for adventuresome bicyclists, such as Le Grand du Nord, Heck Bikepacking Race and Heck of the North.

enTraance – “Quarantine”

“Quarantine” is the first music video for Twin Cities-based band enTraance, featuring the beautiful landscapes of Duluth and the north shore of Lake Superior.

Twenty Years on the Superior Hiking Trail: Ely’s Peak Loop

Paul Lundgren Saturday EssayThe laziest and slowest record in endurance-sports history has been broken. Again. By me. Again.

As documented in numerous essays, I started hiking the Superior Hiking Trail on Sept. 23, 2000 and finished the 310-mile trek from the Canadian border to Jay Cooke State Park on Nov. 5, 2015. Obviously I took a lot of breaks along the way. Then, in 2016, I hiked new parts of the trail that hadn’t been built when I first went through, thus breaking the record I already held for the slowest unsustained complete traverse of the Superior Hiking Trail.

Was that an official record? Well, no organizational body really keeps track of such things. But I stand firmly in my declaration that no one who has hiked the entire Superior Hiking Trail has taken longer to do it than me.

And now I’ve taken even longer.

In the summer of 2018 a new loop trail was built at Ely’s Peak in Duluth. It was kind of late in the hiking season when I heard about it, so I planned to do it in 2019. Then I kind of forgot about it and got distracted with other things. I had also started a new quest to hike the North Country Trail through Wisconsin. I’m still barely started on that.

Anyway, this past July I drove out to the Ely’s Peak area with the intention of knocking out the new last bit of trail, but as I started walking it occurred to me that if I waited until Sept. 23 to do this loop my Superior Hiking Trail story would span a perfect 20 years. So I hiked other trials that day and saved the loop for the perfect day.

Volunteer outdoors with Northwoods Volunteer Connection

Northwoods Volunteer Connection, a nonprofit based in Tofte, is recruiting volunteers for environmental stewardship projects clearing trails in the Tofte and Gunflint Ranger Districts of the Superior National Forest through October. Volunteers wishing to volunteer in other parts of the SNF can be accommodated.

Selective Focus: Fall Colors 2020

The Arrowhead region is awash with color once again. Track the progression of fall and peak color with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Fall Color Finder.

Featured here are select images from Instagram showcasing this year’s fall color display.