Voyageurs National Park, March 2011

Cristin and I visited Voyageurs National Park the weekend 3/4 - 3/6.  Cristin had noticed that there was a Rover's winter camping trip to VNP in February and was curious to check out Minnesota's only national park.  In winter the primary popular activities there are snowmobiling and ice fishing.  We aren't setup to do either but we knew we'd have ample opportunities for X/C skiing and snowshoeing, too.   We stayed at a cabin at the Moosehorn Resort on Lake Kabetogema.  Bella got to tag along with us, too!


Sunrise over Lake Kabetogema and Voyageurs NP

On Saturday our destination was the Rainy Lake Visitor Center, about a 40 mile drive from our cabin that required us to drive into International Falls.  We left Bella at the cabin for the day due to her chronic knee problem. We had an outstanding brunch at the Coffee Landing Cafe on 3rd St in downtown. The unsightly and foul-smelling emissions from the Boise Cascade smoke stacks across the Rainy River in Fort Frances, Ontario are as a I remembered from my only other visit to I-Falls in the mid-1980's.

After eating we headed to the more pristine environs of Voyageurs! We went to the modern and plush visitor center where Cristin rented skis for $5. We skied 1/2 mile or so across Rainy Lake to the island home of the Black Bay ski trail  system   In many winters an ice road is plowed on the lake, including a spur and parking lot to this trail head.  But the ice conditions never were conducive to heavy vehicle traffic this winter as early snow helped insulated the lake surface and so solid, thick ice sufficient for cars and trucks was not formed.  However, the ice conditions were certainly sufficient for foot and light vehicle traffic like ATVs and snowmobiles. 

We skied the 5 mile "Pine" loop, one of the most interesting and fun trails I have ever skied! The narrow, single track trail is very scenic as it went through a forest of mixed type (aspen, pines, spruce, etc) and age including some nice older growth pines. We skied through a beaver pond, along an inland lake, and through a large wetland complex.  The trail had some level sections for good striding which featured many gentle curves so we never knew what pleasant vista would greet us around the next corner.  At one point we were in a small valley bordered on both sides by rocky ridges. The trail had some up-and-down areas that were very fun. 

View along the trail

The conditions were very good.  The temp was low or mid-20's , little or no wind, and cloudy with the sun trying to peak out, very mild. The trail had not been recently groomed but it was firm and user-groomed tracks helped greatly. In fact, a local couple got to the trail head at the same time as us and skied ahead, eventually even lapping us.  The trail was not icy or soft -- almost perfect.  There was some debris in the track and a few small ice ridges on a couple of the downhills in the pines toward the end of our ski. Cristin's old 3-pin binding rental skis were a little slow but she managed well.  We stopped for a quick trail lunch  at the trail intersection just 1.4 miles from the trail head, clearing a small area of snow from a buried picnic table so we could sit for a moment.

      

Cristin on Rainy Lake

We skied back to the visitor center, stopping to chat momentarily with a couple ice fishing with their dog.  At the visitor center, the NPS Ranger anxiously awaited our arrival as we needed to return the skis.  She had asked us to be back at 4:00, even though the center did not close until 4:30. We arrived at about 4:15 or so, the Ranger waiting for us at the door, looking at her watch as we approached, and glaring at us, and then acting fakey-nice to us as we entered.

  

On our way back thru International Falls we stopped at the Viking Bar on 3rd St in downtown. We spotted it earlier when we stopped for brunch. Cristin enjoyed the novelty of having a drink at the 'Viking' bar in the farthest reaches of northern Minnesota, just a stones throw from Canada.          

The previous day, Jerry -- the owner of the Moosehorn Resort - told us that there was no rush for us to check out early Sunday and so we could take our time.  So we did!  Cristin, Bella, and I all hiked on the lake around Echo Island, which is located right out in front of  the resort.  Cristin used her snowshoes; I didn't but should have as the snow closer to the island was very deep, which forced us to walk further out on the lake where the wind prevents the snow from accumulating too much. Again the temps were mild, realizing when I was unzipping my jacket that I had overdressed out of habit as it has been a cold winter.  There was very light snow falling all morning and early afternoon, even as a hazy sun was visible along with some occasional  blue sky.  The hike was a great way to end our time at VNP and the Big K and Bella got some much appreciated exercise.

The snow continued to fall our entire drive back to the Twin Cities. Although it wasn't heavy, we couldn't drive faster than about 45-60 mph and we saw several cars in the ditch. We devoured an excellent pizza at Sammy's in Cloquet so that good dining experience helped us better tolerate the poor road conditions.

So concluded the weekend and yet another new adventure experienced!