A defining part of our life at Bearskin is that we are on a constant mission to  improve everything.  But sometimes we just get so accustomed to the way something looks, that it is easy to quit noticing.  Such is the case with the ski shelters in our area of the Central Gunflint Ski Trails.  Bob and Quinn were out trail trimming one day when it suddenly occurred to them that ski shelters looked…well, terrible. How hard would it be to spruce them up?

As it turns out, the answer is: not very hard at all. A little paint, plus a bit of time and effort, can certainly make a big difference.

The ski shelter on Poplar Creek Trail. 

Somebody’s been eating our ski shelter!

A few tools gathered together. What a lovely place to spend the day working. 

Plus, we called in the high-powered help: Ruby.  She already supervised the building of a camper cabin, so she’s a pro at this stuff.

The building needed a new roof.

And 2 gallons of fresh paint!

Lots of “forest service brown” paint, plus a new map frame, really spiffed up the little building.

Bob and Quinn worked on all of our ski shelters last week. As you can see by the pictures, the shelters now look much better!

The idea of making a nicer, more serious warming house out on a long ski trail, perhaps Poplar Creek, has been under discussion–perhaps a building big enough to be more of a ski lunch destination.   It might not even be feasible, but we are wondering if this idea would be of interest to our skiers?  What do you think?

Trail work in preparation for the winter season is well underway. Fallen trees need to be cut down, the grass and underbrush needs to be mowed, and overhanging branches need to be trimmed back before the snow falls.

 Guests often tell us that they would enjoy clearing the trails. This year you can join us for the first Bearskin Lodge Trail Work Weekend,  October 28-30, 2011     Join Quinn, Andy, Bob, and Ryan for the final trimming on Bearskin’s miles and miles of wilderness Ski Trails.

Check into your Bearskin cabin Friday night. Join the crew Saturday morning on the trails for final hand trimming.  Work until 1:00,  then head back to your cabin for a late lunch.  Join us Saturday night for dinner in the main lodge.  Check out on Sunday morning.  Trail and safety equipment provided by Bearskin Lodge and the USFS. 

Must reserve by October 15^th for this special price.  Cost: $96 per person.  Includes two night lodging, dinner Saturday night, and use of Bearskin facilities: Hot tub, sauna, canoes, and kayaks.

A cooperative effort of Bearskin Lodge, The Central Gunflint Ski Trail Association, and the U S Forest Service.

It’s been a tough week to decide what to do with trail grooming and decisions will continue to be challenging over the upcoming weekend.  A  typical spring skiing situation.  We still have a lot of snow, but melting from the more direct spring afternoon sun can create a very hard surface on the trails. 

In spite of daily afternoon melting, our trails stayed reasonably good.  A dusting of snow in the tracks kept conditions from deteriorating.  By Tuesday, however, that wasn’t working.  Bob went out with the Pisten Bully tiller and did Summer Home, Campground, Lit Loop and Oxbow Trails.  Tilling can be a gamble, but guests who skied afterwards were quite happy with the results.  Bob is going out again today to till Lower Beaver Dam, Poplar Creek, and Bear Cub. 

We did not get the massive amounts of snow that central Minnesota received overnight.  We have less than an inch of new snow.  It’s sunny enough to cause some melting, in spite of only 8 degree temps.  Conditions will be changeable over the next few days.  Call the lodges for the most up to date report on trail conditions.

On the plus side, at this time last year we had grass on hiking trails. If you are a skier, late season conditions are still better than no snow!