Ice Floe
Prior to the recent cold snap, there were vast stretches of open water on Lake Pepin with numerous ice flows moving along.
Ice Heaves
With unstable ice conditions and strong northwest winds, the ice will move and tend to pile up on windward shores. The piles of ice featured in this photo were up to 8 feet high and could be observed near Hoksila Park close to Lake City. It brought back memories of the time Kathy and I were living in Aitkin, Minnesota in the late 1960's. Early one winter shortly after ice formed on Mille Lacs Lake, strong south winds one night caused huge sheets of ice to pile up near Garrison to a height of 15 feet completely blocking state highway 169. It would take several bulldozers a couple days to reopen the highway.
Beaver Lodge and Feed Pile
During the past year, several of my posts featured a variety of beaver activity in the upper reaches of Wacouta Bay. Unfortunately, the only way to observe this activity was by canoe or on cross country skis.
For anyone wishing to observe some very interesting beaver activity up close, I would suggest hiking out the "Sand Point" trail in Frontenac State Park. Upon reaching Lake Pepin, look to the west (upstream) and you will easily observe the lodge featured in this photo. One word of caution would be to avoid walking on the ice between the lodge and the feed pile. The resident beaver swim between the lodge and their winter food source several times a day keeping the ice thin even in the coldest weather.
Beaver Cutting
In my post of January 4, 2018, I shared a story, relayed to me 50 years ago by a Canadian fur trapper, about wolves preying upon kit beaver in the spring of the year. after ice out.
So it was with great interest when I recently became aware of a current research project conducted by Thomas Gable and Austin Homkes in Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota.
They were live trapping wolves and placing GPS collars on them in the early spring. From April through October, researchers would follow the packs to check out what the wolves were eating.
One of their discoveries was some wolf packs were eating beaver from 8 to 42 percent of the time. In areas of high beaver populations, predation upon adult moose and their calves was dramatically reduced.
Kayaking on the Rio Grande River
In recent months with the caustic dialog for and against building a wall at our southern border, I have been surprised and troubled by the fact that several hundred miles of this border flows through some of the most rugged and spectacular wilderness remaining in the lower 48 states. . This fact is never mentioned in the debate.
During my tenure at the Red Wing Environmental Learning Center, I was extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to explore three times by kayak the Rio Grande river as it flows through this beautiful wilderness.
In April of 1979, my wife Kathy accompanied me on a reconnaissance paddle experiencing several miles of the river as it flow through Big Bend National Park.
1980 ELC Kayakers
With assistance from Jason Jech and John Tittle, I was able to access the archives at the ELC to obtain some old and interesting photos. The 1980 ELC instructors accompanying me on this adventure are from left to right; Dave Deden, Kara Zibble Friesen, Lori Nelson Langer, Curt Hartgers and Scott Danielson.
In addition to kayaking nearly 60 miles of river through steep walled canyons, we experienced wilderness camping, bathing in remote hot springs and observing diverse desert flora coming to life. Even though this expedition through Big Bend National Park took place nearly 40 years ago, my memories still remain clearly vivid.
1987 ELC Kayakers
The 1987 ELC instructors on the Rio Grande expedition are from left to right; Karen Buermann, Randy Dietrich, Jason Jech, Jeff Johnson, Steve Diercks and Monica Boldt Erie. A total of 117 miles were paddled on this adventure including 17 on the east section of the National Park and 100 through what is referred to as the "lower canyons."
Due to the steepness of the lower canyons, very little time was available for side hiking trips. Instead most of our time was focused on paddling, navigating serious whitewater rapids and portaging impassable sections of the river.
Lower Canyons
This bird's eye view of the "lower canyons" was taken from the Red Wing Shoe Company plane after our river experience. I still remember one piece of advice from our shuttle driver prior to embarking on our adventure. "Don't do anything stupid ! Because of the steepness of the canyons, mounting a rescue if needed would be nearly impossible."
Wilderness Kayaking
As the debate for a border wall on our southern border rages on, I can't imagine the negative effects on wildlife in this area. Beyond that, the impact on the integrity of this last remaining beautiful desert wilderness would be disastrous.
For anyone sharing these feelings, I would suggest checking out a recent 5 minute documentary by Ben Masters entitled "Wildlife And The Wall." It has been shown on the National Geographic Channel and can be accessed on You Tube.