Winter temps have returned and we have the north side of the system groomed and ready to go as of early this morning. West End Logging Camp was Tidd Tech groomed last night. Moose Ridge is closed until we get more snow. As hard as it was not to jump the gun and groom yesterday, we are glad we waited for everything to lock up through and through. Everything groomed up very well, no icy spots. Good skis should be safe on most trails. B skis recommended for West End Logging Camp. Grooming plans: Bearskin is also out grooming right now, and they have kindly agreed to groom Beaver Dam, Ridge Run, and Moose Pasture for us with their Pisten Bully this afternoon, since we can't get ours around the lake on right now.

Photos:

(Zach Baumann, Golden Eagle Lodge)

Temps cooled nicely overnight, enough to crisp up the surface layers of snow, but not quite enough to freeze everything through. We have about 1.5" of frozen snow on the surface of the trail base while the rest is still fairly saturated with moisture. Unfortunately we can't groom that. The good news is if that all locks up tonight, we should be able to groom early in the morning tomorrow. In the meantime, expect somewhat icy surface conditions until it warms sufficiently, afterwards with the temps and the sunshine today, it should soften up a bit. The classic track held in very well yesterday but the skate deck is a bit choppy in places. Attached are photos from this morning.

Photos:

(Zach Baumann, Golden Eagle Lodge)

We received some rain overnight but since about 6AM, everything that has come down has been snow. The trails faired very well with the warmer weather and wet precipitation, better than we could have asked for, honestly. While the skate deck is a bit soft in some places, the classic track is holding in very well. Plenty of people are out skiing and enjoying the conditions as they are!Photo is from 11AM today. From a grooming perspective, we cannot groom with the current temperatures. We need to be patient and let the trail base, which has so beautifully soaked up the drizzle, re-freeze, which is likely to take a few days at these temps. If we go out too early, we will just squish all the base out from underneath the 14000lb groomer. We will re-assess conditions continually, checking on the moisture content of the trail base, and re-groom as soon as the cost does not outweigh the benefit.

Photos:

(Zach Baumann, Golden Eagle Lodge)

Classic skied 20k on all trails but the Moose Ridge trail on the Golden Eagle side of the trail system. Started about 12:30 pm at 40 degrees. Saw nobody else the entire time! Good snow coverage with just a few thin spots — usually at a trail junction — and just one rock poking through the classic track on Logging Camp trail. I had good kick with my skin skis and decent glide. My sons, by contrast, tried spray-on klister but gave up and switched to skate skis, reporting "wet and slow.".

Photos:

(Steve Share)

Bearskin groomed the south side of the Central Gunflint system Friday. Summerhome and Campground are in great shape, everything else is in good to very good shape. There are a few rocks to look out for in the tracks on some of the more rock filled trails. We also groomed the Lace Lake trail, which is part of the Banadad system. It is now groomed for skate and classic. This trails is very lumpy and I would say it ranges from very good to fair.

Photos:

(Quinn McCloughan, Bearskin Lodge)

We groomed again this morning starting with all the trails on the north side of Flour. Logging Camp, Cross Fox, Red Pines, Deer Mouse all turned out fantastic. Good skis on these trails. We did bump a few rocks and turned up some debris on Moose Ridge, so if you venture on that one, just ski with caution if using good skis, otherwise B skis. Grooming plans: We will be heading out to groom the south side shortly (West End Logging Camp, upper Beaver Dam, Ridge Run, and Moose Pasture). The BWCA section to access the south side from the east is packed, though ski with B skis to rock skis through there as that is a rocky section. We will take ice measurements this afternoon and assess if we can do lake any crossings.

Photos:

(Zach Baumann, Golden Eagle Lodge)

Bearskin Lodge groomed Summerhome Rd, Campground, Beaver Dam, the Lit Loop, Ox Cart, and Bearcub. The trails are in good to very good shape, with Summerhome and Campground being in perfect condition. The groomer was unable to take many photos, as their dog fell asleep on their lap while grooming, and you know what they say "let sleeping dogs lie". Grooming plans: We're hoping to groom P. Creek tomorrow.

Photos:

(Quinn McCloughan, Bearskin Lodge)

We freshened up the trails on the north side of Flour again today and plan to touch up the south side tomorrow. Things groomed up great. Some stubble is present in a few areas and there are a couple of sections, particularly on sharp corners, where a small amount of dirt was turned into the snow from the groomer cleats. We're recommending B skis as a whole but you could comfortably use good skis on the majority things. We are very happy with how things are looking, especially this early in the season!

Photos:

(Zach Baumann, Golden Eagle Lodge)

A successful morning of grooming after 6.5" of new snow. We groomed everything on the north side of Flour today. Everything groomed up very well. Skate deck was set everywhere and classic tracks on the less rocky sections. Grooming plans: Plan is to groom the north side again tomorrow, as well as the south side after the additional expected snow today. We'll update again afterwards.

Photos:

(Zach Baumann, Golden Eagle Lodge)

I skied 10km of the trails including Summer Home and Campground which were in very good shape except for a couple intersections with other trails I didn't ski where the groomer turned around and some dirt got churned up. Only reason I said B skis, good skis should be fine.

(Angie Robinson)