Journal of a Minnesota Angler

When I asked my father-in-law if he had any good winter traveling stories to tell for the Outdoor Blogger Network/Sportsman Channel blog writing contest, he recounted several. I entered one (I didn’t win), recently wrote about another, but have saved the best for last. When you’ve been a part of a community as long as my in-laws have been a part of the Gunflint Trail, you’re bound to hear stories. And some you’ll become a part of. They inevitably involve a few, if not just... (more...)

As a kid growing up in Minnesota in the 70s and 80s (yes, I’m that old), I remember snow and lots of it. The snowplows would build drifts 5-6ft tall at the end of our driveway. It was a kid’s winter paradise with snowmen, snow forts, snowball fights. With the exception of one year, the 90s brought relatively mild winters. A few inches of snow here and there and even a brown Christmas or two. In recent years, the classic Minnesota winter has returned. We’ve seen large snowfalls... (more...)

If you ask a non-Minnesotan to tell you what they know about Minnesota, they’ll tell you, “it’s cold.” This reputation is so pervasive that when a friend of mine in college landed an internship here in Minneapolis for the summer, he packed sweaters. He had no idea that it gets up to 90+ degrees F in Minnesota in June/July. I think we’re one of the few places in the world that have both wind chills and heat indexes. One of the reasons for our cold reputation is that... (more...)

My wife’s family has been part of the Gunflint Trail community for almost 60 years. During that time, my father-in-law has heard countless stories and been part of countless others. One of the few families that trumps my in-laws is the Brandts. Carl Brandt, Sr. and his wife, Alis, settled on the Gunflint Trail in 1931. Their family has been a fixture on the Trail ever since. One afternoon, in the winter of 1947, Old Man Brandt and his son-in-law, Emerson Morris, decided to go hunting for... (more...)