GuitarMatt, TheManFromSnowyLegs, and I headed to Duluth for some telemark/downhill/snowboard activity at Spirit Mountain on Sunday. We got there just in time to see the Mesabi Miner leave the Superior Entry on its way to Marquette, MI with a load of coal at around 11:30am. Temps were balmy at around 27F (-2C) and both the snow and the lift lines at Spirit were both very tolerable.
Around mid afternoon we need a food and beer break and headed down the hill to Canal Park. The aerial lift bridge is still being painted and won't be finished until around 22 March. They can't paint it during the shipping season (it keeps going up and down, you know) and as a result had to swath it in a canvas tent so they could warm it up enough for the paint to dry. Hence the Mesabi Miner steaming out the Superior Entry. The other motive for our trip down the hill was to see just exactly how much ice was along the shore and brainstorm a bit about how a guy could get a boat in the water. As you can see there is a crust of ice along the shore, some floating ice, and then open water. There was a steady east wind, a precursor of the snow that was forecast for today. A bit of northwest or south wind and that floating ice is gone. Dry suit, a short gorilla walk with the knuckles.....hmmmm.
2 comments:
I live down the beach about three blocks from where those pictures were taken. Yes, it's tortuous waiting for enough ice to break up to get my kayak in the water. But paddling out through the opening leads can be a thrill. Makes you feel Inuit-ish.
Andrew, checked out your site and books. Very cool stuff;I will need to invest. As you can tell from previous posts, skiing (any style) and kayaking are the main subjects of this blog. With Gitchee Gumee ever present, of course. I look forward to seeing you on the water once it becomes a bit more liquid.
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