Mush for a Cure

It’s almost Spring — a season of transition here in Grand Marais.

You would think that as visitor traffic slows due to it being between seasons and we see fewer people through the store on a daily basis, everyone would have lots of time to sit around and drink coffee. That has not been the case. Our staff has actually been quite busy the past couple of weeks.

First of all, we’ve had Frank jumping into some more races. You can read his blog on the Wolftrack Classic in Ely. It was great to see his finish there, and it was equally gratifying to see that our Cook County contingent (Frank, Odin and Matt) finished 3rd, 4th and 6th respectively. As you may have noticed, we take our dog sledding seriously up here.

This past weekend, Stone Harbor was well represented at the Mush for a Cure fundraiser. We sponsored Frank’s dog sled team and cheered on our main Kayak guide, April, as she participated in the skijoring portion of the event.

Scott and Ben have been out with the snow kites on Devil Track Lake. Melissa has been out skiing in the moonlight on Pincushion Mountain. Jan has been at the Central Canada Sports Show in Thunder Bay. Jennye has been looking at gifts and books for next year. Beth keeps busy receiving, receiving and receiving. But then she gets to go home and ski right from her backyard when not here. And Tom? We do not speak of him anymore. He had such a wonderful experience in Talkeetna while being base camp manager for Lonnie Dupre’s solo ascent of Denali that he is leaving us on April 1st to move to Talkeetna to work with Talkeetna Air Taxi Service. What kind of deal is that? Seriously, we are going to miss his expertise, his input and his studded snow tired mountain bike.

Tenkara fly rod in-store display

This past weekend Tom and Scott were at Canoecopia in Madison, Wisc., where they tell me they met many wilderness enthusiasts. They were able to show off some of our gear, like the Tenkara fly rods and Langford canoes.

Now, winter activities are coming to end up here on the North Shore. The sun has been coming up earlier. The days are a little longer. Snow is starting to melt.

As winter winds down outdoors, things are also starting to change inside the store, especially in the back room and warehouse. The back room is starting to fill up with summer shoes and boots, and more are on the way. Our warehouse is full of new canoes and kayaks for the upcoming summer. We’re looking forward to updating the sales floor with all of our summer gear soon.

Teva Churn water shoe

I’ve noticed the staff circling the new Teva Churn water shoes; many will probably wear them out on the big lake this summer. These shoes are great when kayaking because they drain the water out, and you don’t get all those rocks and sand like you would with sandals.

And for those of you with little ones, we will have a large selection of sandals and shoes for children.

Around the corner from the shoes, I see Mountain Hardwear sleeping bags are in. I’m waiting with anticipation for the Big Agnes sleeping bags to arrive as well.

Summer will be here before you know it. We have doubled our kayak tour fleet and will be renting even more Langford canoes.

This Spring, we will be involved in several events:

• Presentation at the St. Paul Harley Owners meeting, St. Paul Harley Davidson, April 7
• Midwest Mountaineering’s Outdoor Adventure Expo, Minneapolis, April 15-17
• The Ham Run Half Marathon, Gunflint Trail, May 1

Check back soon for an announcement about who will present at our next Arm Chair Adventure series.

And that is where we are in mid March. Don’t hesitate to call us with any questions when planning your upcoming adventures. We have the people who can answer all of your questions about what to do, how to do it and where to do it. Our staff lives the life up here. Their expertise is unrivaled. Have I told you how proud I am of our staff lately?

Hope to see all of you soon!