If you’re thinking of planning an early-spring trip to Grand Marais, this is the year to do it! We may be losing the snow for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing – but our warm weather gear and rentals are ready to go when the ice is out. Plus, you can see some amazing Northern Lights these days. There are reports that the next couple of nights could be spectacular.

We get a lot of questions from our visitors about the light shows, and often suggest www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/NorthAmerica as a resource.  As your trip gets near, check this site to see if you need to be on the lookout. The problem here in the past 10 days is that in some of the better days the moon has been so bright it takes away from the Northern Lights. How strange it seems to complain that the beautiful full moon rising over Lake Superior is somehow a nuisance.

In other spring updates, Scott and Tom went off to Canoecopia and ran into a lot of our good customers. We appreciate all of you who stopped in to say hello. It is nice to see familiar faces. Those who missed us there can see us at Midwest Mountaineering in April.

The shop is also starting to transform, with new shipments arriving almost daily. Today is the new RAB gear. Soon will be Marmot, kayaks, and Langford canoes. We will have more SUPs available for rent along with a larger fleet of canoes and kayaks. If you are looking for used canoes when you get up here, be sure to stop in to see what we have available.

We’re also updating our tour schedule – for example, there will be two Isle Royale trips this summer, with a longer duration than last year (six nights instead of four). If you have an interest, please contact us early as these trips will fill fast. Those who went last summer had a lot of fun. All skill levels are welcome.

Finally, keep an eye out for upcoming events. We are still doing kayak classes in the pool and hope to get outside by May. Stone Harbor will again be a sponsor of the annual Ham Run Half Marathon held on Sunday May 6. If you are a runner, this is always a great event.

We’ve also donated some tours and rentals to charitable organizations in Grand Marais and around the state. If you see us at one of these events you can bid against others for a chance to go out with us and support your favorite charity at the same time. Some of the organizations we have sponsored in the past include the Ruffed Grouse Society, the Education Foundation, the Congregational Church project to buy a guide dog for returning veterans in Grand Marias, the Sanneh Foundation, the Greyhound Rescue group, the Women’s Soccer league in the Twin Cities, and the New Ulm Area Catholic Schools, to name just a few. Keep an eye out for more in the future.

That’s the scoop on what is happening up here with this year’s early spring – now, I need to get outside and enjoy it. We hope to see you up here with us soon!