By Joe Crain
As of writing this column, unless some drastic change comes to the few remaining days of the month, this will go into the record books as the warmest December in our area ever recorded. We had no snow on the ground and daily temps 10 to 20 degrees above average throughout the month of December. At 48 degrees on December 24th, Duluth, MN set a record high temp for Christmas Eve. At 54 degrees on Christmas Day, the twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis set an all-time high record for the day. Last year we had 20 inches of snow on the ground by the end of November, this year we haven’t seen 20 inches of snowfall total from October through the end of December! We had more snowfall in October this year than the whole month of December has managed. But although we have been in a snow drought, we have not been experiencing a drought! This December has seen several rain and drizzle events, and over the Christmas Holiday weekend we saw several inches of rainfall. Lake Nebagamon has managed to stay ice-covered throughout this warm December, but with a mere 4-5 inches of ice depth, it has remained rather dangerous and has seen few people out ice fishing on the lake. I did see one brave soul out ice skating the other day; the skater seemed to be enjoying the snow free ice but was being careful to stay as close to shore as they could. I’ve also seen a few brave souls out trying their luck for some fish through the ice, as four inches of ice is just safe enough to walk on. Those I have seen out on the ice have brought little more with them than their pole, ice auger, and a bucket to sit on. No village of ice houses on the lake so far this year.
Around camp we have been taking advantage of the warm weather and lack of snow which has allowed us to keep driving through camp, taking care of projects. We have been able to cut a few more dead trees, and I have continued to work on the cabin rescreening project I started several off-seasons ago. Axman 6 and 7, the last 2 cabins in that village to be rescreened are being worked on. It seems so odd to be freely driving around camp at the end of December!
Of course our winter recreation has been severely impacted by the lack of snow and warm temps. My week of vacation that I save each year for a cross country skiing adventure the first week of January looks likely to turn into a week of hiking this year. Fortunately the North Country Trail miles that I have left in the area are equally beautiful and relaxing regardless of the mode of travel one is able to use, skies or hiking boots. Before the rare Christmas rains fell I had been hoping for just a few inches of snow so I could get the cross country ski season underway with some lake skiing. But alas that was not to be and the lake is now covered with large puddles rather than fresh snow. Thankfully a bit of winter spirit has returned with a little snow on the 26th that, though it did not stick on the ground, was sticky enough to coat the trees and bushes in the area with a light flocking of white that has given us the illusion that it is winter!
Hoping that the second half of the winter season brings us some actual winter and the joys of winter activities, it’s Caretaker Joe At Camp.