Started on the west end of trail (which is right off the Gunflint Trail with its own parking lot) on Monday afternoon. Skied in about an hour and 10 minutes. Good snow and solid tracks. A few tree snakes in the trail along with tree remnants left from critters having a meal so you have to pay attention. Great fun to see moose, deer, wolf and critter tracks along and on the trail, a good reminder of where you are. About 16F degrees, overcast and mild wind. Totally enjoyable day. Highly recommend it to classic skiers who enjoy skiing on a serene trail in the wilderness. Many thanks to Ted Young and all the volunteers who make it possible.

(Ross Jacobsen)

Snow on the Ground: 19", Compacted Base on the Trail: 15", New Snow Past 24 Hours: 4", New Snow Past 7 Days: 8". Tracked Trail: 29.2 kilometers- Banadad Tracked east end to mid trail; Lace Lake, Tall Pines and Knapp trail tracked.

(Ted Young)

Skied from the east end (Ollie) trailhead to the west end (Upper Gunflint). The entire trail is groomed and tracked for classic. It has not been seeing much (human) use: since the last grooming (about a week ago?), there were few signs of any skier activity after the first 3km. There were, however, ample animal tracks (and the moose seemed to enjoy walking along the trail to find a tree for rubbing). Over the distance of the trail, I saw only one rock visible in the trail--on the west side of Beaver Dam Gully if I have the bearings correct. (Easily avoided for those travelling west, as it was on an uphill. Perhaps a bit more of a problem for eastbound traffic.) The only other real difficulty was an icy section after Dawkins Creek--again, for those heading west, it was perhaps less of an issue (as it was on an uphill). Those who are cautious could get by with their best skis.
Tracks were well-formed and easy to follow. In more open areas, there was some drifting from the wind.

(Erik Larson)

Skiing Excellent- all trails tracked; Snow on the Ground: 15"; Compacted Base on the Trail: 12"; New Snow Past 24 Hours: 1"; New Snow Past 7 Days: 6". Tracked Trail: 41 kilometers- Banadad Tracked re-tracked yesterday (Jan 2) ; Lace Lake, Tall Pines and Knapp trail re-tracked today.

(Ted Young)

All trails tracked. Classical tracks. 30 km Banadad trail, 7 km Lace lake and Tall pines loop trails.

(Ted Young)

Snow on the Ground: 15 inches, Compacted Base on the Trail: 12 inches, New Snow Past 24 Hours: 1 inch. Tracked Trail: Banadad Tracked to Mid-Trail 20 kilometers; Lace Lake, Tall Pines and Knapp 6.4 kilometer. Additional Comment: December 24 two groomers set out to track the entire 30 kilometers of the Banadad but were forced to turn back by frigid temperatures midway along the trail. Plan to complete tracking later this week- hopefully after it warms up a bit.

Photos:

(Ted Young)

Six to seven of inches of snow remaining after yesterday's meltdown. Eleven kilometer of tracked trail open on the east end of the Banadad including the Lace Lake, Tall Pines, Knapp Trails and 2 kilometers of the Banadad between the east end trail head and the Knapp trail. Remainder of the Banadad is packed but more snow is needed before it can be tracked.

(Ted Young)

The Minnehaha Academy Nordic skiers take skiing and serving the Nordic community pretty seriously. This past weekend, seven skiers left town after school on Friday, headed to the Gunflint Trail's Banadad Trail. The Banadad is a single track, classic only, ski trail that travels through the BWCA. Because of that, it has to be cleared with hand tools only, requiring many hours of volunteer work. Some years the crew works in t-shirts and hikes in miles to clear a 2-3 mile section. They lucked out seriously this year and were happy to clear the east end, in knee deep snow! Before the group headed home on Sunday, they stopped at Bearskin for a couple hours of skiing in near perfect conditions.

Photos:

(Anne Rykken)