The Banadad Bulletin

The Banadad Trail Association held their annual meeting on Sunday, October 21, 2012 and announced the association has reached its fundraising goal to support a trail construction project on the historic ski trail.  BTA President Linda Bosma made the announcement to members that the organization met and exceeded its fundraising goal to support a reroute of the west end of the Banadad Ski Trail.  The project is the most ambitious effort undertaken by the BTA, which is just over three years old, and will reroute the trail on the west end of the Banadad Ski Trail and improve the parking area to enhance safety for day skiers as they enter and exit the roadway.

The west end of the Banadad crosses private property; a recent change in ownership created the opportunity to explore rerouting the portion of the trail that connects the parking area to the Banadad’s entrance into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.  This section of trail is most frequently used by local day skiers for in-and-out skiing, but is also popular with “thru skiers” who ski the entire 29 kilometer length of the Banadad from end to end, including those who stay in yurts overnight.  The current status of the trail’s west end was in doubt without the reroute and new trail construction.  The BTA also plans to improve the parking area to make it safer for skiers as they enter and exit the Gunflint Trail roadway.  The project budget is approximately $11,340.  To help support this work, the BTA has receive a Trail Connections Grant from the Department of Natural Resources in the amount of $7,500.  The BTA has raised the remaining project funds, which are required to match the grant support.

“We are so grateful to the many people and businesses who contributed to our fundraising campaign.  The outpouring of support we received really demonstrates how many people value the Banadad Ski Trail and its continuation as a recreational and historic resource for cross country skiers who want to experience wilderness skiing in the Boundary Waters,” Bosma said.

Trail Crew on Banadad- Peter Spink, Sue Abrehamsen, Jim Raml, Paul kelnburger, & Karla Miller

Bosma also thanked the crew of 15 volunteers who cleared trail and readied it for the upcoming ski season.  Fifteen volunteers, including Cook County skiers as well as representatives from the North Star Ski Association, spent much of the weekend working on trail maintenance.  The Minnehaha Ski Team has a maintenance weekend scheduled in November to complete maintenance for the winter.  The annual meeting and maintenance work were hosted by Boundary Country Trekking.  Trail coordinator Ted Young directed the work crews, who cleared 17 miles of trail over the weekend.

The other item of business at the annual meeting was election of new board members and officers.  Andrew Jenks (Stillwater) was elected President, John Bottger as Vice President (Grand Marais), Linda Bosma (Minneapolis) will move to Treasurer, and Barb Bottger (Grand Marais) was re-elected as secretary.  New board member Flannery Delaney was elected and Chris Matter (Hudson, WI) was re-elected for another term, to join continuing members Peter Spink (Poplar Lake), Kate Kelnberger (West Bearskin Lake), Anne Rykken (St. Paul), and Wayne Monson (Stillwater).  Board members thanked outgoing board members Anne Berberich and Karla Miller, who are not renewing their terms.

Vice President John Bottger summed up the outlook for the coming year: “We have an ambitious workload for the coming year, but we have great cooperation and participation from the new property owners and a dedicated board, so this is a great partnership and an exciting project.”

The Banadad Trail Association invites you to help get the Banadad Ski Trail ready for winter. This work day we plan to hike into the Banadad along the Old Winchell Lake Fire Trail. This trail begins near the Poplar Lake Public Landing then winds through the BWCA to the Banadad just west of the Meads’ Lake Portage. Part of the area where we will be working was heavily damaged by the 2010 Meads Lake Prescribed Burn This burn left many burnt-out trees fallen or precariously close to falling into the trail. We will be removing some these tree then clearing the summers accumulation of brush and down trees along the 3 mile section of the Trail back to the trail’s eastern Trailhead.

According to Ted Young, Banadad Maintenance Coordinator,  “since most of the Banadad is within the BWCA where we can not use any power equipment, it take a lot of volunteers working with  hand tools to get the Trail ready for skiing. Please join us; we really need your help!”

Volunteers meet for the Trail Work Day at 9:00 am, Saturday, October 20, at Poplar Creek Guesthouse B&B, 11 Poplar Creek Drive (just off the Lima Grade) Gunflint Trail. Hand tools and lunches will be provided to all volunteers. Wear sturdy clothing and boots.

Friends of the Banadad are also invited to the Banadad Trail Association’s Annual meeting at 1:00PM, October 21 at Poplar Creek Guesthouse B&B. Following the meeting a social hour and Potluck Dinner is planned.

For more information on the Trail Work Day and/or the Banadad Trail Association’s Annual Meeting and Potluck Dinner contact 218-388-4487

The annual clearing the summer’s accumulation of brush and down trees on the Banadad began in mid August. To date the Lace Lake, Tall Pines, Knopp and the Trail’s eastern three miles out side of the BWCA have been cleared.

Terrh Horejsi, BCT employee working, outside the BWCA on the trail between the Lizz and Meads Portage.

After the trails out side the BWCA are cleared of down trees the next step is mowing the center. Again this year Rick Motz and his brush hot equipped tracked Bobcat is on the job.

The Bobcat mowed the Tall Pines, Knopp and most of the Lace Lake Trails. Due to two “mud hole” which the Bobcat could not cross on the Lace Lake Trail there still about 3/4 of mile of the trail that will have to be hand cut with a brush saw.

Also cleared was the one mile at the Trail’s eastern end all of which is within the BWCA. This portion was cleared using hand tools.

Then of course earlier this summer a five person crew from the Minnesota Conservation Corps spend five days clearing three or more miles of a remote interior section of the Trail including  where the Ham Lake Fire burned through.

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First real snow of the season. It snowed hard for about 10 minutes. This after I incorrectly reported that it had snow one night about a week ago. I was told later that it was sleet. Sorry about that!

The snow did not stay around so you will just have to wait a bit to get those skis out.

Barely a month ago, I wrote to you and asked for your help to support the reroute of the west end of the Banadad Ski Trail.  I’m happy to report that the response from our friends and fellow skiers like you has been fantastic!  We are over three-quarters of the way toward our goal!!

This is so gratifying.  On behalf of the Banadad Trail Association and everyone who enjoys the trail, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has donated.  Our goal is in site—we are almost there!  We are confident that we will reach goal and are starting the appraisal of the new trail section in the coming weeks.

While we are close, we still need help. Maybe you set aside my message a month ago, or just haven’t followed through on donating—if so, please do so now, to ensure we will be able to access the matching grant funds.  Now is a critical time to ensure we maintain our momentum and make our goal.

So, for those who have donated—thank you! And if you haven’t yet, please consider making a donation now.  Any amount, small or large, helps to ensure that we can successfully complete the reroute project and retain access to the west end of the Banadad.

Can you donate $25, $50, $100, or $250 to support the reroute?  To donate, go to our page at GiveMN.org:   http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Banadad-Trail-Association or send a check directly to the Banadad Trail Association, P.O. Box 436, Grand Marais, MN  55604.

With “a little help from our friends” we can complete this project in time for the upcoming ski season!

Sincerely,

Linda M. Bosma, President, Banadad Trail Association

P.S. Also, please keep in mind our fall maintenance weekend and annual meeting the weekend of October 20^th & 21^st.  We’d love to have you join us for either or both and a celebration of the new section of trail!

Tuesdays WTIP’s interview with Linda Bosma, BTA President  is now available online at -

Linda along the Banadad

Rush Lake Calm after the storm on day one, July 6 2012.

For our third trip this summer, my crew and I ventured out to the Banadad Ski Trail in the Boundary Waters.  On day one,  we encountered a massive rainstorm, which didn’t let up for more than five minutes at a time. Somehow, the crew’s spirits weren’t dampened, despite the wet and cold that we encountered.

In the mornings the crew would groggily rise out of sleeping bags and under the group tarp for breakfast, getting ready for the day, and silently paddle across Rush Lake to the ski trail.

The first section of the trail that we worked on did not require much maintenance and soon enough, my crew and I ended up in a burn area. Our whole goal of the trip was to clear the burn area. According to our project partner Ted, it was the area most in need of work. Trees were scattered all across the trail, brush was beginning to grow, and dead trees were leaning into the trail corridor.

Twenty-pound Northern Pike caught in Rush Lake, BWCAW.

The  Banadad Ski Trail and the Kekekabic Trail (our second trip), were both burnt in the Ham Lake Fire of 2007. Although the fire was the same, the remnants of the Ham Lake Fire at both trails  were vastly different. Instead of brush taking over most of the trail, trees on the Banadad were still standing, although dead. There is something liberating about pulling a tree right out of the ground and chucking it into the woods.

Section of Banadad Ski Trail, before clearing.

One morning, my crew leader Joel and another crew member paddled back to our truck in order to pick up a tool that we needed. During that time, myself and my two other crew members hiked in the mile and half to our work site. While we were hiking, we happened upon two moose, a cow and a calf. They were absolutely beautiful and ran off into the woods, thankfully not charging us. I had mentioned earlier in the week that if we were to ever see a moose or two on trail, it would definitely be on this trip–moose scat and hoof prints scattered the cleared area. I was ready to see a moose and I’m so glad I did!

The Banadad Ski Trail was a beautiful trail before we arrived to it, and as we were

Section of Banadad Ski Trail, after clearing.

hiking out on day seven, I was amazed by the beauty of it all. The battle in the work that we’re doing is staying positive–something that I strive to do everyday. Every morning I wake up and breathe in the fresh air of the wilderness and realize that I’m truly in a wonderful place; a place where most people will never venture to, a place where wildlife is thriving, the air is crisp, and nature is truly wild.

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1. Pingback: The Banadad Bulletin- News Updates » Blog Archive » Minnesota Conservation Corps Report from the Trail

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The Banadad Trail Association announced today that it is undertaking a fundraising campaign to construction on new section of the trail and enlarge the parking on the trail’s west end.  The project will reconstruct the west end of the Banadad Trail, which crosses private property, secure a permanent easement, and ensure continued access for skiers from the west end.

“We are so excited to undertake this project,” said BTA president Linda Bosma, who has been skiing the Banadad Trail for 18 years.  “A change in property ownership creates the opportunity for us to improve the west end of the trail, which is popular with day skiers who want to ski in and out, as well as the through skiers, who ski the entire 29 kilometers of the trail in one day.” 

The project cost is $11,340.  The BTA has been awarded a Trail Connections Grant from the Department of Natural Resources that will cover $7,800 and the Association must raise the balance.  

“This is the most ambitious project we have undertaken as a new organization,” said John Bottger, BTA Vice President and Gunflint Trail resident.  “We’ve secured grants and donations to cover maintenance and grooming costs of the trail since 2009, when we formed, and last year we rebuilt a remotely located bridge within the BWCA.  So, while this new project is significant, we feel up to this challenge.  But we’ll definitely need the support of our members, skiers, and other supporters of the trail.” 

Bosma enthusiastically noted that people have already begun donating, even though the campaign is just getting off the ground, with over $1,000 in donations already received this week.  “We’re extremely gratified by the early show of support we’ve received—we love this trail and construction of this new section on the west end is vital to ensuring access to the trail in the future.”

 Those interesting in donating can do so through the Banadad Trail Association page on GiveMN.org:   http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Banadad-Trail-Association

or by sending a check directly to the Banadad Trail Association, P.O. Box 436, Grand Marais, MN  55604.

The BTA hopes to reach their fundraising goal by September 15, 2012.

Last week five members of the Minnesota Conservation Corps spent seven days clearing the area just east of the Banadad Bridge where the Ham Lake fire had burned across the Banadad.  One of the crew members reported on his experiences.

The Banadad prior to brushing

It might be summer and warm but no matter work on the Banadad is in full swing. Five members of the Minnesota Conservation Corps set out on June 6 to clear a remote interior section of the trail. Camping on Rush Lake the crew plans to send seven day on the trail clearing from the Banadad Bridge east 2-3 miles. They will concentrate on area burned over by the Ham Lake Fire.