Black Bears in Cook County!

 There have been an exceptional number of bear encounters in Cook County, Minnesota this year.  I have had two confirmed close encounters with them in the last month.

The first encounter was at my place on Gunflint Lake.  I was baking chocolate coconut bars with my friend, socially distanced 300 miles away.  We had shared these bars before, so I sent her the recipe, we each purchased our own materials (graham crackers, sweetened condensed milk, coconut, and chocolate chips) and made the dessert together over FaceTime.

When the bars were about done, I heard a scratching noise out on my porch.  I opened my inner door to investigate, and found myself just inches from a yearling black bear.  So my friend could enjoy the moment too, I turned my iPad around to show her, before rapping hard on the flimsy glass door between the bear and me, and yelling "go away."  It turned around and walked off into the woods.  Black bears are governed my fear and then food, so it is usually pretty easy to scare them away.

A few nights ago, one of my co-workers saw a large bear near my place.  Last night, I heard a loud "huff" outside my window, but by the time I turned on the light, it was gone.

On the 29th of September, WTIP North Shore Community Radio put out an interesting story called Bear Issues Continue in Grand Marais and North Shore in Fall 2020.  When I was in Grand Marais today, I saw a large black bear eating apples near the Cook County Higher Education building.  I stopped and got some pictures.  My camera has a good zoom lens, so I am was not as close to the bear as it may seem.

This bear wasn't getting into mischief, he or she was just getting ready for the winter.  Their normal food supply of berries was a total bust this year; I don't remember the last time we had such a lousy crop.  Due to their lack of food, and the rapidly approaching hibernation season, they are getting bolder.  

If you live in bear country, make sure to secure garbage and food (including sunflower seeds) so bears cannot access those things.  I have heard many experts emphatically say that there is no such things as a problem bear, only problem people.  The bears destructive behaviors are learned from the careless action of people.  These behaviors are bad for people, and worse for bears.  For their own good, please be careful not to attract them.  They are more fun to see in their natural habitat.

I recommend closing your ground floor windows in unoccupied rooms at night.  If they smell food, a screen is not going to stop them from coming in and helping themselves.  For the same reason, it is best to avoid putting food on a screen porch.

I often get asked what to do when you encounter a black bear.  Here are my suggestions of things to do and not to do when encountering a black bear:

• Bears are governed by fear and then food.  Stand your ground and act big.  Jump up and down, clap your hands, and yell.  They will generally be scared enough to go away.
• Slowly back away.  Do not run from them! Black bears can run at 30 miles per hour, and they have an instinct to pounce on something that is running away.
• Do not try to escape by climbing a tree.  They are the most incredible climbers imaginable, and can easily pass you on the way up.
• The Forest Service recommends throwing something at them.  I find that if something lands right next to them, they generally quickly run away.

• Some people say to bang pots and pans together, but I find that just wrecks your dishes, and only works temporarily on the bear.  Personally, I avoid that tactic.
• Some people use bear spray, but you to be very careful with that stuff.  I know two people who had the bear spray come back at them, and had to have a very long eye rinse to stop the stinging.  Unless you are dealing with another larger species of bear (such as a grizzly bear), I would avoid this approach.

One last bear tidbit.  In the stock market, you hear of bear and bull markets.  A bear's claws go down, as does a bear market.  The bull's horns go up, as does a bull market.

Hiking in the Cascade River State Park

Ellie and I spent much of the day today hiking in the Cascade River State Park.  We hiked in along the River Trail, taking in the various waterfalls.  Eventually, we turned away from the river, and hiked up Lookout Mountain on one trail, and back on a trail less traveled.  Here are some pictures from this fun day!

Ellie at the Mouth of the Cascade River

Cascade River Flowing under Highway 61 into Lake Superior

Ellie Cooling Down in the Cascade River

Hiking Trail

Cascade Falls

Ellie Enjoying One of the Numerous Waterfalls

We hiked on the highlighted trail.

Lookout Mountain Overlook

Superior Hiking Trail

Ellie on Lookout Mountain

Bunchberry

96 Steps to the River

Cascade River Well Above Most of the Waterfalls

Thimbleberries

Hike to the Green Harbor Light in Grand Marais

Last Monday, Ellie and I climbed and hiked our way out to the green harbor light in Grand Marais.  It sits across the bay entrance from the much more well known Grand Marais Lighthouse.  In the picture above, you can see the main lighthouse on the left side of the picture, and the green light on the right.

This light is a lot harder to get to than the main light.  We scaled two sections with large boulders, trekked over some beautiful rock formations, and hiked along a weathered cement breakwater.  This one gets overtaken with waves much easier than the north wall.

In case you are wondering why Ellie is so wet in these pictures, she decided to take a short jump off one side the breakwater and into Lake Superior!

I took the above picture of the green light the previous week.  It is a bit of an optical illusion.  The goose is actually a long distance from the light.

One of the most interesting formations was the rock bridge below.  It was shoulder width or smaller.

Ellie is not always the best at returning when called, but I felt safe letting her off the leash after I had to help her over the first boulder field (below).  She had a great time running up and down the breakwater!

These two pictures are of Ellie when she decided she did not want to join me in the boulder field.  A few minutes later, she let me leash her, and I carried her back through the boulder field  to shore.

The final picture is looking back at the breakwater we traversed from shore.  It was good exercise to get there.  I recommend it if you are in shape.  If not, take the path out to the main Grand Marais Lighthouse instead.

Wildflower Hike on the Magnetic Rock Trail

My boxer Ellie and I hiked to Magnetic Rock last Sunday.  Due to the relatively frequent fires, and the open rocky surfaces, the Magnetic Rock Trail has some of the earliest and best wildflowers on the Gunflint Trail!

Bunchberry

The bunchberry actually has a lot of tiny flowers surrounded by white sepals to better attract insects for pollination.  Each flower can produce an edible berry.

Labrador Tea

Pink Lady's Slipper (Moccasin Flower)

The pink lady's slipper takes approximately 5 years to go from seed to flower.  Orchid seeds do not have a source of food, so they have to wait for a certain type of fungus to grow on the seed.  The fungus gets its nutrients from decomposition, and the orchid seed receives nutrients from the fungus.  Our Minnesota State Flower (showy lady's slipper) takes 15 years to go through the same process.  Never handle or pick a lady's slipper!

Wild Rose

Jack pines are one of the many fire dependent species along this trail.  Most of the Jack pine cones do not open until 105 - 200 degrees Fahrenheit and they can handle over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit for a few seconds.  In order to get a pure, natural stand of Jack pine, you need a fire.

Jack Pine

Hairy Honeysuckle

Twinflower

Magnetic Rock Trail

Magnetic Rock is 23 - 30 feet tall.  A lot of the old brochures had it as 60 feet tall, but the people who wrote that literature probably never saw the rock.

Magnetic Rock is in the Gunflint Iron Formation.  It is composed of slate banded with magnetite.  Your compass will spin if you walk with it along the face of this rock.  Magnets will stick to it as well.

The first year I was on the Gunflint Trail, Magnetic Rock was visible from about a quarter mile away.  Now it stays hidden until you are right next to it.

Magnetic Rock

Ellie at Magnetic Rock

I saw some other neat wildlife along the Magnetic Rock Trail.  The garter (not gardener) snake below was sunning itself on an exposed rock near Magnetic Rock.

Garter Snake

Garter Snake

Red-Osier Dogwood

Columbine

The rock fern was up pretty high.  Luckily, I brought my camera with a 60x zoom!

Rock Fern on Magnetic Rock

Pine Knot

Pine Knot

On the way back, I saw some flowers that I missed on the way out.  It pays to look at the other side of the trees and rocks!

Wood Lily (With a Special Visitor)

Wood Lily

Upright Bindweed

Wetland View from the Magnetic Rock Trail

It was a great day for a hike.  The temperatures were is the 60's and a cool breeze blew across the rocks.  I recommend this trail on a cooler day, as the exposed rocks give you a bit of an oven effect on a hot, sunny day.

Purple Pea

Wildflower Hike on the Kekekabic Trail

Pin Cherry

 

My dog Ellie and I took a nice hike a couple of weeks ago on the Kekekabic Trail from the Gunflint Trail to Mine Lake.  It was a warm afternoon, and Ellie jumped in the water many times to cool off.  The mosquitoes and black flies weren't bad until the end of the hike, but I did pick a few wood ticks off of both of us.

Wild Strawberry

 I was delighted to find so many new wildflowers along the trail, along with some other interesting wildlife.  Wildlife sightings included a pair of ring-necked ducks, a redbelly snake, spring azure and mourning cloak butterflies, and an American toad.

Speckled Alder

 The first flower of the year on the Gunflint Trail is generally the speckled alder.  Male catkins on this member of the birch family grow spikes.  Most people walk by this flower and don't know it's a flower.

Kekekabic Trail

American Toad

 Ellie is very good as spotting toads.  Luckily, she has never grabbed one.  She would be in for a huge surprise, as the toad defense mechanism is to put out the worst tasting chemical imaginable.

One time, I was leading a hike, and saw a toad hopping on the edge of the trail.  There was a big white dog along, and I told the dog's caretakers not to let the dog near the toad.  When the dog spotted the charismatic reptile, it lunged and grabbed the toad.  The dog staggered back with foam pouring out of its' mouth and a very surprised look on its' face.  Undamaged, the toad hopped away.

Wild Strawberry

 

The wild strawberries were flowering during my hike, and will bear fruit in June.  Wild strawberries are a little smaller than blueberries you might find in the store.  They have a lot more flavor than the genetically modified varieties.  I've found that the flavor of a strawberry is inversely proportional to the size.

Kekekabic Trail at (and in) Mine Lake

The Kekekabic Trail was flooded in multiple areas, which is normal.  The line of water off of Mine Lake is actually the hiking trail.  If you decide to hike this trail for any distance, be prepared to get a little wet.

Mourning Cloak Butterfly

Pink Lady's Slipper

 

The pink lady's slipper is often mistaken for our Minnesota State Flower.  Our actual state flower is the showy lady's slipper, which is a much rarer species.  Pink lady's slippers take about five years to go from seed to flower, and the showy lady's slipper takes approximately fifteen years to do the same thing.  In orchids, seeds do not contain a source of food like most other seeds, so they have to wait for a certain type of fungus to start growing on which they feed.  Please do not pick these amazing flowers if you find them in the wild!

The Kekekabic Trail was originally built to allow firefighters access to the wilderness.  It was well placed, since most of the major wildfires in the last two decades have crossed this path.  The wildfires make for a much greater biodiversity, as the Gunflint Trail is in a fire-dependent ecosystem.  I highly recommend this beautiful hiking trail if you are on the Upper Gunflint Trail.  It can also be accessed from Ely, Minnesota.