Seagull Staff October Adventure

Hello Everyone! Seagull Staffer here to report on all the wonderful events from our end of the season adventure!  The trip began on a beautiful October 3rd morning with a tow out to Hook Island by Dave himself! After getting into the Cache Bay ranger station we had an amazing tailwind making our first day of paddling a real breeze. Paddling across Saganagons we heard our first wolf howl, this continued all through the first and second night!  The animal encounters did not end there, we had our first (but sadly only) moose sighting in Kawnipi.  A cow in the bay right across form our campsite, feeding in the sunlight of the warm day.  We all sat and watched, keeping our eyes open for a bull!  Our bear barrel handles broke off on day 3 due to the weight of packing food for 15 days. Luckily handyman Jon was able to fashion new ones out of paracord and wood! We ran into our last customers of the season on the falls chain, they were enjoying the spectacular fishing as much as we were!  Our first catch of the trip was a feisty northern pike who we planned to have for dinner.  He must have had other plans because as soon as the word fillet was spoken, he bit through our stringer and swam away! Luckily for us he was easily replaced, and by something even better... WALLEYE!  We were all very excited for that fish dinner! The fantastic fishing continued all through Kawnipi and into the begging of Kahshahpiwi Creek. We had our first encounter of miss marked maps when attempting to move into our next leg of the trip.  After a few extra hours attempting to find portages and unplanned lift overs (due to low water levels) we made it into Cairn Lake just in time for a beautiful sunset.  The only bummer about paddling through a sunset is setting up camp in the dark. This night also marked our first night/day of rain.  Our spirits were not too dampened by the rain, it let off to a light mist by afternoon and was accompanied by another wonderful tailwind.  The portages became less rugged the closer we got to Kahshahpiwi Lake.  The most memorable portage of all came out of Side Lake.  It felt like it was created for mountain goats! By the end of our double portage we had all stripped down to our base layers, they boys even went shirtless for the second trip!   This day ended at a campsite in Isabella Lake picked by Jon, not for the quality of the campsite but for the spectacular cliff beside it! We began the next morning early knowing we had to cross over the big body of Basswood that day to return to the American side of the park.  This was by far our hottest day of the trip. Looking back at weather reports it was close to 80 that day. We came prepared for a variety of weather given the time of year but never guessed we would get a day like that!  It could not have come at a better time either as we were all in need of a dip in the lake after the sweaty portages the day before!  We did not encounter another group of paddlers until reaching the portage out of Birch Lake into Melon Lake. On this day we ran in to 3 separate groups of paddlers.  The next couple of days were a breeze of paddling and small portages going into Knife Lake.  We stopped by thunder point to take in the view. This may have been one of our windiest days and unloading the canoe on slippery shorelines turned into a real balancing act! The next Lakes on the list were Estar and Hanson.  Our layover day on Hanson was the second strangest day of weather we had.  A combination of beautiful sunny hours to rain then hail then back to sun and a rainbow.  Mother Nature could not make up her mind!  The day ended with more hail and wind but by this point in the day we were well prepared for it! We woke up to real October weather that morning, frost and ice covered almost everything.  That was the hardest day to leave our morning fire! We set out the day with a light head wind on the way to see the remains of Bennys homestead, one of Nate's idols. Next we were on to our last campsite at Englishman’s Island.  By the time we rounded American point the wind was doing all the work for us helping to reach our campsite in record time.  It was our 14th night and the windiest one yet.  We all went to bed that evening praying for the winds to die by morning otherwise we would be in for an unpleasant day on Sag! Paddling back to the 81 landing the next morning was a special experience for the boys who were accustomed to zipping by in towboats, the slower pace of paddling gave them a great opportunity to take in all the sights and beauty of Sag.  We are reluctant to leave after spending 15 spectacular fall days in Quetico and BWCA filled with phenomenal weather, beautiful fall colors, excellent fishing, and great company.  It was all made possible by the most amazing woman in the Boundary Water, Deb Mark!  We can't thank you enough for making this trip of a lifetime possible for us!

Sunshine on Seagull

Hi everyone!
Seagull Lake is looking more beautiful than ever as we reach temperatures in the high 70s with sunny skies. The water is so blue. We've had a lot of happy paddlers coming off the water in the last few days, and we are gearing up to help many more begin their journey this weekend! Cabin customers in our Big Sag cabin had great luck with their bass fishing this last week, and together they brought in some impressive hooks! Also- some exciting news... the blueberries are beginning to ripen! We had a lot of rain early in the summer season, and our warm temperatures lately have helped the blueberry crop begin to thrive. Some of our staff members, Brittney and Rachel, went berry picking yesterday and came up with half a Ziploc of Raspberries! We have seen quite a few bear and moose lately... we've had two moose in our bay within the last week! What a time to be alive. Loving the sunshine and our Seagull customers!

Canoe Country Updates

Hi everyone!
Here it is, almost July, and it feels as if the summer has just begun!! We have quite a few parties out on the water right now, and we are looking forward to seeing all of our upcoming parties as well. It's such a wonderful feeling to see returning customers year after year because we are able to develop genuine friendships with our clients as they experience the canoe country. It is also a great feeling to meet new customers as they enter the BWCA for the first time! With that being said, if you are considering booking a trip for July or August, BOOK EARLY! We're looking to have a busy summer, and our Kevlar canoes are going to be flying off the racks as we near the peak of our season. Our staff members have been enjoying their days off as well. Kelsi and Tara are going up to the Quetico tomorrow afternoon, and Brittney and Jon are going to be exploring the South Knife/Ester and Hanson area at the end of the week! It's great to see our staff members exploring the Boundary Waters, because it creates a more personal connection to our reservations, and that's something that we pride ourselves on here at Seagull Outfitters. They've endured the portages, paddled the miles, and earned their knowledge in this business in just a short time. Be sure to say hello to them during your stay! We're looking forward to having you :)

Thanks for your business, and we look forward to many years to come!

End of May 2015

As we near the conclusion of the month of May, it is nice to reflect back on how far we have come in the past month. We have welcomed twelve staff members to our team this year, and we have been training them to assist you with anything you need! They've been working hard- so make sure to say hello to them when you stop in! Our neighborhood fox, Leroy, has been spotted lurking around our store multiple times in the past week- he actually will follow our staff members around like a dog! The fish are biting, and our cabin customers have been pulling in Walleye and Lake Trout that would impress any fisherman. Additionally, moose have been spotted outside our store in the early morning hours, as well as on the road leading to our cabins on Saganaga Lake. The oddest thing occurred today- we had 15 minutes of light snowfall! Following a week of temperatures in the 70s, we had to dig out our sweaters for this morning's routine. We're expecting a bustling summer of many reservations and smiling faces. Make your reservation today, you won't regret it!

Seagull Summer 2015 Has Begun!

Hi everyone!
Seagull Summer 2015 has begun! Reservations are pouring in as we prepare for another extraordinary summer on Seagull Lake! Brittney and I have been extremely busy on the phones as we help our cabin and canoe customers plan the perfect visit to the Boundary Waters. Our Seagull Staffers have been arriving slowly throughout the last few weeks, and we're up to 8 so far! Still waiting for a few more to arrive. We have a good mix of returners and newcomers, so we're looking to have a good year at Seagull Outfitters! For those of you that know our neighborhood fox, Leroy, he's been spotted running through the parking lot a few times this month already. He's ready for more of his friends to come back and visit! The walleye are biting, and some of our cabin customers in Ogish had wonderful luck on the water earlier this week. We're more than happy to help our customers with any fishing or camping needs that they may need out in the woods, and we've proven it! To find more information about our facilities, or to make a reservation, visit our website today at www.seagulloutfitters.com :) See you soon!

Paddling Season is Coming

Greetings,

The paddling season is around the corner.  We have added some NEW Northstar Bell Northwind Tandem Kevlar canoes to the fleet once again this spring.  In addition, we have purchased a couple of NEW Northstar Bell Solo Northwinds in Kevlar.  Since the Northwind is such a popular boat for us, we think you will really like the stability and speed of the new solos. 

A recurring theme I had heard all winter long while taking reservations really strikes a chord with me. I have had many paddlers returning after a 20-25 year break from coming to the canoe country.  They have had many reasons they haven't been back.  However, they have all mentioned it was one of the best experiences of their lives and they need to get back while they still can.  So, it will be a reunion of sorts for many long time Seagull customers this summer.  It warms my heart to think Seagull and the canoe country holds such a special spot for many.

We have 4 great returning key staffers in 2015.  We are very happy to have Jon, Zach, Brittany and Mariah back with us.  They all know the inner workings to make Seagull Outfitters what it is and will be a great asset to us this summer.  In addition, we have hired some great new young folks to assist us as well. 

The Gunflint Trail and Cook County Visitor's Bureau will be holding a "Boundary Waters Expo" on Seagull Lake at the Blankenburg Landing in June.  The dates are June 12-14.  The event  has some great speakers, equipment dealers and boat demos.  You might want to try to fit your canoe trip around those dates.  Follow this link for more info at http://www.visitcookcounty.com/bwcaexpo .  In addition, you can search "Boundary Waters Expo" on Facebook.  Stay tuned for some special Seagull Packages in conjunction with this event.