Fall is Winding Down at Seagull

We awoke this morning to 20 degrees on the thermometer and a light dusting of snow on the ground!  Burrrr....the transition from 70 degrees to this is way too sudden.  We have been enjoying some nice lazy October days.  Fortunately we were not caught off guard and have most of our outside chores done for the winter. 

I had been enjoying some nice quiet time working in my office at the store.  It is amazing how much one can get done when we are not open. 

Katelyn showed up last weekend and we hiked the Blueberry Hill Trail over at the Chik Wauk Museum.  It was raining lightly but made for a great view from the top.

I tend to immerse myself in Seagull in the summer and miss out on the opportunities outside our doorstep!  This hike should be on everyone's list for next summer.

Dave and I went to Grand Marais today as we start our Skype interviews for summer 2013.  We had the pleasure of using a friend's cabin in the woods and it made for a nice morning.  We hired one young man that will start work May 1.  More Skype interviews to come....

I am working on 2013 rates while Dave is busy designing some new canoe racks.

Open this hyperlink 2013 cabin openings and check out our availability for next summer.

More blog updates to come so stay tuned!

Deb




Bittersweet Goodbye

I am writing this blog as a last chance for me to say thank you, goodbye and how great it was to meet all of you. Throughout my past four summers working at Seagull Outfitters I have met an abundance of faces and personalities that I could never forget. The outreach of customers I have had in the last couple weeks since I left Seagull Outfitters is incredible. My parents came up to Seagull a few days before I left to help me pack, take in a little more of the Northern solitude and to relax with Deb and Dave a few more nights. We had a blast eating burgers and playing darts. From there, I headed back to St. Cloud where I had a postcard waiting for me from a Seagull customer, Linda... and have received a couple since. Today, I was fortunate enough to get a call from long time Seagull customer, Jim, who was passing through Duluth. We were able to meet down at Grandma's restaurant and have a nice lunch. Prior to leaving Seagull I received endless support for my grad school endeavors and was reassured it would be worth it!... I hope reading over 100 pages each day is worth it! :) All of the support warms my heart and I look forward to crossing paths with many of you in the future.

 

I truly want to thank Deb and Dave for everything... mostly for putting up with me for four years!... For those of you that know me, that can be quite the difficult task!! The success of Seagull Outfitters became so evident to me after working so closely with each of them. They put their heart and souls into their business day in and day out... working from sun up to sun down. If I gained a small portion of their work ethic, organization, and drive, I know I too can be successful in grad school and beyond. I learned so much about how to run a successful business that I began to wonder what I was doing going to grad school for Exercise Physiology rather than Business Management. It will one day take an extremely special person to continue the success Deb has started. They are hands down my second parents and there are not enough words to thank them for all they have done for me! The two of them have been there for me endless nights and I appreciate it so much.

I miss Seagull Lake already but I guess living on Lake Superior for the next year will have to work. I already look forward to future visits up the Gunflint Trail and to one day tell my kids the great stories of the amazing friends and customers I met while working at Seagull Outfitters.

Such a bittersweeeeeet goodbye,

Katelyn

Fall Foliage

Yellowing leaves over at our Paddler's Lodge

The leaves are just starting to turn up here in the Northwoods! We're excited to watch the wilderness change its attire even though it means that things are starting to quiet down. As the season slows, our staff has been cut in half and we're missing all the kids that usually come through now that they're back in school! Katelyn, who just finished her fourth and final year as a Seagull staffer just started her graduate program in Exercise Science in Duluth. Three of our other staffers headed back to college last week as well, leaving just four of us. Although they'll be missed, we're loving the dropping temperatures and changing landscapes. It's a beautiful time of year to head out into the woods -- hardly any bugs, comfortable weather, and amazing scenery. We're making the most of the time we have left! Here's a picture from my camping trip last week:

Sunrise on Seagull Lake

With just over three weeks left in the season, you've still got a chance to make it up here for a quick fall getaway before the school year gets into full swing! Or, begin planning your vacation for next season. We've already begun to book cabins and canoe trips for 2013!


Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you soon!

Katie

Moose Sighting at Seagull Outfitters

We are full speed ahead into August, our busiest month of the season!  As our parking lot is filling and our canoe piles are emptying, we try to take a moment out of each day to appreciate the wilderness around us.  Yesterday, as we were preparing for our morning tows, this cow and her small calf were crossing the Gunflint Trail in front of our store building on Seagull Lake... what a beautiful sight!  

A cow and her calf crossing the Gunflint Trail at 5:45 am.

The weather is great up here in the Northwoods, warm days and cool nights!  September is right around the corner so e-mail or call us today to book your last minute summer vacation in the Boundary Waters Wilderness.  There are still permits left for August and September for those of you who are interested in seeing the Boundary Waters in the fall... great fishing and a wonderful scenery await you.  If you're quiet enough you might even be able to see a moose or two for yourself!


Alyssa



Summer is Heating Up!

Summer is well on its way and we are quite busy. We have recently updated our canoe inventory by adding over fifteen new Kevlar and Aluminum canoes to our stock. They have no time to sit around in our piles as they are hitting the water right away. We are excited about the next few weeks as we have many large school groups, church groups, and families joining us. The more the merrier around here!

Deb with a few of her new Aluminum canoes

There is still plenty of time to make your 2012 Boundary Waters memory or plan for 2013. Let us be there to help you!... 

Katelyn

It was a beautiful week here at the end of the Gunflint Trail!  Temperatures in the high seventies/eighties during the day with cool clear nights - great for star gazing.  The blueberry season is also in full swing.  Seagull staffer, Grant, went picking for a few hours on his day off and picked half a gallon.  He says there are still plenty of almost ripe blueberries for everyone else... so start picking!  There has been a handful of moose sightings near Seagull and the End of the Trail, a cow and her young calf like to hang out around Seagull Creek.  Yesterday, we had a visitor in the bay for most of the morning, I happened to get a few pictures before he dived back down for another fish; a beautiful young loon!

With the nicer weather we've been sending out more families with young kids.  This group was having a little too much fun getting their picture taken before sailing off on their Seagull trip!




And these young paddlers were all packed up and ready to be dropped off at Cross Bay to go camping on Ham Lake for a few days.


If you are looking for more adventure on your next canoe trip, check out Eddy Falls at the portage going from Eddy Lake into the South Arm of Knife.  By doing the Thunder Point Loop described on our website www.seagulloutfitters.com you can experience everything that the Boundary Waters Canoe Area has to offer and more!  Because of the amount of rain we had this spring the water levels are high... this makes for great water falls and wonderful swimming.  Wayne came back a few days ago from his trip and provided us with this picture of him sitting in Eddy Falls enjoying the high water and great weather!  You can check out Eddy Falls for yourself by going through either Seagull or Saganaga Lakes, we could even give you a head start tow boat launch on both to get your trip going in the right direction.

Our new webcam was installed yesterday with a wide-angle lens and a weather module so you can see exactly what is going on at our Seagull Canoe Outfitters base.  Check out our Facebook and Twitter for weekly updates and call us today to book your own paddling adventure with Seagull!

Alyssa

Sunshine and Smiles

The month of June is ending up to be quite beautiful. The fish, the berries, and the weather. The month started out quite rainy and dreary. Which we enjoy in terms of moisture for our new trees, flowers, and berries!... However, our customer were coming off cold and wet... We made sure to have the coffee pots always running! But boy did all the rain change the scenery and berry crop. Since all of the rain, we've had nothing but beautiful sunny skies. Thanks to the combination of rain and sun I have been munching on ripe strawberries for about two weeks now and heard from a few customers that they were able to make a nice blueberry pancake breakfast atop the Seagull Palisades this morning.

Aside from the berries and weather, the fishing is starting to pick up. It seemed as though the fish were a bit confused with the crazy weather changes we've been having since March... I think they are getting straightened out now! Have received good reports on trail from a variety of lakes. I have been out on Seagull Lake a few times in the past week and have had some success. I caught the bass pictured to the left in about 6 feet of water on a slip bobber and leech and a nice 22' walleye last night fishing in about 20' of water with my bobber set at about 9'. Staffer, James, caught his nice 28' walleye pictured to the right on a plain jig with a leech about 12' down. All fish were caught and released for you pleasure of catching at a later point!

It's not too late to plan a trip! We're here 7-7 daily and are happy to help you!

Join our Facebook biweekly photo contest for your chance to win a free Seagull Cap and have your picture displayed in our store!

Katelyn