Outdoors
Video: Ice Climbing at Quarry Park
“The Frozen Photog” Adam Jagunich recently visited Quarry Park in West Duluth, capturing scenes of ice climbers ascending the 100-foot manmade cliff at the former quarry, which became a city park in 2016.
Chasing the Sunset in Duluth
The latest video from “The Frozen Photog” Adam Jagunich features scenes from sunset at Park Point and Brighton Beach in Duluth.
Video: Flying Squirrel Flying Against its Will
The latest trail-camera highlight from the Voyageurs Wolf Project shows a bobcat whipping around a flying squirrel. The footage was captured in Voyageurs National Park, about 100 miles north of Duluth.
Sparky’s 2025 Owl Footage
Mark “Sparky” Stensaas shares his favorite video clips of owls from the early months of 2025. The bulk of the observations were from south of Duluth, Sax-Zim Bog, the Two Harbors area, Lake County, Superior National Forest and Grand Marais.
A Special Log in the Middle of a Remote Boreal Forest
This is not the first, nor is it likely the last, video of critters in Voyageurs National Park obsessing over an old, mossy log.
The trail-camera footage is from the Voyageurs Wolf Project, which is focused on understanding the summer ecology of wolves in the park.
North Country Trail in Wisconsin: Returning to the Border
During a group hike in spring 2024, I covered a new section of the North Country Trail in Wrenshall. At the time I didn’t think much about how my essay series is about the trail “in Wisconsin,” yet almost all of that hike was in Minnesota.
A few years ago, the Wisconsin section of the North Country Trail was all in Wisconsin, because it hadn’t been built yet near the Minnesota state line. The Minnesota side of the trail ended in the woods at the border, and the only way to start the trail at the Wisconsin side was to hike various highways to get to the parts of the trail that had been built.
Now that an official border route through the woods exists, however, the trail enters Wisconsin and runs for about a mile, slants over into Minnesota for about two miles, then swings back into Wisconsin.
There was a small part of that new section in Wrenshall I didn’t see on that group hike, because there was snow on the ground, groups move slower than individuals, and the rest of the group didn’t share my quest to cover every single bit of the trail. So I went back in the fall. (more…)
Rare Moments from the Northwoods
Voyageurs Wolf Project trail cameras capture snippets of the fascinating daily happenings in Voyageurs National Park, about 100 miles north of Duluth. Though the project is focused on understanding the summer ecology of wolves in the park, the cameras record a variety of wildlife throughout the year. All of the footage in the clip above was captured in fall and winter 2024.
Buckthorn Jersey
An obvious challenge when hauling buckthorn branches is that they are pokey. The word “thorn” is right there in the name. Protecting your flesh with a thick canvas jacket is a wise tactic, but what if the temperature demands a more breathable garment? One option is wearing an old hockey jersey, which provides moderate thorn protection while being considerably cooler than a work coat.
Matching the jersey colors to the wildflowers is a potential happy accident.
Trail Camera Highlights from Summer 2024
The Voyageurs Wolf Project recently released a pair of montage videos with footage from the roughly 350 cameras set up in Voyageurs National Park last summer. In addition to the great wolf footage, there are lynx, bobcats, fox, bears, badgers, moose and more.
Part one is above, part two is below. (more…)
Birch Bark Beth
When the rose petals arrive to the boreal forest and the black flies emerge, it’s time for Beth Homa Kraus to harvest birch bark for her basket weaving. This video was produced by M. Baxley for WTIP North Shore Community Radio.
PDD Quiz: Get to the Point
Test your knowledge of various Twin Ports points with this week’s quiz!
The next PDD quiz will review July 2025 headlines; it will be published on July 27. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at alisonlinnaemoffat@gmail.com by July 24. (more…)
Helical Hymn
This animated music video was inspired by the Minnesota Million: Reforestation for Carbon Sequestration Project, which is focused on the reforestation of one million acres in northern Minnesota. It will be screened at Dovetail Cafe & Marketplace on July 3 at 6 p.m. as part of the Cafe Scientifique event. Dr. Julie Etterson will speak about the Minnesota Million Project and free seedlings will be given away. Please come hear about this exciting project and help us reforest the northland.
Ten Months of Critters in Voyageurs National Park
The latest montage video from the Voyageurs Wolf Project features highlights from a trail camera set up in a remote section of Voyageurs National Park for more than 10 months. The camera captured the typical cast of elusive forest characters, including wolves, moose and lynx. A bear helps direct the video by adjusting the camera.
Here’s the latest lynx footage from Voyageurs National Park
[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]
The Voyageurs Wolf Project has more than 350 trail cameras set up within in Voyageurs National Park, about 100 miles north of Duluth. Though the project is focused on understanding the summer ecology of wolves in the park, the cameras record all kinds of wildlife throughout the year. Lynx sightings are somewhat rare, and footage this good is truly rare.
To support the Voyageurs Wolf Project’s spring fundraising project, visit crowdfund.umn.edu.
PDD Quiz: For the Birds
Take flight with this ornithology-adjacent quiz that tests your knowledge of bird-related trivia.
The next PDD quiz, slated for May 25, will recap the month’s headlines. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at alisonlinnaemoffat@gmail.com by May 22. (more…)
Childhood memories lead to future inspirations
Etta Glinsek is a junior at the University of Minnesota Duluth majoring in environment sustainability and geography and minoring in environment and outdoor education. She is working toward graduating in spring 2026 and a career in the environmental field.
This semester, Glinsek is taking the class Nature Interpretation. Part of the coursework is to create a plot study, finding an area where the student can study and observe nature. Glinsek has chosen an area in Bagley Nature Area near a stream in hopes that it will create a more diverse environment. Her goal is to help preserve the environment and find a job that will allow her to do it.
Wolf pack howling into the wintry darkness
The Peatland Pack, the largest pack of wolves in the Voyageurs National Park area, was caught on a trail camera this winter howling in chorus. The main wolf that is standing up howling in the clip is the breeding female of the pack, and three others show up on camera, but the pack is composed of at least nine wolves.
The video is from the Voyageurs Wolf Project, which is focused on understanding the ecology of wolves in the park.
Arctic Bound: Sailboat Nord Hus arrives in Grand Marais
The 36-foot sailboat Nord Hus cast off from the Knife River Marina near Two Harbors on March 31 with a crew of four and temperatures hovering around 11 degrees. The first stop on the journey was Grand Marais. Explorers Lonnie Dupre and Pascale Marceau and crew plan to sail the Nord Hus from Grand Marais through the Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence Seaway and follow the Canadian North Shore to Newfoundland, eventually reaching the arctic channel between Elsemere Island and Greenland. The crew will be conducting a variety of scientific observations in collaboration with global partners. (more…)
Loons Singing to the Northern Lights
Seth Trobec captured these sounds and scenes looking over Moose Lake, north of Deer River, on May 19, 2023. The video was released on YouTube last week. (more…)
Ice Skating Trail on Gunflint Lake
Gunflint Lodge owner John Fredrikson plowed what is possibly the largest ice-skating trail in the United States on Gunflint Lake. This video was produced by Matthew Baxley for WTIP North Shore Community Radio.
Please note the video was shot more than a month ago and ice conditions can always change rapidly.
The Slice: Duluth Explorers Club
The Duluth Explorers Club is a monthly gathering that highlights experiences and perspectives of local adventurers.
In its series The Slice, PBS North presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.
Duluth Deep Dive #1: Sandbars
From top to bottom, freshwater sandbars in Lake Eerie, Lake Baikal and our own on Lake Superior. In each image, the red line represents 15 miles. (Images from Google Earth)
The 10-mile combined length of Minnesota and Wisconsin Point is often described as one of the world’s longest natural freshwater sandbars. But which sandbars is it being compared against? This post takes a closer look at the world’s longest sandbars (and includes a Geoguessr challenge of remarkable sandbars around the world). (more…)
Rob on Bikes: Dreamland at Spirit Mountain
Dreamland mountain bike trail opened at Spirit Mountain last fall. Two minutes into his October ride, Rob of Rob on Bikes crashed and scratched his GoPro lens, but persevered to pull together a segment with only slightly obscured footage.
Video of bull moose sparring in northern Minnesota
From a snowy forest in Voyageurs National Park, about 100 miles north of Duluth, trail camera footage from two weeks ago of two bull moose locking antlers, with a third bull eventually joining in. The video is from the Voyageurs Wolf Project, which is focused on understanding the ecology of wolves in the park.