Duluth MN Outdoors and Adventure News from Perfect Duluth Day

Ode to Spirit Mountain

Mar 25, 2023 No Comments

Standing at the top I see the river in the distance far below
In between this mountainside is covered in a heavy coat of snow
My poles are in my hands and my favorite purple skis are on my feet
My mouth begins to water like it’s waiting for the taste of something sweet
Slipping from the edge I feel a smile slowly slide across my face
‘Cause skiing down this mountain is the closest that I’ll ever come to grace

I wrote this little ditty years ago after a day of skiing at Spirit Mountain.

Outdoors, Sports Skiing and Snowboarding, Spirit Mountain

The Great Lakes Aurora Hunters

Mar 17, 2023 No Comments

This Twin Cities Public Television segment follows a group of photographers chasing the Northern Lights in Minnesota.

Outdoors, Videos Northern Lights, Twin Cities Public Television

Sir Ernest Shackleton goes out for Bloody Marys

Mar 12, 2023 No Comments

The lake is out there somewhere in this desolate wasteland at the peak of human endurance. Pro tip: If downtown is closed up because of blizzard conditions, the Boat Club is still open because it’s part of the Fitger’s hotel, and they’re all trapped in there eating each other, but it’s open. A great place to hole up here in the last outpost of civilization during the snowmageddonpocalypse. That is a vat of pepper-soaked vodka. Bloody Mary review: 9/10.

Outdoors, Photos, Recommendations Bars / Drinking Establishments, Lake Superior Aquaman

Giant Expectations: The Nimrod Giant Ski Story

Mar 08, 2023 No Comments

Many people come to Hayward to ski, but only an elite few dare to giant ski. Last week Perfect Duluth Day shared the previews, the music video, the news coverage and the overall hype; this week we present the full-length feature documentary on the most storied team in the history of the American Birkebeiner Giant Ski Race. It chronicles the team’s past success, the rise to fame and stardom, struggles with selling out, and the uncertain comeback.

Outdoors Documentaries, Hayward, Skiing and Snowboarding

The Slice: Ski Jumping in Cloquet

Mar 07, 2023 No Comments

The Cloquet Ski Club promotes ski jumping and cross-country skiing at Pine Valley Ski Area.

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.

Outdoors, Videos Cloquet, Skiing and Snowboarding, The Slice, WDSE-TV - PBS North

A Paddle with Jeff and Jesse

Mar 05, 2023 No Comments

Outdoors, Photos Canoeing / Kayaking / Paddle Boarding / Rafting, Lake Superior, Lake Superior Aquaman, North Shore of Lake Superior

The Nimrods win American Birkebeiner Giant Ski Race 2023

Feb 27, 2023 No Comments

This highlight video shows the drama from the qualifying run and finals of the American Birkebeiner Giant Ski Race, held last weekend on Main Street in Hayward. The Nimrod Giant Ski Team recaptured the championship this year.

Outdoors, Sports, Videos American Birkebeiner, Hayward, Skiing and Snowboarding, Weird

Apostle Islands in National Geographic

Feb 24, 2023 1 Comment

The March issue of National Geographic has a 16-page feature on Lake Superior’s Apostle Islands. The online version has the headline, “These Lake Superior islands are ‘no place for amateurs,’” while the print edition carries the title “Return to Wild Waters.” Writer Stephanie Pearson accompanied photographer David Guttenfelder on part of his August 2021 kayaking journey in which he paddled to 19 of the 22 islands.

Outdoors Apostle Islands, Lake Superior, National Geographic

The Slice: Hiking Kadunce River in Winter

Feb 17, 2023 No Comments

In winter the Kadunce River, an 8.5-mile stream near Grand Marais that flows into Lake Superior about 100 miles northeast of Duluth, becomes a frozen hiking trail.

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.

Outdoors, Videos Hiking, North Shore of Lake Superior, The Slice, WDSE-TV - PBS North, Winter

Video: Sledding at the Laskiainen Finnish Festival in Palo

Feb 08, 2023 No Comments

Videographer Adam Jagunich took his drone for a winter flight in the small Iron Range town of Palo, about 40 miles north of Duluth, to capture sledding scenes from the 85th annual Laskiainen Finnish Festival last weekend.

Outdoors, Videos Adam Jagunich, Drone Videos, Iron Range, Sledding, Winter

Vignettes from the Edge of a Beaver Pond

Jan 26, 2023 No Comments

Researchers at the Voyageurs Wolf Project placed cameras around the edge of a beaver pond this past summer hoping to get good footage of wolves. Instead, they captured a whole lot of otter activity along with a few other critters, including a black bear and three cubs that predictably knocked over a camera.

Outdoors, Videos Bears, Deer, Otter, Voyageurs National Park

Holiday Aurora: Lights of Summer

Jan 19, 2023 No Comments

The latest video from Seth Trobec is new to the internet, but was shot last summer over Independence Day and Labor Day weekends — July 2 and Sept. 4 to be precise. The timelapse was created from Trobec’s photos of the northern lights.

Outdoors, Videos Northern Lights, Seth Trobec

The Slice / Almanac North: Gunflint Mail Run 2023

Jan 18, 2023 No Comments

The Gunflint Mail Run, an annual sled dog race in Cook County, was held Jan. 7. PBS North Producer Megan McGarvey captured the scenes for the station’s feature The Slice (embedded above) and also for a segment on the weekly show Almanac North (embedded below).

Outdoors, Videos Almanac North, Dog Sledding, The Slice, WDSE-TV - PBS North

America’s Forests in Minnesota / Chuck Leavell in Duluth

Jan 14, 2023 No Comments

Famed musician Chuck Leavell visited Duluth on March 29 to record a performance of the Bob Dylan song “Like a Rolling Stone” with the Duluth band Big Wave Dave and the Ripples at Sacred Heart Music Center. The collaboration was for the closing segment of the 10th episode of the television series America’s Forests with Chuck Leavell. Embedded above is the full episode, which recently aired on select PBS stations, but not in Duluth. Another video, isolating just the music performance, is embedded below.

Music, Outdoors, Videos Big Wave Dave and the Ripples, Sacred Heart Music Center, Trees

Duluth View Checklist

Jan 07, 2023 5 Comments

From the Institute for the Study of Light and Water. There are three main components to your scenic view from Duluth, Minnesota: the sky, the lake, and in between those, whatever Wisconsin is doing. These components have been sorted below into color and texture for your convenience. Using the provided ingredients, you should be able to record and/or recreate any Duluth view. Print out and carry with you. Circle all that apply.

Date/time: __________

Sky Color: Sky blue. Teal. Blueberry. White. Pink. Lavender. Burgundy. Violet. Subdued sunrise/set like a natural gas flame. Blazing sunrise/set like an atomic bomb. Black. Gray. Red. Magenta. Periwinkle. Pastels. Peach. Indigo. Orange. Layer cake of colors.

Sky Texture: Cloudless. Partial cloud cover. Full cloud cover. Full cloud cover allowing sliver of sky at horizon. Fog. Partial fog. Brooding twisty clouds. Washboard/fishbone clouds. Cigar-shaped clouds. Strips of clouds like filets. Pulled cotton clouds. Clouds underlit by sun or city. Towering cloudbanks like Southwestern mesas pregnant with lightning. Two or more unique cloud layers moving independently. Crisscrossing white contrails (gold/pink at sunrise/set). Single contrail (gold/pink at sunrise/set). Aircraft. Laced with birds. Single bird. Gulls making a racket. Gulls in great gyres. Raptor/s. Sheets of rain. Sprinkles. Sun shower. Mists (glowing/not glowing). Rainbow/s. Snow flurry. Blizzardous. Big fat snowflakes practically hovering in the still air. Sleety. Full moon. Middling moon. Sliver of a moon like God’s fingernail clipping. Moonlight coming from somewhere but you’re not sure where. Full of stars. Intermittent stars. Single star. Electrifying auroras. Auroras so faint you’re not sure if it’s a thing, but maybe. Antenna farm. Antenna farm in fog. Antenna farm in deep winter frosted white against blue sky. Layer cake of textures.

Outdoors Saturday Essay

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