Enjoying the Outdoors

Enjoying the Outdoors

The boys and I took a break after we found our third cache on Star Island. This is only the second time I’ve been on the island, and the first time I’ve been wading in Lake Windigo.

By Allan Olson

I may not be winter’s biggest fan, but I wouldn’t say I don’t enjoy it, either – at least as long as the weather isn’t below zero for days on end and it isn’t snowing a foot per week.

Last Saturday was a picture-perfect winter day in northern Minnesota. For several weeks I have been planning to attend a geocaching event in Bemidji, and a few days prior to the event, I was contacted by a friend to see if I wanted to tag along to find the caches hidden on Cass Lake. I was game, as long as the weather cooperated.

The only thing to decide was how many kids I should bring, if any. As the date approached, I finally asked Nikolai if he wanted to go. I really wasn’t going to give him much choice, but he readily complied – he was ready for a new adventure. The night before, I asked Marcus if he wanted to go, too, and he was a willing participant as well.

I wrestled in my mind for several days if I was even going to ask the girls. Finally I decided I would, but I would also try to paint it as the worst possible scenario. I love my girls, but I really didn’t want to take all four kids out on the islands, especially not knowing how long we would be gone. That morning I asked them, but at the same time, I informed them there were no bathrooms (although I think they would’ve been okay with that), it was going to be cold (wrong!), and we would be out all day (right!). My wife said I was scaring them off; I replied that I was being brutally honest. The girls, it turns out, were content to stay home. Alivia wanted the opportunity to play on Nikolai’s computer, and Abigail was looking forward to watching her shows on TV without any competition.

The boys and I packed up and headed out at about 8:30 a.m. After a few stops in Bemidji, we made it to the event just before 10:00. We visited with the others there, and I explained the route we would be taking. We all departed from there and met again in Cass Lake, and they followed me out to the resort that we left from, with our first destination being Potato Island. We drove out across the lake toward our destination, and parked about 20 yards offshore. We climbed the hill and quickly found the first of six possible caches. When we were done there, our group of seven moved on to Star Island to find its four caches. Even though I was informed that we could drive pretty much anywhere on the lake, I was still cautious. We found what looked like a good landing spot and parked at least 20 yards away from shore. We walked to a set of stairs and carefully made our way up. It was about a half-mile from where we landed to the first cache, so we set out hiking. After that one, the rest of the party decided they really didn’t want to stick around for the other three, so it was just myself and my boys and our friend who had suggested this trek – we were committed to the hunt.

The next cache we found on the island was near the ruins of an old house with only the foundation remaining. Already tired after walking halfway across the island, we knew there was no turning back at this point. I certainly wasn’t going to give up, especially since the next two caches were now on the way back to our vehicle. So we trekked on and found the third one, after which we took a short break. 

The final cache proved to be the hardest to find. Our coordinates kept jumping  around, and we just couldn’t seem to locate it. The boys decided to have a snowball fight (just between them) and after a minute or so, Nikolai shouted “I found it!” While he was grabbing snow to throw at Marcus, he uncovered the ammo can that was hidden under some branches and snow. We inspected the cache, signed our names to the log and began the half-mile walk back to the vehicle which, due to some navigational errors, we probably extended by about another half-mile.

Throughout the course of the walk the boys did pretty well. Nikolai trudged on and never complained; Marcus did his fair share of whining, and when I asked him to stop he said, “I like whining, it’s fun.” I decided that if that’s how he wanted to entertain himself, then I would just let him whine. I have to admit that by the time we were done, even I was ready to do some whining.  

In all, we walked about eight miles that day and found five of the six caches we had intended to find. The other is on Cedar Island; it got too late in the day and we were just too tired, so either it will have to wait until next summer or we will try boot skating across the ice to find it another day. In the end, it was a great adventure. We had perfect weather, and I had a fun time hanging out with my boys, enjoying the great outdoors.

That evening, after a much needed hot shower, my wife and I played two games of Yahtzee – one together and then one with the youngest two, and we rented a movie for the kids.

Our plans for this weekend – I’m certainly not planning another eight-mile hike, but I am looking forward to watching the annual ice rescue exercises on Cass Lake on Saturday. Aside from that, I expect to be taking it easy.

Thanks to everyone for reading, and as always, please be safe while enjoying your favorite outdoor recreational activity and on the lakes, and remember to take pictures to preserve a lifetime of memories. Remember to drive safely, and watch out for those buses carrying our children. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com.