The February 2023 Northern Lights Photo Workshop had a great turnout and, although the KP for Northern Lights viewing was 0%, the sky was clear and offered a beautiful view of Orion and the Little Dipper from the east edge of the golf course.

The 9 guests first participated in a lecture on night sky viewing, the science behind the Northern Lights phenomenon, and the optimal camera settings for capturing night skies. This talk was led by Nate Bett, professional photographer, fine arts professor, and Cannon spokesman.

Nate and the guests then checked out snowshoes and stepped out into the Keweenaw Dark Sky Park for a chance to view the night sky without the disruption of modern light pollution. The group used red lens flashlights to navigate in the dark so as not to hinder their night vision. A picturesque area on the east side of the golf course was selected where Orion and the Little Dipper were visible through the branches of a tree.

Not to brag, and I am no photographer, but I was able to capture my first ever recognizable night time shot. Unfortunately, without the stability of a tripod, there is quite a lot of movement in my photo. Nevertheless, here is my first ever, non-professional, moving nighttime night sky photo.

At the end of each workshop I always walk away with a great feeling that guests were able to learn more about photography and their equipment from a professional who is passionate about his art. It feels good to know that our workshop guests take away skills and techniques that will allow them to capture the beauty of the night skies and auroras wherever and whenever they might come across the opportunity to do so.

If you are interested in future photo workshops or other educational opportunities offered by the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, check out our calendar under the Events section of the website.

Visit the KML calendar for the 2023 Photo Workshop dates.

Ryan Anderson has stayed at the Lodge while participating in the 2021 and 2022 CopperDog150, and will also stay with us during the 2023 CopprDog150. I recently interviewed Ryan to learn more about him and his philosophy for dog sledding. Below is his bio.

Ryan Anderson, Bio, Musher

Ryan Anderson, originally from Pine City, Minnesota, knew he wanted to pursue professional mushing since he was in high school. When Ryan was about 4 years old, his father brought his own dog sledding hobby to life, inspiring a love for dogs and mushing in his son. Ryan began driving his own sled team in 1992 and made the move to become a professional musher in 2002. Currently, Ryan’s family includes his wife, two children (aged 2 and 4), and about 30 Alaskan Huskies, which he breeds and trains. The 30 dogs include members of his active race pool as well as retired dogs and new puppies.

During the summer months, Ryan works as a carpenter while the dogs take the summer off to rest and relax. Alaskan Huskies are prone to heat exhaustion in temperatures above 50 degrees so training doesn’t begin until temperatures begin to drop. Once the temperatures drop below 50, Ryan uses an ATV with applied brakes for added resistance to begin training his teams. Each week he adds a mile or two and changes up the route so the dogs don’t lose interest and become bored. It takes about 8 inches of snow accumulation before the sled can be used for training. During the winter, Ryan is a full time, professional musher. He rotates his race dogs during race season so no one gets too tired or becomes prone to injury. Ryan and his teams have completed dozens of races which include the Iditerod, Junior Iditerod, the UP 200, and Bear Grease, just to name a few.

When asked what happens to older dogs, Ryan explained that dogs are generally considered retired between 8-12 years old or if a dog has sustained a problematic injury. Ryan keeps his old friends around and they are free to roam around his property and through his house. He keeps them feeling employed by allowing the local YMCA to use them for short dog sled rides in the winter months.

Ryan and his family enjoy a simple, easy lifestyle that centers around love for animals and nature. He loves to spend every day with his dogs. Ryan believes in goal setting and working hard to achieve personal goals. He also believes that teamwork is a huge key to success. Teamwork is more than just getting along with your co-workers, though. Just like humans, dogs have individual personalities which bring strengths and weaknesses to their teams. Often times, training dog sledding teams isn’t just about teaching commands, it’s a lesson in canine camaraderie as well. Currently, Ryan’s young daughter has begun dipping her toes into the sport by learning how to drive her own team.

The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge is proud to support sportsmen like Ryan, who value nature, family, and team, and believe that what you work to accomplish today will be what you love to enjoy tomorrow.

The 2nd Annual Snowshoe Hare event took place at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge on February 4, 2023 with a slightly overcast sky and temperatures holding steady at 9 degrees for most of the day.  The schedule of the day included a 1.5 mile adult snowshoe race, a 100 meter dash kids’ race, a “History of Snowshoeing” presentation from Iverson Snowshoe owners, Jim and Victoria Baker, a traditional snowshoe demo, and a “Snowshoe Hare” presentation by local MTU ecologist, Tom Oliver.  An in-house, German influenced Rabbit Sausage Stew with homemade croutons, served with a chilled Blackrocks Grand Rabbits Ale was served throughout the day in the Little Cabin Cafe.

Jim Baker, one of the owners of Iverson SnowShoes, discussed the history of snowshoeing across North America, beginning with models developed by North American Indigenous people.  Jim and Victoria discussed the intricacies involved in making hundreds of pairs of snowshoes by hand each year as well as the different materials used for production.  Currently, there are 7 different styles of traditional snowshoes on loan from the Iverson SnowShoe Company for guests to use during visits to the Outdoor Activity Center at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. 

Tom Oliver, of the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach at Michigan Technological University (MTU), led an informative lecture on the snowshoe hare, its habitat, and lifecycle.  Participants learned about the differences between hares and rabbits and the influencing factors leading to the drastic decline in hare populations across North America in recent years.  

To close out the event at 8pm, Amy Oestreich, Chris Guibert, and Max Collings led a 22 person group on a wilderness, moonlit snowshoe hike.  The moonlit hikes are a chance for guests to venture into the undisturbed winter wilderness by moonlight and stargaze without the disruption of light pollution and maybe even have the chance to spot some wildlife, such as the rarely seen snowy owl. 

To round out the Snowshoe theme, the Little Cabin Café offered rabbit sausage soup, as a lunch special, to help warm snowshoers coming in from the cold. The flavors of the sausage in the soup were complimented by those of kale, root vegetables, and chickpeas. The restaurant at the lodge offered Hasenpfeffer (marinated, slow-cooked rabbit), served with broccoli and jeweled rice. The Hasenpfeffer was tender and delicious and accented perfectly by the dried fruits in the jeweled rice.  Grand Rabbits Cream Ale by Blackrocks was also available – and on theme.

The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge partnered with Iverson Snowshoes for this event. Iverson Snowshoes provided promotional materials as well as  a variety of their snowshoe models which could be used by patrons, free of charge. 

We groomed the trails yesterday afternoon to freshen them up. Overnight we received a dusting of snow. It was calm, but we have seen a slight increase in the wind this morning so there will be some drifting on the trails this morning. The winter activities continue on the trails today.

Status as of 8:30am

This past Saturday we held the January 2023 Night Sky Photography Workshop. Despite cloud cover impeding the starry night sky and the below freezing January temperatures, Nate Bett led an informative lecture to four very enthusiastic Keweenaw Mountain Lodge guests.

The four attendees arrived for a night snowshoe rental and stayed to learn about the phenomenon of the Auroras, a result of plasma expelled from the sun which follows the magnetic field lines of the earth and are visible to the human eye as brilliant ribbons of colored light or haze.

During the talk, Nate also discussed the correlation between ISO, shutter speed, and aperture settings, and talked about long exposure shots, light painting, ideal equipment for different weather and light conditions, and the most useful apps for planning great night sky photo opportunities.

On clear nights, Nate steps out with guests into the Dark Sky Park at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge and teaches hands on nighttime photography techniques. “The Dark Sky Park at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge is one of very few places left where humans can view the stars and the wonders of the night sky almost the same way our ancestors did,” explained Amy Bory, coordinator of Events and Education at the lodge.

In promoting the preservation of the night skies through education centered around the damage caused by light pollution, the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge hosts Night Sky and Aurora Photo Workshops every month of the year. Workshops are led by professional photographers and educators and draw passionate, purpose driven individuals of all skill levels.

Visit the KML calendar for the 2023 Photo Workshop dates.

“Connections” — I feel connected to nature; I think of the history of snowshoes. A simple piece of gear, created out of necessity, more than 4000 years before my time. I feel a literal connection to the snow. My feet are securely attached to a mode of transportation perhaps my ancestors relied on for food and travel. I begin to feel a heightened connection between my mind and my body. My other senses are alive as my vision diminishes. I read the snow without sight; the packed trail feels denser underfoot than the drifts, it sounds crunchy. The moonlight is enough – but my other senses must greatly assist. My mind cannot wander and lead me astray. Is this the way? I feel a survivalist sense of responsibility as 22 participants follow me onto the trial and into the night.  – Thoughts – Amy Oestreich

The Outdoor Activity Center hosted its first Moonlit Snowshoe hike of 2023 on January 7. We were excited to welcome 22 participants to the adventure. As a KML team member, I organized and guided this event for the first time.  Below is a recap of the event:

Events are always filled with excitement and of course a little bit of nervousness. After all, this was my first time in charge of such an event. Twelve people had signed up in advance…no problem! To my pleasant surprise more folks kept arriving. As we began our introduction, 22 participants had filled the Outdoor Activity Center. Group activities are interesting and always fun. You have a range from “this is my first time on snowshoes” to “I think I was born with snowshoes on”. What I notice, no matter the skill level, folks are there for the guided, group dynamics and perhaps more importantly the camaraderie that forms; the connection. 

I welcomed everyone, gave a brief overview of the gear, trail safety, vision by moonlight, the Adventurer Snowshoe Route, and Leave No Trace Practices. Then we headed outside to gear up and hike out. I was lead guide and Chris Guibert,OAC Lead, served as sweep. 

The Adventurer Snowshoe Route begins by crossing the golf course. Snow levels were low and the route was not as obvious to my night-visioned eye as I had hoped. Leading a group creates a sense of responsibility. These folks are going to follow me…my anxiety challenged my confidence. I questioned a path I had traveled many times, but not with people depending on me. Then, connections…camaraderie showed me the way. Tom Oliver, a previous team member at the Lodge, who was instrumental in creating this route, leap frogged me and led us to our next junction. I embraced admitting that I got off trail a smidge.  It reminded me of relying on our neighbors during times of need; asking for help; moving as a team; admitting imperfections. 

As we traversed into the wooded section, I did have to chuckle as Tom led us off trail for a brief moment.  But truer, I thought of times past. I thought of the days when our ancestors used many of our current forms of recreation as everyday transportation. I thought of these modern snowshoes on my feet and how they evolved from hand shaped wood and animal hide. I thought about how they were used solely to move and hunt in the winter. I then thought of other forms of recreation, sport and even competitions and how they evolved from our ancestors modes of transportation: hiking, dog sledding, horseback riding… Again, I began to feel a connection to nature and history. 

The route continued through the woods, alongside rock formations and then to an uphill portion. Sure, ascents can challenge our bodies, but I find that they can work our minds even more. Many times, what we think manifests what we feel. As we re-grouped in an opening, I suggested connecting to the internal chatter your mind tends to create when faced with difficulty. This hill is hard! I want to stop! I’m out of shape! What if we can change the mental narrative to, I’ve got this! Keep going! I am getting into shape! As we connected our minds to our bodies, the hill disappeared underfoot. As if to reward us, just then, the full moon began to unveil herself from beneath the clouds. Hello Moon!

Our snowshoe adventure continued along the historic rock wall boundary and back into the woods. Pockets of moonlight guided us along the trail. The stillness of the night calmed me. I could sense the wildlife sharing their space with us. Little tracks imprinted the snow telling us where these critters come and go. Our night as a group was coming to an end. As we circled together, smiles shined in the light of the moon. We did it! We connected as a community of snowshoers; each bringing a desire to explore and learn and each leaving with a new memory by moonlight.

If you are interested in joining our next Moonlit Snowshoe hike on February 4th at 8:00pm, please call the OAC for more information and reserve a spot. 

The OAC team and guests of the Lodge had a fulfilling and educational year of hiking and biking. One of the Lodge’s visions is to provide and foster outdoor activities on the Keweenaw. Everyday we continue building the metaphorical and physical paths to create opportunities for guests to experience the wilderness on the Peninsula. In the Spring of 2022 the Lodge was asked to acquire the neighboring land from Keweenaw County. This 380 acre parcel had 11 miles of long established trails built by the Copper Harbor Trails Club. The Lodge spent a considerable amount of time negotiating with the Michigan DNR, Keweenaw County, the Copper Harbor Trails Club and KORC to draft the terms of the sale. When the sale was completed both a conservation easement on 310 acres of the land and a separate trail easement for the 11 miles of trails were added to the new KML property. This left 70 acres for a future development envelope. The acquisition brings the Lodge property close to 560 total acres and ensures the trails and the wilderness will be here for generations to come.

After receiving 325 inches of snow during the 2021-2022 winter season we were not sure when the trails were open. Mount Bohemia had their lifts running until May. Fortunately we had a relatively warm May and the snow was melting quickly. We were able to open the bike wash and trails were rideable on May 22nd. Our first bike rentals happened on May 29th. Hikers and trail runners were eager to hit the trails for the Back 9 Trail Run. This 12/24-hour endurance run brings runners from across the region. For 2002 thirty three runners came out to enjoy the trails and challenge themselves in this all-night runathon! 

The Lodge is a four-season historic resort at the top of the Keweenaw, focused on outdoor activities, rustic worldly food, and education. For the summer of 2022 we wanted to bring an educational component to the Morning Miles hikes. Tuesdays with Tom were interpretive hikes led by Tom Oliver, the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge’s Naturalist and also the Lodge’s Education and Events Specialist. Tom led 2-4 mile long hikes with discussions about plant and animal identifications, local geology, weather, and the use of nature apps. Tom’s most frequent hike was down the Dancing Bear Trail and up the historic Red Trail. This 3 mile loop has some fascinating geology as it runs under some bedrock cliffs and along two different ridges. We also began to incorporate Leave No Trace ethics into the talks and pushed for guests to be mindful of their surroundings and other guests. These nature hikes are a good opportunity to practice mindful quiet moments and to listen for birds and animals. OAC team member Naya Mueller added another educational component by creating a nature guide for our Morning Miles hikes. This is currently used internally as a reference for our hike leaders but we hope to make this public pamphlet for 2023. 

The Group Bike Rides were offered on Friday evenings and Saturdays during the day.. The Saturday beginner rides were also focused on mountain bike fundamentals from the PMBIA teaching methods. Each week Coach Chris chose a fundamental such as body position or braking and would spend the first part of the ride demonstrating the proper technique. Guests would then have a chance to practice throughout the ride. The Lodge continues to strive to become a destination mountain biking learning center. We spent some time working and planning a mountain biking pump track and skills loop  with Rock Solid Trail Contracting. After months of going back and forth we decided we wanted to work on the project ourselves. The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge has a dedicated team that maintains 25 cabins, a grand historic lodge and a       acre golf course. Be fearless and persistent in learning on a daily basis is one of our core values and our team decided we wanted to learn the skills to build our own mountain biking trails. We shelved the project until 2023 when we hope to purchase a mini excavator and begin the gratifying process of building our own trails.

Supply chain issues in the bike industry finally leveled out and we were able to round out our fleet of full suspension Trek Fuel Ex 8s, we added an extra small, another small and another extra large bike to our quiver. We feel this is an ideal bike for guests to explore the rocky and rooty trails of the Copper Harbor Trail System. For kids bikes we added another two Roscoes 24 bringing our total to six Trek Roscoes 24s and 2 Trek Precalibers. Our first bike rental was on May 29th and the last was on October 7th.

The summer of 2022 was a dry one. From June 1st to September 1st the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge received only 2.77 inches of rain. This led to the trails being much drier than normal. This was a factor with three major trail rebuilds on the schedule for 2022. The Daisy Dukes Trail which is on Grant Township’s property was able to be completed on June 17th. Overflow Trail which is on both the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge Property and Grant township was opened on July 28th was extremely dusty making it extra challenging. The rebuild of Flying Squirrel Trail, which is solely on the KML property, had the trail closed for the whole season. The dry summer along with Rock Solid Contracting and the Copper Harbor Trails Club’s priorities focused elsewhere; the trail didn’t open until November 4th. We look forward to riding this new and improved gravity trail in 2023.

The first big mountain biking event that took place at the Lodge was the Big Boy Clinic on June 3rd, 4th and 5th. A group of over 50 men and multiple instructors come together to improve their mountain biking skills. On Friday June 3rd the group met at the Lodge and based their learning sessions around the trails on the Lodge property. 

This is the little brother event to the Women’s Weekend which took place at the end of July with 82 participants and 24 staff. Similar to the Big Boys, the Women’s Weekend started their weekend utilizing the Lodge property and the surrounding trails to work on fundamental mountain biking skills.

Run the Keweenaw is a multi day event that took place on July 10th and brought runners to different trail systems on the Keweenaw Peninsula. Events included a 6k Mt. Baldy Summit Run, 10K Copper Harbor Trails Challenge, 10K Copper Harbor Trails Non-Competitive Run/Hike, 2K Junior Trail Run, 25K Carl Olson Memorial Adventure Run, and 50k Keweenaw Trail Ultra. The runs in Copper Harbor used parts of the KML property and we were happy to help host this fun event.

The biggest silent sports event in Copper Harbor is Keweenaw Mountain Lodge Copper Harbor Trails Fest held over the Labor Day weekend. In 2022 the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge was the title sponsor again for the second year. This was the 29th year of Trails Fest and it felt like old times. The weather was great, the races went off almost  flawlessly and the music was rocking. Oh yeah, did I mention the northern lights loomed over the bands each night during the festival? This year the The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge hosted the kids mtb races and a new addition to the event, KML Learning Experiences. Before Trails Fest started we worked with Copper Harbor Trails Club to bring more non-competitive and educational opportunities to the event. The events at Trails Fest are mainly races yet there are 100’s of people in town with no desire to race, we saw this as an opening to offer something different.

KML Learning Experience –  Interpretive Hikes were led by Tom Oliver. He chose an interesting route hiking down the Dancing Bear Trail across the historic golf course and up the Blue Trail. Discussion topics included geology, plant and animal life and history of the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. After the hike, many people expressed gratitude about the learning opportunities that these experiences provided.

Kelly Raber and Jared Hlavac of Revolve MTB Coaching handled the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge Learning – Mini Mountain Biking Skills Clinic during the festival. They provided a group of 8 enthusiastic beginners a two hour clinic covering a few of the fundamental mountain biking skills. They started on the KMl tennis courts and quickly moved the class to the Cabin Life trail where they had participants practiced cornering around berms and how to roll over rocks. Once again, the students were thankful to have an opportunity for a learning experience at Trails Fest.

After the excitement of Trails Fest ended we rolled into the Fall Season at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. This is some of the nicest times to come and hike and ride on the trails that surround the Lodge. The fall colors peaked out in early October and the Keweenaw Peninsula slowly became a quieter and quieter place. This allows people to get in touch with nature and have peaceful experience getting out into the woods. We closed the bike wash and tool tree on November 13th and started to prepare the winter trails for the upcoming season of cross country skiing and snowshoeing. First snow should be upon us soon….

[ to read the 2021 recap ]

The December 2022 photo workshop went off successfully with another great session led by professional photographer, Nate Bett. In attendance was a lodging guest who came to Copper Harbor specifically to attend the Photo Workshop. The single attendee got a one-on-one photography lesson from Nate who also taught her how to use her camera and tripod and was able to recommend some lenses, apps, equipment, and some useful tips to enhance the quality of her photos. Due to falling snow and overcast conditions, the techniques were not able to be applied and practiced that evening. The workshop was also attended by several of the lodge staff.

Ready or not, here comes winter. The blowing and drifting snow created dangerous driving conditions resulting in the cancellation of this month’s Night Sky Photo Workshop.

We held a workshop on Thursday, November 3rd, 2022 that covered the dark sky park designation process and light management, which led to a discussion about what the Lodge is doing to foster dark-skies in the Keweenaw.

The Lodge has been working to reduce it’s light pollution on the dark sky for the past several years. KML’s John Mueller has been responsible for the international dark sky park designation, and working with team members on light management and inventorying the lighting at the Lodge. As part of that activity, he has been able to see where the Lodge has been able to achieve designation and continuing to improve both lighting and energy efficiency. This has helped move the Lodge forward with the International Dark Sky Park designation application that is currently being reviewed by the International Dark-Sky Association.

In this workshop, John went through the process of achieving the designation to give the attendees a perspective of where the Lodge has come from with the designation, as well was what makes the Keweenaw and the Lodge so special — including for stargazing. He went through the effects that artificial light has on one’s environment, and then what the Lodge team has been doing to decrease light trespassing and pollution in the park and at the top of the Keweenaw. 

Here is a bullet point of the topics covered:

• Brief Lodge/Keweenaw history and background
• International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) background info
• Process that the Lodge followed to achieve the international dark sky park designation
• Defined Light Pollution, its varieties (glare, cluster, light trespass, and skyglow), and explained the effects of light pollution on the environment (fireflies, sea turtles, birds and insects specifically), as well as the negative effects on humans.
• IDAs various requirements for outdoor lighting
• The Lodge’s strategy for choosing our dark sky lighting and our lighting management plan
• Q&A

The recording of the workshop can be viewed via the link below. 

The slide deck used during the workshop can be viewed by clicking on the image below.

[ Download the the slide deck ]

About the Instructor: John Mueller

John is the interim General Manager at the Lodge, and spearheaded the Lodge’s International Dark Sky Park application. He is intimately involved with implementing dark sky park initiatives at the Lodge, including the light management.