Join Adam and Natalie as they make the trek out to the Hegman Lake pictographs and try and make sense of what they find there. Brought to you by bottom critters, wintermakers, and Bent Paddle Beer. Subscribe: Patreon iTunes Stitcher Google Play Soundcloud Twitter Contact: The Answering Machine: (218) 481-0649 Facebook [email protected] Clearwater Canoe Outfitters Music […]
The post Tumblehome: A Boundary Waters Podcast – Wintermaker appeared first on Clearwater Outfitters.
Episode Transcript
[0:00:06 – 0:00:06] UNKNOWN: Thank you.
[0:00:37 – 0:00:40] UNKNOWN: Welcome to Tumble Home in the Field.
[0:00:40 – 0:00:40] UNKNOWN: This is Adam.
[0:00:40 – 0:00:42] UNKNOWN: And Natalie.
[0:00:42 – 0:00:49] Adam: We’re coming to you live northbound on the Echo Trail.
[0:01:01 – 0:01:09] Adam: We’ve just passed through Ely, and we’re on our way up to the South Hegman Lake axis.
[0:01:10 – 0:01:11] Adam: We’re probably about 12 miles away.
[0:01:12 – 0:01:20] Adam: We got up kind of early today and making the drive over to the west side of the park, and we’re out here pictograph hunting.
[0:01:21 – 0:01:25] Adam: Natalie has been waiting a long time to see some pictographs.
[0:01:25 – 0:01:28] Adam: How excited are you on a scale of 1 to 13?
[0:01:29 – 0:01:30] Natalie: 13.
[0:01:30 – 0:01:32] Natalie: I think I might cry when I see them.
[0:01:34 – 0:01:36] Adam: So have you ever seen pictographs before?
[0:01:36 – 0:01:38] Natalie: Yes, out in Wyoming.
[0:01:38 – 0:01:42] Natalie: We did a whole study on them, so I’m curious to compare and contrast them.
[0:01:44 – 0:01:48] Adam: So, yeah, these are apparently the North Hegman Lake pictographs.
[0:01:48 – 0:01:52] Adam: They are one of the more easily accessible ones.
[0:01:52 – 0:01:53] Adam: I’ll be snowshoeing.
[0:01:53 – 0:01:54] Adam: Natalie will be on skis.
[0:01:56 – 0:02:01] Adam: And from what we’ve heard, it’s not too far in from the parking area.
[0:02:01 – 0:02:08] Adam: It’s maybe 1.6 or 1.8 miles one way with a short portage.
[0:02:09 – 0:02:13] Adam: And I expect there will be some sort of established…
[0:02:13 – 0:02:42] Adam: snowshoer or skiing trail heading in there so it’s not like we’re going to be breaking trail and there doesn’t appear to be as much snow over on this side as we’ve got over near the big lake but the conditions report we have 18 degrees it’s pretty overcast right now at one point driving over near finland we were actually in snow maybe even some ice fog coming up highway one
[0:02:43 – 0:02:49] Adam: Yeah, there’s some pretty gray conditions out here right now.
[0:02:49 – 0:02:53] Adam: The road’s been pretty good, a little slick in spots, but we made good time.
[0:02:54 – 0:03:04] Adam: We stopped for some snowshoeing and skiing, pre-snowshoe and pre-ski donuts, and we have a picnic lunch packed.
[0:03:04 – 0:03:06] Adam: We’re going to have that at the pictograph site.
[0:03:07 – 0:03:09] Adam: Hopefully there’s not a ton of people in there.
[0:03:09 – 0:03:10] Adam: It is a Saturday.
[0:03:10 – 0:03:10] Adam: Okay.
[0:03:11 – 0:03:13] Natalie: I don’t anticipate too many people.
[0:03:13 – 0:03:14] Natalie: I’m sure we’ll pass some.
[0:03:15 – 0:03:17] Adam: Probably, but I don’t know.
[0:03:17 – 0:03:19] Adam: I’ve never been over here, so who knows?
[0:03:20 – 0:03:21] Adam: Neither of us have been to Hegman Lake.
[0:03:22 – 0:03:23] Adam: or North Hickman Lake.
[0:03:25 – 0:03:29] Adam: So yeah, this is the, we’re getting pretty amped, we’re getting close.
[0:03:30 – 0:03:33] Adam: We will be reporting from the trail and from the pictograph site.
[0:03:34 – 0:03:37] Adam: We’ve seen pictures of it, and we’ve done a little bit of reading on it.
[0:03:37 – 0:03:45] Adam: We will save the analysis for when we actually get there, but everything we’ve heard is that these are really a beautiful pictograph.
[0:03:45 – 0:03:52] Adam: One of the most well-preserved and possibly containing the winter maker.
[0:03:53 – 0:03:55] Adam: Can you briefly describe the winter maker, Natalie?
[0:03:57 – 0:04:02] Natalie: Wintermaker is closely associated with Shingbis and their fight.
[0:04:03 – 0:04:05] Natalie: Shingbis is fighting off Wintermaker.
[0:04:05 – 0:04:07] Natalie: Shingbis is a duck, I believe.
[0:04:07 – 0:04:10] Adam: Yeah, I believe that Shingbis is a duck.
[0:04:10 – 0:04:16] Natalie: Yes, and Wintermaker is the one who is pretty self-explanatory, makes winter.
[0:04:17 – 0:04:38] Adam: And so in this case, there is people who argue that the person figure at these pictograph sites is indeed the winter maker and or the Orion constellation, as it does orient itself nicely towards Orion during the winter season.
[0:04:39 – 0:04:46] Adam: Although we may be there later in the day, but I don’t think we’d be able to see Orion tonight, even if we stayed until dark.
[0:04:47 – 0:04:51] Natalie: Well, Orion and Wintermaker are the same constellation, essentially.
[0:04:52 – 0:04:52] Adam: Right.
[0:04:54 – 0:05:00] Adam: So that’s our general understanding of what this pictograph represents, but I can’t wait to see it.
[0:05:01 – 0:05:07] Adam: And it’s exciting to get out in the field for the podcast, and overall it’s looking like a really nice day.
[0:05:07 – 0:05:08] Adam: Very little wind, it appears.
[0:05:10 – 0:05:15] Adam: So we’re dressed pretty light, and we’ll check back with you once we have entered the park.
[0:05:16 – 0:05:17] Adam: Arrivederci.
[0:05:20 – 0:05:25] Adam: Okay, we found the landing, and there is like seven other cars here.
[0:05:26 – 0:05:27] Adam: And I got my snowshoes on.
[0:05:28 – 0:05:32] Adam: Natalie’s adjusting her ski poles, and we’re about ready to head on in.
[0:05:33 – 0:05:35] Adam: The permit box is stuffed to the gills.
[0:05:36 – 0:05:40] Adam: So that and all the cars here indicates that this probably gets a lot of use in the winter.
[0:05:41 – 0:05:42] Natalie: Yeah, pretty.
[0:05:43 – 0:05:47] Adam: We may be picnicking with other people at the site.
[0:05:48 – 0:05:50] Adam: All right, we’re going to head on into Hegman Lake here.
[0:05:50 – 0:05:51] Adam: You ready?
[0:05:51 – 0:05:52] UNKNOWN: Yeah.
[0:05:52 – 0:05:56] UNKNOWN: We are now about halfway there.
[0:05:56 – 0:06:00] UNKNOWN: Quarter of the way done, total with a hike.
[0:06:06 – 0:06:30] Natalie: conditions are warm it’s a warm 17 degrees a good amount of slush on the trail it looks like the skins on my skis were sticking a little bit we got a report of someone falling through the lake although it just really looked like they went ankle deep in slush yeah i think that was an exaggeration right when we got to the lake there was a group of
[0:06:30 – 0:06:35] Adam: Ladies coming off, and they claimed that the path going across the middle of the lake was people would fall in.
[0:06:36 – 0:06:38] Adam: So the path really just follows the shoreline.
[0:06:38 – 0:06:42] Adam: And there it’s fine, but there definitely appears to be quite a bit of slush out in the middle of the lake.
[0:06:43 – 0:06:47] Adam: This episode is also sponsored in part by Bend Paddle.
[0:06:48 – 0:06:49] Adam: Thank you for your contribution.
[0:06:49 – 0:06:54] Adam: We’re going to be having beer from a Nalgene once we get to the site.
[0:06:55 – 0:06:58] Adam: Yeah, there’s quite a few other people out here too, but we passed a couple…
[0:06:59 – 0:07:01] Adam: On South Hickman, and there’s a couple with a dog that got ahead of us.
[0:07:02 – 0:07:03] Adam: They’re kind of a ways up there.
[0:07:03 – 0:07:07] Adam: But, yeah, it is a Saturday, and it’s pretty nice out, so not surprised.
[0:07:10 – 0:07:12] Natalie: We’ll give you another update once we’re there.
[0:07:34 – 0:07:36] Adam: All right, holy moly, hot dog.
[0:07:36 – 0:07:38] Adam: We are here at the pictograph.
[0:07:39 – 0:07:41] Adam: Natalie, what is your first impression?
[0:07:41 – 0:07:43] Natalie: They’re amazing.
[0:07:44 – 0:07:45] Natalie: Oh, my goodness.
[0:07:47 – 0:07:57] Adam: They’re really clear and well-defined and while a lot of the rocks along the lake here are like snow or ice covered, these kind of like pitch up and away from the lake or up towards the lake, I guess.
[0:07:58 – 0:08:00] Adam: So they’re in kind of an overhang and so they’re wide open.
[0:08:01 – 0:08:14] Adam: Both the main panel in the middle here, which is perfectly framed on some lighter colored rock by dark banding and a large like icicle formation coming down over the top of the ledge, it’s beautiful.
[0:08:16 – 0:08:16] Natalie: It’s stunning.
[0:08:17 – 0:08:21] Natalie: Definitely worth a snowshoe ski hike out here, whatever you want to do.
[0:08:22 – 0:08:26] Adam: And yeah, while we’ve seen a lot of people on the lake itself, there’s nobody here right now.
[0:08:27 – 0:08:33] Adam: It’s kind of later in the afternoon now, so we’re probably at the edge of the main hiking day for people.
[0:08:34 – 0:08:42] Adam: There’s also some other markings to the left here, which we had read about, and those are also very clearly visible on some lighter bands of rock.
[0:08:43 – 0:08:44] Adam: This is really something else.
[0:08:45 – 0:08:48] Natalie: Yeah, I’m curious as to what the X’s mean.
[0:08:48 – 0:08:53] Natalie: I have a faint idea of what the horizontal and vertical dashes mean.
[0:08:53 – 0:09:10] Adam: Yeah, that big cross above the May Magway or Winter Maker and the moose panel, I was reading it’s some sort of big star or possibly some sort of asteroid that may have been visible in the time frame that this could have been drawn.
[0:09:11 – 0:09:14] Adam: But it definitely looks celestial, no?
[0:09:15 – 0:09:15] Adam: No.
[0:09:16 – 0:09:18] Natalie: Oh yeah, I think for sure that’s Wintermaker.
[0:09:19 – 0:09:23] Natalie: What’s interesting is on each hand he only has five fingers.
[0:09:24 – 0:09:25] Natalie: He has a normal amount of
[0:09:26 – 0:09:52] Natalie: limbs which means it’s not a magical being um from what i know typically if they have a excess limbs or any body parts it means something magical well i don’t know if magical is the right word but of great importance happened we see three canoes looks like two of them have two people in them and maybe there’s a solo canoe one i only see one
[0:09:53 – 0:09:55] Adam: On the bottom there, yeah.
[0:09:55 – 0:09:58] Adam: And the moose is incredibly defined.
[0:09:59 – 0:10:00] Natalie: Yeah, it’s beautiful.
[0:10:00 – 0:10:02] Natalie: Is that a mink?
[0:10:02 – 0:10:05] Natalie: What do you think that is?
[0:10:09 – 0:10:09] Adam: The bottom critter?
[0:10:10 – 0:10:11] Adam: Yeah.
[0:10:11 – 0:10:12] Adam: I don’t know.
[0:10:13 – 0:10:14] Adam: It’s got a long tail.
[0:10:14 – 0:10:18] Adam: I’m going to say it’s some sort of a fox or wolf.
[0:10:19 – 0:10:20] Adam: I don’t know if it looks like a canine.
[0:10:22 – 0:10:24] Adam: Compared to the size of the moose, it’s pretty big.
[0:10:24 – 0:10:27] Adam: And to the size of the winter maker person.
[0:10:27 – 0:10:28] Adam: So I’m going to say it’s a wolf.
[0:10:30 – 0:10:31] Natalie: No, the legs are not long enough.
[0:10:32 – 0:10:34] Natalie: And the tail is pointed up, not horizontal.
[0:10:34 – 0:10:34] Natalie: Horizontal.
[0:10:35 – 0:10:36] Adam: Yeah, I don’t know.
[0:10:36 – 0:10:39] Adam: That one’s odd because the moose is very detailed.
[0:10:39 – 0:10:39] Adam: The bull moose is.
[0:10:40 – 0:10:41] Adam: No question what that is.
[0:10:42 – 0:10:45] Adam: But the other critter is a little weird looking.
[0:10:45 – 0:10:47] Natalie: Yeah, we should pull out my book.
[0:10:48 – 0:10:54] Adam: Okay, we’re going to pause this and we have a book we’re going to get out and read on some of the pictograph information.
[0:11:12 – 0:11:16] Natalie: This is Frances Dreshmore’s Chippewa Customs Ethnography.
[0:11:17 – 0:11:17] Natalie: It’s a great book.
[0:11:18 – 0:11:22] Natalie: Really, really interesting if you want to learn the history of the Chippewa.
[0:11:23 – 0:11:28] Natalie: But in reference to some pictographs, she’s describing…
[0:11:29 – 0:11:40] Natalie: that the short lines in a canoe would indicate the number of children in a canoe, and the drawings of the animal would indicate the clan that the father of the family belonged to.
[0:11:41 – 0:11:46] Natalie: And so Wintermaker at this point would probably be describing the time of year they were here.
[0:11:48 – 0:11:55] Natalie: And then you see the horizontal lines on this specific one, meaning one, two, three, four, five.
[0:11:55 – 0:11:56] Natalie: They were probably here for five days.
[0:11:56 – 0:11:57] Natalie: Wow.
[0:11:58 – 0:11:58] Adam: Yeah.
[0:11:59 – 0:12:08] Adam: So they were part of the blue moose and wolf clan, or you’re going with it’s a mink?
[0:12:09 – 0:12:11] Natalie: I’m not entirely sure what it is.
[0:12:11 – 0:12:16] Natalie: It’s up to interpretation, unless I’m sure there’s some more information on this specific one.
[0:12:16 – 0:12:19] Adam: Yeah, we’ll have to do more research when we get back home.
[0:12:21 – 0:12:27] Adam: But the moose is very, very similar to the ones on Lac La Croix.
[0:12:28 – 0:12:31] Adam: I’ve seen slightly smaller, but almost identical in form.
[0:12:33 – 0:12:33] Natalie: I haven’t seen those.
[0:12:33 – 0:12:34] Natalie: I can’t.
[0:12:36 – 0:12:37] Adam: It’s really great.
[0:12:39 – 0:12:54] Natalie: She’s just describing that typically around pictographs, there would be a cedar stick with a birch bark scroll attached to it pointing in the direction they would have been traveling in case any other groups approach this area.
[0:12:54 – 0:12:55] Natalie: They knew others have passed through.
[0:12:56 – 0:13:04] Natalie: There’s also she’s going on to describing different markings indicating how much food they had here, whether it was successful or not.
[0:13:05 – 0:13:08] Adam: So that could be these other markings to the left here.
[0:13:08 – 0:13:13] Natalie: Up and down markings, meaning they had a good amount of food on them.
[0:13:13 – 0:13:21] Adam: I’m not sure the quantity each mark means, but… What do you know about how they used the paint?
[0:13:21 – 0:13:24] Adam: This is animal fat and, like, minerals, like reddish minerals?
[0:13:25 – 0:13:26] Natalie: Yeah, red pigment.
[0:13:28 – 0:13:30] Natalie: I know in Wyoming it would be…
[0:13:30 – 0:13:55] Natalie: ochre mixed with animal fat and over time in perfect conditions it can petrify and adhere to the rock face and essentially become part of the rock so there probably was way more pictographs hundreds of years ago and for some reason this one just survived being in a really good location yeah it’s very very rare for a pictograph to just um to stay
[0:13:55 – 0:14:01] Adam: Yeah, from what I had read, this could be like 500 years old or possibly as old as 1,000 years old if the conditions were right here.
[0:14:01 – 0:14:05] Adam: It certainly isn’t a nice protected narrows here, so that makes sense.
[0:14:07 – 0:14:14] Natalie: Oh, yeah, and it would get good direct sunlight for the, what’s it called, adhesion?
[0:14:16 – 0:14:18] Adam: Yes, that’s the nigs.
[0:14:19 – 0:14:24] Adam: All right, well, we’re going to have a picnic and enjoy hanging out by this wonderful pictograph.
[0:14:25 – 0:14:27] Adam: And we’ll check back with you in a bit.
[0:15:13 – 0:15:17] Adam: Okay, so Natalie just told me a couple of things that we should remember while visiting a pictograph.
[0:15:18 – 0:15:25] Adam: For one, you said it’s important to look and document what is on the opposite side of the lake or what the pictograph is facing.
[0:15:25 – 0:15:29] Natalie: Yeah, it’s always important to get a picture of what the pictograph is facing.
[0:15:30 – 0:15:38] Natalie: It’s always really important to never point at a pictograph, especially one with spiritual significance.
[0:15:39 – 0:15:40] Natalie: You point with your lips.
[0:15:40 – 0:15:42] Natalie: That’s what’s customary.
[0:15:42 – 0:15:48] Natalie: You kind of make a kissy face at it, and that’s how you’re pointing to something of significance.
[0:15:48 – 0:15:49] Adam: Oh, that’s nice.
[0:15:50 – 0:15:53] Adam: But it’s okay to take pictures, though, I guess.
[0:15:54 – 0:15:54] Adam: Is that right?
[0:15:54 – 0:15:56] Adam: Yeah.
[0:15:56 – 0:16:02] Adam: Is it okay to have a sip of beer in front of the pictograph?
[0:16:02 – 0:16:09] Natalie: I’m not so sure, considering all the hardships surrounding alcohol.
[0:16:12 – 0:16:14] Adam: I think if it’s done in celebration, this is okay.
[0:16:15 – 0:16:17] Adam: Can you pass the Nalgene, please?
[0:16:22 – 0:16:22] Adam: Cheers.
[0:16:23 – 0:16:25] Adam: Thanks for hiking out here and skiing out.
[0:16:26 – 0:16:27] Adam: So happy to be here.
[0:16:27 – 0:16:32] Natalie: It’s been four years of me waiting and hoping to see one.
[0:16:33 – 0:16:39] Natalie: I’ve heard some rumors of ones in and around our side of the Boundary Waters, but I’ve yet to see them.
[0:16:40 – 0:16:45] Adam: Yeah, and that’s something that on the Gunflint side we don’t have any that I really know of.
[0:16:45 – 0:16:48] Adam: The closest ones to us would have been like an Isabella.
[0:16:48 – 0:16:53] Adam: There’s apparently one, and then there’s a handful of them over here on the Ely side.
[0:16:54 – 0:17:01] Adam: The only other ones I’ve seen are the ones up on Lac La Croix, which are really something else, and maybe that’s the next one we should try and aim for.
[0:17:01 – 0:17:04] Adam: I think we can get to that Isabella one pretty decently.
[0:17:04 – 0:17:08] Adam: It sounds like it’s a couple portages, but if we go in the spring in high water…
[0:17:09 – 0:17:11] Adam: that they’re pretty accessible too.
[0:17:11 – 0:17:13] Adam: But this was relatively easy to get to.
[0:17:13 – 0:17:15] Adam: The path was nicely packed down.
[0:17:16 – 0:17:24] Adam: There was some slush, and certainly it’s probably a little farther than 1.6 miles because the path really follows the edge of the lake pretty closely to avoid that slush.
[0:17:26 – 0:17:31] Adam: But, yeah, we got out here in a pretty reasonable amount of time and very little effort.
[0:17:32 – 0:17:35] Adam: It’s definitely well worth a visit if you’re in the area, for sure.
[0:17:35 – 0:17:37] Natalie: Definitely come and visit.
[0:17:41 – 0:18:04] Adam: okay uh we’ve had our sandwiches and our beer and we’ve really enjoyed our time here at the north hegman lake pictograph uh there are some other people uh coming down the lake here it looks like so we’re going to vacate and let them enjoy this site by themselves it’s been wonderful and i highly recommend it we’ll uh
[0:18:04 – 0:18:13] Adam: catch you out the car and for a little recap and uh go from there it’s been a really neat really neat visit right in the south
[0:18:31 – 0:18:58] Adam: okay we’re back at the vehicle and we’re heading south on the echo trail that was a really nice hike i loved it yeah we figured it was about one hour each way and it was certainly probably closer to four miles rather than three and a half due to the way the trail followed the edge of the the contour of the lake and we had spent some time out there so i got two and a half hours out and back from the car
[0:18:59 – 0:19:00] Adam: It was pretty nice.
[0:19:00 – 0:19:02] Adam: The trail overall was in pretty good condition.
[0:19:02 – 0:19:10] Adam: There were some slushy spots that were a little hard for the skiing, but with the snowshoes I didn’t have any real issues there.
[0:19:11 – 0:19:12] Adam: Overall, really great hike.
[0:19:12 – 0:19:20] Adam: We did see some people out there, but we had the whole pictograph site to ourselves for a little picnic while we were out there.
[0:19:20 – 0:19:26] Adam: I give the trail a very good grade, A-plus on the trail, and the overall hike I’d say was pretty easy.
[0:19:27 – 0:19:28] Natalie: I agree.
[0:19:28 – 0:19:33] Natalie: The portage coming back to the parking lot is all uphill, so I was huffing and puffing.
[0:19:35 – 0:19:37] Adam: Yeah, it is a little deceptively uphill.
[0:19:38 – 0:19:40] Adam: Overall, very high marks from us.
[0:19:42 – 0:19:43] Adam: I think that will wrap it up.
[0:19:43 – 0:19:46] Adam: We’re going to head into Ely here and find some lunch.
[0:19:47 – 0:19:49] Adam: I guess it’s an early dinner at this point.
[0:19:50 – 0:19:56] Adam: So, thank you for joining us on this mini field recording session live in the Boundary Waters.
[0:19:57 – 0:19:58] Adam: For Tumble Home, I’m Adam.
[0:19:59 – 0:19:59] Natalie: I’m Natalie.
[0:20:00 – 0:20:07] Adam: And may your shing best den have a warm, roaring fire, and may your winter maker be friendly and joyful.
[0:20:08 – 0:20:10] Adam: Until next time, happy winter traveling.
[0:20:10 – 0:20:11] UNKNOWN: Music
[0:20:19 – 0:20:19] UNKNOWN: so
