2022

We all have gear that we use all the time and love. Bring your favorite piece of gear to the park and we will have gear show and tell. be prepared to say why you are especially fond of this piece of gear. What is special about it? You can take notes and be start thinking about how to use your next REI dividend or Midwest coupon.

This is an interactive meeting,

Going camping in bear country? Bears can be an issue many of our favorite places, from the BWCA to backpacking trips out west. This presentation we be a demonstration of hanging bear bags. It will be presented by Rob C and Ron T, both longtime Rovers.

Rob has been a Rover for decades. A majority of his outdoor activities are with Rovers and include climbing, kayaking, canoeing, XC skiing, hiking, and pretty much everything outdoors.

Ron is a longtime Rover who enjoys paddling, camping, XC skiing, and snowshoeing.

Come give geocaching a try – or come to help teach other Rovers about our geocaching hobby! Geocaching is an outdoor “treasure” hunt that uses GPS coordinates to guide cachers to hidden containers.  There are geocaches just about anywhere you could want to hike, bike, paddle, or even climb — over 3 million worldwide!  Caches are up trees, under water, in caves, and just plain in the woods.  Some are puzzles, some are whimsical, all are fun! We’ll practice on a few right in Como Park and you’ll be set to cache on your own. Great activity for individuals, friends or families. If you can hike, you can cache!

To get the most out of this event, download the official geocaching app on a smartphone before the meeting and make a free account (be sure to choose a good username / geocaching nickname), OR set up an account at www.geocaching.com and bring a handheld GPS.  If not, no worries, we can share phones. Contact Deb at [email protected] if you need help.  Seasoned geocachers, come join the fun to provide 1:1 help for the first-timers. We’ll have fun experiencing geocaching together!

Deb Sweeney is a new Rover who completed the Beginner Backpacking program in 2021. She is an avid geocacher who has found almost 4,000 caches in 25 states since 2003.

Rovers own a wide variety of bikes: Road bikes, mountain bikes, recumbent bikes, 3-wheel bikes, fat tire bikes, e-bikes. Tonight people are encouraged to bring a bike to the park, ride it there if it works for you. Then we can admire each other’s bikes, possibly try out bikes, see what different bikes look like. also bring your system for locking your bike, so people can look at different systems. If you do drive, you can show us how you transport your bike on your vehicle.

After the meeting we will socialize at Gabes by the Park, a nearby bar and grill

We return to Como Park for our spring gear swap. Find all that gear that you no longer use and bring it to Como to sell to others who will use it. If you are looking for a good deal on some used gear, bring your cash to Como and check out the offerings.

We will be socializing afterward at Gabe’s by the Park

We return to in-person meetings at Como Park. There will not be a regular presentation, just a chance to get together outside with fellow Rovers. bring an appetizer, dessert, or beverages to share, enough for about 6 people. We will have some activities including a slackline. It will be great to see old and new friends in person. Of course, there is always the concern about a rainout. For this first outdoor meeting, we will rent a pavilion so there is protection and we can still meet even if it rains.

More info to come!

A program all about the Rovers, with a slide show of all of the amazing activities that the club does. Come check out our best pictures, hear about the wide variety of things we do, and how you can learn or teach new skills, help with conservation and trail clearing events, and join the fun.

Last fall, Christy and Randy flew to Las Vegas and spent 7 days traveling through SW Utah in a rented camper van. Their goals for the trip were to see how they liked living in a camper van; explore a bit of SW Utah and to live off the grid.

In this presentation, you’ll learn their process for choosing a camper van remotely, the pros and cons of dispersed and off-grid camping, helpful apps and websites, what to pack to maximize efficiency for air travel and  living in a small space – including easy meal planning, wag bags and a #2 briefcase.  During this trip, they visited two national parks, two national monuments, one state park, a couple of canyons and conservation areas.

Christy James and Randy Donelson, both longtime members of Rovers, met while on a cross-country ski trip in the magical setting of the Superior National Forest. For the past 22 years, their adventures together have taken them down whitewater rivers, canoeing and exploring the BWCA, skiing in the Canadian Rockies, snorkeling in Bonaire, hiking to the top of mountains in Colorado – and everywhere in between.  Their ever growing “must-go” list begs them to get out on future adventures

We all want to pass on our love of the outdoors to the next generation. They will be the ones to continue to love and preserve our natural spaces. But early positive experiences are important. Do you want to take your kids or grandkids or nieces and nephews on outdoor activities? Or maybe you already do, but are looking for new ideas. Perhaps you want to talk more about Rover trips and how they can be kid friendly.

Tonight a panel of Rovers will talk about tips for outdoor fun with kids. They will address younger and older kids as well as doing a specific activity, geocaching with kids. We will also talk about kids and Rover activities. Come and get ideas, or bring your own ideas on getting young people into outdoor fun.

We are welcoming back “Astro Bob” King to talk about easy spring star gazing.

This promises to be a busy season with lots of morning planets, a meteor shower and a total lunar eclipse, all visible without equipment. Who knows, maybe the aurora will drop by, too. I’ll provide viewing help and a handy, downloadable calendar of events.

The 65-mile Border Route is a crown jewel of the North Country Trail. It is part of the Minnesota Rovers identity, built by Rovers in the 1970s. Today, the Border Route Trail Association (BRTA) and Rovers maintain the legacy of wilderness adventure. This is the story of how it was created! We will also highlight future trail building plans, and showcase 25 day hikes you can do in the area.

Bob Jarvis first joined Rovers in 1970. He is currently Rover archivist, BRTA liaison to the Rover board, and Database Director. He has been involved with the Rover trails program from its start in the fall of 1970, and in recent years has been coordinating annual Rover canal boat and hiking trips to Great Britain.

Join the authors of Hut to Hut USA: A Complete Guide for HIkers, Bikers, and Skiers (Mountaineers Books, 2021) and plan a hut trip!

What is a hut, anyway? Where are the US opportunities to ski, hike, or bike through wild places, taking overnight shelter in comfortable huts?  Laurel and Sam traveled almost 600 trail miles researching the book which presents sixteen hut systems from Alaska to New England, the west coast to the upper Midwest. They will engage the audience in imagining a few sample trips, share stories of their adventures, and invite broader musings on huts and hut-to-hut travel.

Laurel Bradley, an avid hiker and retired art curator, has trekked hut-to-hut worldwide with fellow nature lover Sam Demas, retired librarian, whose website hut2hut.info is an important repository of information about huts and hut-to-hut travel. Sam and Laurel live in Northfield, MN.

August 2 to September 15, 2021, Kathy and Tony Mommsen biked and canoed halfway around the perimeter of Minnesota. St Croix Falls, Wisconsin clockwise to International Falls, MN. They traveled either by canoeing with bikes loaded in the canoe or biking while pulling the canoe behind the bikes. For this trip they dedicated themselves to do one watercolor sketch each day. Next summer they plan on finishing the trip. 

Bio: Kathy and Tony have been married for a long, long time. They have always done outdoor stuff including a BWCA trip every year, cross country skiing in the Midwest and the mountains, and a few bike tours in Europe, Pacific NW, California, and New Mexico. With each trip they ask themselves “how do we make our day-to-day lives feel as relaxed as our trips?

Minnesota’s climate is famous for its ups, downs, and extremes, but is also experiencing changes unlike anything we have observed previously. This presentation breaks down observed trends in Minnesota’s climate Minnesota to its essential points, particularly emphasizing the ongoing changes in the quantity, timing, and intensity of precipitation, and the rapid rate of winter warming. We will also discuss other important elements of our climate, and will peer into the future to see what lies ahead, according to the best available science.

Bio: Dr. Kenneth (“Kenny”) Blumenfeld is a climate scientist who grew up in Minnesota with a love for storms, blizzards, and being outside. He works for the Minnesota State Climatology Office (Department of Natural Resources), where he provides the state’s agencies, communities, and citizens with up-to-date scientific information about Minnesota’s changing and variable climate. Kenny enjoys talking to Minnesotans about their weather, and often does it long after the workday is done.

Barry and Jen have been to the Grand Canyon multiple times and will talk about different trip options. From the most simple: drive to Grand Canyon and hike along the rim, to the most challenging: traveling to the north rim and hiking through the canyon to the south rim over 5-days.

Come and see photos of the different areas and learn about the preparation, logistics, challenges, and best time for trips.

Chuck Smith will be giving a presentation on February 22, about a recent sailing trip from St Joseph, through the straits of Mackinac, to home on Lake St Clair. 19 days, 700 some odd miles, 2 people, 1 hound dog, all on a new (to them) 30′ boat. Learn assorted sailing terms- to a sailor, “Cruising” means “fixing one’s boat in exotic places”. Boats! Air planes! Shipwrecks! Lighthouses!  Even some sailing!  

In Mid-June, 2010, three Rovers kayaked and camped along the first 77 miles of the Mississippi River. Barry, Melissa & Jen paddled for 5 days through narrow meandering parts of the Mississippi, over a dam, through Lake Bemidji and to the most Northern point of the river. They had to change the trip a bit due to the most tornadoes in a single day in Minnesota history. Jen will walk you through the adventure.

Jen has been a Rover since 2007, including 10 years on the Board. She enjoys camping, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, kayaking and playing pickleball. She enjoys being part of Rovers and meeting new people at every event.

Come hear about backcountry skiing and Superior Highland Backcountry, a non-profit whose mission is to preserve and expand backcountry skiing opportunities along the highlands of Lake Superior. Learn about how to try backcountry skiing yourself.

Rory Scoles has been living and skiing in the Superior Highlands for the past fifteen years. He co-owns and operates the ski pro shop Lutsen Recreation, in Lutsen, and is the founder of Superior Highland Backcountry.