WILDFIRES & EXTREME HEAT at the Cabin! Dead Fish Everywhere

[00:00:00]The North Woods are in trouble.

[00:00:04]Wildfires are burning throughout the Boundary Waters, and a relentless heat wave has been baked in Minnesota for weeks.

[00:00:14]I'm up here with my dog, clearing out the brush that nearly swallowed up the cabin and testing out a brand new piece of gear that should make future adventures on the water much safer.

[00:00:25]Oh yeah, but that seems to be the trend lately.

[00:00:28]Unexpected challenges stop us dead in our tracks.

[00:00:34]So join us for the ups and downs of a very unique season here in Northern Minnesota.

[00:00:43]Welcome back to Tiny Cabin Life.

[00:00:54]This is so bad you guys.

[00:00:56]Oh my gosh.

[00:01:00]It's so overgrown here.

[00:01:02]I cannot even believe it.

[00:01:05]We literally have weeds growing out of the deck.

[00:01:10]In fact, there are other weeds that have grown as tall as the rough itself.

[00:01:18]Definitely gotta do something about this.

[00:01:42]It's amazing how much this vegetation grows up every single summer.

[00:01:49]Very satisfying.

[00:01:56]I usually only have to knock it down once like this, and then it's good for the rest of the year.

[00:02:06]But it's always shocking every single time I see it.

[00:02:39]Well, that looks quite a bit better, doesn't it?

[00:02:43]Now, I do still have to take care of these weeds that are growing out of the deck.

[00:02:49]That will be easy here.

[00:02:51]They are prickly.

[00:02:52]So I'm using this little piece of tarp.

[00:02:57]To grab them.

[00:03:00]As you can see, we've got a nice pathway along the side of the cabin.

[00:03:04]And then the fire pit area is cleaned up to.

[00:03:07]It looks a lot better, even though this wasn't as bad as on the other side.

[00:03:11]Just cleaning it up a bit.

[00:03:12]Makes a huge difference.

[00:03:23]Our cabin is located in the Chippewa National Forest of northern Minnesota.

[00:03:30]It's perched above this beautiful lake that has a real wilderness quality to it.

[00:03:35]Now, while the wind seems to be favoring us at this moment, it's crazy to know that these massive wildfires are raging only about 100 miles from here.

[00:03:47]And at the very end of this trip, we will see the dramatic impact that the warmer temperatures have had on our little lake here.

[00:03:59]Now, with the chores out of the way, we're heading to a larger, undeveloped lake to test out a brand new piece of gear.

[00:04:32]I think I blew a tire or something. Yep.

[00:04:44]Oh, man.

[00:04:46]I've been having just the worst luck the last few weeks.

[00:04:51]It's unbelievable.

[00:04:54]Man. Oh, man.

[00:04:56]Thankfully, I do have a spare, so I can pop that on.

[00:05:01]But, man, that's unfortunate.

[00:05:10]All right.

[00:05:11]This might be high enough.

[00:05:12]We shall see.

[00:05:16]Tired.

[00:05:17]Just went out on one side, but I got it jacked up in the other ones, I started down.

[00:05:22]Okay. Yes.

[00:05:23]All good.

[00:05:29]All right.

[00:05:30]The tire is on.

[00:05:31]I definitely want to tighten the lug nuts more, but I'm going to lower it down off the jack first.

[00:05:40]Well, there she is.

[00:05:43]I'm sure this tire could stand, have a little air put into it, but I'm not going to do that here on the side of the road. Oh.

[00:06:04]The flies look just awful out there.

[00:06:07]Definitely need a little protection.

[00:06:15]Well, it's finally time to show you the big upgrade.

[00:06:20]That's right.

[00:06:21]I finally invested in a brand new outboard motor.

[00:06:25]I've just had so many issues with my other outboards.

[00:06:28]From getting stranded out on the Mississippi River to not being able to get the motor started when I was actually heading out on Lake Superior, of all places, to just many other moments of uncertainty with some of my older motors.

[00:06:39]All right, so we are officially breaking this thing in today.

[00:06:41]We're going to have to put some oil in it right now, and then run the throttle at various stages for the next hour to two hours.

[00:06:48]Just to make sure we break it in.

[00:06:50]Well, and that, we take care of it.

[00:07:50]Time for the moment of truth.

[00:07:53]Let's start this thing up.

[00:08:13]Oh. We gotta let this thing idle for a little bit.

[00:08:15]And thankfully, while we do, we got some loons just hanging out right on the other side of the boat here.

[00:08:27]Okay, I think we can officially give this thing a little bit of gas, like, 30%.

[00:08:31]And we're gonna have to stick to that for the next 45 minutes or so.

[00:08:36]So we might as well go explore the lake a little bit. We.

[00:09:02]Need we.

[00:09:30]Do. Well, I think it's about time to do some fishing.

[00:09:36]It's getting late enough in the day, and, it's pulling off a bit out here as well.

[00:09:45]I think we can try to troll in this weed line right here.

[00:09:50]I bet there's some stuff hanging out.

[00:10:00]Oh, I got one.

[00:10:02]Heck, yeah.

[00:10:04]All right.

[00:10:05]I think it's a bass.

[00:10:07]Oh, yeah.

[00:10:13]Get them in.

[00:10:18]Not bad.

[00:10:19]Whoa!

[00:10:19]Oh, God.

[00:10:20]They always do that to me.

[00:10:24]Well, that was fun.

[00:10:25]Let's do it again.

[00:10:30]Got one.

[00:10:32]Knew I felt like one.

[00:10:37]Well, Pike.

[00:10:42]No, no!

[00:10:43]Come back!

[00:10:44]Oh, I almost grabbed him.

[00:10:48]Don't worry.

[00:10:48]He didn't get the lure.

[00:10:51]Well, that's a bummer.

[00:10:51]Thankfully, he was just a little guy.

[00:10:53]I really need my net out here.

[00:10:55]I totally blew it on bringing that boat.

[00:11:00]Got one?

[00:11:02]Definitely have one.

[00:11:07]There we go.

[00:11:10]Another nice little bass.

[00:11:12]I think we'll send him home.

[00:11:17]Got another one?

[00:11:22]Let them fight a little bit.

[00:11:30]This one's a little bigger.

[00:11:33]Heck, yeah.

[00:11:36]Oh, yeah.

[00:11:36]That guy.

[00:11:36]What a cow.

[00:11:38]It's always what I'm trying to get the video of it.

[00:11:41]They pop out of my hand.

[00:11:42]That was great.

[00:11:45]So I recently picked up a handful of shirts from this brand called poncho.

[00:11:49]I just needed some new stuff for at home, but certainly out on adventures like this.

[00:11:54]Not only are these shirts extremely lightweight, but they're very comfortable as well.

[00:11:58]And something that I've been really impressed with is how well they dry once they get wet.

[00:12:03]I've been loving this short sleeve here.

[00:12:05]It's got a nice casual look to it, and I love the camo too.

[00:12:08]It fits in perfectly with my life style.

[00:12:11]I'm really loving this long sleeve button down as well.

[00:12:13]It's not only extremely lightweight and breathable, but the fabric dries incredibly quickly.

[00:12:20]This one right here is my all time favorite.

[00:12:23]I love the Western look of it.

[00:12:26]It's got the snaps on the front.

[00:12:28]It's got a front pocket, but it also has a zipped front pocket.

[00:12:32]So if you don't want to lose something, you can throw it right in there.

[00:12:34]And it also has the snaps on the collar as well.

[00:12:38]So if you like that neater look you can keep those snapped.

[00:12:41]I prefer a more casual look so I leave them open.

[00:12:44]So if you're looking for a new shirt or two to complement your lifestyle, I definitely recommend checking out poncho.

[00:12:49]They've got so many different designs that I guarantee you'll find something that you love.

[00:12:53]And with that, I want to thank poncho for sponsoring.

[00:12:55]And let's get back to the adventure.

[00:13:01]All right.

[00:13:02]It's about time to head back to the cabin.

[00:13:03]But first I got to go out to the middle of the lake and jump in.

[00:13:07]We got a record breaking heatwave going on here in the Midwest, so I got to go for it.

[00:13:58]Oh my gosh.

[00:14:01]I don't have any line left.

[00:14:05]This is a deep lake.

[00:14:06]I don't know how long this line is, but it's long.

[00:14:11]I literally don't have any more left.

[00:14:14]So can't lose this boat.

[00:14:20]The flies are absolutely awful too, so I'm going to make this as quick as humanly possible.

[00:14:29]Yeah.

[00:14:31]Oh, that feels good.

[00:14:34]The water is just the perfect temperature.

[00:14:37]It's not too warm.

[00:14:39]It's not too cold.

[00:14:41]It's the perfect mix of refreshing and comfortable.

[00:14:48]It's pretty amazing being out here for the sunset to.

[00:14:52]I find myself always rushing back to the cabin, to try to get a fire in and all these things before dark, but, sometimes it's nice to just relax and just soak up the moment.

[00:15:08]And that's definitely what I want to do here.

[00:15:22]All right, now let's go get.

[00:16:13]All of the.

[00:16:22]Who are.

[00:16:26]Know.

[00:16:56]Well, today was a really great day.

[00:17:00]And, very grateful to be sitting here around this fire.

[00:17:06]Although it does make me think of how much of our state and, Canada above us is burning right now.

[00:17:18]The images of these fires are just heartbreaking.

[00:17:24]And it's crazy to think I was so close.

[00:17:26]Just last week, I was up on the North Shore, right on the edge of the Boundary Waters.

[00:17:33]You know, just like that fires take off and now the whole place is closed down.

[00:17:42]But anyway, I think I'm going to just enjoy this for a little while longer.

[00:17:46]And then, head inside and hit the hay.

[00:17:50]We'll see you guys first thing in the morning.

[00:17:53]Good night.

[00:18:05]Okay, okay.

[00:18:34]Well, good morning, everybody.

[00:18:37]As you can see, the, wildfire smoke is way worse where we're at today.

[00:18:45]I was surprised, honestly, yesterday to see how clear it was.

[00:18:50]But today, I mean, it's very hazy just looking across the lake, and, that's not very far.

[00:18:59]They're saying these fires could continue to burn all the way up until winter, which is mind boggling.

[00:19:13]The wildfire smoke had spread across northern Minnesota, turning the sky hazy and pushing air quality into some of the worst levels the state had seen in years.

[00:19:26]Here at the cabin, more than an hour away from the fires.

[00:19:30]You could really smell it in the air, and it was a constant reminder that the North woods are under pressure.

[00:19:57]Well, I figured before we get out of here, I might as well head down to the lake, see how the water level is, and, maybe go for a little paddle.

[00:20:09]The more the sun is coming up, the worse the conditions are looking.

[00:20:16]This morning it just looked gray, but now it's almost like there's an orange hue that's just coating the entire landscape.

[00:20:28]It's really, really bad.

[00:20:33]Water level is very low.

[00:20:36]If you look at this little island here, which used to be a beaver lodge that's usually fully submerged, I mean, like all the way up to the top layer.

[00:20:51]Also, the water usually comes up all the way to the dock.

[00:20:56]You know, normally we would launch our boat from right here off, off the dock, but the water is like.

[00:21:08]15 to 20ft further out right now.

[00:21:18]To bummer.

[00:21:45]Oh, here comes another loon.

[00:21:47]I wonder if he was calling to his maid or something.

[00:21:51]It's another one.

[00:21:52]Just swooped right in.

[00:22:08]Whoa!

[00:22:11]I have never seen them do that before.

[00:22:22]What in the world is this?

[00:22:30]That's a huge fish.

[00:22:36]I only thought there were a little baby fish in here.

[00:22:39]That guy.

[00:22:40]That guy is a monster.

[00:22:41]We gotta go back and see what that is.

[00:22:52]These guys.

[00:22:57]It's a pike.

[00:22:59]I knew we had some baby Northerns.

[00:23:01]I actually caught one when I was up here for my bachelor party years ago, but I didn't think they could grow this big.

[00:23:11]That's pretty impressive. Wow.

[00:23:18]Oh, I think I see another one up here. Yup.

[00:23:31]That guy's even bigger than the last one.

[00:23:36]Oh, now I see more up here, too.

[00:23:41]That's a little pike.

[00:23:43]That's a little baby pike.

[00:23:46]And here's another one.

[00:23:52]This is kind of the perfect storm right here.

[00:23:55]We not only have extremely warm temperatures, which is warming the water.

[00:24:01]It's killing fish.

[00:24:03]It's evaporating the water.

[00:24:04]So we're losing water level.

[00:24:07]And then it's also not helping with these wildfires.

[00:24:12]That's a real big one.

[00:24:16]Very, very sad.

[00:24:21]Those fish dying off have a larger impact on this ecosystem as well.

[00:24:26]I have to imagine these loans won't come back.

[00:24:28]There are no fish in the lake.

[00:24:31]We also get swans.

[00:24:32]We get bald eagles in here.

[00:24:35]It would be really sad to see the wildlife leave.

[00:24:41]And have this lake try out little by little each year.

[00:24:49]You think you.

[00:25:03]Well, that's kind of a sad way to end things, but I really think it's important to share these sorts of issues when they arise, whether it be the wildfires or the evaporation that we're seeing in our lakes.

[00:25:15]I had no idea that it was as bad as it is.

[00:25:18]First off, I didn't know that there were fish of that size in that lake.

[00:25:22]But to see them all kind of dying off is shocking and, very, very concerning.

[00:25:28]I would say if you're the praying type, pray for northern Minnesota, pray for Canada, really pray for our world that we, find some solutions or or at least a way to cope with these wildfires and things that are happening because, places like this are a treasure, and I would love to see them here for generations to come.

[00:25:49]As always, I want to give a special thank you to our patrons who generously donate to this channel.

[00:25:53]Thank you all so much.

[00:25:55]But again, to all of you who watch, comment, subscribe.

[00:25:58]You're all the reason that I get to do this on a weekly basis, and I'm incredibly grateful for that.

[00:26:03]But with that, it's time for me to close down the cabin so I can get home and see the girls.

[00:26:07]I'll see you next week. God bless.

[00:26:12]You. You do.