Hard to believe it has been a month since the fire on October 10th. The days have blended together somewhat. Change is evident though as we are seeing colder nights resulting in frosty mornings and frozen ponds and lingering flakes of snow. There also has been plenty of wind, bringing down some deadfall but we were able to sneak in a few more fall grooming sessions before potential snow forecasted the next few days. Trails are in good shape going into winter and ready for snow!

We continue to process deposit refunds and thank everyone with their patience as we manage this task. With our computers being lost in the fire, we had to restore backups from external sources (thankfully we had our reservation system backed up) and are close to being up and running with our reservation program. Deposit refunds, if requested, will be processed as quickly as possible as time and space allows. (Full update on deposits and reservations on the October 24th update)

With that said, we want to thank Bruce Adelsman of Skinnyski.com for his incredible help getting our networks up and running. Bruce as done so much for Maplelag from webcams, weather station, upgrading the WiFi in the main lodge and so much behind the tech scenes. We could not be where we are without him. Our relationship goes back nearly 30 years and has helped us through with so much more than just tech support. Thank you again Bruce. If you are a Nordic skier and a visiter to his site, please consider becoming a member.

We also want to thank everyone who voted for Maplelag in the Star Tribune “Minnesota’s Best” contest. We are very humbled and always honored to serve our amazing guests. The award is really about or “Gold” level staff, guests and service people. We are sad that we will not be able to serve the guests that made new reservations based of this announcement.

Probably the most common question we have fielded these past weeks is if we are going to rebuild. As mentioned in the last posts are many complex factors to sort out before we make a decision on rebuilding. In all reality, it might not be decided until after the New Year. If we know more, we will certainly update. Making a decision will take some time and many factors, including ones beyond our control. We want to make sure it is the right decision for us, as we always want our guests to have the best experience possible. The first step is to have the site cleaned up. This will have to be done by a contracted professional company for the safety of everyone and insurance purposes.

We are still trying to select a date for the appreciation dinner for the first responders and firefighters. With deer hunting and Thanksgiving this month, finding a date is difficult but hope to before the next round of Holidays.

Thanks again for all the support of prayers, thoughts, good vibes, financial gifts and our amazing local community of various items. We are at a loss of words and deeply touched.