Anyone know anything????

From the Website....

Due to difficulties at Hungry Jack Lodge there
currently is no email or other internet communication
available. Phone service is limited to incoming calls only
on 1-218-388-2265. We cannot make outgoing calls.


?????????

WTF??? I hope not!!!

Son of bitch! Hope everybody is O.K.

From Duluth Tribune.

Fire destroyed the main building at Hungry Jack Lodge along the Gunflint Trail Wednesday.

According to the Cook County Sheriff’s Department, the fire was reported at 1:22 p.m. The Gunflint Fire Department and Gunflint ambulance responded to the scene. The min building was reported to be a total loss before 5:30 p.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Talk about kicking a guy when he's down, Forrest has had a tough year and half.

Jeff

Third time it's burned.


A history of hungry jack lodge
who was Andrew "Jackson" Scott?
Unusual and unforgettable is the history of Hungry Jack Lodge to those who have had a part in building it and to those who have visited it. Hungry Jack Lodge is situated on Hungry Jack Lake in the heart of the Superior National Forest. The journey to the lodge is one of the most beautiful drives in the country. From the North Shore of Lake Superior, at Grand Marais (a town whose principal industries are still logging and fishing), you travel back into the woods half way up the Gunflint Trail to the resort. The surroundings are astoundingly alive and pure. You can smell the clean air, hear the solitude, and taste the flavor of the wilderness.

Hungry Jack Lake received its name in 1884 when U.S. Government surveyors were plotting the land and charting and naming the lakes. The surveyors had hired Andrew Jackson Scott Sr. (Jack Scott) (1843-1930) a noted guide, hunter and trapper, to guide them through the country that he knew so well. It was late fall when they reached the shores of what is now named Hungry Jack Lake and set up a winter camp. When they ran low on food supplies, the surveyors decided to snowshoe 32 miles into Grand Marais for the necessary provisions. When they arrived, a blowing snowstorm hit. This storm plus holiday celebrations in town prevented the surveyors from returning to camp for two weeks. When they finally returned, poor jack who was nearly starved to death heard them approach and ran from the shack. One surveyor yelled "Hey are you hungry Jack?" Jack replied "Am I hungry Jack! I'm nearly starved to death!" And from that day on, the lake has been named Hungry Jack.

In 1923 the Gunflint Trail from Grand Marais was extended to Hungry Jack Lake as a forest fire prevention and fighting trail because of its central and key location to the canoe routes through Superior National Forest. A lodge was built at this point in 1924 by Jesse Gapen, grandfather of Dan Gapen - Gapen Tackle Co. Of Minneapolis. Hungry Jack thus served as a "gateway" to this lake and forest region, hence the lodge was named. Though the Gunflint Trail was extended, Gateway-Hungry Jack Lodge, at the end of this original road, remained as a "gateway" to an unspoiled wilderness region. Jesse's' original lodge was a very rustic log cabin, sturdy and homey, however, fire destroyed it in 1931. Though the depression had hit hard and things were tough, Jesse was determined to rebuild the lodge. He hired 40 men and foreman Bob Zimmerman. Together they cut down huge white pine trees from the shores of Hungry Jack Lake, floated the logs to the lodge site and pulled them from the lake with teams of horses. The men worked through the winter of 1931-32, and the new lodge was open for business the summer of '32. The lodge was the largest log structure in the Midwest, measuring126 feet by 64 feet. The center ridge pole ran the entire length of 126 feet. It was magnificent! Throughout the following years, local craftsmen carved furniture and utilized natural material including cones, deer and moose hides, birch bark, etc. Many people came to stay at Hungry Jack Lodge and returned again and again.

In 1958 the lodge and resort was sold to the Patrick McDonald family. They proudly ran it for 14 years, then sold it in 1972 to Jerry Parson - A Duluth native. In purchasing this beautiful resort, Jerry fulfilled his life's dream of owning a lodge and living in the wilderness he so loved.

In December 1972, the lodge was entirely destroyed by fire again! The magnificent structure was reduced to ashes with only part of the fireplace left standing. This time the fire was believed to have started from a faulty flue in the chimney. It was indeed a tragic and sorrowful fate. Though sad and discouraged, Jerry's true pioneer spirit kept him from giving up and he began making plans for a new lodge. He found a beautiful log structure in Grand Marais owned by the Department of Natural Resources - State of Minnesota. It was previously used as the game wardens headquarters and was unoccupied. Jerry purchased the building from the state of Minnesota and planned to move it to Hungry Jack Lake. However, the building could not be moved in one piece as it was too wide for the roadways. This obstacle could be overcome by dismantling the building log by log and transporting it piecemeal. So the very painstaking labor ensued of removing each log, marking it, and transporting it 32 miles to Hungry Jack Lake. This laborious task was accomplished by a local logging contractor who use a large boom truck semi. It took two months to dismantle the building and one day to transport the logs.

Construction of the new lodge began on the same site as the previous lodges. It is certainly the most spectacular site on the lake where the land forms a point and the lake therefore surrounds the lodge on three sides. A full basement was dug and laid. Before the lodge was built, all the logs were restored to their natural finish, as they had linseed oil on the inside and yellow paint on the exterior. This was done by stripping each log by hand using a draw knife. The logs were then reconstructed in their original position with fiberglass insulation placed between each one. No lifting equipment was used, only the strong backs of Bill Gentry, Jerry Parson, and Archie Kirk, Jr. These three men worked long hard days to complete this mammoth project as winter was approaching and the lodge had to be completed by Christmas 1973. A full house of guests has been promised lodging for the holidays. Happily, Jerry moved into the new lodge on December 15. It was quite a day. The two large stone fireplaces were lit and much rejoicing followed.

The lodge stands large, sturdy, and beautiful. A local artist has painted a wall mural depicting "Wild Life in the North Woods." Much of the furniture is hewn from logs and hand carved. It has a very rustic and warm atmosphere. The resort also has 13 smaller cabins for accommodations all facing the lake. May the new lodge be longstanding.



I am totally bummed out about this.....

Holy Shit. I wonder if Forrest has left for Vacation yet. I hope no one was injured!

I talked to Forrest for about 30 seconds, everyone is O.K. but the lodge is a total loss. I did not want to take up alot of his time so I told him we were thinking about him and if he needed anything I could rally some folks and to take care of himself.


Jeff

Jeff, did Forrest mention how the fire started? Thinking about going up there to see if I can help out at all. Craig from Auto Lodge in GM just emailed and said The main lodge burnt right to the ground...nothing left but some ashes and a hole in the ground.

I did not ask, I honestly did not want to start asking a bunch of questions and take up his time. I am sure he has got a lot to deal with, I just wanted to make sure he was alright.

Jeff

Wow, just read the post in the gen snow forum, and thought I'd check in here. Sad day for Forrest and all of those at Hungry Jack. A truly great place to eat while riding the Gunflint. Sad thing to hear...

Now there was a place that I have heard so much about . The great people the good food and it is up where you need it. Dam .....I hope they can bring it back some way, It sure would be nice to get there for once . I'm glad to here that everyone is okay though.

Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment




Damn am I gonna miss that place. So much character, irreplacable.

Forrest is as resourceful as his old man was. If there is any possibility of getting it done he will. Keep in mind there are 13 other cabins (most of them small) that they rent out. The lodge is where the kitchen/office/dining room/bar was. So it's not a total loss.

If you read the history above it is just a crusher because there was so many unique items in there, (and memories for me) just a huge amount of charachter and passion in that place.


Jeff

Damn, just heard it on the news and decided to come on hear to say something about it, but I guess everyone knows now! I aggree with everything said by Jeff G. It was a great place!

Sad to hear!!

Main building at Hungry Jack Lodge destroyed by fire
BYSteve Kuchera Duluth News Tribune
March 28, 2008
For the third time, fire has destroyed the main building at Hungry Jack Lodge along the Gunflint Trail. "We did salvage a box of my personal photos and stuff of my father's," owner Forrest Parson said Thursday afternoon, a day after fire destroyed the log lodge. "I imagine there will be a few more miscellaneous items that we'll pull out, but for the most part it's all gone."


Parson said he hopes to rebuild the structure. The resort remains open, he said.

"We're setting up an office in one of my other larger cabins," Parson said.

The fire spared the resort's 14 cabins " seven of which are winterized.

Parson was on the grounds of the resort when the fire was discovered. "I had some guests in the building," he said. "I heard some screaming and came running."

Parson doesn't remember when he realized the building was lost.

"In the heat of moment, you're not thinking on your best note," he said. "We were doing all we could do to try to contain it, extinguish it. In the process we did call the fire department."

Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Chief Dan Baumann said the fire began in the area of a utility, bath and bedroom. What started it is under investigation.

The Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department and Gunflint ambulance responded to the scene after the fire was reported at 1:22 p.m. A captain with the Fire Department arrived a minute after being paged. He reported thick smoke coming from the lodge.

Baumann said his department's initial attack quickly proved that the building was beyond saving. Within minutes of arriving on the scene, Baumann was on his knees, spraying water into the lodge though a doorway.

"It was backdrafting on us," he said of the blaze. "When it blew out over the top of my head, it was time to move. When the windows blew out, it just took off. The fire went right up the stairwell and the whole building became involved."

Firefighters pulled back and fought to keep the fire from spreading.

"There was nothing we were able to do other than keep it there," Baumann said. "It was a surround-and-drown situation. From about 1:30 until 9:30 we were pumping 1,250 gallons of water a minute" from the lake onto the fire.

Firefighters pulled several vehicles away from the lodge and saved some of Parson's business records from the building's office.

"Forrest lived in that building," Baumann said. "He lost his home and all his belongings."

In addition to Parson's personal living space, the two-level building contained a dining room, bar, game room and the business office. The building was known for its hand-carved furniture, mounted animals and artifacts.

According to the business's Web site, the resort's first lodge was built in 1924. Fire destroyed that building in 1931. A new lodge was built the next year. Fire destroyed that building in December 1972. Jerry Parson, Forrest's father, rebuilt the next year, moving an old Department of Natural Resources building log by log the 32 miles from Grand Marais.

"It stood tall and proud until yesterday," Forrest Parson said

After hearing all this.......... I know that our family will be going up there to spend some time this summer. Will work on staying there will have to get in touch with them , and then taking the time enjoying the outdoors up there. Look's like we will be working on planning a date to be up there. This will be fun................later

well there was a couple short walls left standing, but it was a total loss. I did not go up to the building but saw it from where the gas pumps are. After my parent's house burned down it is hard to see someone's life reduced to a pile of charred wood and ash.
Best of luck to them in the future and at least noone was killed in the blaze.

Looks like they are going to try to get some help from the show Extreme home makeover. So just passing the link along so others may see it.

link

I was up there on Sat took a couple pics Looks like it was a great place, I'm sure it will be back, The riding around there was awesome by the wayClick to view attachment

That really sucks to see that! There were alot of irreplacable things in that lodge that are gone now! Hope Forest re-builds!!

I heard on the radio that it was started by a candle in a bathroom.

Forrest Parson, owner of burned-down Hungry Jack Lodge on the Gunflint Trail, vows to rebuild
By Chris Niskanen
cniskanen@pioneerpress.com
Article Last Updated: 06/25/2008 12:43:03 AM CDT


GRAND MARAIS, Minn. — This is pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps country.

Living 32 miles up the Gunflint Trail, Forrest Parson wakes up every morning to that motto. He looks over the rubble of his Hungry Jack Lodge and reminds himself, "I can rebuild it." He is 28 years old.

Sure, on bad days, he's thought about selling out to developers, but that's behind him now. Hungry Jack Lodge will be rebuilt.

"It will take a lot of work,'' he said, standing in a dirt hole where a pinball machine once stood. "I feel I can pull it off."

In the middle of the afternoon on March 26, Hungry Jack Lodge went up in flames. History repeated itself. In 1931, the original Gateway Lodge burned to the ground on the same spot. The owners rebuilt Hungry Jack Lodge a year later. In 1972, just after Forrest's father, Jerry, bought the stately log structure, a faulty chimney flue caused the lodge to burn a second time.

So Jerry rebuilt another log lodge, and now it is gone.

"Maybe there's some kind of bad karma here or something,'' Forrest said ruefully.

After the March fire, the rumors flew. That happens in a small community. A fire official said a candle left burning in a bathroom started the fire, but Forrest didn't buy that. There were whispers it was arson so Forrest could collect insurance. That part made him the maddest.

"These were my childhood memories,'' he said of the lodge. "It was my home, my personal belongings, family pictures. I wouldn't want


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anyone to go through the (things) I've had to go through."
The fire investigator couldn't determine the fire's source, Forrest said. So now the job is to rebuild, which is, in a sense, a family tradition.

Jerry Parson went through the same loss, but he is not around to help his son this time.

In 2006, Jerry Parson died from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 66. He had been the soul of Hungry Jack Lodge for 30 years — a jokester and a good storyteller with a straightforward approach to business. Whether guests were old friends or new to the lodge, when they walked in the door, Jerry Parson was famous for saying, "We've been waiting to see you all day!"

Forrest grew up in the lodge but left the north country to attend the University of Wisconsin-Stout. He returned with a degree in hotel, restaurant and tourism management. In recent years, with his father's illness, Forrest knew it was time to start taking over day-to-day management of the lodge, which also has 14 cabins.

Forrest knew the business, had a new business degree and had ideas on ways to improve the lodge.

Then his father died. And 15 months and one day later, the lodge burned down.

If Jerry were alive, Forrest could look at him and ask, "What should we do?"

Jerry would have plenty of advice.

Jerry was in his 30s when the lodge burned down in '72. He also stood in front of piles of rubble and thought hard about his next step. The family history, chronicled on hungryjacklodge.com, is steeped in detail on the subject.

Jerry scoured the countryside and found a log building for sale in Grand Marais. It was a former Department of Natural Resources building for game wardens. It was too big to haul up the Gunflint Trail in one piece, so Jerry and a few friends dismantled it log by log. Each log was taken down, marked and hauled 32 miles up the trail to the new site. The logs were stripped of paint, resealed and fitted into their original positions.

On Dec. 15, 1972, the stone fireplaces were lit for the holidays, and Jerry and his wife moved into the lodge. Forrest was born seven years later.

The new lodge was eventually decorated with hand-carved willow furniture. A mural scene of the North Woods was painted on one wall. A painting of fur trapper and lake namesake Andrew Jackson Scott Sr., who spent a brutal winter on the spot in 1884, hung on the wall. As the story goes, when surveyors came upon Jackson, who had run out of food, they yelled, "Are you hungry, Jack?'' He replied, "Am I a hungry Jack? I'm nearly starved!"

With an unusual name, Hungry Jack Lake is well-known for its smallmouth bass fishing. Hungry Jack Lodge (not to be confused with nearby Hungry Jack Outfitters) was one of those rustic hangouts where you could have a cold beer, tell a fishing story and contemplate life.

It is a beautiful countryside, but fate can be cruel here too. Folks on the Gunflint know that, and they help one another. When Forrest Parson's phone rings, it's often someone offering to help.

He will rebuild.

"I can do it," he said, "with the help of all the people around me."