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THE BIG MISTAKE THAT KEPT THIS LAND PRISTINE

Friday, January 28, 2022

In today’s newsletter, we’re covering the ideal place to surf, staying safe during pandemic travel, a sumptuous nod to vegans … and the hunt for shipwrecks from the slave trade.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

By Amy Alipio, TRAVEL Assistant Managing Editor

A wrong turn. A missed flight. Important directions you scribbled down so badly you couldn’t read it later (guilty). These blunders can all add to the stress of travel. But sometimes a mistake in an unfamiliar place can lead to unexpected wonders.

At least that’s what happened in 1882, when a surveying team in the expansive northwoods of Minnesota incorrectly recorded a 144-acre plot of land as being in the middle of a lake. The miscalculation meant this patch somehow escaped the attention of loggers who, in the late 1800s, clear-cut much of the United States’ northern forests.

Known as the Lost 40, this stand of majestic old-growth birch, aspen, maple, and pine trees (pictured above) is “a snapshot of the forest that once dominated the northern part of the state,” writes Nat Geo Explorer and Minnesota native Katie Thornton in this article. Among its treasures: the state’s largest living red pine, which stands at 120 feet tall and nearly 10 feet around.

Now part of the Chippewa National Forest, the Lost 40 is once again surrounded by trees—though these newcomers are two or three times younger.

It’s not just about grooving in the groves. In the national forest, visitors can find historic sites, such as Camp Rabideau—one of the country’s few remaining and best-preserved Civilian Conservation Corps camps. Certain animal species—including some woodpeckers, who find more suitable and plentiful insects in older trees—are much more abundant in the Lost 40 than in other parts of Minnesota. Depending on the season, there are almost endless opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, or snowshoeing.

PHOTOGRAPH BY PATRICK BARRON, ALAMY

In fact, Minnesota brims with all-season outdoor adventures. There’s aurora-watching at Voyageurs National Park (pictured above), stargazing at dark sky sanctuaries (which we include in our list of best destinations for this year), and urban biking in Minnesota.

Yet none of those places, unlike the Lost 40, has a surveyor’s mistake to thank for their success. But why, you ask, is that forgotten forest called the Lost 40, when the swatch is 144 acres large? You’ll just have to read on to find out.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY @JUSTIN.JIN

A Grand Song: Ethnic Dong minority singers perform a Grand Song, or Grand Chorus, inside a drum tower at their mountain village in China's Guizhou Province. The Dong tradition passes on culture and knowledge through multipart songs performed without instrumental accompaniment or a conductor. UNESCO lists the Grand Song as an intangible cultural heritage. See UNESCO World Heritage sites in this year’s Best of the World list. In February’s edition of National Geographic, Susan Goldberg tackles the question: Which cultural sites should be preserved?

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TODAY IN A MINUTE

Traveling while vegan: As more Americans eat greener, the travel industry is rolling out the plant-based welcome mats with hotels, restaurants, and even interior designs catering to vegetarians and vegans, the New York Times reports. The Anse Chastanet resort in St. Lucia, for example, offers vegan cooking classes, a vegan restaurant, and a craft brewery that produces vegan beers.

New tools for pandemic travel: Calculators that assess your risk before travel. Easy-to-get COVID-19 tests. Nat Geo rounds up these and other steps to make your next trip safer. One thing we learned: There’s now COVID insurance often rolled in to travel insurance, often covering quarantine costs abroad or even evacuation and repatriation if you get sick, Jackie Snow reports.

Under construction: Officials are considering limiting the number of visitors at Yosemite National Park this summer. Construction projects have raised concerns of major gridlock, SF Gate reports. One park campground—North Pines—is so popular it’s trying on a lottery for a chance to make reservations, CNN reports. Chances are 10 bucks and will be sold through Feb. 6.

Talking Turkey: No longer wanting to be confused with poultry or a slang word that means “fool,” the nation of the same name wants to be known as Türkiye. Nearly 100 years after becoming an independent republic, the country is looking to reclaim its identity globally, AFAR reports. Now, here’s how to pronounce it.

Take the scenic route: It might be called the Glacier Express, but this may be the world’s slowest train. That isn’t a bad thing as many of us are taking our time to savor our travel. The incredibly scenic rail excursion takes eight hours traveling through Switzerland at about 18 mph, traversing 300 bridges and taking in stunning Alpine views on the way, Time Out writes.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY GABRIELLA ANGOTTI-JONES

Surfing crests during pandemic: Southern California may be one of the best places in the world to surf, and more surfers have hit its beaches recently, partly because of fewer indoor social opportunities, Nat Geo reports. Many of the beaches offer an easier start—and softer landing—than other surf centers, says Caitlin Simmers, a 16-year-old competitive surfer from Oceanside. “When I’ve traveled to big waves in other places, it’s on the reef, which is more scary,” she tells us in this story. “Here, you know if you fall, you’ll fall on the sand.” (Pictured above, surfer Sierra Brown listens to speakers at the Black Sand Peace Paddle in Manhattan Beach in February 2021.) But, hey, what if you want frigid winter surfing? No, seriously. A recent National Geographic story picked Norway’s Lofoten Islands.

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LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY WAYNE LAWRENCE

Searching for an untold history: As many as 1.8 million captive African people lost their lives in the Middle Passage, the long, tortuous journey from their homes to enslavement in America. That figure has propelled Nat Geo Explorer Tara Roberts (pictured above) in a quest to uncover some of the estimated 1,000 vessels carrying enslaved people that sank in the Atlantic crossings. Roberts’s new Nat Geo podcast, Into the Depths, premiered this week—and her effort will be the cover story of Nat Geo's March issue and a new TV show. “1.8 million people lost their lives in this passing. That’s 1.8 million stories to be told,” Roberts told Nat Geo’s Storytellers Summit on Wednesday. Here’s the story of the discovery of one of the ships carrying enslaved people; it sank off Alabama.

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This newsletter has been curated and edited by Monica Williams, Jen Tse, and David Beard. We’d love to hear from you at [email protected].

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