Amnity River Snowshoe Hike 2009

A friend and I met up on Sunday for a snowshoe hike up the Amnity River in Duluth. This picturesque little river is just lovely any time of the year - in the spring it is a rushing torrent of rust colored water, in the summer it can dwindle down to a little trickle, and in the winter, it freezes over and folks can snowshoe or hike along it.



We did this a couple years ago and it was an absolute blast. The dogs get to run and run and burn off lots of stored up energy. At that time, we had to make our own trail as we wound our way up. This year, people had been out earlier and a trail was packed down. And the dogs still ran and ran (well, except for Cody, she's getting on her years and she wobbles). My Ben kept insisting there was more exciting things to be checked out UP the banks and I had to keep calling him back.

The river winds it way through high banks and lower wooded areas. It follows what is known locally as the Seven Bridges Road. These are some refurbished stone bridges that cross the creek, well, in seven different places. It is so neat to walk under each different one.



It was a beautiful day - slightly overcast in the morning and sunny by the time we made our way back to the car. The temperature hung right around 14* - though I think it was dropping as the afternoon went on. We spent about 2 1/2 hours on the river then drove up the shore of Lake Superior for lunch at Lakeview Castle. While we were eating, we watched a 1000' laker go by, pushing ice in front as it went. Always a cool sight in my book.

A splendid way to spend a morning!