On Saturday, I joined an acquaintance for a "guided" hike on the Superior Hiking Trail. I say "guided" in that it is optional if you want to stick with the naturalist/ecologist/birder/etc for the full duration of the hike or just stretch out the legs and go. There is a hike leader, who organized the hike and a "sweep" who is last person off the trail and makes sure everyone is accounted for back at the cars. It is considered uncouth to leave a person stranded at one end while their car is at the other end.
The segment hiked on Saturday was Crosby Manitou St. Park to Caribou River Wayside. I hiked this waaaayy back in May, 2001 with the folks and hounds. This time it was peak colors on the trail, with the leaves in brilliant display.
This is an 8 mile segment, with a bit of up and down as one moves through the river gorges. There are some dramatic climb into and out of the Manitou River valley and some spectacular overlooks along the ridges before traversing through a cedar forest and then along the Caribou River.
It was an absolutely spectacular day - clear, about 55*, and just a light breeze to keep a body cool as they huffed and puffed their way up and down. The ridge overlooks were stunning. It was so clear out that a person could see all the way to the Apostle Islands off of Wisconsin and at one point a ship was going by. It took about 4 hours total. I met several very nice people from the Twin Cities and had a lovely time chatting with everyone. I'm so glad I was able to go.
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