Superior Hiking Trail, Fall 2009

Saturday I found myself out on the Superior Hiking Trail for another Fall Guided Hike sponsored by the Superior Hiking Trail Association. I went on one last October that was amazing and so I found myself returning this year.

(View North from Bear Lake)

This segment was 11.1 miles (yes, that .1 mile is important!) from Silver Bay, MN, to Hwy 1 just north of Tettagouche St. Park. The first segment takes the hiker past Bean and Bear Lakes, with some truly stunning drop-offs and overlooks. Then the trail meanders its way down into maple/birch forest with a relatively flat stretch. But what goes down on the SHT must come back up again and you find yourself climbing climbing climbing up to Round Mtn and then after a little dip, up to Mt. Trudee with again, some fantastic overlooks.

(View West from Mt. Trudee)

But the trail doesn't end there, and it winds its way through Tettagouche St. Park, down across the Baptism River Gorge and up the opposite side. The trails through the park are wider and less cobbly than the SHT trail...that is until one gets to the that last .1 mile, where you hike straight up this rock knob, admire the amazing view, then follow the trail down to the parking lot at Hwy 1.

Like I mentioned above, this was a "guided hike"; we met at one trail head and half of the group shuttles everyone down to the opposite end. Forty-three people turned out for the hike on Saturday. The sun peeked out briefly, sending temps soaring to a humid 65*, then the clouds slid in and a breeze picked up moderating everything quite nicely. By 3p a front moved through pushing those clouds out and clearing the skys for a splendid late afternoon.

As I was last in line for the biffy at the trail head, I hiked with the "sweep" (the person designated to make sure everyone gets off the trail safely) a lovely gal from Rochester, MN. Because we were following the slowest person on the hike, it took us 8 hours to finish. I have no complaints, it was just simply too nice of a day to rush things. The bulk of the group probably finished in about five to six hours and the slower folks in seven.

I hope to get out on a couple more October hikes, but we will see how the weather cooperates. Next Saturday I will be lending a hand for some trail maintenance so I look forward to reporting back about that. Stay tuned!

(late blooming asters along trail)