Hiking Hawk Ridge

Took advantage of another spectacular fall day today by going for a hike at Hawk Ridge. While I've visited the ridge many times before, this was my first time on the hiking trails. While there weren't many raptors flying today, it was a great day for hiking and I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the Hawk Ridge trail system is. There were lots of great views of the surrounding countryside and Lake Superior.

I hiked Ole's Trail to the Middle Trail. Then I hiked the Ridge Loop Trail to the wonderful Summit Ledges and down to the Ridge Overlook. I then crossed Skyline Parkway and hiked back to the Main Overlook on the Maple Woods Trail. 

Bagley Nature Area

Today, being another near perfect fall day, Parker and I opted to go for a walk. I decided to head through the St. Scholastica woods to College Avenue and then into the university of Minnesota Duluth's Bagley Nature Area. It is a small, 55 acre pocket of natural lands in the heavily developed area near the college campus. The walking was very pleasant, warm enough for short sleeves, and Parker enjoyed seeing all the squirrels out and about.

While I had hiked through the Nature Area briefly before, on the Superior Hiking Trail, this was my first time getting a better look around and seeing some of the areas off of the SHT. It is certainly a nice little area for the students and local neighbors.

There is a nice small pond called Rock Pond, about 1.5 miles of hiking trails, and a high overlook of the surrounding area from Rock Hill. Parker and I were lucky enough to see some turtles basking on a log floating in Rock Pond

and a red tailed hawk being harassed by some crows.

At the overlook I noticed that it appears a ski hill at one time existed on Rock Hill and some research revealed that my assumption is correct. in 1957 a tow rope was installed there for downhill skiing. We rested at the summit area for a bit before making our way back home.

A good walk on a wonderful day!

Trego Lake Trail

Noelle, Parker and I packed up our stuff in Galesville this morning to hit the road and head home to Duluth. We had planned to go for a hike on our way home, but our late start made the original plan a bit iffy. We weren't sure we would have enough time to do the hike and get Noelle to school on time. As we approached our freeway exit we decided to give the hike a go anyway. We drove to the trail-head for the Circle Trail in the Chippewa Moraine only to discover a $10 parking fee. We took this as a sign and decided to formulate a new plan.

Instead of hiking the Chippewa Moraine we would head to the town of Trego and hike one of the ski trails along Trego Lake. It was just too nice outside to not go for at least a short walk. Our revised plan turned out to be worth the effort. The weather was flawless and the walk was short and just what we needed to get Noelle to class on time.  

Great River Bluffs State Park

After lunch today Noelle, Mom and I headed south to LaCrosse and then across the mighty Mississippi and into Minnesota to hike at Great River Bluffs State Park. While we have been to Perrot State Park on the Wisconsin side of the river we'd never been to the bluffs on the Minnesota side.

The day was beautiful and the drive itself was worth it. The scenery, once we left I-90, was incredible. While the colors in the LaCrosse area are not quite peak yet, they are still pretty.

We drive to the park's campground where we parked and immediately hiked to the first of many overlooks we would visit. The overlook offered great views of the Mississippi and surrounding towns and features.

From this first overlook, we returned to the first trail junction and started to hike a trail that ran in between the far-off river and the park road. Eventually we crossed the road and headed down into a ravine before climbing again. We then came to a junction where we had the option of several trails, two of which led to overlooks.

We checked out the overlooks before moving on again, eventually making our way to the King's Bluff Trail. The King's Bluff Trail is a highlight of the park and there were many people out hiking on this beautiful day. The trail ended at a wonderful overlook of a steep bluff and "goat prairie" and at a Hiking Club sign as well. I was able to log 2.5 more Hiking Club miles. These may be the last ones for a while as the hiking season is slowly coming to an end here in the far north.

Holmen Square Runaround 5K

Yesterday Noelle, Parker and I drove to Galesville to visit with family. I got up early this morning so that Noelle, Parker and I could drive into the neighboring town of Holmen to run in the inaugural Homen Square Runaround 5K. There was a small field for the race, perhaps about 50 brave souls registered for the event and so I knew I would probably finish in the top 10. I was hoping to run about a 19 minute 5K which I thought was possible given my performance in the recent half marathon I had run. However, the morning was frosty and cold and I
seem to have a difficult time running in the cold.

The race started just after 9 am and after a long warm up I felt pretty good for the first mile which I ran in about six minutes. At the one mile mark I found myself in second place. The next mile did not go as quickly though. At mile marker two I checked my watch to see 12:28. Much slower. Anyway I held on to run a 19:13 5K, which is the fastest 5K I've run post-college. Unfortunately, I was unable to hold on to second place and finished third.  

Oberg and Leveaux Mountains

Like yesterday, today was another nearly perfect fall day. Noelle was out backpacking with some girlfriends for the weekend and I volunteered to help them out by picking them up at the end point of their hike and shuttling them back to their car. This gave me an excuse to head up the North Shore for a fall color adventure.

I arrived at the predetermined meeting spot, the Superior Hiking Trail trail-head on the Caribou Trail at 9 am like we had arranged, but the girls were not there yet. I decided to take the opportunity to hike up to White Sky Rocks while I waited. It was a good decision. The view from the overlook was spectacular and the colors looked to be at peak. 

From White Sky overlook headed up the trail to Noelle's campsite from the night before thinking that I would run into my shuttlees, and sure enough I did. It was good to see Noelle and hear about their trip. We walked back to the car together and then I drove the girls to their car at Lutsen. There I said goodbye to Noelle and headed over to the trail-head for Oberg and Leveaux Mountains.

The trail-head parking lot there was packed. It looked like everyone and their mother decided to go for a hike today to see the fall colors. After a short time on the Oberg Mountain trail it became obvious why. The colors were indeed spectacular! There are several different overlooks off the sides of the mountain and each one offered great views of maples in their full splendor. The overlooks also offered views of Lake Superior, rock outcroppings and small lakes.

From Oberg, I passed through the parking lot again and followed the Superior Hiking Trail to the Onion River. Shortly after crossing the Onion River on a footbridge, I took the side trail up Leveaux Mountain. The trail here was much less crowded than the one on Oberg Mountain. I probably saw 1/10 of the people I saw while on Oberg. Still, the views were great!

Chequamegon National Forest: Rainbow Lake Wilderness

I woke up to a beautiful fall morning and decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather by going for a hike. I loaded up my pack and hit the road bound for Drummond, Wisconsin and the Rainbow Lake Wilderness. The drive was pleasant and as I drove I saw some turkeys and a coyote right along the side of the road.

When I arrived at the trail-head I immediately noticed the effects of the previous days rain. Parts of the trail were more like small streams. I didn't care though. In fact, I had expected to walk in some water given the amount of rain we received. Within about 3 minutes of hiking I came to the first of the four lakes I would visit: Clay Lake.

 
It was a pleasant spot, but close to the road and the noise associated with vehicle traffic, and so I moved on after a short stop.

The hiking was, besides wet, easy due to the fact that the trail followed an old logging railroad grade called the Anderson Grade. My next stop was the pretty Bufo Lake. A spur trail led down to this lake which looked as if it may have been deeper at one time.

Still, it was an enjoyable place to stop and eat lunch. From Bufo Lake I headed deeper into the wilderness to a junction with the North Country National Scenic Trail. I made a right turn onto the North Country Trail and waded through some deep puddles, eventually making my way to the wilderness' namesake: Rainbow Lake.

Rainbow was another pretty lake with a nice campsite located near its shore. I spent some time looking around the area a bit before retracing my steps back to the intersection of the North Country Trail and Anderson Grade.

At the intersection I got back on the Anderson Grade on a portion that I had not hiked on previously. This section of the grade gets considerably less maintenance and I almost considered turning around and heading back to the car. I'm glad I didn't though. While the hiking was difficult and more like bushwacking at times, I was rewarded with a visit to the prettiest of the lakes on my hike: Anderson Lake.

I relaxed at Anderson Lake for a bit and took some photographs before heading back to the Anderson Grade and returning to the car. A great day of hiking despite the soggy trails.