Bear and Bean Lakes

Another beautiful autumn day had Noelle and I ready to get out and do some more hiking. We decided to hike to what I believe is one of the most beautiful spots in Minnesota: Bear and Bean Lakes which lie in a remote part of Tettegouche State Park near Silver Bay.

Our drive to Silver Bay was uneventful and by the time we got to the trail-head at the visitor center in town we were pretty hungry. We decided to head over to the nearby grocery store Zup's, to get some sandwiches and snacks. We then returned to the trail-head and started our hike. The beginning was not so interesting, weaving through town on some ATV trails. When we got out of town and off the ATV trails the hike took us through a section of clear-cut forest before we climbed and headed into some more pristine territory.

When we got to the loop section of the trail we decided to hike it counter-clockwise. Soon we got our first view of the very pretty Bear Lake.

The trail then followed a ridge to the best overlook in Minnesota, the overlook of both Bear and Bean Lakes.

We spent some time lounging in the sun and relaxing there before we continued on our way.

The trail then dropped into a ravine before returning to a rocky, open ridge above the lakes. Here we obtained numerous spectacular views of both Bear and Bean lakes.

Eventually, the trail veered away from the lakes and we headed into the forest. The hiking was still pleasant and we were soon treated to another overlook, this time looking out over Silver Bay and Lake Superior on Elam's Knob.

From the knob we descended in earnest and arrived back at the car.

The St. Louis River Trail

A beautiful Friday had Noelle and I itching to get outside and do some exploring. Noelle thought that a trip to Jay Cooke State Park to do some hiking would be a good idea and I agreed. However, I remembered that a few weeks ago I had stopped at Chambers Grove Park on Duluth's far western edge and seen a sign for the St. Louis River Trail. After doing some internet research, I could turn up no information on this trail and so I decided that we would go on a reconnaissance mission to find out for ourselves what the trail is all about.

We packed a pack, grabbed Parker some treats, and hit the road. We made it to the park after a short drive through Gary/New Duluth and the other neighborhoods on the west side of town. Chambers Grove park itself while small is very pleasant with a nice little boardwalk and fishing piers along the St. Louis River. We strolled along the boardwalk and then headed to the corner of the park where the trail-head sign is. There also happened to be a big, stinky dead buck deer there. Parker was quite interested in the carcass but we quickly moved past it.

The trail itself is a bit strange. Other than the large sign at its beginning the trail is not marked or blazed and appears to get very little maintenance. In some areas the trail is swampy, in others it is overgrown, and in other areas large fallen trees block the path. Most of the trail seems to follow an old rail line. At one point there is a short spur trail which leads to a nice overlook of the St. Louis River.

There are also many utility poles that have been cut down along the corridor.

Towards the halfway point of our hike we came to the remains of an old railroad trestle now rotting an being reclaimed by the forest.

At this point we turned around. On our way back to the car we found a spur trail and decided to take it. It led up a ridge and past some large white pines, then to highway 23 which we followed back to the car. 

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.