2009-09 Backpacking on the Superior Hiking Trail

Ray and 3 of his workmates went on a 3 day, 2 night, 18 mile backpacking and camping trip along the Superior Hiking Trail along the banks of Lake Superior. The overall trail stretches over 200 miles from just south of Duluth, up to the Canadian border. Along with the main trail, there are many spur trails and connections to state parks trails. The trails can be very hilly and rocky, but they can also be relatively level and smooth.

We started out from a parking lot just outside of Silver Bay around 12:30. We had brought 2 cars, so we positioned one at each end of our trip. There are shuttle bus options also for people that only have one car or are hiking alone.

Chad had done most of the prep work including dehydrating our food and providing the backpacking tents. He had been up on various parts of the trail in the past and had picked out this portion based on the length and availability of camping sites along the way.

Right out of the parking lot, we headed up a steep grade that was very rocky, giving us an indication of things to come. It ends up this was not the actual trail but one of a bunch of general hiking trails out of that parking lot. Once we got our bearings and back on the actual trail, we did not lose the trail again.

A couple of miles in, we stopped at an overlook of Bean and Bear Lake for our lunch. Looking the other way we had some beautiful views of Lake Superior. Although we don't have mountains in Minnesota, we have a lot of elevation change in the terrain along Lake Superior. We had many great views both inland and out to Lake Superior. Inland views included lots of smaller lakes surrounded by steep hills and rocky inclines.

We made it to camp around 5:00 at the East Palisades campground and got the tents set up, a fire going and dinner prepared. There was one other group using the campground, and they loved their campfire, and kept it burning hot and high all night long. At one point they added a whole pine tree to the fire! Rocks in the fire ring were popping due to the high heat of the fire.

We were camping near a stream, which was out source of water for the evening and the next day. Most camping areas had some source of water, but other than the campsites, there wasn't a lot of other water sources along the way. We had to chemically treat all of our water before we could drink it. Most of the water had a brownish tint, so it was easier to drink it if you didn't have it in a clear container. My yellow jug was very effective at masking out the brown color.

Even though the trail is well maintained (by volunteer members), I found myself not able to look around and enjoy the woods as much as I normally do while hiking because of having to keep my eyes on the trail and watching almost every step. Also, having a 40lb pack on made me much more careful with every step so that I did not loose my balance or trip on something.

On Saturday morning we got on the trail around 9:00. Saturday was our longest day at about 8 miles. It was also the most difficult section of the trail that we took with lots of elevation changes and only short sections that we could pick up the pace. Our halfway point was Tetteguoche State Park with lunch along the Baptism River. Eating lunch along the river with our feet cooling of in the river was reinvigorating. We saw a lot more people on this section of the trail on day hikes from the state park.

It was a lot warmer on Saturday than on Friday. The temperature was in the low 80's without much breeze, and that took a lot out of everyone. We arrived at camp about 4:30 and weren't as efficient at setting up camp as we were the night before. We had pasta for dinner and it tasted good and gave us a second wind. Although the stream was about dry, we were less than 1/4 from a lake. We went down there to get our water and cool off our feet. The lake was part of the Wolf Ridge Learning center which caters to school groups for outdoor and environmental teaching.

Each night the stars were incredible. there was no moon and very clear out. Without all the excessive city light, there were so many more stars than we can usually see at home. The Milky Way was also very evident. No northern lights were visible during the time we were there, but we did see a few satellites tracking across the sky.

Sunday, we hit the trail around 8:00 and worked our way along a long flat ridge for about 2 miles. Then we made the final climbs to the top of of Sawtooth dome before working our way back down to the highway.

We had hoped we might have had some more fall color, but most the trees were still green. There were a few patches of color depending on what elevation we were at and what type of forest area we were in. It was interesting how the forest changed in relatively short stretches as you changed elevation, or side of the hill, or proximity to water.

I was also surprised that we did not see more quantity of wildlife along the trail or in camp. We did see and hear a variety of animals, just not too many of anything. We heard owls at night and saw some birds, chipmunks and squirrels. We did see two bald eagles along the way, which are always so exciting to see circling in the thermals. At the Wolf Ridge lake, we saw a couple of beavers. One swam over to check us out, but gave us plenty of distance.

We made it to the car around noon and then went to pick up the second car before stopping for lunch, then the trip home and a reintroduction to construction backups and traffic.

We had great weather all weekend (meaning no rain or really cold temps). Considering I had not done any backpack camping since grade school, it was a lot of fun and something I would consider doing again.