We woke up at 4am on 8/14 in order to get to the Beaver Bay pick-up location by 9am. Here we are, looking amazingly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for having already been awake for 5 hours at 9am.
We got picked up by the Superior Shuttle, which transported us about 40 highway miles north to Cook County Rd 1, which is near Schroeder. (An overview of the trail is available here.) And we were off! (It's a little scary to be dropped off 60 miles away from your car!)
We had lunch next to beautiful Arthur's pond.
We did 7 miles of hiking (up and down and up and down hills, and over and around multiple tree trunks and rocks blocking the path) that day and ended up at the fabulous Crystal Creek campsite.
(Best view from a latrine that I've ever seen!)
The next day (Aug 15 - our anniversary!) was our longest and hardest day - 13.1 miles of steep hills. Luckily there was some beautiful scenery in Crosby-Manitou State Park. We also saw a mama bear and her cubs that day! (Unfortunately they ran off before I could get their picture.)
We were rewarded for our hard work that day with a beautiful site at the convergence of Blesner Creek and the East Branch of the Baptism River. (But boy was it chilly that night!)
Monday (8/16) we got to see Sonju Lake. The winds were gusty that day, and we almost got blown off the boardwalks as we crossed over to Lilly's Island.
As we left the lake area, we almost got trampled by a moose!!! It was terrifying and exhilarating to be within 30 feet of such an awesome creature. Wow.
That night we camped out near Egge Lake.
(Luckily Mike enjoys gathering and sawing wood!)
On Tues 8/17 we headed up to "Section 13," one of the highest elevations we would see. Along we way we got to eat lots of wild raspberries, gooseberries, and blueberries. Yum!
The highlight for me that day was the awesome bog area.
The highlight for Mike was the amazing views from Section 13.
After setting up camp and eating dinner, we bundled up and headed back to the highest point in order to watch the sunset and see the stars.
Unfortunately, storm clouds decided to roll in around that time, so we saw neither sunset nor stars. Boo!
By the next day (Wed 8/18), we were pretty hot, sweaty and stinky from traipsing all over the backwoods. So we set our sights on a campsite that looked like it was right on Raven's Lake. Unfortunately for us, the lake was about a quarter mile away through some pretty thick brush. It was cold, murky and muddy - but oh so refreshing! As we were swimming, we were also joined by a family of deer! The came within about 30 feet of us - how cool! I saw the deer again later that afternoon, and also was visited by a very curious chipmunk. When you add in the hummingbird and the woodpecker, it's no wonder we fondly referred to our crappy little no-water-access site as "the Disney site."
The next morning (Thurs 8/19) we tried to get an early start, but we found that our steripen was broken. Ugh! So we had to boil our drinking water. Luckily we passed through Tettegouche State Park around lunch time, so we were able to refill our water bottles there. This day also brought some beautiful views.
And our campsite at Bear Lake was fabulous!
That night a HUGE storm blew in. I was glad the hills around us were protecting us from the lightening, but I was still a bit afraid that our tent was going to get blown into the lake. In the morning, the fog and lingering rain made the lake beautiful in a whole different way.
We had hoped the weather would blow over within a couple hours, but it only got colder and rainier throughout the morning. Luckily I had a waterproof bag packed for my camera, but that meant I couldn't take any pictures for our last 8 miles on the trail. By the time we got back to our car (hallelujah! we did it!!) everything except my camera was absolutely soaked. I was so happy to get into some clean, dry clothes, and so happy when we got to Fitger's for my first "real" food in a week. Sorry I don't have any "after" pictures, so you'll just have to take my word for it that we were both still smiling at the end!
2 comments:
Looks like an absolute blast! The photos are so gorgeous, Steph. The last day foggy ones are particularly impressive. It'd be fun to talk photography with you sometime. :) hope all is well! So glad you had such a beautiful trip.
One of my all-time favorite trips!
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