Following the Blue Blaze - Off Trail Days

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Hi - this is Andy again giving my ghost writer Maureen a few days off. She was kind enough to come north to resupply me and take me off the trail for a few days of rest and relaxation. She picked me up at the Finland Recreation Center which is about 142 miles into my journey and leaves about 123 to go. We headed for Grand Marais to pick up some supplies, go to the laundromat and have lunch. Our lodging is in Lutsen, which puts us in close proximity to some pretty areas of the SHT for a day hike. We decided to head up the Caribou Trail and hike to the Caribou Lake overlook and then east to Lake Agnes to check out the campsite and overlook with trail log. We read some of the trail log entries including mine from Tuesday September 29. It was a beautiful day with most of the Maples in full color. We did notice some that are still green which is very unusual for this late in the season.

Our plan is to head back to the Finland Rec Center on Monday for a morning drop off and then Maureen heads back to Duluth. I will begin the final push hoping to finish the last 120+ miles in about 10 days. There is a detour around Gooseberry because of a land owner withdrawing permission for the trail to cross his land. I'm not sure if this will add miles to the hike or make it shorter. The detour is on the Gitchi Gami bike trail. I'm not looking forward to walking on the asphalt. I am looking forward to some of the areas between Finland and Silver Bay, which is supposed to be some of the prettiest sections of the SHT.

I will be turning over the writing duties to Maureen when I get back on the trail. After I complete the hike, I will add some of my trip notes from each day as well as some of my overall thoughts covering the people I've met, gear, food, trail and general reflections. I will also post some of the better photos from the hike.

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Photos

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Maureen at Lake Agnes Overlook