Following the Blue Blaze - Trip Notes #4

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9/29/15 Day 11 Hiking Day 7

I was up before sun rise at Lake Agnes on a chilly, clear, calm morning. Watched the sun rise and the full moon was still in the western sky. A great start to the day. Packed up and said good bye to camp mates and hit the trail around 8:30am. Signed the trail log at Lake Agnes overlook and read others entries. Enjoyed the great views of the almost peak fall colors. Had a snack at West Poplar River camp and just after I got back on the trail I saw a male grouse trying to impress a couple of female grouse. Passed by Lutsen ski area access road and Poplar River bridge. Climbed huge hill – Moose Mountain – and had lunch on a flat rock on top in the sun. I encountered many day hikers coming from Oberg Mountain trailhead. The parking lot was overflowing on this nice Tuesday afternoon. I made camp at West Leveaux next to a beaver pond by 4:30pm. I could tell it was going to be chilly that night. I talked to an older gent who had walked a long way. He was hammock camping and was going to check out the tree spacing at East Leveaux camp across the beaver pond. I chatted with him again after I had pumped water. He found some sufficient trees and was planning to have dinner and then read his e-reader and sleep early. My feet felt pretty good on my first full day back on the trail even though I had covered 14 miles over some really hilly terrain.



9/30/15 Day 12 Hiking Day 8

It was a very frosty morning at West Leveaux camp as I packed up, ate breakfast and hit the trail by 8:30am. I made good time on a relatively level muddy trail to Briton Peak. There were lots of cars in the trailhead parking lot off the Sawbill Trail. Most of the people were most likely at Carlton Peak. I saw lots of people on the trail as I made it to Carlton Peak around 10:30am. I stopped for a snack and then headed down the rugged trail toward the Temperance River. After the Temperance it was a long climb back to the top of the ridge. I made it to the third Cross River camp for lunch at 2pm. I had covered 12 miles so far that day but wanted to make a few more. Maureen was going to pick me up in three days and I wanted to get at least to Finland by our Saturday morning pick-up time. I pushed on to Fredenberg Creek camp by 4:30pm and saw that there were others already camped there. I set up camp, pumped water and then had dinner and a good conversation with Adam and Jenny from St Paul. I had to do a little more blister repair on my left heel. I had covered over 15 miles that day and don’t think I could go much farther if the trail was rugged and hilly like today.



10/01/15 Day 13 Hiking Day 9

Woke up at Fredenberg camp on a chilly morning but no frost today. Packed up and had breakfast with Adam and Jenny. They had an interesting strategy on their trip. From their trailhead origin, they headed south for a day and camped and then headed back north the next few days. That way they could stop at their vehicle to pick additional supplies or drop unneeded items. They would then go north for a few days and then back south to their vehicle. That method saved money for shuttle fees or the need for a second vehicle. I was on the trail this day by a little after 8am. This section of trial was fairly level but muddy. The trail goes through a large birch grove. Alfred’s Pond had a board walk and benches on its shore. It was very pretty with the fall colors. Had lunch at a sunny spot near the Sugar Loaf Road parking lot. The section of trial around Caribou River is very scenic and rugged. After that it was more hill climbing to get to the Horseshoe Ridge camp. Camped with John from Shakopee. We had a great conversation while we ate and then watched cowboy tv.



10/02/15 Day 14 Hiking Day 10

Another chilly morning dawned at Horseshoe Ridge camp. I had breakfast was packed and on the trail by 8:30am. The next four miles through Manitou State Park are some of the most rugged and scenic parts of the trail. Lots of overlooks with great fall colors and the Manitou River valley had steeps hills with some dramatic river views. I talked to a hiker who was remote camping on the Manitou trails and he said they were some of the best and quietest trails he has hiked along the North Shore. It took about 2.5 hours to cover the first 4 miles. I had lunch near a water pump on a picnic table. What a treat to sit at a table. After lunch I crossed Lake County Road 7, a road I have driven many times. The trail has more hills than I expected. I chatted with Nels and Andy from North Branch. They were hiking the trail one section at a time. They were currently in the middle of a 4 day 44 mile trip and had done longer trips prior. Not bad for a couple of retired guys. Much like me, they are about halfway done. After a long afternoon hike I decided to camp at North Egge Lake. This was a good camp in the maples on the shore of a pretty lake with a fire tower visible in the distance. I had the camp to myself and was able to find enough cedar and maple firewood to have a nice hot fire on a chilly night. Listened to the Twins and they lost a tough one. I’m looking forward to meeting Maureen in the morning at Finland Rec Center and taking a few days off the trail. We have two nights lodging in Lutsen and I will be buying supplies and getting my next trail food resupply.



10/03/15 Day 15 Transition to off trail

It was a beautiful morning at Egge Lake as I got up at 6:20am in preparation for an early departure at 8am. It was a nice easy 2.5 mile hike to the Finland Rec Center and I arrived there by 9:15am. While I was waiting for Maureen, three vans pulled in and lots of fit young people piled out and started doing warm-up exercises in the parking lot. It was the track team from Lakehead U in Thunder Bay returning from a meet in Eau Claire and getting their daily run in on the SHT. What a great training run on beautiful trails that breaks up a long drive. After Maureen picked me up, we drove to Grand Marais in heavy traffic. We bought supplies and food and went to the Laundromat to wash muddy clothes . One of the most important things I got was duct tape. John from Shakopee suggested duct tape for areas prone to blisters. We went to the new brew pub in Grand Marais, Voyageur, and were underwhelmed by the food and beer. We headed back to Lutsen to check into our motel and I was able to organize gear. We went to Papa Charlies at the Lutsen ski resort for dinner. Again another underwhelming experience.



10/04/15 Day 16 Off trail

Maureen and I drove to the Caribou Trail and parked along County Road 39 where I was dropped off six days ago. We hiked north to the Caribou Lake overlook where the church has benches. After that we hiked south to Lake Agnes camp and overlook. We read the log at the overlook including most entry and the people just before and after. It was nice to hike in running shoes with no pack. I organized gear in the afternoon while Maureen went for a run. We headed to Grand Marais for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants – Gunflint Tavern. As usual the food and beer were really good. Back to the motel to do some trip planning and try to figure out where my last resupply would be. I had six days of food in my pack and it felt heavy without water. It was great to be off trail again and sleep in a bed but I was excited to get back on the trail and finish the 123 miles left to go. I was hoping to get near the Two Harbors area by the resupply time in six days.

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Photos

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Impressing the ladies

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Alfred's Pond

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Beaver at Egge Lake outlet

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Poplar River in the distance

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Caribou Lake overlook