Following the Blue Blaze - Trip Notes #5

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10/05/15 Day 17 Hiking Day 11

We were up early and had a good breakfast with coffee and tea. With an early start and taking the scenic County Highway 6, we were in Finland before 8am. I was back on the trail with a heavy pack and made good time on a level trail through a maple forest. I passed the biggest glacial erratic I’ve ever seen. It was at least 20ft tall. I put my hiking poles next to it for some scale. At a large beaver pond / meadow, there was a bench with trial log book where I stopped for a snack and left a note. I saw that Andy and Nels had left a note in this trail log. After the trail reaches Section 13 it become very hilly and rugged with many scenic overlooks. When I crossed County Highway 6 five large tour buses went by. I covered the eight miles to Hwy 6 in 3.5 hours. I talked to three guys just after I crossed Hwy 6. They started at Highway 1 and were heading to Finland Rec Center. They were going to meet three of their friends who started at Finland and were going to trade car keys. That would be an ambitious hike of about 15 miles for three guys in their 60s. The trail climbed steeply and I had lunch at Sawmill Dome one the most scenic lunch spots I had on the entire hike. The sun came out in the afternoon and it got fairly warm. I passed more scenic overlooks before I decided to camp at Kennedy Creek. It looked better than the camp on the east side of the creek. I got camp set up and gathered wood. I can hear kids at the nearby Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center. Neighbors from east camp stop by to ask for a tape for a blown out boot – the entire sole ripped away from the upper. I didn’t have enough tape to help him out so I suggested tying it with cord, which they had. Sara from Maple Grove hiked in about an hour before dark. We chatted over dinner and a fire after dark. She had stories of bear noises at Bear Lake the night before.



10/06/15 Day 18 Hiking Day 12

I was up at first light at Kennedy Creek camp. I had breakfast, packed up, said good bye to Sara and hit the trail by 8:30am. I have a good morning routine and getting on the trail before 9am is no problem. I was greeted by a great overlook of Raven Lake. After a few miles, I crossed Hwy 1 and entered Tettegouche. The signage here was very confusing. There were no blue blazes and the trail maps were real eye charts. The blue blazes reappeared after moving away from the more heavily traveled State park trails. Rough sections of climbing were rewarded with great views. One very steep difficult segment is called the Drainpipe and it was a challenge to climb. The trail goes to the top of Mt Trudee which has a beautiful overlook looking north over the lakes of Tettegouche. I chatted with an older couple from the Twin Cities who were with their son and his wife from San Francisco. They were staying in the State Park cabins. Also talked to a couple of women from St Paul and Hudson just before Bear Lake. One of them had retired last Friday so we had a common topic. Went to the Bear/Bean overlook and enjoyed the view and took some pictures. Met two guys from Duluth who were carrying an inflatable paddle board. They had used it to fish Bear Lake. Made it Penn Creek camp after about 12 very rugged trail miles. Camped with Nate from Woodbury, whose family has a cabin on a lake I’ve fished numerous times. We chatted about all the same areas we had traveled in northern Minnesota.



10/06/15 Day 19 Hiking Day 13

I was up early at Penn Creek camp and on my way by 8am. I had planned an easy day of about 12 miles. The first 5-6 miles were pretty rough terrain with great views. Saw a couple of deer between Silver Bay and Beaver Bay – the only large critters I saw the entire trip. I missed a turn just after crossing Hwy 4 north of Beaver Bay. I walked about a half mile on a snowmobile trail before realizing my mistake and back tracking. Only saw one person before having lunch at Fault Line Ridge. Just after lunch I ran into two large youth groups going in opposite directions. I caught up with the one going my way around 2:30pm that had about 15 people and they were headed for Chapins Creek where I had planned to camp. My choice was camp with lots of people or push another five miles to Split Rock. I had another 8.5 miles to hike before dark, which gave me about 4 hours of daylight. Luckily the trail leveled out and I was able to make great time. I took the second of four Split Rock camps around 5:30pm since it had some high ground. Rain was predicted for tonight and tomorrow. It was a very long day as I covered 18 trail miles plus one while lost for a total of 19 miles. I was happy to get dinner cooked, be able to sit around the fire for a couple of hours and get to bed before it rained. It started raining just before midnight.



10/08/15 Day 20 Hiking Day 14

It rained pretty hard until about 5am. I slept in a little since I was tired from the hard day yesterday. I’m glad I passed up the first Split Rock camp since it was down by the river with a big hill for the rain to run down and no high spots for the tent. I made breakfast in the vestibule, packed up wet and was on the trail by 9am. It was a slow pace as I walked cautiously on a slippery flooded trail. Saw two women by the falls who were surprised to see anyone since they were the only car in the trailhead parking lot in a foggy wet day. My feet slowly got soaked as I made my way to the Gooseberry detour. The detour adds a little distance but timewise its probably similar. A private land owner pulled his permission earlier this year after poor behavior by trail users. I walked a gravel road and the Gitchi Gami bike trail to Gooseberry State park in Hwy 61. Signage was sketchy at best near the State Park headquarters and using the trailside maps, I found my way back to the SHT. I took the last of four Gooseberry River camps after covering about 13 miles. I had a good fire and was able to cook my boots to dry them some. I could hear someone going nuts with a truck in the mud on nearby Nestor Grade. I also heard shooting in the middle of the night.



10/09/15 Day 21 Hiking Day 15

It was a cold morning so I slept in a little and hit the trail around 9am. The trail was very muddy with lots of slippery clay. I saw that the next camp was still occupied around 11am. After passing the Castle Danger Road trailhead and climbing the steep hill on the other side of Crow Creek, I talked to three guys from Duluth who were knocking off one section of trail at a time. They told me that the wet crossing at the Encampment River was only knee deep. That was a relief since the signs at the trailhead warned of strong currents and described this really long road walk to get around it. I changed into my sandals to do the wet river crossing and was overly cautious by also taking my pants off to make sure they would be dry. I was able to get across without going over my knees. My hiking poles really helped with balance on slippery rocks. Had lunch at another great overlook. This area has lots of private land with many signs letting you know. Slogged through more mud on my way to Silver Creek camp. There was a great pink sky to the west. Boots did not get too wet today and I dried them more tonight. I had a really hot fire and there were rocks on the bottom of the fire pit. One of them blew up about 10 times. It was as loud as gunfire and my heart was thumping as it scared the you know what out of me. I retreated to the edge to the woods until it stopped after a couple of minutes. Trains blowing their horns at nearby road crossings woke me up a few times during the night. This was the last night until my final food resupply. I would also be shedding some weight by leaving a few things with Maureen. I wanted to leave my rain gear behind but the forecast was calling for another wet cold day after a brief warm-up.

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Photos

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Large glacial erratic

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View from Sawmill Dome

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Raven Lake

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Baptism River Falls

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View from Mt Trudee

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Bear and Bean Lakes