Superior Hiking Trail

The Superior Hiking Trail is a 275 mile network of trails running along the north shore of Lake Superior. A 205 mile continuous stretch goes from Two Harbors to the Canadian Border. AT its lowest point it is 602 feet above sea level along the shore of Lake Superior and its highest point is 1,829 feet above sea level.

Friday, June 20, 2008 – Beaver Bay, MN - approximately 5 miles

Our trip began around 9:00 PM outside of Beaver Bay on the North Shore of Lake Superior. After purchasing a guide book on the Superior Hiking Trail and reading the trail descriptions, I felt prepared to venture into the woods with my cohorts Darrin and Katie.

After hiking approximately a quarter mile on an ATV trail we saw a post with a Superior hiking trail sign directly after a bridge crossing a creek, and about 10 feet past the sign the ATV trail veered right. The guidebook said take a “Hard” right after the bridge. In retrospect this would seem very obvious to take the trail that was marked, however, Darrin quickly decide this trail went down to the river. We were all in agreement and decided to continue on the ATV trail.

An hour and a half later, we’d walked about 2.5 miles out of our way searching for the backcountry campsite, and it had just started raining. After retracing our steps, we followed the marked trail which proved to be correct. Finding the campsites at about 11:00 PM full, we retreated to the car and drove into Silver Bay, MN, where the shuttle was going to pick us up Saturday morning.

Wet, tired, and frustrated we decide a cold beverage would be great. We only spent about a half hour there due to the unfriendly nature of the crowd (a few dirty looks and muttered comments weren’t exactly consolation for the night). Friday night, my Honda Civic was our tent for the evening as we spent it in the trail head parking lot in Silver Bay.

Saturday, June 21, 2008 – Finland Rec. Center to West Kennedy Creek - 13 miles

The shuttle picked us up from Silver Bay and dropped us off about 20 miles north in Finland at 9:30 AM. Hiking through maple and birch forests, we had no problem following the trail making sure to look for the Superior Hiking Trail signs, and blue stripes painted on trees every half mile or so. We stopped to climb a large bolder that seemed out of place in the flat maple forest. By a small lake, Katie wrote in the log book and we relaxed momentarily to have lunch.

Back on the trail we began to climb and took a spur trail that had a good view of the Section 13 cliffs. At this point we noticed rain was on the way and attempted to cover our packs before the rain came. About 15 minutes later the brunt of the rain passed and we continued hiking through more difficult terrain. The next few hours, intermittent rain passed by, but nothing too bad. During this time we enjoyed great views of Lake Superior and the north shore landscape.

Just shy of 5:00 we made it to Kennedy Creek and set up camp. Luckily, there was a spot open because not more than a half hour later three groups of backpackers passed looking for a place to set up camp. Dinner for the night was couscous, and Tuna Helper which tasted delicious after a long day of hiking. My new MSR Wisperlite worked great! Darrin, Katie, and I enjoyed a game of poker in the tent and some soothing beverages before going to bed at about 9:00 PM.

Sunday, June 22, 2008 - Kennedy Creek to Tettegouche State Park area - 9 miles

Up with birds at 5:30 AM, stumbled around camp for a few hours with sore muscles. Breakfast was Hamburger Helper (the instant packets for the microwave = awesome). We broke camp and started on the trail at about 7:30 AM. When we crossed Highway 1 around 10:30 AM the terrain was very strenuous. The SHT enters Tettegouche State Park about a mile from Highway 1. We took time to look at Two Falls and High Falls.

Roughly a mile after leaving the High Falls area my knee began to hurt due to an injury recently incurred while training for the Fargo marathon. I continued another 2 miles before deciding it would be wise to head back to Highway 1 to catch the shuttle back to our car in Silver Bay. We were fortunate enough to see the “Drainpipe” a mossy cover outcrop of rock and trees with exposed roots.

We left just before it started pouring and headed for Duluth. Had a beer and some food at Grandma's in Duluth and an uneventful ride back to Woodbury, MN.

Lesson Learned on this trip:

-Don't show up at a trail head at 9:00 PM and attempt to make camp.
-Investigate how a trail is marked before heading out.
-The locals at the Silver Bay Bar and Liquor Store do not welcome outsiders, with the exception of the nice fisherman sitting next to us.
-Hiking 30 miles in a weekend isn't good for tendonitis.
-Minnesota is evidently the greatest state in the US according to Darrin...though I beg to differ.
-The Superior Hiking Trail is a great wilderness adventure in close proximity to the Twin Cities.

Equipment Used:

-MSR WhisperLite - good size for a group of people and boils water fast
-REI T3 Quarterdome - fit Darrin, Katie, and I snuggly, nice and light for the size
-GSI Gamelle P pots - light and convenient
-Katadyn Hiker water filter
-High Sierra Appalachian 75 backpack – the rain cover proved to be very useful