Return to the Superior Hiking Trail
More than 180 miles from the Northern Terminus!
As I shuffled through the darkness during my second night on the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) during my Fastest Known Time (FKT) attempt, I wanted to return to experience its full beauty during daylight hours. The stars aligned and I found myself with the opportunity to return to this exact section far sooner than expected. Not only had the winter been extremely mild, allowing for melting and drying of the trails far earlier than expected, but a relative invited me as the first visitor after buying a home just a mile from the SHT! I jumped at the opportunity eager to get some time on the trail I had fallen in love with and prepare for my next adventure, completing the North Country Trail Wisconsin segment.
Enjoying the lack of crowds and the frozen version of Gooseberry Falls, but the full sun and cold temperatures didn’t give me enough patience for a good selfie with the falls.
Not only was there a literal night and day difference on this experience of the SHT, but the soft dirt trail was frozen and sometimes covered in ice. I soaked in the sun and the stark brown leaf-off condition which opened views that were previously blanketed by darkness and obscured by the lush green vegetation. Traveling in the opposite direction brought a new perspective as well.
With limited road crossings, I had a 16 mile or 7 mile point-to-point option during the encore visit. I chose the longer option (an out-and-back wasn’t even an option since I had shuttle service)! I began at Gooseberry Falls State Park, the most visited state park in Minnesota, which only had a handful of cars in the gigantic lot. This was a stark contrast to our family’s visit in early June the prior year when a was aghast at the throngs of Disneyworld-like crowds passing us as I helped my daughter dump a pebble out of her shoe. As good as it was to see people recreating outdoors, by the time we got ½ mile down the trail, we only saw a handful of people on the remainder of our family hike. Today, I wondered when or if I’d see anyone else after leaving the vicinity of the parking lot on a Monday with a high temperature around the freezing mark.
I couldn’t believe I was on dirt before the first day of spring, when the prior year Old Man Winter wouldn’t leave. Last year, patches of snow were still hanging onto the trail in May in this area with impassable sections further north. Although there were few deadfalls on this section of the SHT (most of the deadfalls we the same ones I negotiated around at Nester Grade and Mike’s Rock during my FKT attempt), today ice was slowing me down, with a potentially nasty fall if I wasn’t cautious. Last year was a terrible year for deadfalls due to an early winter ice storm. I knew I’d be facing deadfalls and stopped counting after I reached 13 trees down in my first tenth of a mile scouting the SHT. I’m incredibly thankful to the generous volunteers that spent hundreds of hours clearing the trail, taking up to 5 hours to clear a single mile!
The frozen puddles saved me from trekking through mud.
On today’s earlier morning hike, I never warmed up, so I overdressed despite temperatures being almost 20F warmer. I soon needed to stop to shed layers. I chucked to myself since the exact same pack now had more clothes as I did for a week during my SHT FKT attempt. I didn’t mind the extra weight, although minimal, as not only insurance for a good experience, but a little training for my next adventure.
After my morning hike on the SHT with little ice, I was surprised to find the entire tread filled with frozen water, i.e. glare ice. I wondered if the Gooseberry River had flooded over the winter since it seemed to be only along the river rather than hardpack from hikers. I tentatively stepped like a grandma as I deciphered the slippery ice from the textured ice. I also sought out occasional rocks or tufts of grass poking through for traction while relying heavily on my poles. On the positive side, areas that would normally be mud pits in spring were either ice or frozen mud. Spreading my weight between my poles and cautiously stepping onto the ice prevented me from a icy dunk into a puddle.
Marveling at the power of the beaver as I reminisce of my third day on the SHT.
The ice flow near Crow Creek was an unexpected discovery that I definitely didn’t have during my last visit during record high heat!
The same water flowing down the Gooseberry River spewing over the powerful waterfalls downstream wasn’t even lackadaisical here, but utterly silent. A delicate layer of ice hung on the surface of the river through the spring thus far. When I met the main SHT from the spur trail from Gooseberry Falls, Pausing between downed trees from beavers, I rush of memories flooded from my visit during the FKT: I had arrived at the upcoming trail junction midmorning of my third day on the SHT, and the thermometer on the bridge over the river rose 5F in the time it took me to refill my water, eat my cold soaked Ramen, and rotate my socks. The time seemed to evaporate during my FKT stops as fast as my sweat. The sound of an ice chunk dislodging into the open water followed by two geese passing so closely I could see the markings on their feathers brought me back to the present.
After a few cool views atop the bluffs, I descended to Crow Creek and discovered a ice flow from the bluffs above. At the creek, the lack of footsteps over the thin ice before me confirmed I had the trail to myself. I worried the mix of water and ice may result in an icy bath as I crossed the creek. I used my poles to tap the ice before I scooched each foot tentatively. I managed to cross without any surprises. Ironically, the same cool water that refreshed me during the record high temperatures of my FKT was now too frigid that I feared touching it.
I don’t know how I would have crossed without my trekking poles to find the rocks and knock off the ice crossing Encampment River.
I had romanticized about returning to the Encampment River. Unfortunately, the treacherous icy crossing was not what I had in mind.
After ascending and descending about 300 feet, my next water crossing was the Encampment River a few miles later. I had looked forward to returning to the Encampment River to take a few photos in daylight of the large flat rocks that had been strategically placed for a dry crossing. Since it was a very dry spring, I hoped the river level would be low enough I could skip across the rocks. However, I hadn’t expected to find a thin layer of ice obscuring the locations of the first half dozen rocks! Being a point-to-point run I was committed to crossing. Although the river wasn’t at dangerous levels, I was far enough from a road that I preferred not to risk hypothermia with a slip into the water. I could see water flowing through the ice so I did not expect the thin ice to hold my weight. I slowly negotiated the crossing by post holing my trekking poles through the ice until I pinpointed the location of each rock. Then I chipped off the layer of ice so my foot wouldn’t slip off resulting in a backflip into the water. I managed to safety reach the dry rocks where I was comfortable enough to take out my phone to stage a photo. Unfortunately, everything was too frozen to use to prop up my camera. As I was distracted searching for a stick or rock to prop up the camera, I ended up dunking a foot in the frigid water. Despite my earlier efforts, my lapse in focus caused me to still get a wet shoe! My photos (see banner photo) didn’t measure up to my vision having to stage them without a photographer. I had to pick up the pace since I realized my fingers were now losing dexterity from my Raynaud’s syndrome after stopping and removing my gloves for the photos. Luckily, the climb from the river helped my cause and I was able to recover my dexterity, which isn’t always the case.
After a couple final miles romping through the woods, I had hit my turnoff. Within three minutes of hitting the gravel road, I had already seen more people than I had in the past several hours on the SHT. As I jogged the final stretch on the road, it hit me that it only took me about 1/3 of the time to cover the same distance through my second night & third morning on the SHT! What a difference fresh legs, a good night’s sleep, light pack, and daylight make!
Related:
Superior Hiking Trail FKT - Part 1 - Steps on the Trail
Finding my Tough - Prepping for the Superior Hiking Trail