Trail |
| Trail |
Revan and I hiked this trail in September 2007. This was planned less of a backpacking trip and more of a relaxing camping trip. We had planned on doing a 4 day trip, but the weather wasn't cooperating. When we got to the trailhead, it was pouring down rain, with storms and rain predicted all day. I didn't want to hike and camp in the rain, so we headed to Tower MN and stayed in Tower the first night.
This actually worked out perfectly! We avoided some of the rain and got to explore the Soudan Mine that is near Tower. We took the mine tour and descended deep into the mine, took an ore car ride down a tunnel, and learned about mining in Minnesota. What a blast! This mine also has the UOM High Energy Physics Lab down in the deep levels.
What we didn't know was that while we were deep in the mine, there was a freakish high wind storm blowing through topside. When we got back to the surface, it looked like a hurricane had swept through. Downed trees by the dozens, debris everywhere, and wind damage to many buildings and structures.On Friday, it was still raining, but the storm was supposed to break and there was less chance of rain in the afernoon. We headed back to the trail to give it another try.
The trail itself is fairly easy, although it is rated moderate-difficult in one of the Minnesota Hiking guides. There is some elevation changes and hills to get over, but I would still rate it as an easy-moderate trail.
Our main issue was that we knew we would only be hiking around 2 miles each day, so we packed the house. I am guessing Revan's pack weighed close to 100 lbs! He wanted to go swimming in the lake, which was COLD, so he actually packed a wetsuit. Yep. You heard right. A wetsuit. I love this picture of him. Whenever I ponder whether to add an additional ounce to my pack weight, I look at this picture and it helps me stay grounded. Those ounces add up!
It didn't take long to hike the short distance from the trailhead to our campsite. We chose "Pack4" since it was pretty close to the halfway point, and we liked the site. I had enough space for 2 tents, and was right on the lake, but off the trail a bit. It had continued to rain off and on, so we had to put up tents in the rain. We strung a plastic tarp over the tent area to give us a place to sit out of the rain. Fortunately Revan was able to get a fire going and the rain let up during the night. On Saturday, the sun broke through and the lake was really beautiful. We managed to get some fishing in, and Revan got to use that wetsuit he had packed! The dogs had a blast playing in the lake. This was a relaxing day just hanging out at the lake. We packed up early Sunday morning, and hiked back along the East side of the lakes back to the trailhead. Logging has eliminated almost all of the old growth pine forests in this region, but there are still a few stands left along the east side of Blueberry Lake. It really changes the feel of the forest when you enter a grove of pine. Somehow seems like coming home, or seeing an old friend... This hike is perfect for introducing someone to backpacking. It's short, fairly easy with enough varied terrain to keep the trail interesting, and a gorgeous lake to camp by. The only other folks we saw while we were here was a group of trail runners who ran by on Saturday. Other than that, we had the trail and lake to ourselves!
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