Crosby Manitou State Park to the Finland Recreation Center

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

I got up pretty early because nature called. Then I grabbed by food and kitchen kit out of my backpack, along with some water, and headed up to the picnic table where I had cooked the night before. It wasn’t too far from the Registration Kiosk where I parked. I cooked and ate my usual concoction of hot chocolate and oatmeal, then I headed back to the van.

I took a bunch of stuff out of my backpack and just kept the stuff that I needed for a day hike. I put my SHT Guidebook up on the dash of the van, so the Park Ranger would know I was hiking the trail. I had copies of the section I was going to hike in my map pocket. Then I locked up the van and headed out. It felt good to have a lighter backpack. I headed out the State Park Road to Hwy 7, where I had hitch hiked. The SHT starts up again on the other side of Hwy 7. And when I say it starts up, it really does start up. You’re heading up a hill right away. But I could tell from looking at my McKensie Map that today was going to be a lot easier than yesterday. That’s one of the reasons I carry that map is because it shows the topographical lines. The SHT Guidebook shows them too, but their maps are much smaller. I went up the hill and found an overlook. It was a nice overlook, but all you could see was the next hill over, not even a little beaver pond or something like than. The trail continued in an upward pattern, but this was nothing like the steep hills that I encountered in Crosby Manitou State Park, plus this was a beautiful dry morning. I went over a couple rocky areas and made it up to another overlook. This one was pretty much the same as the first one.

Then the trail went on a slight downhill run. I went over a little creek that had water in it. But it didn’t look very substantial, and wouldn’t be running in August. Then I made it to the Aspen Knob Campsite. I went into the campsite and it had the normal SHT 2 x 12-board campfire seating, but this area had a message on it. It had the words “DEREK NEXT CAMP” written out using twigs. That was pretty interesting. I wondered who Derek was, and if he even saw the message. But whoever he was, he must have arrived late. It seemed like a nice enough campsite, but did have a few rocks in it that you would have to avoid sleeping on.

I went down on the SHT from the Aspen Knob campsite and soon found Blesner Lake Road. It’s surprising how many roads in Minnesota are named after lakes. It’s the Land of 10,000 Roads named after Lakes. This road is a dirt road, but looked better than a normal two-track forest road. And just like the Aspen Knob campsite, it looked to have some rocks in it. I continued back into the woods on the SHT. It was flat for a ways, then it went over a creek. This creek looked a little bigger than the one on Aspen Knob. Then I went up over a little hill and on the other side I made it to Sonju Lake Road, another road named after a lake. This is a much better road, with gravel, than the Blesner Lake Road.

I continued hiking through the low lands. I saw a fresh clear-cut area to the right of the trail. The trail went over a couple small creeks and there were a couple two-track forest road. Then I start hearing rushing water. I had made it up to the East Branch of the Baptism River. There was even a sign for it. I immediately thought I must have missed a campsite, because the next campsite was supposed to be the Blesner Creek Campsite and I had already made it to the East Branch of the Baptism River where there’s supposed to be a campsite called the East Branch of the Baptism River Campsite. This was unusual because the SHT usually has some very well marked campsites.

The East Branch of the Baptism River is a nice little rapid filled river. It isn’t very wide, I’d say about 15 feet, but I was running at a good rate. The trail takes a right at the river and follows its banks through spruce trees. There are a lot of roots that you are walking over here, but at least today the roots are easier to walk on because they are not all wet from the rain like yesterday. I walked along the river and saw a big red metal bridge crossing the river up ahead. I thought maybe the trail would be crossing the river there, but instead this bridge was for the North Shore Snowmobile Trail. I crossed the Snowmobile Trail and continued walking on the SHT next to the river. It wasn’t too far from the Snowmobile Trail that I came up to the campsite. It was the Blesner Creek Campsite, which is kind of weird because it’s located right on the East Branch of the Baptism River. But there’s a creek running right through the campsite, and you guessed it, it was Blesner Creek. This is an odd arrangement for sure. It’s a nice enough campsite. It’s a little small and the tent pads are barren dirt. But it was a different campsite with both a creek and a river next to it, so it might appeal to many people. I kept going on the SHT next to the river.

The river had many rapids and little waterfall. It was a nice stretch of river to walk next to, but not a stunning as the Manitou, Cross or Temperance Rivers. After a half a mile of walking I came up to the East Branch of the Baptism River Campsite. Besides having the river next to it, it also has a creek nearby. But it wasn’t running right through the campsite like Blesner Creek. It was a bright, beautiful morning. I decided I would take a break here. I ate some snacks and drank some water. Then I put my backpack on the bench and laid down with my feet raised up on the backpack. I was taking it easy today. I had all day to get this hike done and I had already done 3.5 miles of the 12 mile hike. I was doing good.

After my break I continued going on the SHT. But now it was travelling a little bit farther away from the river instead of right next to it. After a half a mile I reached a trail junction. The SHT turned to the right and went on a bigger wooden bridge over the river. A spur trail going straight goes to a parking lot on Sonju Lake Road. I headed across the river. The river is much calmer here than I had seen it before. The bridge went over the river, then there was a wooden boardwalk on the over side going over a marshy area before getting to dry land. The trail headed away from the river and was travelling through the lowlands. It had all types of trees from pine to spruce to birch. The trail crossed a two-track forest road then went up over a knoll with a little view. It went down from the knoll then went over a sunny creek with some yellow flowers in it. I think they’re called Marsh Marigolds.

I was walking along the SHT then all of a sudden without warning I came up to the North Sonju Lake Campsite. I say without warning because usually you see the lake first then eventually you see the campsite on the lake. So I pulled into the campsite and the funny thing was that you couldn’t see very much of the lake from the campsite either. You had to walk down a trail through some pines and you came out at the lake. It had a marshy shoreline too, and a little boardwalk going out so you could get water. But this boardwalk had seen better days because it was under water. The campsite was at the very end of this long thin lake, but because of the configuration, you could only see that end of the lake. I explored the campsite some more then headed on the SHT again.

Then after hiking a while with the lake barely visible off to my right, I came up to a boardwalk going out to an Island. There was a sign saying “No Camping, No Fires.” I took the boardwalk out to the island. The boardwalk went through a marshy area, then connected with the island. I’d say the boardwalk was about 25 yards long, and it was in mostly good condition. I made it to the Island and this was the cutest little island ever. It’s called Lilly’s Island after a dog that came along on trail building trips. Evidently the dog liked the island. Perhaps the dog went out on the island before there was a boardwalk there. If it was a big water loving dog that might have happened. Perhaps it’s a trailblazing dog that discovered the route through the marsh.

When I went out on the island there was a loon swimming about 15 yards to the north of the island, and it was calling back and forth to another loon down on this long thin lake. And of course, there was yet another loon in the vicinity now that I was on the Island. There is a trail register box on the island, so I wrote a little note in the logbook. I actually decided to do a video here, and I got some footage of the loons calling each other. Great stuff.

After spending some quality time on the Island, I took the boardwalk back to the main SHT. After that I came to the South Sonju Lake Campsite. And the funny thing about this campsite is that there isn’t much of a view of the lake. There’s a grove of pine trees between the lake and the campsite. There is a water trail that goes through the pines, but you can barely see the lake from the campsite. It’s a nice big Multigroup Campsite that even has a grill to cook on. And the best thing about this campsite is that you’re only about 100 yards away from Lilly’s Island, a great place to hang out.

After the South Sonju Lake Campsite the SHT goes up a little hill where you have a little view of the lake. At least if you’re hiking northbound you’re going to have a warning that you’re coming up to the lake. The SHT goes slightly uphill then goes over a big bald rock and continues in a downhill then flat pattern. Every once in a while I’d see a small boulder that the glacier had placed there. Then I saw some water again. It was the beaver pond mentioned in the SHT Guidebook. I when over an old style bridge over the creek below the beaver dam. This bridge wasn’t made out of 2x12 boards like most of the other SHT bridges. This one was made of logs that were sawed flat by a chainsaw. Then the SHT goes on an uphill run. It’s not too bad of an ascent and all of a sudden you’re at a cliff with some rock outcropping overlooks. You go along these cliffs for a hundred yards, then you’re on a fairly flat trail again over the next half mile or so.

Then you see a lake down the hill off to the right of the trail. It’s a fairly big lake so it must be Egge Lake. This Lake gives you plenty of warning that you’re coming up on it because you keep seeing it every once in a while as you’re hiking. The trail goes a near some glacial rock features including some shoulder high boulders and some rock shelves on the top of the ridge. Soon I came up to the Old Trapper’s Cabin which is completely destroyed. It looks like it fell in on itself. At any rate, you don’t see stuff like that too much on the SHT so it’s an oddity.

The trail goes on a slightly downhill run after the ruins and soon I was at the spur trail to the North Egge Lake Campsite. I went down the spur trail and saw another trail heading to the right. It was the Latrine Trail. I checked it out and continued down the main campsite trail into the campsite. The campsite has a row of small pine trees blocking the view of the lake. But still, this campsite was very near the lake and had a descent view. All in all it’s a nice campsite.

I headed up the campsite trail back to the main SHT. It wasn’t very far and I made it to the South Egge Lake Campsite. This one had pretty much the same set up as the North Campsite. It was very near the lake, but had a few trees between the lake and the campsite. But there was one opening where you had a good view of the lake. And this campsite had something else, a bunch of beer cans scattered around the campfire area. I picked them all up and put them in a plastic bag that I previously had my snacks in. It was a disappointing sight to see, but I took care of it, and I was going to hike the trash out.

I decided this was where I was going to take a break. There was a nice shady and grassy spot at this campsite. I decided to put down my backpack to use a pillow and take a little nap. I was in the take it easy mode today, and so far the trail had accommodated with no really bad uphill stretches. It’s been pretty easy hiking today and all I had left was 2.3 miles. I was doing good. After my nap I proceed on the SHT going on a bridge over Egge Creek. It was a nice flowing creek with lots of little rapid areas going over rocks. Then the trail went back near the banks of Egge Lake where there were two benches. I continued on and found a little campfire area next to the lake. This looked like a fishing hole to me.

Finally the trail went away from the lake. It went on a slight uphill run through a thinned out mature forest then a slight downhill run. I was seeing a few boulders along the way dropped here by the Glacier. Most of these boulders were about the size of a bedroom dresser. Soon I came to a little bridge over a creek. After crossing the bridge I met Sue and Bonnie from Battle Lake, MN. I’d say they were in their 40’s or 50’s and looked to be very dedicated day hikers. They had on hiking pants and small backpacks with water lines over their shoulder. Plus they both had a hiking pole. They said they were on vacation and just day hiking the trail. I said Egge Lake would be coming up pretty soon. Then after that the highlights of the trail would be the ruins of the Old Trapper’s Cabin and the small Island out on Sonju Lake. I asked them where Battle Lake was and they said it was over in the western part of the state south of Devil’s Lake. I told them that the NCT was building some new trail over there near Frazee, and they should go check it out. I took their photo and gave them an “I Saw Tman” card. Then I was on my way.

I went over a fairly long boardwalk then a short staircase. Wow, I hadn’t seen very many stairs today, and that was a blessing. Then the trail goes on a slightly downhill run. On the way down it gets to a snowmobile trail that’s also used for dogsledding races. After that the trail continues on a slightly downhill run through a young forest all the way to Hwy 7. It was about 3 pm when I made it out to the Hwy. I had made good time hiking that section. I hiked down Hwy 7 past the Finland Recreation Center and continued towards town. I realized that if I had planned properly that I should have stashed my mountain bike called blackie at the Finland Recreation Center Trailhead. Then I could have just rode my bike into town. Blackie has been tied up in the back of my van all this trip, and I haven’t used it yet. So, I walked the two miles into town and went to the West Branch Bar where Dave was having a beer. He laughed because he just came down Hwy 7 about 45 minutes ago and he didn’t see me. He was fishing up that way.

Dave finished his beer then drove me up to Crosby Manitou State Park. I gave him $20 and he was on his way. I drove back down to the Finland Community Center Parking Lot and set out my Spot Messenger to mark the end of my hike for the day. After the Spot Messenger sent its message, I decided to go explore a few things. I drove into the Finland and went to the Finland Cooperative Store. This store has a little bit of everything. It was part hardware store and part grocery store. This is a great place for a hiker to resupply. It even had Denatured Alcohol back in the hardware department for Backpacker’s Alcohol Stoves. Of course it’s mainly used by painters, that’s why the store has it.

Then I headed to the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center. So I drove up Hwy 6 and turned right at the nice sign marking the driveway to the center. The Driveway went downhill for quite some time then went up a newer science building and then there was an older camp style building that had the office in it. I was planning to hike to the Center the next day, then ride my bike back to Finland. But the long driveway up to Hwy 6 looked like a pain to bike on. I went into the office and told the lady that I was hiking the Superior Hiking Trail and I wanted a map of the grounds because I would be hiking that section the next day. She gave me a map and I studied it. From looking at the map, it didn’t seem like hiking to the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center was that great of an option. I would have to hike up to the center from the Kennedy Creek Area, then there was the long gravel driveway going out to Hwy 6. I’d have to think about what I would do. I thanked the lady for the map and said that I appreciated them having the SHT on their land. Then I left.

But now I decided I would just take it easy. I would drive into Silver Bay and stay at the AmericInn Lodge. So, that’s what I did. I asked for a room near a door, so that’s what they gave me, a room at the far end of the hotel near the door at that end. I bought my clothes duffle bag and my technology backpack in to the Hotel Room. The first thing I did was get the battery charger out of the technology backpack, and started charging some camera batteries. The second thing I did was go in the bathroom and start water going in the bathtub. I was going to have a nice hot bath just to relax my aching bones and to clean up. I hopped in and stayed in there for a long time. Boy, did that feel good.

Then after relaxing I got myself washed up. I felt good to be clean again, because I hadn’t had a bath or shower for 5 days. At the Cobblestone Cabins I only had a sponge bath because the water wasn’t running yet. I got dressed in some street clothes, not backpacking clothes, and went down by the front desk. They have a computer station in the lobby and I proceeded to write a post for my facebook page and well as the SHT Hiker Group. Then I asked the desk clerk where a good place to eat was around here. I was worried that there wouldn’t be many places open so early in the season. She told me about the Northern Lights Café down near Beaver Bay. So, I went down to my room, got my coat on and headed out. I drove down to the Northern Lights Café and pulled into the parking lot. It didn’t appear to be very busy. I walked inside and this place was part book stove, gift shop and restaurant. It had a north woods décor with an elk hanging on the wall and an owl carved into a big chunk of wood. I ordered a hamburger and a beer, then I started reading a local advertisement newspaper. My hamburger and beer were good. The Northern Lights Café’ was good, but I’d rather have gone to a bar that has good food. But there are not many places open this time of year.

I went back to the AmericInn and changed into my swimming suit. I wasn’t planning on doing much swimming. I just wanted to use the hot tub. I hopped in the hot tub and that’s where I met Tait, his sister and father. Tait is a local Silver Bay man whose sister and father were visiting from Michigan. So, he came down to the Hotel to visit with them. Evidently, Tait fixes Computers. I guess you need someone like that in every town nowadays. I told them that I was backpacking the Superior Hiking Trail and I decided to take it easy for one night and stay at the hotel. We had a nice conversation, then Tait and his sister decided to give the pool a try. I wasn’t going over there. I just wanted to relax in the hot tub. At the point when I was getting too overheated, I just got out and went back to hotel room. It felt good to sleep in a real bed for a change.