Well, are you sick of my North Shore adventure shares yet? I hope not, but if you are, I don’t blame you…it’s a bunch of photos of landscapes that I found fascinating, but that’s just me. You know how it is; you go somewhere new and suddenly everything feels alive and vibrant. That was how the North Shore felt to me, anyway.
This #engagetheweekend has a little backstory to it. The plan last week while on vacation was to get in one hike a day. That usually meant a family hike, which typically entailed me carrying Hattie at various points up and down hilly trails. That was a great method for calorie burns, but rough on this old man’s back. And knees. And shoulders. And arms. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
Last Friday, I got a chance to finally go on a solo hike. While Hattie napped, my wife decided to stay home and read a book…so that was my chance. Therefore, I slipped on the Scarpas and drove 20 minutes to a trailhead I’d been eyeing up since we got there…Section 13.
What is Section 13? It has a curious backstory. The area is near an area called Finland, Minnesota. The trail is actually part of the larger Superior Hiking Trail, which is a 310 mile, well-maintained trail that extends along the North Shore. This trail used to be undeveloped country; many a rock climber would bushwhack their way back into these dense woods to climb routes called “Macho Pitchu” and “Rubble Trouble.” Today, no bushwacking or carabiners are required…just some hiking shoes, bug repellant, and away you go.
Note, I did not bring bug repellant….
The trail is about 3.4 miles round trip, and it has quite a few inclines. The trail started as such:
Not more than 10 steps in, a damn fly got my scent. I of course didn’t have repellent on, nor did I think to bring my Boonie hat with me. So for the first mile of this hike, I spent most of the time listening to a fly buzz around my ears as I tried in vain to run away from it. Horrible start! No photos either!
One mile in, I made the first outlook. Not a bad view at all of the surrounding area.
Then came the final push; this one was tough on a 90F day. The flies were intermittent at that point, so I did have that going for me. Wanting to be as light on my feet as I could, I also failed to bring a water bottle with me. Yet, I wasn’t going to let any of that stop me, so I climbed on. I had beer at the rental, I reminded myself…I could do this.
After a final push to the top, I made it to the top of Section 13:
As advertised, the short hike was worth the effort:
I think I even found the old climbing routes on the side.
The rock on this outcropping is called anorthosite rock, apparently. After researching it a bit, this rock is believed to have been formed during Precambrian times. More old rock to stand on top of…I loved it!
After taking in the incredible views, I took one sweaty selfie to show Liza:
Don’t judge on the whiskers…I get plenty of that from Liza!
Then, away I fled back down the slope. All in, with picture taking included, this back and forth took about 1 hour and 11 minutes. The incline was about 600 feet, so not too bad. My legs felt it a bit, but I knew that cold lake and cold beer were waiting for me back at the lake house. The views still are with me today...
A lot of 'stuff’ has happened over the past year and a half in the world. Everything, at least to me, feels like things are spiraling to some unknown new phase of whatever this is. “Whatever this is” could be society, humanity, consciousness, or something else. I don’t know, to be honest.
Yet with all of the volatility out there, I’ve truly come to learn to appreciate one thing over the past year, like many others in the #weekendengagement community. And that is GET OUTSIDE. To me, that means climbing a hill to take in views of the Mississippi River Valley, or Lake Superior, or in this case, a vast North Shore forest. It means getting out my binoculars to look at the stars above. Or it means getting out in the fields to identify wildflowers, trees, or even wildlife. I used to try to find the meaning of things in the unknown; after the past year, I’ve come to realize that the meaning of things is outside of my front door.
Sure, I could have lounged around the rental that day and watched my favorite YouTube channels as I did when I worked from home last year. It’s easy to live vicariously through that type of content. Yet, a pull came to me last Friday to do this hike; it was honestly a random spot I found in a book. It wasn't overly difficult, it was very buggy, the weather was very hot, and the air quality was very poor due to all the wildfires to the west of me…yet I did it. And I felt more alive during the experience of it all. There is something to be said for that, in some weirdly mystical way…
So, there it is; off my soapbox of self-drama! Hoping everyone had a wonderful weekend too! Also, don’t fret; I think the North Shore photograph shares are now done too. I hope they brought some sense of the vastness of nature I was lucky to experience to everyone.
Until next weekend, I hope everyone has a wonderful week. Oh yeah, and get outside! You’ll thank me for it! And if you managed a fun hike last weekend, please drop a line and share below - thanks, as always, for swinging by!