Hobo Dinners on the North Shore
Jojo and I got back from a wonderful trip to the North Shore/Superior Hiking Trail. We drove up Friday morning, stopped for groceries and a coffee at The Wedge and then to Duluth to meet Kari. We drove to Temperance River State Park and set up a tent and then set out for a short hike. We followed a path on the north side of the Temperance River that had some falls and bends in the river. The season is so wet that the rivers were flowing so strong with many rapids. We decided to turn around when we realized it would get dark soon. We started to make supper and it got dark but we made a delicious hobo dinner with red potatoes, green beans, onions, chorizo sausage and butter wrapped in aluminum foil; an old standby from camping as a kid. It was a great day and we both agreed we were enjoying ourselves very much and made plans for the next day.
On Saturday we packed up our camp, then hiked up to Carlton Peak which had a vast overlook of the Sawtooth Mountains. It rained on the way back down and we got pretty wet, especially our shoes; so we drove to Cascade River State Park and set up camp and started a fire so that we could dry out our shoes. It sprinkled on and off. After a couple hours of drying shoes and lunch, we took a path on the south side of the Cascade River. There we some great cascades and drops rushing through gorges and in and out of kettles.We went up to Lookout Mountain where there was another great view. On our way back down we took a trail that went along the south side of the river that was along the river this time and it was full of rooty paths and beautiful. We decided that we would take this route tomorrow, so we turned around about a mile down the path and went back to camp for summer, where we made the same thing as the night before.
On Sunday we hiked on the north side of the Cascade River for a planned 7-mile loop. At first we were high above the gorge and then the trail went down close to the river and back up high again. It was great to sit down on a rock jutting out into the rapids and eat our lunch. This was the longest hike we did and we ended up coming back along the path from the day before but this time we stopped at Chad Falls, which were hidden back in a hidden gorge. When we got back we drove up to Grand Marais to get some groceries and then to the Kadunce River and hiked up that trail to a backpacking site about a mile off of Lake Superior. This was our favorite campsite as it was secluded. We bathed in the river and then made a large fire and cooked lentils and beans over it. It was a great night to not hear anything but the rushing creek. We both agreed this was one of the highlights of the trips.
Monday we woke, had breakfast, broke down camp and hiked back down the trail to the car. We drove to Judge CR Magley State Park and hiked up the Brule River, stopped to look at the Devil’s Kettle Gorge and hiked for another couple miles where we stopped and rested by the river for a break; then returned back to the car and drove home. We both agreed this is something we would like to do much more and even made a plan to return in the fall. I had so many nostalgic feelings for all the outdoor things I did as a kid and the summers I would have. I am grateful that I can feel that I actually had a summer this year.