Superior Hiking Trail #1-5 - 131st Ave. W to Becks Rd. Trailhead

 

Superior Hiking Trail

Map 1 - Section 5

131st Ave. W. to Becks Rd. Trailhead

Date Hiked: April 26th, 2025

Other Sections Hiked That Day: Map 1 - Section 3, Map 1 - Section 4

"How much harder could 2.4 miles be?" my mind taunted me with that silly question on repeat as I pushed myself toward my pickup location when I could've gotten off my feet sooner at 131st. My ride had even offered to pick me up there, but no, I had to push on for some impractical idea of outdoing my first hike with three sections instead of two, which mattered to me and literally nobody else. All the while, news of my Browns selecting Shedeur Sanders reached my fleeting data signal long enough for flashbacks of the circus around Johnny Football to flood my brain. At least those were nicer than other mental torment chambers from which hiking was often an escape? Even mushroom clouds have silver linings. 

After the jaunt down by the river, where I did not see Matt Foley but instead thought of a pleasant memory drifting along the river toward Duluth, I was now back with the bare branches, crossing bike trail junctions, and inching my way closer to Becks Road, where there would be graciously-provided beverages and no more need to climb up hills. The inclines on this trail are like the area itself gained sentience around the time the term "flyover country" became colloquial, and therefore the trail had to punish everyone for the commonality of such a thought. "I'll show you flyover country, climb up this flat, boring plain, bitch!" After 10+ miles and several hours, the internal monologue's perception of difficulty may have been exaggerated slightly, but without that, all that remains is the cautiously-guarded optimism someone from Cleveland gently pushes out into the universe, knowing that other shoe's gonna drop like a fourth down pass right on the numbers. 

What was even running through my head at this point? I'm not pretending it's organized or sensical, I'm just a travel essayist telling the events as I experienced them. What, you don't also have thoughts like "oh god, my team's up by 26, now they've got us exactly where they want us!" I'm not saying it's rational. 

A similar level of relatable jadedness seemed to greet me along this relatively short section, where a sign pointed me toward an "Unimpressive Overlook." 

Sign me up for some of that irony! 

Said overlook is the first picture on this post, and as you can see, even without any leaves on the trees, the overlook just doesn't have the self-confidence necessary to own exactly what it is. With Ely's Peak looming nearby on the next NOBO section, it must be hard to get worked up and excited about showing off what you got.

With the Beck's Road trailhead mere dots away on my tracker, I looked up at the steep ridge giving me its forest middle finger taunt. For the first time since Split Rock with no spikes, I ate it hard and my water bottle slid to the bottom. Flyover country indeed, having pushed on yet again in a way nobody asked of me.

Superior Hiking Trail #1-4 - Grand Portage Trailhead to 131st Ave W. Trailhead

Superior Hiking Trail

Map 1 - Section 4

Grand Portage Trailhead to 131st Ave. W. Trailhead

Date Hiked: April 26th, 2025

Other Sections Hiked That Day: Map 1 - Section 3, Map 1 - Section 5

After rugged and remote scenes taking over shortly after leaving Jay Cooke State Park, or at least the visitor's center area, the riverside stroll wasn't the only surprising sudden change, and not just realizing that I was still within the bounds of the massive aforementioned state park's grounds. The trailhead had groups of people heading in either direction, and the road nearby had somewhat regular traffic. To go from near isolation to seeing human congregation and vehicular consistency was the inverse of the journey into the wilderness from the previous post, and this is only the halfway point of a single hike. 

No matter how many times I get reacquainted with the St. Louis River, one memory in particular will always resurface. A short-lived but nonetheless impactful relationship I had in 2018 gave me an unusual adventure where my special interest in trains combined with a love of kayaking, and I ended up with a hand-crafted wooden loon that still remains prominently displayed on my bookshelf to this day. That was the day I did the Choo-Choo Paddle, where an excursion train dropped us off six miles from the marina, and we paddled back on the St. Louis River by ourselves on a perfect day for weather and affection that would soon regrettably dissipate. Now, seven years later and being a completely different person in countless ways, the river and I caught up like old friends at a high school reunion. There was no animosity or frustration expressed over the duration between visits, but circumstances necessitated the encounter's brevity, and one bend in the trail later left me once again on a short overlook spur, hiking away from my lost contact before I even realized it was over. Such is the nature of a new trail, but lost connections can be such sweet sorrow. 

The white pines were comforting, drifting in the wind with the recognition of someone encountering the steep inclines on which they've been rooted for generations. They were nice enough to provide me with the brief reprieve of a stone bridge before giving me the choice of ending at the 131st Ave. Trailhead or moving on to the Beck's Road stop a mere 2.4 miles farther. I opted for the latter, though I was halfway down the spur route to the trailhead before realizing my error. 

Cell phone signal reconnections were brief and fleeting, but I did manage to alert the person gracious enough to provide me with transport as to where I'd need to be picked up. How much harder could a few miles be on such a glorious sunny Saturday after all? The previous weekend, I'd added 10+ miles after the initial 8.5 of this trail, it couldn't be that bad without having to double back, right? 

Being too exhausted to bother looking for the nearby Geocaches answered that question for me. I once again reminded myself that I'd spent most of the winter hiking trails that were 6 miles or less. 

Alas.

Minnesota State Parks Revisited - Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park

 

Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park

Date Hiked: June 6th, 2025

Trail Hiked: Hidden Falls, Fawn, Hope, Beaver, Maple Big Woods, and Fox Loop 

Distance Hiked: 10.6 miles

Elevation Gain: 830 feet

Duration: 3h 21m

I have previously described the Hiking Club trails as the appetizer for what the rest of the park has to offer. Afton, for instance, had a small loop that teased the prairie, woods, and some of the ridges along the river, only to later unveil longer, more difficult trails with better views that made the Hiking Club trail disappear like mist upon the morning on the lake. 

In this case, the Hiking Club trail is like getting dessert first and then wondering why they're so hesitant to bring you the meal you ordered in the first place. 

Maybe that sounds mean, or harsh, or like I don't want the park to exist anymore, and that'd be fair, given that I don't often extend any level of hostility or negativity toward state parks, especially in this day and age. And I admit the possibility of everything just seeming lonely and cavernous as I felt isolated and distant from everything and everyone no matter what I did could also have been an influence to my experience. 

But while the Hiking Club trail itself was quite good, well-maintained, and traversed the land near the small waterfall with a good quality short hike, going deeper into the woods of the Big and Nerstrand variety only made me feel like either I shouldn't have been there at all, or that nobody else spent much time doing so. 

Granted, this is June in Minnesota. The mosquitos were thick and the humidity thicker. The morning dew is replaced by the sweat of the grass, the trees dripping like they'd just filmed a Gatorade commercial. Cedar: Just Do It. If you're from the Midwest, you know exactly the kind of day I'm describing. If you don't, imagine the woods where you're from. Put them through a rainstorm. Get bit. Feel like spiderwebs are wrapping you up like you're about to get paralyzed and taken to the Cirith Ungol. Throw all your clothes in a swamp then put them back on. Take cold water, heat it up like you're about to make soup, then dip your face in it and try not to overheat. Do all those things, then go try to walk a hiking trail that is spongy, muddy, and mostly is made of tire tracks going through six-inch grass, and that was June 6th revisiting a state park for me that day. 

If you want a hike that's longer than a novice jaunt, I'd suggest staying on the falls trail and doing that five or six times, unless you're really into unkept, deep woods mosquito farms. I'm not saying I dislike the park itself, only that the upkeep and maintenance seems to stick to the initial trail most are likely to traverse upon arrival. While that's not necessarily bad for first visits and just starting out, my mission around this time was to pick the most difficult trail a park had to offer and add that to my verified complete list. I sure got that, at least. 

Superior Hiking Trail #1-3 - Jay Cooke State Park to Grand Portage Trailhead

 

Superior Hiking Trail

Map 1 - Section 3

Jay Cooke State Park to Grand Portage Trailhead

Date Hiked: April 26th, 2025

Other Sections Hiked That Day: Map 1 - Section 4, Map 1 - Section 5

Finally, a NOBO hike where I didn't have to worry about how to get back to the starting point! Although, of all the places on the trail where that would be a concern, a parallel with the Munger trail was probably among the most convenient of options. Not only was it rail grade and paved, but being the trail on which I'd recorded my longest hike to date (as of this writing on May 9th), familiarity was a bonus too, considering the dense remoteness of the majority of the Superior Hiking Trail. 

It's amazing how quickly this trail transitions from "hanging out with everyone at the state park" to "when did I get out of the Red Lodge and why is everyone calling me Dougie?" The Northwoods in general have a knack for that skill, but it never becomes less surprising. With Jay Cooke in the proverbial rearview, I straddled the line of intentional isolation among its copious ridges. Turning around a bend, I'd be traversing the ledge of one, spotting another several hundred yards away, and nothing but cavernous abyss between them. Then, without fail, a descent worthy of the hopes and dreams of northeast Ohioan football fans would bring the trail to a creek whose idea of a bridge was "hop on that rock and hope it's steady." Continuing on, almost immediately, the upward trajectory brought the trail back to the other side of that ridge, where I could look back fondly and realize that even a year ago, I'd have been struggling and sore from those two elevation changes, and not just because I hadn't yet discovered the magic of trekking poles. I'd feel really good about myself, and then inevitably be passed in either direction by a trail runner. 

Trail runners simultaneously reminded me of two very different things:

- For all the physical progress and endurance I've gained since becoming a serious hiker, they're on a level I cannot even begin to comprehend. I didn't even like to run playing team sports when I had to. Doing it by choice on such terrain blew my mind. But also...

-The level of difficulty on this trail mostly keeps it limited to those who are serious and dedicated to trail activity, as compared to my "couldn't find a date today/let's take that 38th selfie while blocking the narrow trail" excursion to Judge CR Magney State Park back in February. At some point, maybe by the time you're reading this, I'll have revisited that section as part of the Superior Hiking Trail as opposed to the Minnesota Hiking Club, which now seems like a distant childhood memory of whimsical proportions. 

The timing of this hike presented me with views that would likely very soon be covered up by dense leaves and swarms of bugs. The St. Louis River peeked out beyond thousands of temporarily empty branches, before it would inevitably greet me upon the second section of this hike. 

I wasn't anywhere near ready to be done yet. 

Minnesota State Parks Revisited - Wild River State Park

 

Wild River State Park

Date Hiked: April 14th, 2025; June 15th, 2025; 

Trail Hiked: River Trail Loop; Nevers Dam to Walter Mondale River Trail to Old Logging Trail; 

Distance Hiked: 11.8 miles; 3.71 miles;

Elevation Gain: 289 feet; 121 feet

Duration: 3h 43m; 1h 25m

To first explain the second entry in this revisiting travelogue, a novice hiker wanted to come with me to a state park that day. Given that it was a weekend, some of the ones near the Cities tend to fill up really fast, and this is someone who hadn't been hiking before, I decided that the Hiking Club trail for Wild River would be a perfect fit for such an occasion. While it would not normally take me over an hour to complete this trail, especially without ice or mud, my pace was not the priority on this occasion. Introducing someone to a real hike rather than being on a treadmill, and enjoying my time with someone who doesn't come outside very often, that was the focus of the hike on June 15th. 

Early in the morning, we set out on a familiar loop, though I did the route in reverse. I figured some flat terrain to get D going before having them deal with inclines and declines would be more prudent to their experience. Plus, I had a feeling that after they did the one uphill portion of the trail, they'd be ready to be done, and this turned out to be accurate. That is not a slight on them, for the record. I am used to hiking for the sake of elevation gain and trying to push myself. If this wasn't D's first ever actual hike, it wasn't much higher on the list than that, and I wanted to be respectful. 

Despite getting the "I can't keep up with you" spoken at me by pretty much everyone who is interested in spending time with me, I am more than aware that I'm the one who is unique, in that I put considerable time and effort to being able to hike the times and distances I do. Of course I'm going to meet someone where they are. What kind of a terrible guide would I be if I expected someone with no experience to go at a pace that took me years of work to build up to? If you want to introduce someone to something you're passionate about, you meet them on their level and teach them things and show them how it's done, not take off at your usual speed and expect them to struggle. That's not how passion gets passed along, and it would be foolish to think otherwise. That is how hobbies die out, when people act like newcomers aren't worth the time and energy it takes to show them the ropes. This was a delightful day for them and I was glad to provide a peek into my world. 

The other day? I started off on the Sunrise Loop trail, and bailed. After walking through sand, dodging horseshit, crawling over fallen trees, and otherwise feeling miserable, I took the rural road back before taking a loop around the Hiking Club trail for the extra miles in my total. They can't all be winners, right?

Superior Hiking Trail #1-2 - Jay Cooke State Park to Wild Valley Road

 

Superior Hiking Trail

Map 1 - Section 2

Jay Cooke State Park to Wild Valley Road 

Date Hiked: April 19th, 2025

Other Sections Hiked That Day: Map 1 - Section 1

Grabbing a parking spot early in the day at Jay Cooke State Park was a familiar act. 

A little more than a month prior, I'd done the same thing when I completed the Jay Cooke State Park Hiking Club trail as my first stop of the day. By the time I got back to my car after that three-mile trek, the parking lot was jam-packed. I expected a similar scenario on a day that was even nicer than that one, although I'd be gone much longer this time. 

While I'd decided to begin section-hiking the Superior Hiking Trail, whether or not I'd be going north or south from Jay Cooke was still a question in my mind. It seemed like many people ignored those first two sections to the south, as even AllTrails had a complete route that started from Jay Cooke and concluded at the northern terminus. This likely has to do with the southern portions of the trail, through Duluth and beyond, being much newer than the rest of the trail. Alas, the curse of the completionist struck again, and after turning around several times on the swinging bridge (as rad of a bridge as it was the first time), I was off. 

Two times during the previous summer, I'd attempted sections of the Superior Hiking Trail. Admittedly, doing that while stoned for the first time was a terrible idea, especially as I had no idea how rugged and remote the trail was near the 301 trailhead. A sudden flapping ruffed grouse increased my paranoia, convincing me I'd run into a bear, and I opted to take the road back to my car. I took similar action after hiking a rocky cliffside near Tettegouche later that summer. This time, however, I was prepared. Remoteness, ruggedness, solitude; all things for which 67 state park winter hikes trained me, this time I wouldn't be bailing out to a road after a mile. I'd be bailing out to a road after 8.5 miles, and that's totally different because I completed the sections first! 

The epidemic of AllTrails users downrating trails for having the nerve to be muddy in the spring would've had a field day with this 5.9-mile section of the SHT, because slipping and sliding on these kinds of inclines produce more than a multi-colored pant leg. Without trekking poles, the risk of face-planting and getting nature's chilly skincare treatment becomes an even bigger possibility. I was stunned to still see ice in the valleys, but I had to remind myself that despite sporting my Doc Holliday tanktop, it was 50 in Northern Minnesota that day and only felt like summer because I'd experienced a 70-degree differential from other North Shore hikes within those past three months. 

The hills seem to go straight up, and crossing the stream requires steady rock hopping. The leaves on the trees must make the views even more impressive sight, but not being eaten alive by flies and mosquitos was a considerable compromise. 

Superior Hiking Trail #1-1 - Wild Valley Road to Southern Terminus

 

Superior Hiking Trail

Map 1 - Section 1

Wild Valley Road to Southern Terminus

Date Hiked: April 19th, 2025

Other Sections Hiked That Day: Map 1 - Section 2

I'm not a thru-hiker, not yet. 

Not because I can't do the hikes, but as I stated in the introduction, sleeping outside is not something I'm yet inclined to pursue. Don't get me wrong, I consider it a tremendous amount of progress, considering I wasn't raised in outdoor culture at all and picked everything up on my own. But, while I can be outside from the moment I'm awake, once it's time to get some sleep, the idea of hard ground and canvas surrounding me isn't exactly appealing for a multitude of reasons. Bears, bugs, and other wildlife are a consideration, but even higher on the list is, quite simply, I've been a professional athlete in two different contact sports since I was 20, so... X number of years of impact and recovery on these muscles and bones, well... Air mattresses and the forest floor don't sound conducive to waking up in any condition to continue hiking. Maybe I'll get there someday, but for now, section hiking is my next step up. If that doesn't make me a "real" hiker, so be it, I've never been much of a real anything in various subcultures anyway. 

I started out in Jay Cooke State Park, a familiar sight to my eyes and hiking boots, and I'll detail those six miles in the next post, but suffice it to summarize: it's a bit harder than the Jay Cooke State Park Hiking Club trail, even though the two share the same path heading southbound. While I know that most people hike the SHT northbound, the website said that the Wild Valley Road trailhead was closed, and the Minnesota Hiking Club taught me, if nothing else, trying to work around parking lot closures was a terrible idea, even without several feet of snow on the ground. 

Alas, as I approached the aforementioned trailhead, I saw plenty of cars parked outside the gate on the gravel road, and though AllTrails listed this section as an out-and-back, I wasn't yet sure if I'd be willing to repeat those eight miles on the SHT going the other way. For as difficult as the Prairie and Deer Valley Loop at Afton was, logging in over 16 miles on a trail listed as "hard," half the distance on the SHT was considerably more strenuous, thus the conundrum of the solo section hiker. 

Other than a passing train, I saw nary a presence on this section, which does require southbound traversing, even for Northbound thru-hikers, in order to access. Once I reached the southern terminus and state border, it took a few minutes to decide to continue on the North Country border trail and return to my car another way rather than doubling back. While this may have expanded my overall mile count to 18, traveling on the side of the road until I reached the Wrenshall biking trail, then cutting back in through the West Ridge in Jay Cooke was more appealing than trying to do those two sections again.