Minnesota Hiking Club
#44 - Schoolcraft State Park
Date Hiked: February 24th, 2025
Other Hikes That Day: Scenic State Park
Wanderloon Ranking System Score: 2.75
This was one of those days where I was amused by the two parks I planned to do being right next to each other in the Passport booklet. That also happened with Crow Wing and Charles Lindbergh, and probably others too.
This was also one of those days where Minnesotans treat it like the summer and most others still think of putting a coat on. Naturally I abandoned the unseasonably warm weather and headed north because I make good decisions.
The snow was melting rapidly (this time, it would come back), which made the first hike at Scenic only moderately easier in terms of the trudge factor. Rather than violate the W-code by grabbing nearby Bear Head Lake, Schoolcraft was not only on the way home, but I could also grab the stamp for Cuyana relatively nearby too. Logistics based purely on convenience and abiding by the winter rules that most will never have to consider, because I love doing things the hard way when I don't have to!
The best part of the Schoolcraft Hiking Club trail is its intense focus on the continuing restoration of white pine. For those who don't know the history of Minnesota, non-indigenous folx started arriving here and essentially went "oh my goodness, look at all this beautiful land! The confluence of three distinct types of land coming together! The prairie, the coniferous forest, the deciduous forest, it's so unique! Hey, what if we destroyed all three to make farmland!" Old-growth white pine was abundant in the state, with 3.5 million acres of forest in 1837. In 1936, it had been reduced to 224,000, because why have a thing without nearly wiping it off the map? Thankfully that map had an error at the Lost 40 (more on that in the Itasca entry) or that statistic would be even more depressing.
Schoolcraft's Hiking Club trail takes one through its loop, not only demonstrating the process of restoring the white pine, but detailing the difficulties of doing so because deer tend to wipe out young trees before they even have a chance. It is on the shorter side, and the terrain isn't particularly difficult, or it wouldn't be without dodging deep puddles of snowmelt (again, which is no reason to downrate the trail itself, that's literally what happens in this state, ya damn rubes) and still frozen ice sheets. Still, it's a simple walk in the woods that's given a much greater appreciation for its existence based on the historical and restorative contexts in which the details are displayed and explained thoroughly. It's one thing to learn about it, it's one thing to see it, but combining the two and showing someone reasons they should appreciate what they're experiencing in the moment is a really effective utility that I wish more of the parks' Hiking Club trails did.
Being near Deer River always makes me nostalgic for my first trip north, and this park gives those same ethereal vibes I so fondly remember.
When else do Minnesotans get to say "ya rubes" than explaining the mud?
ReplyDeleteI have no idea. But I can't think of a better thing to call those people in the trail reviews. It's good for information, but to trash a rating for mud during spring thaw as if the trail itself did it? RUBE.
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