Minnesota Hiking Club #3 - Glacial Lakes State Park

 

Minnesota Hiking Club

#3 - Glacial Lakes State Park

Date Hiked: February 25th, 2025

Other Hikes That Day: None

Wanderloon Ranking System Score: 4.33

What do you hear, Starbuck (Minnesota)?

Nothin' but the rain, Sir. 

I could've unwisely attempted this hike after I felt the air at Monson Lake drop 20 degrees in a few minutes, but then I wouldn't have had this life-changing moment of solitude. 

I experienced all four seasons in a single 5-mile hike, though a confusing sign led me to add an extra mile along a ridge that was not part of the Hiking Club trail. I could've looked at my AllTrails map, but I was lost in the spectrum of joy that I couldn't yet explain. Starting off climbing an icy hill, it gave way to mud that was much harder through which to trek in ice spikes, and the ice melted enough to be running water by the time I finished off the stem before the loop. The autumn vibes of crunching leaves were still present in later wooded areas, but the summer on my skin commenced at the pinnacle of this Hiking Club trail in ways that are difficult to truly communicate. I have it on video, but as I have chosen to remain anonymous for this series, I won't be sharing that part of it here.

I don't know why. It could've just as easily been any hike, but giant brown rolling hills, the geography of glacial lakes past and present, splendorous views of the rurality below, or maybe I was finally seeing the light in my soul after midnight crested over my heaviest of tears, but it happened nonetheless.

I could've been mad about all the dog shit on the trail, which I guess people just leave when it's cold because that makes it okay. I could've compared the glacial potholes to those of Taylor's Falls and lamented the lack of rocky riverside ridges. I could've even been annoyed by how hard it was to pull my spikes out of incredibly soft, spongy mud.

Instead, I let me out. The real me. The E.A. Moon hidden behind the foggy night. Fluorescent joy and eccentric movements, skipping along the path without a care in the world, ripping my shirt off in the sun and unleashing unfiltered joy from the aerial position atop the crest while only wearing a sports bra. I was fearless as Kara Thrace, shameless and joyous all the same, refusing to take the shitty hand dealt to me and (metaphorically) punching my alleged superior right in the fuck rather than bend to its demands of conforming and toning it down. 

I didn't see a single person along this hike, and perhaps many chose other places to spend this unseasonably warm day. That's fine, the only people I wanted to see were far away. That's why I recorded the unfiltered elation of the real E.A. Moon leaving the foggy clouds behind for them to see. Glacial Lakes State Park was transformative, atop a land geographically transformed by glaciers retreating. 

My spiritual handcuffs of restrictive ice were also forced into retreat. 

No regrets.