Minnesota Hiking Club #8 - Judge C.R. Magney State Park

 

Minnesota Hiking Club

#8 - Judge C.R. Magney State Park

Date Hiked: February 15th, 2025

Other Hikes That Day: Grand Portage State Park

Wanderloon Ranking System Score: 4.17

"I can't believe you thought that was an appropriate thing to ask!" 

Not how I would've normally expected to start out a top-ten hike essay, but despite how amazing this place is, even all this time later, I can't escape the prevailing incredulity I felt while I was there. I mentioned it in the Grand Portage essay, and I'll elaborate further here. 

But first, the park itself. After several attempts ere to start with Grand Portage and work my way down, there were only three North Shore parks left, and reading the reviews of George C. Manitou made that one feel unadvised. That turned out to be a good decision, given how it went a month later after more warmer temperatures, but I digress. Grand Portage and Magney were left, and they were very far away. Magney was closer, and even that took going through Grand Marais to get there. Whatever, it was that holiday weekend I don't care about, but the loneliness factor was getting to me, so I drove very, very far away to go on a hike and forget about life for a while. 

The straight couples did not allow me to do that. 

I don't blame them for being there. It was a nice day for February near Canada. The hills in the snow are picturesque, there's a kettle waterfall, it's a long way up and a long way back down, then back over again on the return. Maybe it's just the avid hiker in me annoyed with non-avid hikers unfairly, but when the trail is a very narrow path carved out of the snow, perhaps one selfie and not 38 would be sufficient? There are courtesies on the trail, even for tourists who aren't hikers, but not standing in the way while people are waiting to get around seems like it'd be among them. 

I don't seek out conversation. I'm originally from the east coast, but I've at least put on the mask to play the part out here in the Midwest. A brief, formulaic exchange with one person in one of these couples transpired, it was fine, commented on my trekking poles and how they should get some, but then this person asked, "so, couldn't get a date this year, huh?"

Granted, I was the only solo hiker. Everyone I encountered, which was a lot compared to most of this speedrun, seemed to be in a couple. I have special people. They were other places, like the ocean. The far northeastern tip of Minnesota is... not the ocean. I was trying to get away from that void. I didn't care about the day itself, I just missed them terribly. 

But what in the blue Minnesota Nice Hell made someone think that was an appropriate thing to ask a person? I'm not single, but even with the other factors, what if they didn't also feel like driving five hours, hiking steep slopes in the snow, and walking out on a frozen river to see a waterfall? 

This trail was snowy awesomeness, I should've remembered more about that.