It's been hot up here on the North Shore of Minnesota. 95% of the folks in the continental US will probably roll their eyes at 85 degrees being considered "hot", but we just don't get a lot of blazing heat up here. There's a reason why
Duluth is called the "Air-Conditioned City": the breeze off the lake is usually just as good as A/C. I'd wager that it's better than A/C because it's cheaper and better for the environment, too.
Joe and I went to Duluth on Saturday, July 14th for a nice little walk along the the lake. I don't think I've ever seen someone with a big hiking backpack on the
Lakewalk, but it is technically part of the
Superior Hiking Trail. A little something for everyone, right? I wonder if Duluthians say "I'm going for a hike on the Superior Hiking Trail" and then go for a stroll on the Lakewalk. Perhaps these are the same people that go for a hike in the woods and stop for a
bomb pop at the concession stand? Ah well, I will leave my snootiness at the trailhead and accept the wonderful diversity of Minnesota's parks and trails.
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The two-way biking path and the "lakewalk" boardwalk walking path.
This kid had a pretty neat 4-wheel bike contraption...and a yelling mother walking behind him. |
We started out kind of by Lake Avenue.
Canal Park and
Uncle Harvey's Mausoleum were off to the right - both crawling with people. It was around noon and the temperature was rapidly rising. There was a nice slight breeze, but not nearly enough to keep us cool on this mostly treeless path. We walked by the
Northland Vietnam Veterans memorial, many people chilling out on benches by the lake, and we stopped in
Fitgers to look for a cribbage board (couldn't find one). The Lakewalk also parallels the
North Shore Scenic Railroad, whose terminus is a few blocks from my house up north. The train chugged on by as we came up on Fitgers.
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| Hello train! Hope you enjoyed the North Shore! |
We ended our journey at Leif Erickson Park, where my friends Mandy and Mark got married a few years ago. It looked like there was another wedding in the works: a bride was running around and I saw a few flowergirls (or "bridelings", as I called them as I searched for the word "flowergirls").
Realizing that it was about 800 degrees outside, we turned around and headed back to the car and the wonderful A/C. We only covered about one mile of the Superior Hiking Trail (one mile out, one mile back) but it was a good way to spend the early afternoon.
Total miles hiked today: 2 (one mile of the SHT)
Total miles hiked (in 2012): 73.9
Total ticks today: Joe - 0; Thunderdog - 0; Elly - 0
Total ticks (in 2012): 46
Do you know how the trail gets down to the lakewalk? I know there is some of the trail up by Enger Tower. Unless it is a spur, i just can't imagine how that works.
ReplyDeleteThought I'd let you know too that we're having a weekend of hashing in Duluth on the 27th through the 29th. If you're interested, let me know. Your dog can send me a message on Facebook if you like (as I don't know very well how blogspot works).