Crow Wing State Park: June 24th, 2013

I think that every single trip I have taken to Crow Wing State Park over the years has involved muggy weather and ticks.  Something about warm, humid summer days must trigger a tiny synapse in my brain, sparking the thought "Hey!  I should go to Crow Wing!".  Unfortunately,  no logic kicks in to say "You know, the last time you were there you became a tick mass transport system.".

Joe looks so hopeful as we head out on the Hiking Club trail.  

See the little wavy sign above the Hiking Club Trail sign that Thunderdog is sniffing?  That's a Cross-Country Ski trail sign.  That particular one means that the XC Ski trail here is easy.  After this hike, we considered coming back to Crow Wing in the winter.  It's only about an hour or so from St. Cloud.

Under the Boardwalk, ticks are walking walking

Wilderness Trail this ain't.  The park is on the abandoned town site of Crow Wing, Minnesota.  It's at the confluence of the Crow Wing and Mississippi rivers.  It was a thriving little community until the train passed it by.  Many towns in this part of the country have that same epilogue: "It was a thriving community until the train passed it by.  The end."  The townsfolk all moved to Brainerd, and I'm sure their descendants still live there today.

This is where Jeb got dysentery, never made it to Oregon

It was a pretty trail: trees created a lovely canopy, great views of the rivers, neat history and some interesting old buildings.  I think that it would have been a perfectly nice hike about three weeks ago, and it will once again be a lovely hike in about three months.  It was just so buggy.  Poor Thunderdog was plagued by a swarm of pesky mosquitoes.  We moved along at a quick pace, which made us even warmer in the muggy heat of the day.

See? It's pretty!

All in all, I wound up with ten ticks on me.  Poor Thunderdog had a grand total of twenty ticks!  I hope that I found them all - she has a tick collar so any that I missed should have been caught by that.  Joe, however, has a new nickname: Ticksbane.  He did not pick up a single tick.  Not sure what his magic is - but I wish I he'd share!


Total miles hiked today: 2.3
Total miles hiked in 2013: 44.9
Total Superior Hiking Trail miles hiked in 2013: 10.9
Total ticks today: 30 (10 on Elly, 20 on Thunderdog, 0 on Joe "Ticksbane")
Total ticks in 2013: 42