Wednesday Wander: Gooseberry Falls, June 26th

Well.  The Wednesday Wander was a good idea, but changes at work make it unlikely that I'll be able to go out on Wednesdays for the foreseeable future.  I will continue to do mid-week hikes (Mid-week Wanders?), but no promises!

It was muggy to rainy on Wednesday, June 26th.  The original idea was to head up to Tettegouche, but the amount of fog seeping onto Highway 61 made me think twice about that idea.  Instead, we turned into Gooseberry Falls.  Time to see what was on the River View trail - the one down to the lake that we tried to take earlier this year, but couldn't due to flooding.  

Gooseberry Falls from far away

Gooseberry Falls during tourist season is usually a crazy mass of humanity.  In the past I have avoided the more popular parts of the park and investigated the mysterious outer trails.  The River View trail goes by the campground, so it's by no means a quiet, isolated place for a walk.   I was surprised though - once we got about halfway to the beach, we didn't see anyone else until we got to the campground.  We had Agate Beach all to ourselves.

Funny, this doesn't taste like agates

The Gooseberry Falls campground has a few real gems from the CCC era: a pump house down by the lake, and a beautiful picnic shelter.  Thunderdog and I went inside: it was deserted, but still had a wonderful campy smell.  Thunderdog was particularly interested in the fireplace, full of cool ashes and probably bits of roasted weenies.  The campground itself essentially empty.  Lots of tents and signs of people - but they must have all been out enjoying the North Shore.  It was actually a bit eerie.

I love CCC stonework!

Once we went around the edge of the campground, we picked up the Gitchi Gammi trail for the walk back to the car.  At first I felt sad about leaving the lakes edge - but the encroaching fog would have made it impossible to see any great views.

There is an old pier back there...really!

I can now safely say that I have hiked on the majority of Gooseberry Falls' trails.  There are probably a few connecting trails that I've never been on, but for the most part - yep, it's back-of-my-hand territory.  I think that the trails along the river are my favorites - Fifth Falls, the SHT that goes up the southwest side of the river - but I also dig the Hiking Club trail that goes up on the bluff.

And the paved Gitchi Gammi bike trail has its place, too.

Total miles hiked today: 3
Total miles hiked in 2013: 47.9
Total Superior Hiking Trail miles hiked in 2013: 10.9
Total ticks today: 2
Total ticks in 2013: 44