On the Trail Again

...and we're back!!  Memorial Day weekend is winding down, and we've been busy on this unofficial first weekend of summer.

Instead of going out for a hike every weekend as in previous years, this year we're going to be doing several mega-hiking weekends.  This is a result of me having to work every other weekend (boooo) and us living in the Cities and not having a base camp on the North Shore (this is a good thing, yay!!).  We're glad to be in the Cities, but we've got this new house to take care of - new to us, anyway - and we won't be skipping off to the forest every chance we get.

Another year of Joe looking at waterfalls!

There are also not that many Minnesota State Park Hiking Club Trails left for us to do - and the ones that are left are all far away and/or not terribly exciting enough to justify their own weekend trip.  So we'll be hitting a whole bunch on several summer hiking weekends...maybe with a few other days scattered in there.  We still plan to finish our All Miles patches by the end of 2015.

Another year of firewood being denied their 1st Amendment rights!

Instead of posting the second we finish a hike, we're going to space them out a bit.  We have SIX posts to write about our Memorial Day trip.  Stay tuned - the posts will appear on Tuesdays.  Happy summer, happy hiking!

An Update from Elly, Joe, and Thunderdog

You may have noticed a bit of radio silence since...oh...last fall.  There are a few very good reasons for that.

First, Thunderdog and I left Two Harbors and moved to Joe's House in St. Cloud.

Then we got married a week later.  

We're both wearing our hiking boots for that hike down the aisle.

Then I got a new job in the Cities, doing what I love most: shushing people.

Then Joe got promoted to a new and exciting position at his current company.

So we bought a cottage in the Cities.

And we are moving in one month.

So yeah, life has been busy!  But fear not, we are still intent on finishing the last 40+ miles left of Minnesota State Park Hiking Club Trails this year.  We're going to try and get our 2014 Year End Retrospectravaganza done soon, so keep an eye out for that.  Once we move, we're going to bike more often, maybe go camping, and do all sorts of other great Outdoorsy Stuff.  So sit back, relax, and wait just a couple more months until we're all settled in our new Base Camp in the Cities. 

Goodbye, Two Harbors

I'm moving today, leaving the lake and the north woods.  Don't worry, the hiking and exploring will continue - I will just have a different home base.  I sure won't have anything like Gooseberry Falls and the Superior Hiking Trail in my backyard, though.  I've been blessed as hell to live up here the last three years.  

I'll never be able to shake it - the pines, the lake, and the wind are a part of me now.

Goodbye, Two Harbors!

Gooseberry Falls State Park: May 21st, 2014...and a big announcement!

FINALLY.

I think that spring lasted about 30 seconds up here on the North Shore...it went right from winter to summer.  The sun is beating down, the snow is melting, and it's light out until 8:30pm.  Time for hiking.

Thunderdog and I went out for a final pre-tourist-season hike at Gooseberry last Wednesday afternoon.  Gone are the days in which ours is the only car in the lot, and the times in which we can go for a hike and not see another soul.  My own personal State Park is overrun from Memorial Day through the end of fall...and that's okay, I guess.  I can't sustain the park on my own!

Come ON come ON come ON we are WALKING!!

Of course, it's still pretty gray and brown out there.  It's chilly down by the lake. On the positive side, there are no mosquitoes and very few ticks out.

Obligatory Gooseberry Falls picture

We are kind of out of shape after the long winter, so we just did the hike out to Fifth Falls and back.  We took the path right next to the river.  Quite a big difference from last year, when many of the paths were underwater.  There was a bit of mud, but it was no big deal.

Muddy path, naked trees

I know that I've gotten kind of spoiled up here.  Gooseberry Falls is, for most people, a vacation destination.  For me, it's a 15-minute drive away and a perfectly normal thing to do on, say, a Tuesday afternoon.  I hope that, in the future, I remember how lucky I was to be able to live right up here on the shore.

Remember the rushing river

I also hope I'll look back fondly on my days of poking around the Superior Hiking Trail in my spare time. Part of the Fifth Falls trail includes a section of the SHT, so I was able to hit both State Park and SHT in one hike.

I love you, blue blazes!

Why am I getting all sentimental?  Well, GUESS WHAT?  Joe and I are getting married at the end of the summer, and I'll be moving back to civilization.  We're hoping to skip right over St. Cloud and head back to the Cities, but a lot depends on where I find a job.  Either way, I'll be leaving my beloved North Shore behind.

Don't worry, folks.  The blog will continue, the hiking will continue - we still have about 30 State Parks to explore before getting the elusive "All Miles" patch.  Instead of being headquartered in Central and Northeastern MN, we're going to be in striking distance of all of the SE Minnesota parks...as well as western Wisconsin.  This is an AWESOME thing and we're really excited!  Here is a picture of the blessed moment:

Holy crap it's an engagement ring!

And, because Joe is the coolest guy on the planet, he got me the perfect ring.  I am much more likely to wear wooden and stone beads than diamonds and pearls.  So my ring is a beautiful dendrite agate.  Here it is:

it's really not this huge.

I promise that this will not become a wedding blog.  But keep in mind that we've got a LOT of non-hiking stuff on our minds this summer...like planning a wedding, moving, me finding a new job, etc.  We'll try to keep up with the blog.  I'll probably be taking lots of "one last time..." hikes to my favorite spots during the week.

And...how does Thunderdog feel about all of this?

I LOVE Joe!  Now come ON come ON come ON we are WALKING!!!

Total miles hiked today: 1.5

Total miles hiked in 2014: 3.5
Total Superior Hiking Trail miles hiked in 2013: .8
Total ticks today: 0
Total ticks in 2014: 0

Coming soon...

Joe and I found some warm weather and sun...in South Dakota and Colorado!  Stay tuned for updates from two National Parks, a National Monument, a garden full of giant rocks, the backcountry of the Rockies, the fourth Major League Baseball park that we've visited in 3 years, and much more.  First I've got to get back to work AND I need to upload all of the pictures!

In the meantime, the temps here on the North Shore of MN are in the 40s-50s...and the solstice is just two weeks away.  Whither art thou, summer?

Important Announcement

Hold on to your hats, Witch of November fans.  There's a lot to write about.  You may have thought that I had dropped off the face of the earth - two weeks without a post!  Well, I was resting up for a Big Trip and Big Fun.

Joe and I took a whirlwind tour of Southern Northwestern Ontario (and far Northeastern and Northern Minnesota) for Labor Day weekend.  We visited four State Parks, one Provincial Park, and much more.  I have enough fodder for about six posts.  There are a lot of pictures to go through, and I need to straighten out which-waterfall-was-in-which-park, etc.  I'd better get started.  Be on the lookout for many posts over the next few days.

Time to get hikin'.