Favorite Pictures of 2014 (and plans for 2015)

We have some plans for 2015.  Let's see if we can stick to them!

1.  We have 17 Hiking Club Trails left before getting our All Miles patches.  That's pretty incredible - and we are determined to get it done!  This means that our vacation weekends are going to be taken around Minnesota this year, so we will probably not take any big out-of-state trips.  But we shall see...

2.  We have really sloughed off on biking these last few years.  This year we're dusting off our Huffies and are going to take advantage of the #1 Bike City in the nation...and, of course, some regional and state trails as well.

And now, on to Joe's favorite pictures from the last year.

Ice roots on birches at the Apostle Islands Ice Caves

Mississippi River with train at John A. Latsch (trains + hiking = perfection ;))

Winter is coming

Sun-struck river at Whitewater

Birches in the fall at Mille Lacs - this pic was retweeted by
Minnesota State Parks.  Joe was so proud!

And now for mine:

Happy Thunderdog at Gooseberry Falls. Really, she is so photogenic that any picture of her is great.

The Gooseberry River, full of meltwater from the longest winter ever.

Hello tiny blue shirted person in Beaver Creek Valley!

A beautiful fall day at Mille Lacs.

What, I can pick this one, right?

2014 in Review

Here we are, almost 3 months into 2015 and I am just now putting up the 2014 Retrospectravaganza.  I blame it on all of the changes that have happened in the last few months.  Don't worry, faithful readers, we'll get the end-of-year stuff up before we start the 2015 hiking season!

2014 by the numbers:

1. Total miles logged on this Blog in 2014: 40.8.  That's kind of puny, really. We plan to up that number a bit in 2015.  We blogged about 19 trips to Minnesota State Parks, 13 of which were new Hiking Club Trails.  We achieved both our 125 mile and 150 mile patches this year.  Two more patches to go and the backpack will be full!
2. Alas, I have left my beloved Superior Hiking Trail behind.  No more mid-week trips to Fantasia Overlook!  From here on out any hiking on the SHT will have to be of the Weekend Trip variety, like everyone else who lives in the Cities.   
3. Out of state trips:  we didn't go on one single out-of-state trip, other than a weekend in Milwaukee in which we didn't do any hiking.  Have we exhausted our regional vacation options?  I don't think so! 
4. We only picked up 11 ticks this year.  That's nothing!  I've picked up more than that under a single sock in a single hike!  Perhaps Joe really IS the tick-bane.  I think I'll keep him around.

Favorite Hiking Club Trail:

Joe: Beaver Creek Valley gets the honors this year. I didn't spend any time on the Superior Hiking Trail in 2014 but parts of the Beaver Creek hiking club trail really remind me of it- narrow footpaths running up and down ridge lines over deep, forested valleys with little wooden bridges across streams. This is one of the longest hiking club trails, but it makes the MOST of it- you see pretty much every aspect of the park, and it's beautiful.

Honorable mention: Carley State Park. Overshadowed by its larger neighbor Whitewater, Carley is a lovely hike alongside a quiet creek and then above it on a bluff. Gives the Southeast hiking experience without the crowds.

Pretty Carley State Park

Elly:  I also really enjoyed Beaver Creek Valley.  Yes, it was long, but it was great.  We were even cool with making it LONGER by straying off-trail to check out the springs.  This would be an awesome, awesome, awesome park to visit if you really want a good hike in the mid-summer but are just not down with the amount of mosquitoes that you'd deal with in the rest of the state.

Co-winner: William O'Brien.  I was really impressed with how remote and in-the-woods the park felt, despite being in spitting distance of the Cities.  I'm glad that there'll be some nature nearby our new base camp in town.

Honorable mention:  Great River Bluffs was also a neat park.  The Hiking Club Trail was interesting and the views were good, but I was also intrigued about the sections of the park that we didn't get to visit.  For example, I wanted to check out the hiking trail along the bluff on the other side of the river.  And the goat meadow!

Least Favorite Hiking Club Trail:

Joe: Lac Qui Parle lands squarely at number one on this list. We were excited about seeing the huge lake full of migratory waterfowl. Instead, we got a trail that led us along algae filled backwaters and never approached the namesake lake, and that's after our experience with some very poor maps and signage at a few levels (county road, park road, and trail).

Dishonorable mention: Upper Sioux Agency. I am starting to think we should not hike on the 4th of July... I am sure if we went to this park at another time of the year it would be great, but flooded trails covered in mosquitoes just aren't very appealing.

Elly sitting down on the steps of Latsch
and not wanting to talk to anybody

Elly:  Yeah, Lac Qui Parle just ticked me off.  What were the Hiking Club Trail planners thinking?  Why would we go to Lac Qui Parle and not get to see the Lac itself?  And the map/direction situation was just stupid.

Dishonorable mention:  It's not legally a Hiking Club Trail, but I'm going to nominate it anyway: John A Latsch State Park's one long, long, stairway of a trail.  It nearly killed me.

Awesomest Waterfall:

Joe: I'm beginning to realize that our waterfall count will likely never equal 2012 again. So, I'm going a bit unconventional and choosing the springs that are the source of Beaver Creek Valley for this honor. The springs are right next to the campground and a short spur from the hiking club trail. You can jump from rock to rock to see them from different angles, and overall it's a very worthwhile experience.

The springs at Beaver Creek Valley

Elly:  the only waterfall that I remember was Benkowski Falls at Big Stone Lake.  I guess they win.

Most Exceeded Expectations:

Joe: Number one with an icicle is the Apostle Island Ice Caves. I won't go on further since they're not in Minnesota, but wow, were they AMAZING!

Number 1A was Savannah Portage. This park benefited from my expectation that we would be wading through a bog populated by all the mosquitoes in Minnesota (based on multiple first hand accounts). Instead, we hit it at the perfect time (reverse 4th of July syndrome?) and had a great hike in the pine and birch woods, and even got to learn about the history of the portage as a trade route- neat!

Apostle Island Ice Caves - an amazing way to start of 2014!

Honorable Mention: Mille Lacs Kathio. Another case of perfect timing, we hit this park near peak color and the leaves were incredible.

Elly:  I guess I agree with Joe that Savannah Portage exceeded expectations, because our expectations were so low!  I was also surprised at how cool Mystery Cave was.  I'd go back there in a minute!

Totally Not Worth It:

Joe: Once again, I don't really have any experiences for the year that I would say are totally not worth it. I guess the park that fell short of expectations for me was Great River Bluffs. We'd had a great time winding our way down the Mississippi and hitting Frontenac and John A Latsch the day before. I thought Great River Bluffs would top them (based on the name alone!) but instead all it was was a perfectly pleasant flatland hike through the woods to a couple scenic overlooks. The views were nice, but a challenging bluffland hike with more varied scenery would have been nicer.

Elly:  You know, I have no "totally not worth its" but I do have a few "caveat hiker" notes. John A Latsch has a gazillion steps and although the views are nice, they're not mind-blowing. Whitewater had a carnival atmosphere, which is not what I look for in a park.  I'd recommend staying at the nearby mellow little Carley and popping over to Whitewater for the day.

Picture posts coming up soon!

2013 in Review

One more post to do before we kick 2013 to the curb and start planning and DOING in 2014.  Here we go!

2013 by the numbers:

1. Joe and I visited 20 Minnesota State Parks this year. We hiked 18 Hiking Club trails, for a grand total of 55.2 miles - earning not only our 75 mile patches but our 100 mile patches - woo hoo!!!  
2. We didn't do a lot of Superior Hiking Trail hikes - just under 20 miles - and most of the new ground we covered was in the not-very-exciting section between Duluth and Two Harbors), but we were pretty busy with all of the Hiking Club trails and out-of-state trips...
3. ...in which we visited three National Parks, one National Monument, a National Forest, and a really impressive City Park in Colorado.
4. We accumulated 54 ticks while hiking in 2013.  Another year, another low number!!  As with 2012, I can remember single hikes in which I accumulated more ticks than were accumulated all last year.  Perhaps bringing Joe "ticksbane" along is good luck.  Great reason to keep him around!

Favorite Hiking Club Trail:

Joe: My favorite hiking club trail this year was Glacial Lakes. The trail checks off a lot of Minnesota must-haves: Lakes? Check. Prairie? Check. Forest? Check. Bucolic farm views? Check. High points for scenic vistas? Check. A very scenic and well rounded hike.

Honorable mention: The Split Rock Loop. It's not a hiking club trail, but it's a fantastic north shore hike!

Sun setting on Glacial Lakes State Park

Elly: Joe and I are in agreement here. I love prairie hikes, and it was sheer luck (or bad navigation) that landed us there right before sunset. Hiking in the low, late-day sun with the fall-colored grasses waving was just about perfect.  I'd been to Glacial Lakes State Park before and would go back again in a heartbeat.

Honorable mention:  The Crags in Colorado.  It's not even in Minnesota but it was great!  It was also a treat to go hiking with Mandy, Mark, and Maggie at Afton State Park.  Maggie's first Hiking Club trail, definitely not her last.

Least Favorite Hiking Club Trail:

Joe:  Crosby Manitou State Park. Maybe this park suffered from the weather we hiked in, or the season, or the fact we hiked it right after visiting Colorado. No matter, I'm judging it worst of 2013 anyway! There's a few scenic views, but the difficulty of the trail greatly exceeds the rewards from the scenery. Any other north shore park and many sections of the SHT are better choices for a hike.

Dishonorable mention: Lake Carlos State Park. Come for the other facilities, and stay for the other facilities. Not much of a hike.

MOVE OVER ITS TIME TO MOW in LAKE CARLOS STATE PARK

Elly:  Lake Carlos State Park.  Hmm, what happened at Lake Carlos?  We were devoured by mosquitoes, nearly run over by a lawnmower, people setting off fireworks, the constant drone of motorboats, the blazing sun, and a kind of dull path to hike.  This hike may have fallen victim to bad timing: it was the Fourth of July (second in a row with "least favorite hike!") and it was quite warm out.  But, even if it were a glorious fall day, it probably just would have been a "meh" park.

Awesomest Waterfall:

Joe: Our hiking was quite waterfall deficient compared to 2012. I guess that's what happens when you finish all the north shore parks. Still, we saw a few, and this one on the Split Rock Loop is the clear winner.

Pretty Waterfall

Elly: Clearly the best waterfall was Joe's Waterfall at The Crags in Colorado. Yeah, it was not a banner year for waterfall viewing.

Most Exceeded Expectations:

Joe:  Soudan Underground Mine State Park: The hike itself was nothing terribly special, but the mine tour was fantastic. One of the most unique experiences you can have at a MN state park.

Interstate State Park: This is not the place to go for quiet contemplation in nature. Still, it has an amazing mix of recreation and natural beauty and feels like a couple large north shore parks smushed together and crammed into a small regional park footprint, which makes for an exciting park experience.

Side note: In 2013 it felt like we did not spend as much time in 'impressive' state parks and instead visited a lot of parks created to provide recreational outlets for the local populace. Nothing wrong with that and it's always fun to visit different parts of the state. Still, most of the great experiences we had this year were out of state. To avoid disloyalty to Minnesota, I'll just mention one of those: Teddy Roosevelt National Park. Incredible scenery, fantastic hiking, and a very easy drive from Minnesota. We're going back!

The good, good badlands.

Elly:  Interstate State Park was kind of a carnival of outdoors activities.  Hiking, climbing, canoeing, swimming, touring the potholes - it was kind of overwhelming.  I thought it would have been neat to grow up with such a wealth of outdoor activities nearby.  And there was the Spider Tunnel to separate the Frightened Little Boys from the Brave Brave Men.

Glendalough State Park was a beautiful little park and I enjoyed that Annie Battle Lake was a no-motor lake.  I'd go back there someday - it looks like a nice place to camp.

Side note:  Joe's right, we did visit a lot of smaller parks that had more of a "local park" feel.  But that's okay - we found a couple of gems.  I agree that the real star of the year was Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  I never would have believed that a long weekend in TRNP would have been more amazing than a week in Rocky Mountain National Park - but it is what it is!

Totally Not Worth It:

Joe: Other than Crosby Manitou State Park, there weren't really any stand-out hiking disappointments in 2013. I've got to give a shout out to the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park here though. Definitely not worth the expense! Next time we'll stay at a normal hotel and just pay for a guest tour!

Too expensive!  No ghost encounters!  No HGTV!

Elly:  Okay, in my humble opinion, it is ALWAYS better to have gone out hiking than to have stayed home on one's butt and stared at the television.  However, I would probably not sing the praises of hiking any boggy park (Moose Lake, Crow Wing, Lake Carlos) during the mosquito Human Hunting Season.  

Hello from Thunderdog!

What a great year.  Thanks for joining me & Joe and Thunderdog on our journeys.  We're going to settle in for the upcoming cold weather - coldest in 17 years, they say - and dream of warmer days and beautiful trails.

Hey Joe, it's 2014!  Let's go for a hike.

Favorite Pictures of 2013

I bet you thought that I forgot about the blog!  Nope - just spending the fall and first part of winter working on other projects.  This winter has been quite snowy and extremely cold.  Joe and I do plan on getting out the snowshoes at some point...but we'll wait until the temps regulate a bit.

As with last year's End of the Year Witch of November Retrospectravaganza, there will be TWO posts: one for the numbers and favorites, and one for the pictures.  This year we'll do the pictures first.  Hooray!

First up: Joe's five favorite pictures of the year:

Buffalo!! Encountering large animals at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Whoosh!!  This pretty much captures how we felt about Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Not a hiking picture, but beautiful and a good reminder of how damn long winter was in 2013.
(This picture was taken in April.)

We both picked this picture, but I'll let it be on Joe's list because I had too many anyway.
I left the Teddy Roosevelt National Park pictures up to him.

Watching the water rush by at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.  It wouldn't be long before I fell into that rushing water.

And here are my five favorite pics of the year!!

The shadowy path at Glacial Lakes State Park

Groovin' at Blue Mounds State Park...man, look at how GREEN it is!!

The Crags: a fantastic hike in Colorado.

Joe with his new camera - did I mention that Joe has a new camera? - in Garden of the Gods.

One winter picture: path on one of my snowshoe trips to the Lake County Demonstration Forest.

Stay tuned for the numbers and favorites post.

Favorite Pictures of 2012

I asked Joe to pick his favorite picture of 2012.  He couldn't choose just one, so he picked five...and I picked five, too!  Enjoy!

Joe's favorite pictures (and commentary):

This would be suitable for the cover if this blog were a book. - Zippel Bay State Park

Ha!  Lake in the Clouds, Michigan

Photogenic dog saves the picture [and photogenic man! -ed.]  Wolf Rock in the springtime

Best pure scenery picture - Bean and Bear Lakes hike

I love the composition and blues on this one.  Plus - Thunderdog! - Temperance River State Park

Elly's favorite pictures (and commentary):

Favorite picture of the year: Joe and Thunderdog at Fantasia Overlook.  

Mark and Mandy and the sled dogs - BWCA Winter Adventure

Snowshoeing on the train tracks - two winter pictures for me?  Egads!

Joe on the train tracks in the summer - Banning State Park

The mouth of the Temperance River.  It reminds me of the Grey Havens.

2012 in Review

It's time for the End Of The Year Witch of November Retrospectravaganza!  There will be TWO POSTS!  One for the numbers and favorites...and one for the pictures!

When I started this blog back in January (just one picture on the post! How quaint!) I did not realize that I would soon rack up State Parks by the double digits and log over 150 miles of hikes.

Hello from One Year Ago!!

2012 by the numbers:

1. Joe and I visited 20 Minnesota State Parks this year.  We hiked 20 Hiking Club trails, for a grand total of 52.9 miles - earning not only our 25 mile patches but our 50 mile patches.
2. We also visited 1 Ontario Provincial Park, a Michigan State Park, and I went to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
3. I hiked a good chunk of the Superior Hiking Trail.
4. We accumulated 49 ticks while hiking in 2012.  That's actually not that many.  I think I've had more than 49 ticks on me in a single day before.

Favorite Hiking Club Trail

Joe:  I'm going to pick Temperance River State Park for most outstanding overall. The trail is not long, but it covers some incredibly beautiful and unique scenery (see waterfall section below).  

Also, Lindbergh State Park for most exceeding expectations. The park is fairly local and not huge, and there's no stunning features, but it has a widely varied topography with deciduous, pine, meadows, forests, and a stream, plus some great CCC work. Gives great value for the effort needed to hike it.

Temperance River

Elly:  Joe stole my favorite one!  I loved Temperance River State Park.  The cedars, the waterfalls, the smell of pine in the hot air.  Thunderdog playing in the water!  We are definitely going back again someday.  

I also am going to pick the Bean and Bear Lakes trail.  It's not a Hiking Club trail, but it sure was a favorite.  The trail so nice I hiked it twice!

Least Favorite Hiking Club Trail

Joe:  Clearly, St. Croix State Park. A gigantic park, and they put you on the road past camp sites. 

To note one other, Sibley State Park. The trail appears to be nothing but up and down hills with minimal views and nothing special. Granted, I may feel that way because it was my first park this year so 1) everything was brown and 2) I was not in hiking shape, but, that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it! 

If you're lucky you might catch a glimpse of a wild Winnebago!

Elly:  I didn't like St. Croix State Park at all.  What a dud of a Hiking Club trail.  I still think that somewhere, in the 127 miles of hiking trails, there must have been something better than a paved path with no scenery...and the hum of generators nearby!  Granted, we were there in the middle of summer and it was blazing hot and we were uncomfortable...but still.  Bleh.

Awesomest Waterfall

Joe:  Kakabeka Falls wins most outstanding overall simply due to sheer size and power- see the original post for that.

Of the more modest MN waterfalls, Temperance was easily my favorite. It's more a series of waterfalls than anything, but the slot canyon they fall through is gorgeous and very unique looking, plus you can get an up close look (don't slip!).

Welcome to Canada!  Our waterfalls are impressive.

Elly:  I'm going to go with Wolf Falls at Banning State Park.  They weren't that big and impressive, it was just a nice place to kick back and eat a granola bar with my best guy.  

Kakabeka Falls WERE totally impressive and worth the trip to Canada!

Most Exceeded Expectations

Joe:  Once more with the dual categories. For state park, the pick is Franz Jevne. A small, out of the way, nothing special park, but I think we hit it at the perfect time of the year, and there's a lovely little island you can wade to. Seems like a great place to go and truly get away from things and unwind. 

For non-state park, my pick is River Bluffs Regional Park in St Cloud. It's got good size, lovely river views almost completely unspoiled by development, and is right in town. Plus, it has some, um, 'extensions' that I won't explicitly advocate visiting, but that make it even more enjoyable. See the original post ;)

Joe's Honorable mentions:
Cedar lake Bike Trail
Spectating at Grandma's Marathon
Brockway Mountain Drive

No Man's Island in the Rainy River, Franz Jevne State Park

Elly:   Dogsledding totally exceeded my expectations!!!  Visiting the Boundary Waters in the Winter with my friends Mandy and Mark was amazing.  I can't believe it was less than a year ago.  What a busy year!

Elly's Honorable Mentions:
Franz Jevne State Park was great.  The Hiking Club trail was about as exciting as one would expect in a park with just over 100 acres, but No Man's Island in the middle of the river was so fun.

I also have to give a shout out to Lindbergh State Park.  It's another small park, but I really liked the feeling of the park.  Pines and prairie!  And planes!

Totally Not Worth It

Joe:  Hiking to the Devil's Kettle at Judge C.R. Magney State Park. This feature is great in theory, and I'm glad it exists, but he hike involves hundreds of stairs, and at the end, you atre looking hundreds of feet across a canyon at it and if you didn't know what it was, you couldn't really tell there's anything special going on.

Stairs!  And lots of them!

Elly:   Flandreau State Park was a head-scratcher for me.  I knew we were in for something...unique...when we saw the Concession Stand.  I suppose it's just a good example of how there's a State Park for everybody.

That restaurant we went to in New Ulm.  They call themselves a German restaurant and they didn't even have decent sauerkraut in my Reuben!

My crappy attempt to bike from Gooseberry to Split Rock, and that stupid Ground Squirrel.

Trespassing on private property, only to get caught and embarrassed.  We didn't write about that hike.  :-(

2013 Plans...   

What do we have to look forward to in 2013?  Well, not to give too much away (especially since we don't really have anything firmly planned yet...)

1. Climb a mountain
2. Visit a National Park
3. See lots of baseball in lots of places
4. And look!  MORE Hiking Club Trails!
5. Fall colors in another part of the state
6. And look!  MORE Superior Hiking Trail hikes!
7. Biking around the State of Minnesota
8. Geocaching
9. Joe goes camping for the first time
10. Elly does more outdoor volunteering (and sometimes drags Joe along)
11. We get lots more ticks
12. and I write about it all here, on this lovely blog.

Thanks for reading, everybody!  It's been a fun year.

See ya next year!!