Thanks to the videos and trail accounts of Shug, Fronkey, and YouTubers Hillbilly Deluxe and HikerDad (Bic) I got interested in hiking this wonderful trail. I had three fellows that expressed interest in doing it with me, but all backed out. So I decided to push on and do it solo.
Logistics:
I drove from Houston to the North Shore in order to have my car available mid-trail. I placed food caches (more about that later), and parked at Gooseberry Falls State Park long-term parking lot, about 50 yards from Lake Superior. On September 14th I had Harriet Quarles shuttle me to the north end, humped it up to the 270 degree overlook and started my hike. After a week, I took a zero day at Eagle Ridge Resort in Lutsen, and then hiked another week to my car. After another zero day in Schroeder, I had Superior Shuttle drop me late in the day at Martin Road, and I hiked back to my car again. So it was a flip-flop hike with the flip at Gooseberry. The following shows the campsites I used and trail mileage (not including any of the side trails).
Date Miles Cum. Campsite
14 8.2 8.2 Jackson Creek
15 10.2 18.4 South Carlson Pond
16 14.9 33.3 North Little Brule River
17 13.9 47.2 Wood's Creek
18 18.8 66 North Cascade River
19 10.2 76.2 Spruce Creek
20 9.9 86.1 (Eagle Ridge Resort)
21 0 86.1 Zero Day (ERR)
22 11.1 97.2 Springdale Creek
23 15.7 112.9 Dyers Creek
24 15.6 128.5 Aspen Knob
25 12.9 141.4 Leskinen Creek
26 17.7 159.1 West Palisade Creek
27 13.8 172.9 Fault Line Creek
28 15.1 188 (Superior Ridge Resort) Flip
29 0 188 Zero Day (SRR)
30 6 194 White Pine
1 13.1 207.1 Sucker River
2 17.5 224.6 Ferguson
3 17.8 242.4 Silver Creek
4 17 259.4 Car / Gooseberry Falls SP
Video:
Actually, mostly slides. I used a background song I’ve used before, which I believe is a very appropriate backpacking hammocker’s anthem having lyrics that begin with “Gonna pick myself up off the ground…”, but not in the sense intended by the songwriters.
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Latrine Story:
SHT campsites have hard plastic stand-alone latrines nearby. The one at the North Cascade campsite had lots of freshly turned dirt around, so I tentatively peered into the hole and saw… nothing. So, marking a first for me, I happily “christened” the freshly dug latrine in a less than dignified manner. Channeling my best William Shatner, I now know what it feels like to “boldly go where no man has gone before”.
Food Caches:
At risk of raising the ire of someone at shta.org, I placed two food/gear caches in order to lighten my load. I did both in the vicinity of campsites (Woods Creek and Aspen Knob) and NOT on private land. In each case the food was responsibly stored in an odor-proof bag, which was inside a bear vault, inside a plastic garbage bag. In addition, I had a box waiting for me at Eagle Ridge Resort, and at my car for the “flop” part of the hike.
Gear:
Shoes – I had a tough time deciding between waterproof boots with gaiters and lightweight trail running shoes, but I went with the shoes. I wore Saucony Peregrine 4 shoes with SuperFeet insoles. They proved to be very durable and had great traction on wet rock. In hindsight, had I known how much rain I’d encounter and how much mud I’d have to slog through I probably would have gone with the boots. I alternated between Darn Tough and Wrightsocks, and had no blisters despite the fact that my feet were wet nearly half the time.
Tech – My cellphone has become my go-to device. It’s my still/video camera, phone/texting device, clock, mp3/podcast player, kindle (for the SHT Guidebook), mirror (for shaving), and GPS/mapping system. The latter was accomplished with a free app, Backcountry Navigator, which along with a free downloaded contour map and trail/campsite .kmz files from shta.org, provided a better system than carrying the paper maps. In airplane mode, I could get a solid 3 days on a battery, the distance between my caches.
Food – Kept it simple: lots of nuts and Kind bars for lunch. Boiled water at dinner and breakfast for Hawk Vittles and oatmeal/museli. I carried a small fuel canister that lasts a week, and a 25g BRS titanium stove. Food was stored in a Loksak odor-proof bag inside an Ursack S29 bag and hung on a tree. At many campsites it would be difficult to properly hang a bear bag.
Trail Traffic:
I started out with a young couple who planned to through hike to Jay Cook Park. I lost contact with them a few days in and hope they made it. I had company at campsites about half the time and met quite a few interesting folks. I met people on the trail every day, especially around the state parks. In the four days hiking northbound from Martin Road to Gooseberry Falls, I talked with eight southbound through-hikers. I heard through the hiker’s grapevine that Zpacks owner Joe and three of his crew were on the trail pushing 20+ mile days. They passed me southbound while I made an early camp on my second day.
Hammocking on the SHT:
I found hanging trees at all campsites I visited. Some, like Spruce Creek, Leskinen Creek and White Pine would accommodate a larger number of hangers. I made the cardinal sin of hanging on a dead tree at West Palisade Creek, but it had a very large trunk and I’d bet that it will still be standing in 30-50…days. I carried a 5’ and an 8’ tree strap, but I would have survived with two 5’ straps. I always used a tarp and had the “pod-bay doors” closed three nights, I think.
Overall Impressions:
Great trail. There is a lot of maintenance work in evidence with all the boardwalks, and every drainage except one was bridged. The muddy spots should be gone after a few dry days. I didn’t see any moose or bear, but did see beaver, a marten, a coyote, a bald eagle, hawks, lots of snakes, and a very fat porcupine. Also, mini-bears (squirrel) and micro-bears (chipmunks), and a mouse. I was about a week early for peak fall color this year. A few days after I finished, temperatures dropped 10-15 degrees - so I’m happy with my timing. There was quite a bit of rain and I didn’t stop at some of the better viewpoints because of wind-driven drizzle. But the up-side was that cascades and waterfalls were running strong, and they were quite spectacular. Two thumbs up – get out there and do it.
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