Snowy Lake Superior Hiking Trail to Mount Trudee
I have been enjoying snowshoeing for a couple of years now, enjoying how it extends the climbing and hiking year. I have especially been enjoying snowshoeing in the Northwoods of the upper Midwest (Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota). In January this year I was able to head up to Minnesota's North Shore of Lake Superior. I had picked a couple of objectives I thought would be good for my best friend Big Al, who was just starting out on showshoes and looking for an intro into the sport. Unfortunately, his car was ambushed by an ice storm in Cleveland and he could not join me. Fortunately, he thus could not join me and be ambushed by his friend's questionable summit-influenced judgement of what would be a good trail for a beginner. In some respects, it felt like my first real snowshoe trip in terms of mileage, elevation, snow depth, and weather conditions. And while the snow muted the scenery, it was unquestionably wild and beautiful fun. But it's no sure thing snowshoer thing.
Superior Hiking Trailhead on a snowy day. 4.8 Miles to Mount Trudee does not seem too bad. Seemed closer on the map.
The first mile into Tettegouche State Park did not lack for views.
High Falls of Baptism River, Frozen after a wet Autumn
Looking down on the Frozen Baptism River's High Falls
Bridge Over Frozen Water
Boy it was taking longer than I thought it would. I was used to estimating time in terms of hiking speed, not snowshoeing speed - especially on increasingly less broken trail, with snow increasing as the morning wore on. And a sign I did not figure out initially...
'The Drainpipe' ? What does that mean?
Looking Up The Drainpipe - what I later learned is a famed segment of Superior Hiking Trail
Snowy Path
First Vague Gray Views of Lake Superior through the Snow
Ohh..THAT'S the Summit - I thought I was there...
Mount Trudee Summit
Summit View of Lake Micmac
Almost Big Mistake: How to Quick Freeze Gloves While Eating lunch and Taking selfies.
Everything I love about snowshoeing...just more of it than I expected.
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