Hiking up to the tallest point in MN has been a bucket list item for a while. I figured I could do it because it's not really very high up. I also wanted to go up there because it's officially in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and I hadn't ever been in it before. I've been near it, but not officially in it. Most people I know who have been in BWCA go to canoe and camp for a week in primitive conditions. That did not interest me at all, primarily because vault toilets and no showers and portaging in summer with bugs, carrying heavy packs and the canoe. I'll paddle the canoe and sleep in a tent (with an air mattress) and eat trailmix and campfire food all day long, but roughing it THAT MUCH is not at all how I like to vacation. So a day pass into BWCA was just what I wanted. And yes, you do have to get a day pass. They are free and available at the trailhead. All you need is a pen to fill out the form. There is also an enclosed vault toilet at the trailhead and it's best to make use of it before starting on the trail because that's the only amenity for MILES.
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The trailhead kiosk with the day use permits
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The deceptive very beginning of the trail. I thought "Oh this isn't bad at all."
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My middle child has been up this trail before and he said it was overgrown, rocky, and full of roots, so I was expecting having to bushwhack my way through the trail. The beginning of the trail gave me a false sense of security. That did not last long. While I never thought the trail got overgrown, it did get ROCKY.
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| See? Rocky. |
Off we went. It sprinkled on and off the first quarter of the hike, but we were under the trees, so it didn't bother us at all. We had our packs with water, lunch, and bug spray (turns out we didn't need it. The weather was cool enough to keep the bug count to near zero).
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| We had to cross a few of these, which I enjoy, even if they are a bit rickety. |
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| That's a beaver dam in the foreground. |
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| Wolf's milk fungus on a log. |
It was a couple miles to Whale Lake, but not too strenuous, except for keeping an eye on the path to avoid tripping.
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| This is Whale Lake. It's a beautiful spot to pause the hike, but the view area is not very big, so if there are more than a couple people, you have to take turns taking a picture. There isn't a place to sit down and rest even. People with dogs tend to lose control over the dogs at this point because the dogs see water and jump in. Every dog that we saw come through this area was not leashed (which is supposedly against the rules) and they all went for a swim as their humans called out "Get back here!" |
For a little while, the trail follows the shore line of the lake, but there are so many trees, you don't see much of the lake. Sometimes you do get a peek, and it seems farther away than it really is.
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This is where it starts to get difficult. The path that goes to the right seems to stay level. The path we wanted to take went to the left and at first, I didn't really see a path so much as a collection of boulders. But yes, that was the path. I was glad there was a sign because I would not have believed that was the way we were supposed to go.
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| You can't really tell from this picture, but this is kind of a steep climb. |
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I was still able to enjoy my surroundings though. Pretty fall leaves!
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| It was calm, quiet, and pleasant. |
And after walking for 2 1/4 hours, because I'm slow (several groups passed us on the way up), we reached the two scenic overlooks and the actual top!
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| This marker is somewhat difficult to find since it's not at the scenic overlooks. You kind of have to wander around to find the path. Fortunately for us, we saw some people walking back to the scenic spot from a more tree-filled area and we asked them if they had been on the path to the marker, and they said yep. It took another 5 minutes of walking but we found it. I was Marco Poloing Katie while we summitted Eagle Mountain. We had no cell service most of the drive from Silver Bay where we stayed and on the hike up, but when we got near the top, we had great cell service and could video chat. So I showed Katie where we were, and she showed me the cupcakes she made for Jackson's birthday party, which we were missing. |
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| The button marks the highest point in Minnesota. |
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| We ate lunch with this view in front of us. There were several dozen people up there eating and viewing. In spite of this being in a remote area, this spot draws lots of hikers. |
The way down was much more difficult. My legs were tired already, but we still had 4 miles of rocky and rooty terrain. These are the only pictures I took on the way down:
All of the "hikes" (except one) I've been on have been more like walks. This, like the Y mountain hike, was an actual hike. If I had to choose which one was more difficult, I'd have to say Eagle Mountain because it was SO LONG. Y mountain is a 2 mile round trip, done in probably 2 hours for me. Eagle was 8 miles, according to my step counter. It was less steep, but def more rocky, and going down, while not as painful on my knees (I had a knee brace on), because it was rocky, I had to lift my legs and doing that for hours on end took a toll on the ligaments in my legs and I could hardly lift them up the last couple of miles.
And I'd probably do it again.
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