Two nights on SHT near Split Rock

[Malcolm]

I recently went two nights solo on the SHT. These late Fall trips are some of my favorites, because you can see some really stunning views from hard-earned ridgelines without all those pesky leaves in the way.

Day 1:
After dropping the kids off with my parents (my wife was busy that morning), I drove up and made it to Split Rock Lighthouse State Park around 11:30, hitting the trail a touch before noon. I followed the spur trails in the state park to the SHT. Being fairly new at the whole distance hiking thing (and more than a bit out of shape), I figured any one of the three campsites before Beaver Bay would be good destinations. I set out to see how far I could make it. The views along Chapin's Ridge and Christmas Tree Ridge are stunning, as were those from some unnamed ridge just north of the Beaver Pond camp site. I made it all the way to the Fault Line Creek campsite, which was occupied by a nice dude. Having undertaken this trip for solitude, I hiked back to the Beaver Pond campsite (after a nice conversation with the aforementioned nice dude...hikers are some of the most pleasant people to meet), where I had already noted a couple very nice hammock trees. It had rained during my hike, so I figured this extra distance would let my shoes and clothing dry out a bit. It didn't really...

Day 2:
My goal was to hike up Split Rock River and cross it near where the bridge used to be. Much of my hiking was on the trail I'd walked the previous day, but the views were more stunning since the foggy weather had cleared up. The hike to Split Rock River and into the gorge is, of course, very beautiful, and it's no wonder that this is one of the most popular sections of the trail. When I got to the site of the old bridge, I kept thinking of my poor wife and children left alone after their husband/father had been swept downstream and died tragically—beaten against rocks and drowned. So I hiked about a quarter mile back to the North West Split Rock site. It's a very nice site set back among the birches a little up the ridge from the trail. I managed to light a fire and finally dry out my shoes and socks (which had been thoroughly wetted by the trail despite the lack of rain that day).

Day 3:
The forecast indicated rain starting early in the morning and stopping around 10 AM. I woke up, and by 7:30, I just couldn't wait around anymore. So I packed my gear (tarp last, of course), and began my hike out in the rain. My newly-dried shoes quickly became wet again. Fortunately, the car was only about 4 miles away, and much of the walk was on fairly wide trails once I got back in the state park, keeping my total time hiking down around 2 hours (not in great shape, as previously noted).

I'm no photographer, but here are some things I felt moved to take pictures of:
[Upload is failing right now, and I assume it's because of the server migration. Working in technology myself, I'm very patient about these things (and also fully understand the possibility that I'm just doing something stupid). I'll upload some pictures later, those being the primary reason to bother with these posts.]

[InfuriatedMax]

Sounds like a nice 3 day adventure on the SHT. Shame about the rain but you made the best of it. I am excited to see the pictures.

[Bubba]

Fall is my favourite time to go outdoors. Looking forward to the pics once they get loaded.

[Malcolm]

Okay, it appears I can add pictures now.

Here's my camp site from the first night. This was a nice area near a beaver pond (the Beaver Pond campsite a few miles south of Beaver Bay).
Night One Camp.jpg

Here's a view down on the beaver pond next to which I camped:
View Above Beaver Pond.jpg

Here's one of many very nice inland views I saw:
View.jpg

I stopped here for 20 minutes or so to enjoy a tobacco pipe and take my shoes and backpack off for a bit. The weather was cold enough—and my shoes wet enough—that they were visibly steaming. It was hunting season, so I made a half-*** attempt at having some blaze orange.
Backpack During Break.jpg

And there were a lot of views like this as I hiked along Split Rock River, which was flowing quite rapidly given all the recent rain:
Split Rock River.jpg

I thought this view of my Superfly up through the trees (from the spur trail to the Northeast Split Rock campsite) was nice. The end was tightly closed, as there was a stiff breeze coming from the direction of the river.
Superfly Through Trees.jpg

There are dozens of spectacular pictures of Split Rock Lighthouse available online, and this is not one of them. However, the view of the lighthouse signaled to me that I was close to my car after a couple hours hiking in the rain. So it means more to me than the others.
Split Rock Lighthouse.jpg

[Bubba]

Nice pictures. Thanks for sharing.

[P1Scubbs]

Awesome trip you had some nice views!!

[Rain Man]

SHT? What trail is that?

[Mike”Tick”Jones]

Looks like a great trip! I really need to dive into planning a trip and become familiar with the SHT.



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[Malcolm]

SHT? What trail is that?

It's the Superior Hiking Trail. It follows along the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. It's on the shorter side for long-distance trails (310 miles), but it's really nice.

You can check out their site at superiorhiking.org.