I am CuTRis: Gunflint Trail/Grand Marais/Grand Portage

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Gunflint Trail/Grand Marais/Grand Portage

June 12, 2011
We left St. Paul at 8:30 AM. We stopped for lunch in Two Harbors, and saw a moose along the road near the Cascade River. We stopped at Buck’s Hardware in Grand Marais to buy minnows for bait. Then we drove 48 miles up the Gunflint Trail to Heston's Lodge where we checked into the White Pine cabin at about 3:30 PM. We went canoeing on Gunflint Lake, which is divided down the center and half is in Minnesota and half is in Canada. I think we were slightly over into Canada when the wind came up, and we had to paddle hard to get back. After dinner we went fishing off the dock. We found the same radio station we listened to last year; 105.3FM, the Giant.

June 13, 20100
At 5:00 AM we went fishing from the dock. It was 5 degrees Celsius, or 40 degrees Fahrenheit. After we stopped to make breakfast burritos, we rented a boat and motor for four hours. Besides fishing until Noon, we also stopped at “Campers Island.” Our early and busy day, caused us to nap after we got back to the cabin. Then we fished from the dock and grilled chicken and potatoes for dinner. Incidentally, we were not having good luck fishing, but this day turned into a sunny, 70 degree Fahrenheit perfect day! Later in the evening, we walked down the road until the abundant and hungry mosquitoes drove us back to the cabin.

June 14, 2011
After breakfast we rented the boat again for four hours, and aside from fishing, we wore head nets and battled the mosquitoes as we hiked through the woods to Bridal Falls. We were still not catching fish so after we got back we had lunch and then drove to the Cross River Bridge to fish some more. Later that evening, I looked at Canada (across the lake) through my binoculars.

June 15, 2011
We drove to the public access for Loon Lake and hiked the Brice Breon Trail until we found a place to fish from shore. One of the highlights was when we found Showy Lady Slippers in bloom along the trail! We fished from the dock in the afternoon and I got snagged on the same submerged tree branch twice and needed to get the canoe out twice to get free. Eventually I pulled the whole branch out of the lake! Later, being it was our last night at the cabin, we made a fire in the wood stove and watched a movie on the laptop.

June 16, 2011
We packed up and left Heston's Lodge at 10:00 AM. We drove to the Chik-Wauk Museum. We toured the museum and also hiked the trails there. Then we had lunch at the Trail's End Café. After lunch we walked to the end of the trail to view Seagull Lake. By then it was time to slowly drive back the entire length of the Gunflint Trail. We saw a moose and a grouse along the way. Once we got back to Grand Marais, we checked into Cabin 5 at Nelson's Traveler's Rest. We shopped at Beth’s Fudge & Gifts, Ben Franklin and The Trading Post. Then we had dinner at the Dockside Fish Market. Their fish is outstanding! After dinner we hiked out to Artist’s Point before returning to the cabin.

June 17, 2011
We left Grand Marais in the morning and drove to the Heritage Center at Grand Portage National Monument. We toured the recreation of the fur trading post and then drove to the USA/Canadian border to hike out to the High Falls of the Pigeon River. The falls was another high point of the trip! It was about 1:30 PM when we stopped at the Naniboujou Lodge for a very tasty lunch. Back in Grand Marais, we went shopping before taking a rest back in cabin 5. Later, we decided to walk to the Dockside Fish Market for fish & chips. We stopped by a wooden boat show on the walk back to our cabin.

June 18, 2011
We left Nelson's Traveler's Rest about 9:30 AM and drove until we got to the Grand Superior Lodge where we stopped for lunch. Once we got into the town of Two Harbors, we stopped at Pamida to do some shopping. Then we drove through a big traffic mess in Duluth that added an extra hour onto our long trip home. We arrived back in St. Paul at about 5:00 PM. The entire trip was 748.1 miles.