I am CuTRis: GunflintTrail Trip

Monday, June 28, 2010

GunflintTrail Trip

Mon. June 21st
We drove to Two Harbors for gas and lunch. We stopped once along Lake Superior at a rest stop. We bought minnows at Buck’s Hardware in Grand Marais. We drove to Clearwater Lodge 26 miles up the Gunflint trail (and 4 miles on 22) and checked into cabin 3. We picked up a canoe and brought it to our cabin and fished off the dock. My wife caught a small, smallmouth bass that we released. The fishing was pretty bad the entire trip.

Tues. June 22nd
At 7:00AM we went to the moose viewing area on the Gunflint Trail. There were no moose there on the “moose viewing platform,” but we saw two moose from the road near our cabin on the way back. We fished from the canoe until it rained and then from the dock. By the time we went hiking up (90 steps) Honeymoon Bluff, the sun was out and it got hot. The view was great. Then we took the canoe out fishing and then grilled chicken. A bear “attacked” our empty garbage can outside the cabin over night.

Wed. June 23rd
I retrieved the garbage can with bear tooth holes in it. We fished more and eventually canoed out to some cliffs. Then a sudden wind and rain storm made it pretty difficult for us to get back to our cabin. We were tired and napped. After dinner my wife fished and I played guitar. We both caught the same number of fish…

Thurs. June 24th
Up early, we packed up and left the cabin and continued up the Gunflint Trail. We saw two deer, and then a black bear crossed the road in front of my car! We saw a Red fox at the end of the Gunflint Trail, and fished (unsuccessfully) from the shore of Seagull Lake. We saw our fourth loon and I saw a Garter snake. We had lunch at the Trails End Café. On the way back, we hiked up Northern Lights Lake, Blueberry Hill trail. It was very steep! Then we drove to Grand Marais and moved into cabin 5 of Nelson’s Travelers Rest. We shopped in Grand Marais and had fish & chips at the Dockside fish & Seafood Market. It was really good! Then we enjoyed things that we hadn’t had for most of the week like cell phone service, Internet and TV.

Fri. June 25th
After a good breakfast we made in our cabin, we headed up the arrowhead on Hwy 61 to Judge C.R. Magney State Park. It was raining when we hiked the Superior Hiking Trail to Devil’s Kettle Falls—up 1,000 steps to a spectacular sight! Then we started for home. We stopped at Lutsen Resort for lunch and then ended up driving through all kinds of weather as we headed home. We had heavy rain and lightening at the end. We arrived home at 7:45 PM and drove 706.9 miles on the entire trip.
-KJC