We met our shuttle at the trailhead at CC Road 58. To our amazement the driver is Jack who is the owner of Stone Harbor. He picked us up and drove us to the trail head at the Kanduce River Wayside. We planned to hike back to our car from there.
We got our packs on, equipment adjusted and headed out on the trail.
Off we went!
The trail wound southward to the east of Route 61. The country is stunning and soon we could not hear the traffic on the highway, a real wilderness feeling. The trail was full of tree roots, rocks and the air full of mosquitos (we had sprayed liberally so not a great problem).
Over time the unevenness of the trail started to take a toll on my knees and right foot. We certainly were not keeping to a pace of 2 miles per hour. I was surprised the difference from a trail with even ground to this type of trail. Yet hiking like this was what we want to do and there was only one way to go: southbound to the car.
About four hours in we stopped at a trail camping area. Every few miles on the trail are small campsites for those doing overnights or thru hiking. At this point the energy was still high and felt good to stop and eat. We did get lost at one point, the trail came down to a foot bridge heading to the right and the trail keep going straight. We went straight which lead us to another campsite and had to back track several times to the bridge and get back on the right direction. Personally I thought the trail should have had more blazes, but that was the only time we felt unsure of our direction. The vistas were incredible looking out over the lake from the hill.
We meet very few fellow hikers. Our first was a couple just out for short hike looking for mushrooms. I am not sure where they got on the trail as they has no packs and only carrying water bottles. They passed us shortly heading back the way they had come, she saying the humidity was to much. Coming northbound was a man who said he and his family were hiking for a week. He said a group of kids were heading our way. He told us to look for blueberry patches that we would come to shortly. A group of young folk passed doing a healthy pace with loaded packs - to be young and strong! The blueberries were delicious!!
By the time we reach this meadow I was not doing well. This about 7 1/2 miles in. Everything hurt particularly my knees. I was cranky the trail heading upwards as I thought the trail map put us closer to the last two miles.
The last two miles was a steep downhill back to our car. By this point just stepping down was very painful. Thank goodness for the hiking poles. I felt like a near invalid at this point and just wanted the hike over. Every step was painful and slow.
Of course we made it back to the car. Our usual post hike treat are McDonald's milkshake, but no McDonald's exists in Grand Marais! Dairy Queen did the trick along with dinner. We headed back to the campsite, another 2 1/2 hours driving but now in the dark. We finally made it back after 10pm, exhausted from both hiking and driving with lots of lessons to ponder......
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