In July of 2023, Christy, Jackson, and I spent almost a week car camping, hiking, and mountain biking along Minnesota's North Shore. We spent 5 nights car camping at the Nine Mile Lake Campground near Finland, MN. (Photos). On our first full day, we hiked to High Falls on the Baptism River. (Photos). Later that afternoon I hiked with Jackson from highway 1 to the Fantasia Overlook. (Photos). The next day we drove to the Canadian border to visit High Falls on the Pigeon River in Grand Portage State Park. (Photos). That afternoon we hiked to a geologically unique waterfall called the Devils Kettle. (Photos). That evening Christy went mountain biking while I hiked on Pincushion Mountain. (Photos). On our third day we did several short hikes to mountains with great views, including White Sky Rock, Oberg Mountain, and Carlton Peak. (Photos). On our last day I did a couple of short hikes to Illgen Falls and Upper and Lower Gooseberry Falls. (Photos).
After years of hearing about the trips that Myron, Dorcas, Wayne, and Linda took to Minnesota, I finally got my chance in May of 2003. Dave was heading up there to buy a canoe, and since I wasn't burdened with a job at the time, I agreed to join him. Of course, we didn't drive all the way up there just to buy a canoe. We had to try it out. We spent 4+ days paddling in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area outside of Ely. We did a long loop, starting at Snowbank Lake and taking out at Lake One.
