COVID-19 Perspective: Boy oh boy this is not a social distancing friendly trail! The trail itself works – there is enough space on most portions of the trail to seperate yourself 6 feet from others BUT the people made it not work. As the day continued throngs of folks started flooding the trail. See later the absolutely packed parking lot to give you an idea of what we were dealing with. The worst part was that no one would move over on the trail. I could not even begin to hazard a guess as to how many times we moved significantly off the trail to get out of the way people plowing through.

Kid Perspective:

• Running Wild – If we were not in the middle of a pandemic, I would have felt perfectly comfortable letting them loose but that is not our current reality. Towards the top of the trail there were some areas that we needed to be a bit more cautious but for the most part it really was not bad.
• The Trail – The trail was covered with rocks of varying size which made for careful maneuvering at times. It was a truly fun hike!
• Trail Conditions – Good, no large obstacles and for the BWCA we did not encounter much mud!
• Bugs and Pests – Later in the day the bugs started to come out, nothing too terrible though. Most of the bugs were bussinz annoyances around our heads that did not sink their teeth into us.
• Plants – Nothing remarkable when we were there.
• Bathrooms – None that we saw but we did not stick around at the parking lot for long to really check things out.
• Cell Service – Pretty good for the BWCA. We had service throughout the trek but it did get sketchy in some areas.

Trail Information:

• Length – 6.8 miles
• Moving Time – 03:23:46
• Elevation Gain – 1,111 ft.
• Difficulty – Moderate

Highlights:

• Combo – Bringing Minnie!
• Biff – Bringing Minnie!
• Blaze – Knowing that it was the highest point in Minnesota
• Ripper – Finally crossing this one off of our list and seeing the amazing scenery around us!

My birthday falls over Memorial weekend and we have made it a tradition to go camping but this year our plans were thwarted as have the plans of so many. We had planned on camping in our backyard, trying to recreate as much of a backpacking site as we could. We were looking forward to our escape but Blaze had other plans and surprised us with a stay at my parent’s property up North. This opened up a world of hiking possibilities for us!

We chose Eagle Mountain as our first stop because it is the highest point in Minnesota and it had been on our list for a long time. The hike was one of the longer drives on our list so we thought the first day would be perfect. When we arrived to the trailhead (we actually drove passed the camping spot we stayed at on our honeymoon!) we were pleasantly surprised that there were just a few people in the parking lot. We also had decided to bring Minnie with us on this adventure and she leaped out of the car, ready for adventure! After registering at the BWCA check-in we hit the trail.

Right away we noticed that the trail was COVERED in rocks, making it fun for us and tiresome for Minnie (more on this later). The trail was remote and we were super excited to be deep in the woods! I should also note that Minnie is a rescue dog that was severely neglected and abused as a puppy before we got her so she has problems with her hips and lots of anxiety and she is getting up there in years for a larger dog (7 1/2 years old now).

The day began to grow warmer as we encountered our first board walk. Here is where we encountered the first people on the trail and moved to the side to let them by us. They were quite pleasant and moved ahead quickly.

Entering the BWCA I began to feel more and more at home. I think I might have been born to live in the woods! Blaze and I have spent some time in the BWCA but this was the kids first time and we wanted to make as memorable for them as we could. Bring on the treats, jokes and inappropriate stories that make the kids squeel with laughter!

Combo was excited to find minnows in the water at our next plank crossing. The kids loved checking out the water and Minnie loved lapping up the cold goodness! The planks were tough on her but she was keeping up like a champ!

While she was being a trooper, she did need to stop for a break. We carry a collapsible camping bowl for her, which attaches easily to my pack. We fill it with my CamelBak and then let it air dry after we reattach it to my pack. It works pretty slick!

There was a mixture of planks and wooded areas that led us to a spectacularily gorgeous lake! We noticed that there could be camping sites near the lake and we are really looking forward to a return trip to stay beside this beautiful lake.

This pristine lake was a wonderful surprise! Did I mention that we wanted to stay forever! Minnie really enjoyed drinking the clear and cold flowing water.

Walking along the lake through a tunnel of trees we saw toads, butterflies and even a snake! The snake stole the show and Combo was super proud of herself for spotting the little guy. We definitely stopped for several moments to watch it slither through the woods. Very cool! We could not stop for too long because we soon heard people approaching.

The trail had been mostly level up until this point. As we left the lake we began our climb up, up and up! This is where we began to see more and more people and where it was harder to be socially distant. But we managed to do it, scraping our knees and scrambling over rocks and into the brush. Minnie was really starting to get tired but she was still going strong!

The sweat and scrapes and bruises soon gave way to our first overlook and man was it gorgeous! There is something truly beautiful about this area. We are lucky to live in a state with such a diverse landscape. We stopped to rest while more and more people pushed on – where did they all come from?

Pushing forward, we searched for the geological marker to mark the highest point in Minnesota. Surprisingly, most of the people stopped at the final overlook and did not seem to be interested in moving on…until they saw us lol! Eventually more and more people began to follow us as we trekked towards the marker. We snapped quick photos and hurried back because this area did not lend itself to social distancing AT ALL. We took in the views at the overlook quickly because there were just way too many people. This is truly a gorgeous trail but not appropriate for our current circumstances. We will go back when we can really enjoy the trail and surroundings the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

Scrambling back down the trail at a fast pace to distance ourselves from people, Minnie was starting to get very tired and panting a ton. At this point I was starting to get worried that she would not be able to complete the hike. She has always been go, go, go on our hikes – usually pulling me on ahead to the point that I inevitably trip because she wants to go so fast. This was definitely something new.

Poor Minnie continued to struggle on the trail, actually falling off one of the planks at one point. She was unable to get herself back up and I had to lift her out of the water – this really made we worry. We were still a few miles from the car and it would be quite the challenge to carry the poor girl (80 lbs.) back to the car. This is where I realized that my little buddy was just getting too old to go on these longer hikes with us – a very sad realization because she really enjoys it on the trail.

Each step became harder and harder for Minnie and I knew that this would be our last big hike together. But she never gave up! She might have lagged behind, needing much encouragement but she kept going. The kids stroked her head and patted her on the back, rooting her on. And it seemed to work! Each step was still slow and tired but she kept going! The people were getting thick (I feel like I am talking about mosquitoes lol) and Minnie gave up on social distancing. We humans moved off the trail and she just waited in the middle of the trail forcing others to walk around her while she looked at them with her puppy eyes, eliciting ooh’s and ahh’s from everyone. The bugs also began to become more of a problem here, especially for Biff – he HATES when they buzz around his ears but he too, kept on trekking!

BUT we made it!! The parking lot was jam packed with cars – they had resorted to parking along the road. This was definitely a sign that we should not come back during the pandemic and hopefully you will head these words as well. There will be other times to explore – try to be patient, I wish we had been. As I lifted Minnie back into the car I snuck her a full beef stick because she had earned it! She was an awesome trooper and I could not have been prouder of her. It is bittersweet that this last big hike was at the highest point in Minnesota – definitely something to remember. There were several people in the parking lot that commented on how impressed they were that she made it the whole way. Usually people are commenting on how impressed they are with the kids but not this time! But the kiddos really did do a great job.

Thanks for joining us on our adventure! Take care, be safe and Happy Hiking!