Trip Report Display
Linking people with nature by footpath along Lake Superior's North Shore.
My cousin Ryan and I parked at Gooseberry State Park and took the Superior Shuttle back to Lake County 301. From there we hiked west to spend our first night at the Silver Creek campsite. This is a nice site right by the creek. Had some good photo opportunities around the small cascades and pools of the creek. The flies were terrible until the sun went down. The next day dawned sunny and beautiful as we headed toward our next nights stay at the Crow Creek Valley campsite. It was a warm and sunny day. We didn't ever stop to long as the flies were swarming on us anytime we stopped for more than a couple of minutes. We stopped at the Encampment River to get water. While we were there I found something that kept the flies from being so irritating. I soaked my bandanna in the water and used it as a hood under my hat. It kept me cool and kept the flies out of my ears and hair. After that I hardly noticed the flies. The section from 301 to Crow Creek Valley campsite kicked our butts. We took a nap after we got set up in camp. This was another nice campsite although I think the water source might dry up in drier weather. While I was getting water from the small pool, I noticed Wolf prints right next to where I was sitting. During the night there was a pretty heavy rain with lots of lightning. It stopped before we got up. We packed up, had breakfast and headed down the trail to Gooseberry. Mostly level or downhill hiking agreed with our legs. We enjoyed hiking through the pine trees as they cooled us with their dripping from the previous nights' rain. We stopped at Fifth Falls for about an hour and enjoyed soaking our feet in the cool water. We also enjoyed sitting on a little rock bench at the bottom right hand side of the falls. The water came over about a 10 foot drop and gave the perfect cool shower for the end of our trip. It felt as good any shower I've ever had and the view was gorgeous. From there we headed down to the lake parking lot to our car. We were in for one more pleasant surprise. It was about 75 - 80 degrees. When we crested the last hill about a 1/4 mile from the parking lot a cool breeze from the lake hit us. I would say it was about 10 - 15 degrees cooler. We tried to see the lake but couldn't because it was shrouded in fog. It was a sight that was hard to describe as it was perfectly sunny where we were. I've never seen fog at 2 in the afternoon and I'll never forget how beautiful and refreshing it was. This was a great trip. Saw lots of wolf and moose tracks. Especially around Silver Creek. Will be back again in September as I'm trying to hike the whole trail in sections. |
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