By John Keefover of Keefography
SHT THRU-HIKE RECAP CHAPTER 5: DAY 13-15
Trip report from my Northbound Thru-Hike of the Superior Hiking Trail in June 2022.
In June of 2022 I Thru-Hiked the Superior Hiking Trail going Northbound. During the hike I filled 3 journals worth of notes, stories, trail conditions, and thoughts to be paired with photos take along the way. I enjoy sharing my adventures in hopes of inspiring others to get outside and experience it for themselves. For general information about the SHT itself see my other blog: HIKING AND BACKPACKING THE SHT. If you’re interested in planning your own trip on the SHT you should check out the SHT THRU-HIKE ITINERARY I wrote as well. For all of you gear nerds out there take a look at my GEAR LIST FOR THE SHT.
This is a more thorough Trip Report than the Itinerary I posted, and covers days 4-6 of the hike. To see the rest of the trip see the links below.
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CHAPTER 5: DAY 13-15
DAY 13: FRIDAY 6/24/22
Total Mileage: ~13.5 Miles. South Cross River Campsite - Onion River Campsite. 8+ tent pads. Water from river.
I slept in today. It’s funny that 8 AM is considered sleeping in for me after waking up around 5 Most days on trail. I was to meet up with another backpacking photographer, Benjamin Hancock, at Temperance River State Park at 10 AM and that’s only a few miles from here. Ben will be joining me for this next section and camping with me at the Onion River Campsite tonight. I hit the trail to go meet up with him. Once at the Temperance it was neat to see it from this side of the river. I’ve been here dozens of times but I always end up on the East side of the river. It’s definitely not as interesting over here, but I appreciated the new perspective and got a good view of some of the falls along the way.
Ben was waiting for me at the pedestrian bridge over the impressive gorge. I hadn’t met Ben in person before but we’ve talked gear, backpacking and photography plenty before on social media. Couldn’t miss his beard even when surrounded by a sea of tourists. We greeted each other and got on trail to get away from the crowds. Not long into us hiking and talking we saw the towering rock face of Carlton Peak looming in the distance. Once we got closer to the peak it almost felt like we were out West with the rock scramble up to the top. We might not have the big mountains like they do out West but the Sawtooth Mountains here are underrated. Once at the top it seemed like there were overlooks everywhere though we skipped out on the Ted Tofte overlook which I know is one of the better views up there. My Achilles was once again hurting pretty bad today and I didn’t want to push it more than I had to.
Another reason I didn’t feel like taking the spur to the other overlook was that I had my eyes on the next food resupply point coming up. We met another local photographer Chuck Olsen who lives nearby in Tofte. Before the hike I met up with him to give him the food I will need for this part. This was a big food carry with 4 days worth of food. I loaded up my pack and slammed the Gatorade I had set aside as well. After chatting with Chuck and taking a break for a bit me and Ben hit the trail again.
Photo & Re-Supply from Chuck Olsen. I’m on the right, Ben’s on the left.
Ben wanted to stop at the Springdale Creek campsite to preemptively take care of a hot spot on his foot to prevent a possible blister he felt coming on. I needed to take a break at the LeVeaux Pond campsite to rest my Achilles for a bit. We’re both a little hobbled up but at least this was a short day and we’re almost at our target campsite for the night. We passed LeVeaux Mountain and the spur trail up to it just to get to camp sooner rather than later. The Onion River site is a very big multi group campsite with plenty of room and even a bear pole to hang your food easily. I wish more sites had bear poles as trees can be difficult to find at some places and a lot of people are pretty lazy/bad at hanging I’ve noticed. We hung out for a bit and made dinner before retreating to our tents around d 6:30. It was supposed to rain the wind has already started to pick up.
Photo by: Benjamin Hancock
DAY 14: SATURDAY 6/25/22
Total Mileage: ~17 Miles. Onion River Campsite - Spruce Creek Campsite. 5+ tent pads. Water from Spruce Creek.
While we were sleeping a few other people joined us at the campsite. I was surprised we were the only ones there to begin with. In the morning we talked with Caroline who was actually at the busy Crow Creek Campsite with me way back on day 6! She had been section hiking and when she was trying to figure out where to hike she came across my SHT Itinerary and said it was really helpful! She also said she was volunteering for the Lutsen 99 today. I had no idea that was going on now, might make this section pretty busy. The 99er is a huge mountain bike race starting from the top of the Lutsen Ski Resort going down the road onto Highway 61, which is temporarily closed for the event, and then heads back into the woods to loop back to the top of Lutsen. I actually biked it years ago- well just the 19er mile version of it as a novice biker.
\After Caroline left for the race I had a light breakfast with Ben before we both went separate ways. He retraced our steps back to his car and I continued north. It rained last night and is sprinkling a little bit now. I love hiking in the rain when all of the leaves are a vibrant saturated green and fog adds a slight mystery to the forest. Not to mention the cooler temperature which was welcomed after these past few hot days. The bugs were really bad though so there is that. The bug head net went on while I was hiking. I descended down into the shadow of Oberg Mountain where I crossed Oberg Creek and Rollins Creek. Here I took a quick break to filter water but the bugs were too bad to stay long.
Winding trail with a blue blaze.
The Poplar River from the bridge.
Up I went along the steep climb on the backside of Moose Mountain towards the top of Lutsen. I debated taking the spur trail to the gondola and taking that down but that would be cheating! Nah I don’t really care about that, I mean I already rode a scooter through Duluth for a few miles earlier in the hike… I was more concerned that the gondola wouldn’t be running with the race going on and the rain, plus it’s super expensive especially for a one way ride! On the top of the mountain I was in the fog which was too bad because there’s some amazing views from up here, especially in the fall with the plentiful maple trees turning vibrant reds, oranges and yellows.
I forgot how much of a climb it is to get up Mystery Mountain as well. It’s not as steep as Moose Mountain, but it’s a long gradual uphill with lots of switchbacks. Coming down the other side of Mystery Mountain I got to the iconic bridge over the Poplar River Gorge. From here there’s an amazing view on both sides of the bridge. This is also where the Lutsen 99er race shared paths with the SHT. I took a short break to watch the bikers zoom by, each of us wishing the other good luck on our travels. They were almost at the finish line, I had much farther to go.
Continuing on I got to Glove Overlook which provides a nice inland view of the forest below. Then I got to the campsites on the Poplar River. These are nice spots but I would recommend the East Poplar River site as it’s right on the water. The trail then goes on towards Lake Agnes, but first there’s a few more scenic overlooks including one of my favorites that features an expansive view with the Poplar River winding in a perfect S Shape in the valley below.
From that overlook it’s not far until Lake Agnes. The West campsite is way up on a hill off of the lake and acts more as an overflow site to the more popular East site that is right on the lake. I’ve stayed here before but have my eye set on the East. I passed the West and came to Hunter’s Rock which is a beautiful overlook on a hillside covered in wildflowers looking over Lake Agnes.
Lake Agnes from Hunter’s Rock
When I got to the campsite I was surprised to find that it was empty! I took a look around and wasn’t really feeling it however. The day is still early and I was feeling like I could get some more miles in. Plus this site is often sort of a party spot at times being so close to the trailhead at Caribou Lake. As I was leaving I heard a VERY loud group of 4 or 5 people coming down the spur trail towards the camp that reaffirmed my decision to keep going.
I hiked towards the next site which would be Jonvick Creek in 2 miles. When I got there it was pretty overgrown and looked like it has seldom been used so I decided to go another 2 miles to Spruce Creek Campsite. There was a boardwalk going over the Jonvick Creek pond that was falling apart as well. Was safe to walk across safely though. After crossing there was a big pile of lumber and other materials to rebuild it soon. The SHTA organizes volunteer groups to do trail work in priority areas.
Jonvick Creek
The woods were really thick through this stretch. Climbing a ridge it finally opened up for a quick inland view before diverting back into the forest. The trail steeply drops down to Spruce Creek from the top of the ridge. The bridge here is damaged as well from the spring flooding and was closed off. It’s a wet crossing for now and literally right before the campsite. The water was about up to my knees. There were a few other guys already set up and having a fire. I said hello and found myself a more secluded spot down the creek. It was a really beautiful campsite full of mossy boulders all over and with the cascading creek going right by the site. I soaked my feet in the cool waters as I ate the rest of the day’s foods and caught up on these journal notes.
Last inland view before dropping down to Spruce Creek Campsite for the night.
DAY 15: SUNDAY 6/26/22
Total Mileage: ~17 Miles. Spruce Creek Campsite - North Bally Creek Pond Campsite. 3 tent pads. Water from Beaver Pond, though I went to the creek that has a boardwalk over it.
I woke up at 7 AM. After pushing farther than I planned yesterday I’m closer to my destination campsite today. Only 10 miles to the site I was planning on staying at on North Cascade River. We’ll see what happens though. I’m for sure stopping at Cascade Lodge for breakfast though! Real food sounds great right about now. Plus I could use a quick charge on my electronic to top me off for the last stretch. I really enjoyed this campsite here at Spruce Creek. It had sort of a magical feeling to it. Would definitely stay here again sometime.
Leaving camp there really wasn’t much of note until I got to Jerry Evjen’s Lookout. Even that was a little grown in though. The better views are a little farther at Lookout Mountain. Incredible! I’ve been to Cascade River State Park countless times for the waterfalls, but I’ve never been up here actually. There’s a really nice State Park backpacking site with a shelter right by the overlook that I’d like to stay at sometime after seeing it.
Lookout Mountain overlook
I got to the river and took a detour off trail to the Cascade Lodge. Made it there just in time for breakfast. I ordered the classic breakfast and side of fresh fruit making sure to leave no trace on my plate. Thanks to the staff for charging my external battery bank behind the bar as well. That extra juice was needed for the rest of the hike.
Feeling good with a full belly I decided to push farther today so I’d be closer to my re-supply in Grand Marais tomorrow. There’s construction on the north bridge over the river on Pike Lake Rd so hikers have to take the East side of the Cascade loop trail to access the northern part of the SHT. It was actually my first time on this side of the river as well. It was nice for a change of pace but the West side is much more interesting and scenic. The Trout Creek campsite over here was nice and so are the waterfalls at Hidden Falls. Those are easily accessible from the Pike Lake Rd trailhead so I would recommend that if you want to see those falls. The sun was out but it was raining when I went by the falls.
After the North Cascade campsite the trail was very overgrown. You do get a really cool look back at Lookout Mountain before heading into the green tunnel. Eventually the trail came to Bally Creek Pond where there was a rainbow at the time I arrived. I’ve stayed at the southern campsite before so I went to north one now. After eating most the food I had left I went to bed.
Lookout Mountain and the Cascade River.
Rainbow over Bally Creek Pond
Trip Report from backpacking the 42 mile long Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Trail. It follows sandy beaches and dramatic cliffs along Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.