Category Archives: Camping

MN Trip ~Day 4 The SHT

On day four of our MN Trip Nick and I grabbed our packs and headed north to the Superior Hiking Trail!

beforehim

Our plan was to go from Silver Bay to Tetteguche Campground and back in 3 days.

beforeme

lake

There were some beautiful views on this part of the trail!

We even got to see Lake Superior.

campsites

The plan was to go to the Bear Lake the first day which was 3.4 miles.

I wanted to take it easy since I knew we would be driving up that day also and I did not know how I would handle a pack.

trailmark

This section of the trail does have a lot of up and down.

leaves

lightpath

pack

smile

I was pretty excited to be in this part of the country.

I love it up there.

colors

view

bearlake

We got to Bear Lake really early in the day despite driving 4hrs to get to the trailhead to begin with.

bearlake2

After taking off our packs for a bit we decided to keep going to the next campsite to save us some miles the next day.

bearlakecamp

beanlake

pathhike

low

trailhike

trees3

lookout

My pack was pretty light.

I have never carried a full load but am working my way up.

roundmountaincamp

Round Mountain Campsite!

It was supposed to be around 4.6 miles from the Silver Bay trailhead but might have been a bit further.

We got water while at Bear Lake.

I am really glad we did because the creek and beaver pond near this campsite did not look very appealing.

I will be doing a post on what gear we brought.

campfire

There campsites are really nice.

I did not expect backpacking sites to have seats!

campsiteround

bathroom

All the campsites have a designated bathroom.

It is just a hole in the ground pretty much but still it is nice to have something!

Am I the only woman that has trouble with the zero privacy backpacking brings?

I was really glad no one else decided to camp here!

fire

The wood was really wet so a fire was way too much work.

We just used the little stove we brought to cook our meals.

potboiling

After eating dinner we headed up the trail a little ways to an overlook.

overlook

This is me extremely excited to not have my pack on!

I felt like I could hike forever!

sunsetview2

I highly recommend going to the overlook!

Not only does it have a perfect view of the sunset but on the other side you can see Lake Superior.

lakesuper

iphone

You can also get a phone signal…

us

I was so excited I made it to the first campsite without injury!

The next day we head north to Tetteguche!

Our Weekend

settingupI decided last minute to do the DanMan Challenge this past weekend.

I had some complaining from my husband and son about my choice of the 10K, apparently they are above that.

I am not.

I would have choosen the 5K if they had one.

Since it was 3hrs away we camped at Lake Texoma Resort State Park the night before.

tent

dinnerDinner.

I really like these type of stoves, they make heating up water so much easier!

laketexomaThis is not a park we would usually travel to go to because it does not have much hiking but it was a beautiful place to spend an evening.

boyslake

lake2

play

shells

laketexoma2

water

trailIt even had a hiking trail.

It was an under 3 mile out and back.

forest

trailpathSuch a beautiful way to spend an evening.

himandmeI really like having a little photographer with me.

laughingWe started laughing when he just kept clicking away.

laketrailWalking along a lake, holding hands at sunset.

A memory I want to cherish forever.

holdingshells

swingingThis was me forcing my husband to turn around and my son to take our picture because the light was so pretty.

flowrs

tenteveningI decided to leave the air mattress at home, I thought surely the foam pads and an extra sleeping bag would be enough.

I am wimp.

It was not enough.

bedtimeReading a bedtime story on my kindle.

finishersThe next morning we ran the 10K at the DanMan Challenge!

My oldest and husband ran together and my little man and I ran together.

His thoughts on the privilege of running with his mom, “I am not the slowest in this family so why do I have to run with you?”

Yep, I am slow.

I am pretty sure I was fast enough for his first 10K though.

He did point out that a 10K is very short.

That poor child thinks 6.2 miles is nothing.

danmanchallengeIt was a fun run on dirt roads and trails.

It is so amazing that someone opens their ranch up and invites all of these strangers to come enjoy it!

It was a great first run for my boy and I!

Since this post already has a lot in it, I will share what we did after the Challenge tomorrow!

There just happened to be a fun history event going on in the area of the Challenge!

Devil’s Den State Park ~Part 2

highlands leaves log trailsigns lakeWe went to Lake Fort Smith to hike on the Highlands Trail the day after Thanksgiving.

It is a 165 miles long national recreation trail in Arkansas!

We only did 5 miles of it though.

moss earlymorning dam logwalk devilsdenWe hiked the Lake trail and the Devil’s Den trail on Saturday.

We started back home on Sunday but stopped off at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.

It is located near Fort Smith in Oklahoma.

lotsofgeese road mass reflection armadillo geeselook geeseflight geese owlflight birdtrail birds meI really enjoy looking at all the birds they have!

They do Eagle Watch tours also.

Part 1, here.

The boys had a great time and loved Devil’s Den!

My oldest was already asking when we could go again!