by Melanie McManus | Jun 17, 2019 | Border Route Trail 2019, Hiking, Minnesota, North Country Trail 2017 – Still Hiking, Trail Journals, United States
I can’t believe I’m really about to hike the Border Route Trail! Last June, I hiked the 315-mile (507-km) Superior Hiking Trail (SHT), which is also part of the North Country Trail. It ends in the middle of the woods near the Canadian border. Right where it ends, the...
by Melanie McManus | Jun 18, 2019 | Border Route Trail 2019, Hiking, Minnesota, North Country Trail 2017 – Still Hiking, Trail Journals, United States
Last night it wasn’t enough to be at a crappy campsite at Portage Brook. It had to rain three times, too! The last was around 4:30 a.m., so I knew I’d be packing up a wet tent. Rats. It wasn’t raining when I got up around 6 a.m., but the tent was soaked and my...
by Melanie McManus | Jun 19, 2019 | Border Route Trail 2019, Hiking, Minnesota, North Country Trail 2017 – Still Hiking, Trail Journals, United States
I’m writing this in my tent alongside Clearwater Lake. I’m trying to enjoy the haunting cries of the loons, but there are so many mosquitoes buzzing outside it sounds like a massive hive full of angry bees. Boo. Today was full of adventure as always. We broke camp...
by Melanie McManus | Jun 20, 2019 | Border Route Trail 2019, Hiking, Minnesota, North Country Trail 2017 – Still Hiking, Trail Journals, United States
Today’s destination was Sock Lake. I slept in until 6:30 — yikes! But the guys were in no hurry to head out, so we went about our chores and hit the trail at 8:30. The first several miles were just as the Alaska couple told us they’d be. First, we had lots...
by Melanie McManus | Jun 21, 2019 | Border Route Trail 2019, Hiking, Minnesota, North Country Trail 2017 – Still Hiking, Trail Journals, United States
Friday, June 21, 2019The bulk of the campsites along the Border Route Trail are in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). There aren’t many between the Western Terminus, near the popular Magnetic Rock formation, and the western end of the BWCAW. Our...