Today’s goal was reaching Nashwauk. Last night I spent a wonderful evening in Hibbing’s Hampton Inn. While I enjoy camping, motel stays are great, too! I also stocked up on some items at the nearby Walmart Supercenter.
Lee met me this morning in Nashwauk for my shuttle back to Hibbing and the Greyhound Bus Museum. I got started around 9:30 a.m. The forecast was for a cool, cloudy day.
The trail between Hibbing and Nashwauk passes through a few small towns. It’s always interesting to see the architecture of different towns, their signage, etc. It tells you a lot about a place.
Keewatin, for example, is home to a US Steel plant. It seemed like every house and business had a sign about supporting unions, yes to steel, etc. I also noticed about five or six engraved markers at the elementary school, all placed at the base of a tree. Maybe the school buried a time capsule every decade, and these were the markers? I looked at one and, sadly, it was a memorial to a schoolgirl who had died. I’m assuming the rest were the same. 🙁
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Making My Way to Nashwauk
Two additional interesting things today. I’ve neglected to mention there are little signs along the Mesabi Trail that point out spots of historical interest. One today showed the spot where Frank Hibbing, a German miner, arose one cold morning in 
1891 and announced there was iron under his feet, as his bones felt cold and rusty. Ore was discovered at the spot later in the day.
I also spotted someone’s garden that featured a mannequin near a wheel-of-fortune type of apparatus that had all sorts of veggies listed, but also varmints and hail. Ha!
Tonight I drove to my camp at Swan Lake. Turns out I’d booked a spot at a Swan Lake Campground in Fergus Falls, not Pengilly. Luckily the Pengilly Swan Lake had room for me. But, rats, it poured after I’d set up camp, so everything was wet.
Snowshoe
MN NCT miles today: 16.5 (26.6 km)
MN NCT miles to date: 558.1 (898.2 km)
Total NCT miles to date: 2,576.6 (4,146.6 km)
Total NCT miles to go: 2,023.4 (3,256.4 km)
This is the Sea-to-Summit sleeping bag liner I love. It’s great for either warm nights when your quilt/bag is too warm, or cold nights when you need some extra warmth.
