{"id":1740,"date":"2018-06-18T19:44:36","date_gmt":"2018-06-18T19:44:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/?p=1740"},"modified":"2021-01-14T23:45:24","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T23:45:24","slug":"day-17-grand-marais-pincushion-to-kadunce-hwy-61","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thethousandmiler.com\/day-17-grand-marais-pincushion-to-kadunce-hwy-61\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota NCT Day 17: Grand Marais\/Pincushion to Kadunce\/Hwy. 61"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/span><\/p>\n I had a pretty incredible day making my way to the Kadunce River. Harriet couldn’t shuttle me<\/a> until the evening, so I parked at the Pincushion\/Grand Marais<\/a> trailhead and headed out. The trail is part of a system of ski trails, so it was pretty easy hiking up to Pincushion, a little over one mile (1.6 km) away. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (among regular links) to products I own and like, or which I think you might like. This means that, at no extra cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. The view from Pincushion<\/a>, a rocky outcrop, is amazing! You can see the lake, shore and inland. I wished I had gone up there at sunrise, or had my breakfast on top. Brian did some photography here, including using the drone<\/a>. It was just spectacular. (My photos do not do it justice at all.)<\/span><\/p>\n From there, the path was pretty pleasant for several hours. Then it got rather overgrown, plus sported lots of downed trees, for at least an hour. The reward? Around lunchtime I emerged on another mountaintop, this time with a meadow bursting with spring wildflowers. I was also treated to expansive views of Lake Superior<\/a>. It was so beautiful, and I was happy to sit down and have lunch amid such beauty. (Again, photos do not do it justice.)<\/span><\/p>\n The afternoon got a little hairier. My phone was dying, and for some reason my 18-month-old battery<\/a> wasn’t working. It wasn’t the patch cord; that was brand new. But I couldn’t communicate with Harriet about my projected pick-up time and spot, nor with Brian, who needed to find me for our daily photo shoots. But what can you do except keep hiking?<\/span><\/p>\n The path wasn’t great in many spots. There were lots of roots to walk around, plus some spots with a lot of shale. Ugh. At some point, the battery kicked in and recharged my phone, so I was able to communicate with Harriet. Technology!<\/span><\/p>\n At the Kadunce River spur, I opted to continue on the trail instead of going to the Kadunce parking lot. The trail crosses Hwy. 61 about 2 miles (3.2 km) after the spur at a rather nondescript spot. When I hit 61, I waited for Harriet. Within minutes, she was there. She is really something!<\/span><\/p>\n Snowshoe<\/span><\/p>\n MN NCT miles today: =15.5 (25.5 km) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n I am totally sold on Anker portable chargers for my phone, and own several. They are always in my backpack when hiking. Buy yours here<\/a>!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I had a pretty incredible day making my way to the Kadunce River. Harriet couldn’t shuttle me until the evening, so I parked at the Pincushion\/Grand Marais trailhead and headed out. The trail is part of a system of ski trails, so it was pretty easy hiking up to Pincushion, a little over one mile (1.6 km) away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,73,2],"tags":[967,4557],"yoast_head":"\n
_________________________________________________________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<\/i><\/span><\/p>\nMaking My Way to the Kadunce River<\/h2>\n
A Hairy Afternoon<\/h2>\n
MN NCT miles to date: 281.8 (352.1 km)
SHT miles to date: 281.8 (352.1 km)
Total NCT miles to date: 568.2 (914.4 km)
Total NCT miles to go: 4,031.8 (6,488.6 km)<\/span><\/p>\n