Don’t tell me you haven’t been to Gooseberry Falls State Park yet – c’mon! It’s a very popular place in Minnesota, as evidenced by the crowded parking lot and oodles of people there the day we went for our hike. We’d been there several times with our children and always to see the falls. Who knew there were hiking trails? The hiking club trail was a mere 2.2 miles and although it was only 43 degrees, it was mostly clear and sunny. We made a short stop in the amazingly large visitor center/gift shop and then set out to leave the crowd behind.
As usual, I’m pretty peppy at the beginning of a hike and all full of enthusiasm about taking photos. It’s all interesting at that point and I know enough now to realize that by the end of the hike I’ll be passing by the same things with nary a glance.
Soon we were rewarded with soul-filling views of Lake Superior.
As we walked along, we came to a place where you could see up the shore a ways and my husband broke into song. It’s true! It was a rousing little ditty he’d learned in his camp years about the rocky shores of Lake Superior. I wish you could have been there – it made the hike quite epic.
Along the way, we noticed little fenced enclosures here and there. Kris went to investigate and discovered that these were cribs for cute little baby white pines. Awww… We speculated that the fences were to keep deer from eating them.
Later on we passed one with a rambunctious teenage white pine in it, straining to get out.
This is the way of the world. You raise them up with prayer and protective boundaries and then one day, the fence has to come down and you have to let them face the dangers of the world on their own. But you still pray; you always pray.
Near the end of the trail, we found a cozy bench and sat down to enjoy our repast of a Clif bar and some water.
Some large birds of prey were circling overhead and Kris said nobly that if they flew down and grabbed me with their talons, he’d hold onto me and not let go. Who needs chocolates on Valentine’s Day if you can get a nitty gritty declaration of love like that?
We mused about how if those were large eagles, one of them would be Gwaihir, and this could be like the scene in Lord of the Rings when Frodo and Sam are stranded on Mount Doom after throwing the ring in, with the mountain crumbling down around them. Kris looked at me and said, “I’m glad to be with you here, at the end of all things.” No chocolates needed.
Another 2.2 miles down, 16.4 miles accumulated toward the first 25-mile patch. Next stop: Tettegouche State Park, just up the road apiece.
I’ll probably delete this in the morning.
Next Hike: Tettegouche State Park
Lynniebeemuseoday 