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06/03/2016
My Little Friends


People don't feed these animals, but the trail corridor is a nice green space for them and they are just used to humans walking by. Bicyclists also use the trail and I expect to start seeing some 'trailkill' soon as the little critters ignore the danger. Now, if a deer doesn't get out of the way, that will be something interesting!


So, who has the right-of-way when a human, bird, and deer all want the same space? :-)
Keep your eyes and ears open for animals when walking, riding, or driving. The young'uns are growing quickly and exploring away from protective parents, so you might get to see some closer than usual - and maybe too close if you're not careful.
06/27/2016
Northern MN Hike


Today, I got to hike a new trail at Echo Lake in the Superior National Forest. I explored the trail with two brothers-in-law (any way two guys that each married a different sister of my wife - I think that makes them my brothers-in-law), and we were out for about 90 minutes doing a 5 mile loop route.
This eagle was in a tree along with about a dozen vultures, so I'm not sure if he thought he was a vulture also or what. Other than this, we saw only rabbits on the road and a bit of Moose sign on the trail.


We plowed ahead through prime TICK country all the while being accompanied by small clouds of mosquitoes. The Deep Woods Off repellent worked just fine and I got no bites.
There were thousands of wild flowers, lush grass, and many birch, pines, and poplar trees. We ran into lots of small blueberry bushes and wild strawberry plants but it's too early for fruit yet.


Back at the trailhead, we checked for ticks. We each found about a half dozen. All mine were on my socks, into which I had tucked my pant legs. Absolutely no ticks on my pants or shirt - both have been treated with permethrin!
So, a fun, short, wild hike on a seldom used trail.
07/22/2016
C 2 C - By Bike


My Eagle Scout son completes his Atlantic to Pacific solo bicycle ride from Boston, MA to Anacortes, WA. It has been fun following his progress from sea to sea, covering over 3800 miles, on his blog at BikingDude.com This is his starting photo and I look forward to seeing its twin posted soon.
I now understand a bit more how family back home feel when I'm out hiking for a month. It was a bit stressing when he didn't blog a few days after getting used to seeing his report each day. We were helpless to assist when he had mechanical problems. I could only imagine how much work it took to climb mountain passes, how hot it was across the prairie, and how close traffic came on narrow shoulders. It's a lot easier being the one out there doing the thing than it is being home.
The most enjoyable part for me was to hear how he met many friendly, helpful people just as I often do on my long hikes. A long excursion makes the world a bit smaller and shows that there is certainly a lot more good out there than we usually hear about.
He still has more road to ride. He plans to bike down to San Francisco to visit friends and then see what's next. You'll have to check out his blog to see what happens.
My next (much smaller) adventure starts tomorrow. I'll be leading a group backpacking in the Cloud Peak Wilderness of Wyoming for just a week. It is forecast to be a super week with great weather, fishing, hiking, mountains, wildlife, and as a special treat - my wife will be on the trek. She's not been backpacking in many years, so my fingers are crossed that she'll catch the bug to go on more adventures.
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Posted: 07/22/2016
Posted: 07/22/2016
07/24/2016
Into The Mountains

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Posted: 07/24/2016
Posted: 07/24/2016
Day 1 - Triangle Park

Our first dinner and clean up could have gone better but it tasted great and Mrs. Dude and I did the dishes. That's Mrs. Dude crossing the stream, too.
Just a gorgeous day with a few puffy clouds, nice breeze, no humidity, and few mosquitoes this evening. A couple guys fished in a tiny creek. One guy helped fix my fly pole. :-)
Didn't see any animals except horse.
Early to bed and the temp is dropping so we should sleep well.
07/25/2016
Day 2 - Elk Lake

We got on the trail at 9:30 and had a few miles of pretty tough uphill to a beautiful lunch spot on the top of a pass. From there, it was a rocky but easy walk down to Elk Lake where we eventually found a decent spot to camp.
We saw moose in the lake and a herd of elk run by. The rocky mountains make for a wonderful backdrop across the lake.
Mac and cheese for dinner, but the chili ramen was spicy.
There was frost on the grass this morning but tonight seems much warmer even though we are 1000 feet higher at 9800 feet.
07/26/2016
Day 3 - Rest Day

We hiked 1.5 miles to a mountain reservoir full of trout. We lost count of the fish we caught on flies and spinners over the 6 hours we fished. Mostly brook trout, but a few rainbows and cutthroat, too.
The group decided on an early dinner since storm clouds were building and rolling past. We never did get any rain, but it was nice to eat early.
Tonight, the mosquitos were pretty bad. We saw a fisher exploring our camp and a moose across the lake.
07/27/2016
Day 4 - Over Ant Hill

07/28/2016
Day 5 - Seven Brothers

07/31/2016
Day 6 - Out of the Mountains

It was a super week with great weather having storms only at night, fun people, plenty of wildlife, and majestic views.
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Posted: 07/31/2016
Posted: 07/31/2016
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