Superior Hiking Trail Group Trip Highlights

Superior Hiking Trail Group Trip Highlights

This weekend, five amazing ladies who had never backpacked before joined me on a 4 day trip along the Superior Hiking Trail.

We hiked, camped, cooked and laughed together under a canopy of fall colors. And while it wasn’t always easy, (hellooo rain & steep inclines!) it was a blast. I’m so thankful I got to share this experience with them.

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The weekend flew by but I took an insane amount of photos of the girls and all the fall foliage. So here’s a little recap of our weekend through pictures, enjoy!

Day 1: Mountain Inn, Lutsen

We kicked off our trip by meeting at the Mountain Inn, located in beautiful Lutsen, Minnesota. After we got settled in our rooms, we met out back for a burgers on the grill and the chance to discuss the trip. We hung out, ate dinner, and talked backpacking.

That night, we went over what we had in our packs & weighed our bags to see just how heavy they were for the upcoming trek!

Day 2 Oberg Loop & Mystery Mountain Camp

In the morning, we woke up to see the forecast for rain had increased! We had a grab & go breakfast at the hotel before I ran to buy extra ponchos & garbage bags for the group in the event that it rained.

Originally, the forecast had looked sunny all weekend! But now we were armed with trash bags to cover our packs and would be able to keep everything dry.

Oberg Mountain Loop

We started with the Oberg Loop spur trail for gorgeous fall views over Lake Superior. This two mile loop kicks off with a challenging uphill hike, so right off the bat, the ladies were testing out how their backpacks would feel for the next 3 days.

As we hiked around Oberg Mountain, the wind began to pick up but fortunately, the projected rain was only sprinkles in the morning.

Our first day was a total of 9 miles to camp. The trails were rather quiet, most likely due to the projected rain and recent forest fires in Canada. And although it wasn’t exactly sunny, we never got caught in any serious rain. It was a great first day of hiking!

Mystery Mountain Campsite

We were thrilled when we finally reached camp and could set down our bags, change out of hiking boots and get started on dinner! On the Superior Hiking Trail, all campsites are communal so there were two other groups of women camping there as well. It made for a fun night at camp with all the ladies! And the stars were incredibly bright the first night, it was stunning.

Even though it had rained earlier and camp was wet, we managed to get a roaring fire going! And for the ladies without bear canisters, I showed how to do a bear hang in the trees to keep our food safe and to not attract any bears to camp.

Day 3 Poplar River & Lake Agnes

We took our time in the morning packing down and cooking breakfast. We also had a birthday on the trip so by the time we sang to Amy & gave her the card we brought along, we were hitting the trail around 10:30 am. It had been a chilly first night with the rain so it felt good to get moving! And of course, a hot cup of coffee in the morning did wonders.

Glove Overlook

We stopped at Glove Overlook for a snack and photo break before continuing on to the river. While some fall colors were vibrant, it was a strange year due to the draught so some leaves fell more quickly before even turning. But the views were still spectacular!

Poplar River

After lunch, we continued on to the Poplar River which we got to hike alongside for quite some time. It also made for an excellent water source so the ladies were able to refill their bottles and treat the water before drinking.

After a steep incline, we got to see the river from above as well. This winding view of the river is one of my favorites along the Superior Hiking Trail!

West Lake Agnes Campsite

After 6 miles of hiking, we made it to the West Lake Agnes campsite. The colors here were particularly vibrant! And the lake looked beautiful just before sunset.

We set up camp and cooked dinner before building another roaring fire! That evening a couple and their dogs joined us at the campfire. Some of us opted to share tents that evening to minimize set up & for extra body heat. Fortunately it worked and no one was cold the second night!

Day 4: White Sky Rock & Lutsen

It rained during the night and we woke up to some muddy trail conditions. Fortunately, nothing too bad. We cooked breakfast and were on our way!

The views around Lake Agnes were beautiful in the still of morning. You could see the fall colors reflected back in the calm water of the lake.

As we hiked, we passed through vibrant fall colors, some of the best we had seen yet!

Although we only had a short ways to go, the trail was fun and whimsical with ladders, steps and bridges.

White Sky Rock

When we reached the end, we did one final spur trail, the stunning White Sky Rock! This short trail packs a lot of punch with unbeatable views at the top.

Lutsen

After that, we were picked up by the SHT icon, Harriet! She has been running a shuttle service along the hiking trail for decades and certainly lives up to her reputation as a fun, spunky, loveable woman. Once we reached our cars, we went to Lutsen for lunch and to soak in the last of the fall views.