Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis, MN

On an unusually warm, late-February day, my friend Cat and I decided go on the first hike of the year! We chose Theodore Wirth Regional Park in Minneapolis as our destination for our hike on February 27th. This park is nestled right between Hwy 100 and I-94, just north of I-394, minutes from downtown. This park is about the size of Central Park in NYC and offers numerous activities like hiking, downhill biking, archery, swimming in the summer, cross country skiing in the winter, and golfing. We parked near the beach house (3200 Glenwood Ave), which I would recommend because it's pretty much right in the middle of the park.

We began our hike with the short loop around Wirth Lake. As you can imagine, the trails were very wet and not just a little muddy. Shortly after starting out on the trail, we decided to climb a nearby hill and explore above. We came out into a clearing with trees on all sides and started walking. It was a beautiful area and I spotted a grove of pine trees that reminded me of the beautiful parks in Duluth, so we decided to go that way. The photo below is a panorama of this open clearing, with the grove of pines on the left.

As we made our way through the pines, I found the trail to be very reminiscent of Hartley Park in Duluth, MN, a park I hope to add on this blog before the end of the summer. The only problem with this trail was its close proximity to the road that runs through the park. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful area. 

After our detour, we returned to the path and made our way around the lake. It was a nice trail and part of it went straight over the lake on a boardwalk. Although I didn't take any pictures of this part, it's very cool because you can see across the entire lake. From there, we found ourselves back where we started, so we decided to cross the road and explore the "highlands" as I referred to them. 

This is an area of the park that climbs up towards the highway. The trail forks in many places and we pretty much just went wherever we thought was most interesting. We ended up climbing all the way to the top only to find even more off-shoots and trails going off in every direction. At the top, we found ourselves at the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary. Although it was closed because of the season, it looked like a nice little spot for activities in the spring and summer. From there, we walked down the road and found another path that we hoped would lead us to a unique feature of this park: the Quaking Bog.

The path left us in an open picnic area, a spot I thought would be perfect to string up our hammocks. Cat and our friend Chris wanted to press on, however, so I abandoned my hopes of hammocking that day. We crossed the road and found a path leading to even more hiking trails. 

When we got into the thick of it, we noticed there were people hiking below us and realized we had found the bog! Getting to it was harder than we thought, as we couldn't find the trail that led directly to it. So, we took a short cut and climbed down the hill, only to find we still weren't in the right place!

Eventually we made it to the floor of the bog. It was about ten degrees cooler in there, but it was a pretty cool sight! It reminded me of the Dead Marshes from The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Yep, I'm a nerd), without the actual dead people! It was kind of eerie to walk through, as fog descended down on us as we went. I found some neat graffiti on one of the trees. There was a kind of boardwalk that went through the bog and in places it was completely submerged in the water and muck. In some places, it floated on top of the swampy ground and in others it dipped down, disappeared, and reemerged ten feet away. All in all, a very cool spot!

After leaving the Quaking Bog, we decided we would head back to the car. We were very tired when we arrived back at the car, but very satisfied with our hike. Overall, we hiked about 7 miles that day! Although we didn't get to hammock, I still thoroughly enjoyed our hike! It's great exercise and I slept very well that night! 

Starting with this post, I am going to begin rating my hiking destinations. This park is very big and we hiked pretty much corner to corner. It has great trails, although they were icy and very muddy at this time of year. The Quaking Bog is by far the coolest thing about this park and even though we never stopped, I saw some great places for hammocking. The only problem I had with this park was the lack of directional information. The trails aren't marked very well and the map is not very helpful. We ended up using our GPS to figure out which way to go.

Overall, this park is a great place to hike, among other various activities that we didn't get to try. Below are my ratings:

Location: 9 out of 10 - very accessible to much of the greater Twin Cities area.

Difficulty: 5 out of 10 - the trails are not very vigorous, as most of them are flat or very shallowly inclined. There are some places where they get steep, but overall, pretty easy to hike this place.

Accessibility: 8 out of 10 - much of this park is open all year, and there are lots of activities to do no matter what season it is.

Variety: 10 out of 10 - like I said before, there's lots to do here!

Adventure: 9 out of 10 - this category measures how easy it is to go off the beaten path and find new places. This park has a lot of forest area and it's fairly easy to find new places to hike off the main trails. 

Overall: 8 out of 10 - this is one of the best parks I've seen in the heart of the Twin Cities. There are great parks all around the metro, but some of them take a bit more time to get to, or otherwise aren't as scenic or expansive as this one.

We had a great hike here! I highly recommend this park to people of all ages. Thanks for visiting my page. Until next time, happy hunting!

~Haley

Herman Field Park in Chanhassen, MN

Last weekend on August 22nd, Mitch and I finally made it to Herman Field Park (2591 Forest Ave, Chanhassen, MN 55331). This park is special to me because a dear friend of mine used to live near by and we went to this park often. The trails are connected to Minnewashta Regional Park, a large, beautiful park with more places to hike, swim, picnic, fish, and just about anything else you can think to do outside! It was a cloudy day and we didn't stay for very long, about 2 hours. All the same, it was a nice experience.

The parking lot is right next to a nice open field, playground, and basketball court. Just to the left of Mitch in the photo below is the trail head. Going in is always fun because of the forest tunnel! After getting through there, it opens up and the trail forks in several places. 

 

Mitch and I decided to take the left trail and we continued into an area I'd never been before. We hiked the outer loop and came out in Minnewashta Regional Park, right by the lake! It was pretty windy and before long we started hiking back along shore. The sun even poked out once or twice! The wind continued to get stronger as we started searching for a place to hammock.

On our way back to the beginning of the trail, we came upon this amazing grove of pine trees right in the middle this deciduous forest. I've always loved pine trees and I wanted to hammock there, but the brush was overgrown. Always check your entire body for ticks when you're done hiking, ESPECIALLY if you're wearing shorts and/or walking through overgrowth! It's not a bad idea to occasionally check your shoes and legs during the hike, too.

We found more fungi on this trip than I have in a while! Although we only found three, they were all different types and each one was beautiful! They were pretty cool looking. I loved how bright the orange ones are, and how fuzzy the white ones are!

We had to search for a good 30 minutes before we found a decent spot to hammock. A lot of the places we thought looked promising from far away turned out not to be. Finally, we decided to climb up a hill to a group that looked like it had some good trees. We put up our hammocks there and chilled out for a little while. Mitch decided to try something I was afraid to do last week when Cat suggested it. Flipping over, cocoon style!

The forecast called from thunderstorms that day and as the wind picked up, we looked up with skepticism as we watched the trees we were attached to sway vigorously. Still, we stayed for a while in the cool wind. The view from the top of the hill was awesome, too. It looked over the path and open woods around us. 

When the sky started getting dark we decided it was time to pack up and go home. It was a little difficult to get our hammocks down because the wind was so strong. The hike back to the car was short but no less enjoyable.

This wasn't a long hike but it was still fun! This is a nice park to spend a few hours at, and if you want, make a day of it over in the regional park. Hopefully we will be able to go for a longer hike this coming Saturday. Until next time, happy hunting!

~ Haley & Mitch

Afton State Park in Hastings, MN

On Saturday, August 15th, I spent an amazing day at Afton State Park (6959 Peller Ave S, Hastings, MN 55033). This park is situated on the western bank of the St. Croix River (farther south than Interstate last week). It has miles of hiking trails, family and group camping, a nice beach, and picnic areas. It also has a great downhill ski area during the winter. Unfortunately, Mitch had another obligation that day so I went with one of my good friends, Cat. We set out from Bloomington at around 1:30PM and arrived at Afton at about 2:15PM. Here we are about to embark on what was going to be an epic adventure!

This day was the hottest and most humid I've encountered yet on my adventures. We were sweating head to foot for the majority of the day, but that didn't make it any less awesome! We began our hike at the Afton State Park Visitor's Center and made our way down a winding path to the main trail that leads to the beach, campground, and other hiking trails. We decided to leave the trail because of the abundant traffic and made our way down a steep slope to a flat area with lots of trees. This was one of my favorite spots at Afton because it was wide open, yet had many beautiful trees to walk amongst, as well as a small stream with a makeshift log bridge.

After finding our way back to the main path (twenty feet above!), we followed a trail along the river, passing the beach and campgrounds. The trail was straight for a long stretch, with the river to our right and a towering hill covered in trees to our left. We had decided when we got there to take a hike up to an overlook that seemed shorter and easier on the map than it actually was. Finally we reached the fork in our road and turned upwards towards the overlook. This was probably the most rigorous part of our hike, as it was steep and had a likeness to the switchback path I remember from Yellowstone National Park. We stopped frequently to rest and drink water. This is important! Don't overwork yourself, rest when you need to, and drink plenty of water, or you'll find yourself in a bad situation real quick. Anyway, I was amazed to see a plummeting gorge along the way. It was filled with trees and if I stood in the right place, I could see all the way through it to the top.

After a very tiring hike, we made it to the top only to find that the last stretch of the trail was through a large field in open sunlight. We took a rest on a nearby bench before finishing up. When we made it to the top, we looked back and could see for miles! We hadn't even made it to the overlook yet, as it was through the trees ahead, but already our grueling hike seemed worth it. As we finally reached the overlook, we were overcome with mild disappointment. It was small and the view through the trees wasn't exemplary. Still, it made for an awesome picture!

After admiring the view, we found a little path that led into the woods to the right of the overlook. It was narrow, twisty, and in some places very uneven. We guessed that rainwater had probably washed a lot of the path downhill because there were huge gaping holes, tree roots sticking out, and the trail was wet and a little muddy. I was a little skeptical of this path at first, for the reasons I just explained, and I was anxious that if we went down, we might have to hike all the way back up if this ended up not being an actual path. However, I was wrong, as Cat lovingly pointed out, and after about just five minutes, we found ourselves back by the main path. We followed our small trail under the bridge that the main path went over and emerged by the beach.

By this point, I'm sure you can imagine that we were SO ready to string up our hammocks and relax. We made our way north along the bank of the river, winding through groves of trees. About a quarter of a mile down, we found a spot. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this was the best spot I've found so far (credit goes to Cat for choosing the spot!). It was right at the edge of the trees, ten feet from the water. There were no bugs, a nice breeze, and it was in the shade. The only thing I didn't like about this spot was the noise from the water traffic. However, it was fun to watch the dare devils riding their jet skis over huge waves and getting major air!

We spent about 2 hours here, listening to music, eating lunch, and just enjoying ourselves and the great outdoors. Cat took a walk down the beach and found some awesome shells, along with some pretty rocks. I took a snooze while she was away and when she came back we decided to leave around 6:30PM. Well, when that time came we dilly-dallied more than a little because it turned into such a beautiful evening. There were some shenanigans and also some delays, but by about 6:45PM we were on our way back to the car.

Above you can see Cat trying a new way to hammock. This was her way of procrastinating our departure. I didn't want to leave either, but these shenanigans were too much for me to try! (Love you Meow ♥).

This was a great day and I had a lot of fun with just my kitty! I love going with Mitch, but the experience was different with Cat and it was still just as much, if not more fun! Oh, by the way, HUGE shout-out to the amazing soul who let me have some of her e-liquid at the beginning of our hike. I had forgotten to fill up my e-cig before we left, but fate had other ideas! I didn't even ask her name, but thanks whoever you are!



I'm not going to say for sure where I'll be going next week, because as you've probably seen, I change my mind a lot! So, I guess I'll just see where life takes me next week. Thanks for visiting! Until next time, happy hunting!


~Haley & Cat

Interstate Park in Taylors Falls, MN / St. Croix Falls, WI

We decided to push Herman Field Park to next week. Instead, we had the great idea to go to Taylors Falls! This is an amazing area, located on the Minnesota / Wisconsin border about an hour north of the Twin Cities on I-35. Both parts of the park run along the banks of the St. Croix River. On the Minnesota side (Milltown Rd, Taylors Falls, MN 55084), there is an area to rent canoes and kayaks, camping, and the geologic wonder of the giant potholes. Over in Wisconsin (WI-35, St Croix Falls, WI 54024), which is where we spent most of our day, there is a beach, picnic area, more camping, and hiking trails.

The day started out cloudy and humid, and our first hike wasn't much better than the dismal sky. It was mostly flat, although it sloped in some places. There was an area that we believe used to be a mine! The trail was 1.6 mi in each direction, making a 3.2 mi hike in all. We went on the trail because it was supposed to overlook a waterfall and a small lake. When we got there, the waterfall overlook was hundreds of feet away and it was shrouded by foliage. Then we tried to reach the "lake" which turned out to be a pond. The ground was swampy and my feet got soaking wet! I do not recommend this trail, named Silverbrook (trail head located near East Pines Group Camp).









After the first disappointing trail, we decided to go down to the picnic area and find an off-shoot from a hiking trail by the river. I have been to this picnic area before with family and I know the trail that goes up onto the bluffs overlooking the river. We followed the trail for a while as it started to get a little less humid.






When the trail turned downward, we left it behind and followed our feet. We spent a good amount of time climbing among the numerous and moss-covered rocks, labyrinth of roots, and thick forest floor. We followed the bluff along the river until we came to a precipice, at which point we turned inland. After about twenty minutes of searching, we found a nice secluded spot on a small bluff overlooking a gorge filled past the brim with tall trees. It took us a while to figure out how to string our hammocks because the trees were not in a great formation. After trying a few different things, I finally figured out where to put mine, while Mitch had had his up fifteen minutes before.







We spent a good 2-3 hours here! The overlook was beautiful and off in the distance you could see the river. It alternated from cloudy and still to sunny and windy. We listened to one of our favorite bands, Wookiefoot, and ate some clementines! We spent the afternoon loving the nature around us; we even saw a group of 4 hawks circling and gliding on the wind above us. I helped a caterpillar find his way off of my backpack!

After having a snack, we decided to leave and go see some potholes! The hike back was just as fun, if not more, than the hike to our spot. It was nice and sunny and cool while we found our way back to the path. Although we searched for quite some time, I'm glad we put in the effort! Our spot was peaceful and serene.

We made our way back over to Minnesota and went on one last short hike before heading home. I have been to this area with the potholes before as well, and I'm still amazed by it every time. I learned today that the potholes were formed by geological processes in the ancient riverbed that makes up the St. Croix River Valley. It was super interesting to learn how these awesome things were made!







This was an amazing day! I'm so glad we decided to go to Taylors Falls. Next week we will be back on track for Herman Field Park in Excelsior. Thanks for visiting my page. Until next time, happy hunting!

~ Haley & Mitch