August 15, 2012
It was time for another Wednesday night hike. This week, Paul chose
the Bryce Breon Trail, one that we could access right here from
Heston's. We packed our picnic dinner of Oriental Chicken Salad, chips
and beverages, and hit the trail.
The Minnesota Rovers is the group behind the development of the
Border Route Trail. In the early '70's, they worked with the U.S.
Forest Service to gain permission to build this system of trails that
connects Gunflint Lake to Lake Superior. You can find out more
information at their website, and about the Border Route Trail group at this link. The Bryce Breon Trail was named after two members of the group.
To reach the trail, we began on the High Line, and continued up to
the South Rim. As I expected, at this time of the year, the grasses and
thimbleberry bushes had grown quite high. Given all of the rain that
we had received, the area could be viewed as either lush or overgrown.
The trail is cleared each year--often twice--but the vegetation always
seems to win at some point or other. A few deadfalls also covered the
path, but were easy to scale.
Once atop the South Rim, the travel became easier. Our feet were
getting a bit wet, once again due to the rain. Where small drainages
crossed the trail, we picked our way through on hummocks and high
spots. The first overlook was as spectacular as ever, and Addie
wondered about eating our dinner there. Paul, however, had a certain
rock in mind, so we forged on.
The sign marking the start of the Bryce Breon was mostly visible, and
we turned south. At that point, I am always reminded of a story that
Greg's mom had told me. One fall, she was out hiking the same trail,
and when she turned, just up ahead, she saw three large moose. They
were standing together, totally obscuring the path. They didn't notice
her, and she quietly waited, expecting that they would move along. But
they didn't. They just stood there. Finally, realizing that it could
be quite awhile, Sharlene turned around to go back. No sense in riling
up a gang like that!
It's mostly uphill to the South Rim, and then it levels off. Once on
the Bryce Breon, it begins to descend, as it makes its way to Loon
Lake. In the center portion, there is a magnificent stand of old cedar
trees. To me, it holds the magical feeling of a fairy forest, and my
imagination tries to spot little characters among the mossy rocks and
tree roots. A small creek flows through a portion of it, increasing the
storybook nature of it. It was in that stretch that Paul pointed out
the rock he had chosen for our picnic.
It was an easy enough climb to get to the top, and it was even
cushioned, thanks to the bed of moss and leaves that had fallen there.
Though we still had a bit of a ways to go, it was nice to stop for a
short rest and a bite to eat.
After dinner, we continued on the trail for a ways before Greg and
Paul decided to head back in the direction that we had come. Addie and I
continued on towards Loon. The plan was for the guys to go back and
get the car, while we girls hiked to the Loon Lake public landing. Greg
would then pick us up for the ride back home.
I'm really glad that we chose to do the trek in this way. I had not
been on the shore of Loon Lake in several years, and I wanted to see for
myself the trail conditions. I learned a lot that night. Once again,
thanks to the rains, I found areas of the trail that were extremely
wet. Some of the grass was as tall as our shoulders, and we just
accepted that our feet would be soaked from clambering through these
swampy stretches. As we did so, we were rewarded with excellent views
of the lake and the moon rising over it. We even saw a mama and baby
loon pair (my second one this year!) swimming along in the waning light.
There is a lovely campsite on the shore of the lake, not far from the
landing. We took a moment to venture off-trail to see it, and it looks
like a most hospitable place to spend a night or two. Someone must
have stayed there in recent times, as it was freshly cleared of all that
vegetation that was elsewhere. Thankfully, they had cleared the rest
of the trail as well. This made our final hike out a whole lot easier.
We reached the landing in the falling shades of twilight, and began our
way up the road. Soon we saw headlights, and Greg was there to provide
the four-mile ride back to the lodge.
I am gaining a fresh knowledge base on these trails that we have been
covering, and it's both enjoyable and useful. Now when I recommend
hikes to our guests, I can give them current information, and they will
be better prepared to anticipate the conditions. For someone wanting a
casual hike, I would recommend beginning at the landing and going in to
the campsite. If you are looking for more adventure, continue as we
did, along the shore and up the ridge. (Prepare to get wet feet!) You'll
get to see the cedar forest then, too. Or approach it from the South
Rim side, and do as Paul and Greg did if you do not want to encounter
the wetter conditions. Overall, it was a good experience, and another
wonderful memory to add to my bank.
