I suppose it was bound to happen, after all, I’ve had 2-1/2 weeks of pretty good weather but the outlook and result of today’s was pretty dismal.
It rained a bit overnight but stopped by the time I got out of the tent about 6 am. I’d put on my running shoes and wanted to check out the snowshoe trail that is a couple hundred yards from my site.
From the map it looked like it was a loop about a mile and a half and I figured I could easily run/hike it to check things out. It is quite lush and, amazingly, free of bugs. I didn’t even see a mosquito in my camp last night. There have been some trail improvements by Eagle Scouts who built bridges across some drainage areas but most of the trail was just cut through the forest and the thick underbrush.
I ran some and walked some and eventually got to the branch of the trail that went out to an old sandstone quarry. I followed it and found the pit, full of water, and some signage that explained its history.
I followed the trail around the quarry and on one side it ran along a river that had carved out a small canyon.
I continued on and saw a small waterfall but beyond that were some man-made structures, long since abandoned. From the description on the sign, it was part of the sandstone mining operation that existed from 1887 to 1907.
After the hike I got cleaned up, packed up, and back on the road. Before getting back to the main highway I passed a group of wild turkeys and, a bit further on, a bald eagle.
The route I’d set up would take me through Superior, WI and Duluth, MN before heading north to International Falls. I’d never been that far north in the state and figured this would be a good opportunity to check it out.
I’d made two trips to this area in the past. About 15-years ago I ran Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth which started in Two Harbors, 26.2 miles from the bridge area of Duluth, north along Lake Superior. It was lots of fun except that by the time I finished (4:37) the temperature was 82 and the humidity about matched that.
The other trip was a few years later when my wife and I did a car trip through the Iron Range of Minnesota, checking out the big mining pit just outside of Hibbing, Bob Dylan’s hometown, before driving the coast road, Highway 61, up to Thunder Bay, Ontario. We came back down the coast and checked out Duluth, particularly the Glensheen Mansion, definitely worth the tour, with a more recent violent history. Fascinating place.
Today, there was no sightseeing. As I traveled through Superior it started to drizzle. By the time I got to the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge to cross St. Louis Bay into Duluth, it was a full on rain with a strong cross wind off the lake. The navigation app, thankfully, routed me around most of Duluth and I was starting to get wet every time I stopped for a light or a stop sign. I had my rain liner in my jacket but hadn’t put on my rain pants because I didn’t anticipate this storm. While moving, the fairing and windshield on the bike do a good job of routing the water around me but stopping in a downpour is something else. I stayed on Highland Ave. for 6 miles until it came to the junction with Highway 53. I turned north and had to get past any fear of riding at 60 miles per hour in a heavy rain because that was the flow of traffic. Hwy 53 is a 4-lane, divided road with a speed limit of 65 mph so everyone, plus all the semis, are really scooting. About 20-some miles later it becomes a 2-lane road and the traffic greatly diminished.
A sign of relief showed up when a Rest Area appeared about 40-miles out of Duluth. I needed to add another long-sleeve shirt over the one I was already wearing and to dig out those rain pants. The upper parts of my Levis were pretty wet already but I was in search of warmth, not dryness. I also donned my waterproof and insulated winter gloves and when I got back on the road, in spite of the rain, I felt pretty good.
I planned to stop for gas and, maybe a late breakfast in the city of Virginia, but all I got was gas. Traffic was a mess. Don’t these people have jobs? I headed out and stopped for a sandwich in Cook, MN. The rain had almost stopped when I got there but was on again when I left. I’d looked at a radar map and the storm was moving north and I was barely outrunning it.
I made it to International Falls and rode past the bridge that announced “To Canada” and wanted to go back for a picture but the city streets are so torn up with construction that I gave up and set the navigation app for points west. My goal was to make it to the northwestern corner of the state and camp there but that wasn’t going to happen. As I started out of town, heading to Highway 11, it started raining. Hard. Really hard. I could only see about a 1/4 mile up ahead and, luckily, there were few other cars out. I started wondering why I was even out here.
I got about 40 miles into this part of the ride and thought “That’s it. This is crazy. I need to stop.” I had gone quite a ways since I'd even seen anywhere to pull off, just miles and miles of woods and forests so when I saw a sign for “Nelson Landing” that had icons for boating, fishing, and camping, I made the turn. The road took me down to a site along the Rainy River, quite appropriately named today. It’s a county boat launch but has about a dozen campsites and it’s free. There are 4 RVs here without cars so, for now, I am the only one here. The rain is still coming down and rather than set up camp in a regular site, I commandeered the picnic shelter. My tent just fits between the two picnic tables. The river is just a few feet away and that is Canada on the other shore. This will have to do for the night and I’ll just have to see what tomorrow brings.
My weather app indicates that the town of Baudette, about 30 miles to the west, will have rain into this evening but clear by morning. After that it looks pretty good for continuing on westward.
This was today’s route, blue one.
Today’s ride was 235 miles. Also, my bike went past the 10,000-mile mark today finishing the day at 10,030. I’d have stopped for a photo but my mind was on other things.
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