Eagle Mountain

On our last full day of vacation we got off to a slow start and just hung around the resort until the sun started burning off the fog. After lunch we drove some thirty miles to get to the Eagle Mountain trailhead.To get to Eagle Mountain and Eagle Lake you have to enter the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

Patti and I on the shore of Eagle Lake on our hike to the top. Eagle Mountain can be seen in the distance.

The hike itself is a seven mile round trip. It is not a difficult hike to do by any means, but the trail in and out does get quite rugged and you do have to be careful about your footing.

We were happy we waited until the early afternoon to start our hike because by then the fog had dissipated and we treated to some pretty spectacular views of the surrounding area.

A round trip hike takes approximately three hours to complete. A local bike shop offers up a challenge each year. The lowest to highest point in Minnesota.

It's like a duathlon. You start at the Coast Guard station in Grand Marais and ride your bike twenty miles to the trailhead. From there you run to the top of Eagle Mountain and back. Remount your bike and ride the twenty miles back to Grand Marais. The first half is mostly uphill the second obviously mostly downhill. I still want to do this, but it may have to wait until autumn, as I'm still not running much. As you can see from the photo above, running won't be an easy task and a great amount of care will need to be taken.

Wildflowers along the trail

Our last view of Eagle Lake on our hike back to the trailhead. Afterwards we drove to Grand Marais for dinner and a cold beer at the Gunflint Tavern. I swear the have the best vegetarian chili I have ever tasted. Also, if you're lucky you can catch some live blues or folk music. Shameless advertising. The only thing I saw that disturbed me the whole time we were on our trip was the young couple who were obviously from the metro area. The way they were dressed it was quite obvious they weren't up there spending time in the woods. What bothered me most was the martinis. Come on people! You're in Grand Marais at the Gunflint Tavern. Sure, they are on the menu, but get real...."When in Rome do as the Romans Do." When in Grand Marais do as people in Grand Marais do. Order yourself up a great local micro brew for heaven's sake. Oh...she was also wearing little silver slipper shoes. She looked like damn Tinkerbell for crying out loud.