By Dustin Mencel
The Mini-School Superior Hiking Trail trip was a blast this year. The hikers that went were Andrew Beddor, Monica Duperre, Natalie Evans, Katie Juneau, Chris Korolchuck, Dustin Mencel, Alaina Mielke, Joe Morseth, John Shannon, and Stein Thorbeck.
The first day was a little bit cloudy and it rained in the afternoon, which was kind of a bummer, but everyone was good because people were working hard. Everyone was really pumped to hike and people were helping the whole group. According to Paul and Doug who were the teachers that were on the trip with us, we were moving at a slower pace than we would have liked but we still made it to the camp site before dark. When we got to the site we made dinner and then Doug cancelled the start of the book The Foxhound due to weather. The campsite was located at the beginning of the lake walk. Paul wanted to push for another mile or so but the group didn’t want to so we stayed at that spot. It was cold, windy, and rainy so we all went to our tents after dinner.
The next morning was really nice. It was sunny and warm. We were slow leaving the campsite because nobody wanted to carry the extra group gear. Doug wasn’t too happy with us. We finally got on foot and headed down the lake walk. The lake walk was tough because we were walking on rocks and our feet were sinking in so you couldn’t get a footing. We made it to the end of the lake walk and then hooked back up with the woodsy trail. Everyone was relieved to get back on that because the hiking was easier. For lunch we stopped at a German Bed and Breakfast: It was called the Jagerhaus. The people were really nice there. They gave us free candy and then they set out pop and chips that we could buy. On our way out they gave us each a pop for free, which was really cool. Stopping there also gave us a chance to fill up our canteens. After lunch we pushed pretty hard for the campsite. When we got to the campsite we ate dinner and then Doug started The Foxhound for the school part of the trip. When we finished we hit the tents and fell asleep.
On Wednesday it was drizzling when we woke up so we had to eat in the rain. By the time we got on the trail and were hiking pretty steady it was down pouring. The rain was definitely slowing us down. We almost made it to the spot where we were going to eat lunch and Alaina slipped and sprained her ankle pretty bad. She iced it in the river while we were eating lunch. Alaina was slowed down by her injury, so we didn’t make it too far. Tex and Joe and I were the first ones at the campsite so we set up our tents, and started looking for firewood. When everyone got there Doug got annoyed because no one was helping to gather wood. We finally got the fire started and made dinner. Doug read us The Foxhound but he cut it off early because it started to rain a little bit and we went to bed.
Thursday Paul got up and out of the campsite earlier than everybody else. He was going to push for Pin Cushion Mountain so he could call Alaina’s grandma to come and pick her up. John and I were assigned to bring up the rear. I put Alaina’s sleeping bag and sleeping pad on my pack and shortly afterwards, Paul made it back from Pin Cushion and took the rest of her gear. By the time Paul and I got back everyone else was sitting at Pin Cushion accept Alaina and Natalie. Natalie was slow because her feet were hurting. Paul had me stay with him to wait for Alaina and her grandma while the rest of the group pushed for the campsite. We told Natalie to run up to the rest of the group.
Alaina’s grandma arrived and took her to her home, then Paul and I were trekked hard to catch up with everyone. When we caught up to them we didn’t have Natalie and she should have been caught between the two groups. Paul and I had to run back down the trail to find her. When we got back to the highway 12 crossing Paul sent me down the-road and he continued on the trail. It turns out that she made it to town and got a ride up to the campsite. So everything worked out well. We all made it to the campsite O.K. When we finished our dinner Doug finished The Foxhound and we went to bed. We all slept well knowing that we would push for home the next day.
When we woke up the last day it was freezing. There was about an inch of frost on the ground. We walked pretty much downhill the whole way. When we all met up at the van we were exhausted. We all packed up our gear and went to meet Alaina in Two Harbors at Pizza Hut to have a bite to eat. After that we all went home. All in all it was a great trip and an exciting learning experience.