Monday, September 24, 2018

Cabot. September 22, 2018

York Pond Trail, Bunnell Notch Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail, 2,400 feet of elevation gain, 9.6 miles

Did you know that the U.S. Department of Agriculture just gave the order to cancel a scientific study that looks into the effects of mining on Minnesota's vulnerable wilderness areas?  This will make it possible for sulfide-ore mining companies to continue their operations, which will damage fragile plant life.  To read Union of Concerned Scientist's article on this, click here. To donate to UCS, follow this link.

Mom and I had Alex start 15 minutes ahead of us, so that she could do the mountain solo.  After the 15 minutes, we started along the flat trail in chilly weather. It was the first day of fall, and it certainly felt like it.


After a short stretch of trail, we reached the intersection with Bunnell Notch Trail...


The path was flat for a long time, with a few little streams and lots of fallen leaves. 



After a while, the path started to go up.  It was very beautiful however, which made us not notice the incline as much.


Before Mom and I knew it, we were at the intersection with Kilkenny Ridge Trail; we continued on this path towards Mt. Cabot.


A little bit of fall foliage!


We made our way to the other intersections...


Eventually, we started up the summit cone of Cabot and then made it to Cabot Cabin.


Mom and I went up to the summit; on the way there we met Alex, who was on her way down.  We told her to go wait in the cabin for us so that we could all have a snack together.


Yay!  Mom and I made it to the summit!



Summit selfie!


Looking back at the intersection right before the top of the mountain...


Mom went down to the spring near the cabin so that she could get that trail for redlining.  Alex and I waited at the hut for her.  When she got back, we spent some time hanging out and replenishing before Alex started down.  This selfie is from when Alex and I were waiting for Mom in Cabot Cabin.


After waiting around 10 minutes for Alex to get a head start going down, Mom and I put on our backpacks and started after her.  Here is a picture of a moth that I saw on a rock on the way down.


We made our way to Bunnell Notch Trail and then started down the steepest part of the hike.


After we had descended a lot, the trail flattened out. Sunlight was bouncing everywhere, and it was really beautiful.


The sun was making colorful streaks on my screen, so I decided to take advantage of the lighting to take a couple selfies...



We headed down further...



After the trail flattened out completely, it didn't take long for us to make it to York Pond Trail.


Before we knew it, Mom and I were back at the car.  We said hi to Alex and admired the amount of cars in the parking lot before driving away.  It had been a beautiful fall hike, the first one of the season, and we were all happy about our experiences.


Friday, September 21, 2018

Cannon. September 17, 2018

Kinsman Ridge Trail, 2,100 feet of elevation gain, 4.0 miles

Alex will post the trip report of her solo hike on her blog soon.  Make sure to keep an eye out for it.


We all had to rush a little bit on this hike, since Alex had a class at 11 a.m.  So, we started before dawn, Alex 20 minutes ahead of Mom and me.




As we got farther up the trail, it started to get lighter, and we could there was a beautiful undercast.  Also, the sky was a mixture of blue, white, and pink.





Mom resting on the almost vertical trail...


More sky and view pictures; it was truly spectacular up there. 



We continued up...


We got to the viewpoint and then continued to the flat part.  Eventually, we could see the summit platform above us.



The view going up the final push to the summit...


Yay!  Mom and I got to the summit platform to blue skies and cheerful spirits.  





Me on the summit...

Photo by Trish Herr


The sky (and the view in general) was breathtaking in every direction.



There was still a slight undercast...


Earlier in the day, I had fallen on my knee, but I only really examined the damage after we got to the summit.  Here is a close-up photo :).


We met Alex on the summit, and, after giving her a head start, Mom and I headed down the trail after her.



We made it all the way down to the car eventually.  All of us were happy to know that we would get back home in time for Alex's 11 a.m. class.  It had been a beautiful and enjoyable hike, even with the time crunch.


Post-hike selfie!