lukeludwig

  • Home
  • Browse
  • Search
  2. Backpacking

Itasca Circumnavigation, April 2010

Jake and I circumnavigated Itasca State Park, home of the headwaters of the Mississippi. We combined sections of off-trail, unmaintained trails, and hiking trails while traversing this 8x8 mile square park.
Read More
We connected the North Country trail with unmaintained trails on the west side, which were very old road beds, and about 1/2 mile of off-trail as well.
18 / 23

We connected the North Country trail with unmaintained trails on the west side, which were very old road beds, and about 1/2 mile of off-trail as well.

  • We started in the northeast corner off of Beaver Trail. It was a windy but sunny day with temps in the 40s and low 50s.
  • Jake's first lightweight trip.
  • IMG_0012
  • The offtrail sections were brushy in places.
  • Moving south along Lasalle Creek, an area where I once hunted deer.
  • We made a detour to hit the Aiton Heights fire tower.
  • The view from the fire tower allowed us to see the entire park in all directions.
  • A random tree with Christmas ornaments.
  • We saw a raven, 2 mature bald eagles, an immature bald eagle, and 2 northern harriers in the span of 5 minutes.
  • We camped at Mckay Lake.
  • A lone mosquito. Mosquitoes were not a problem yet, but deer ticks and wood ticks were all over the place.
  • The evening was windy and chilly.
  • McKay Lake, Itasca State Park
  • Ready to go in the morning.
  • A wolf print? There were numerous piles of wolf scat on the trails, as well as a wolf kill (deer). I think this print is a little small for a wolf, so more likely a dog or coyote.
  • A bear track. I've seen several black bears in Itasca while deer hunting.
  • IMG_0074
  • We connected the North Country trail with unmaintained trails on the west side, which were very old road beds, and about 1/2 mile of off-trail as well.
  • I was amazed to find this clump of snow. This year was an early spring and we haven't seen snow for over a month. It was an interesting spring with a long stretch of no snow and no greenery.
  • The only backpacking sites are in the south, so we had to find our own place to camp in the north, which we did here along Lake Ozawindib.
  • No Comments
  • Photo Sharing
  • About SmugMug
  • Browse Photos
  • Prints & Gifts
  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Owner Log In
© 2021 SmugMug, Inc.