Superior Hiking Trail

Day 2

West Rollins to Springdale Creek

6.7 miles

October 17, 2009






Day 2 Profile
Day 2 Route
Superior Hiking Trail
Superior Hiking Trail




I was woken up several times during the night to the sound of the rain hitting the tent. Whenever I woke up, I checked Timber to be sure he was still comfy. The rain finally stopped around 4am. It was still windy, and the temps dropped down to 37 during the night. When I got up with the sunrise, I was glad to see that the clouds had broken and that there was going to be at least a little sun in the morning!

I wanted to let my ground cloth and rain fly dry out before packing it up, so I hung them in the breeze to dry before making breakfast. One of the nice things about not needing to cover a lot of miles in a day is that you can choose to rest, take photos, relax at a particularly nice spot, or get a late start and still have plenty of time to get to the next campsite before dark.

The water from Rollins Creek was a brown/rust color. Tasted fine, but didn't look very appetizing. The color was also present in other streams along this section of trail. I wonder if the color comes from high concentration of taconite in the area. I used my Steripen water purifier for the first time on this trip. Saves a lot of weight over my Katydyn water filter. It was easy to use and quickly purifies a liter of water. I do carry tablets as a backup in case the electronics fail on the Steripen.

1.4 miles past Rollins Creek is the spur trail to Olberg Loop. At this trail junction the day hikers were out in force. I actually had to wait for several minutes to let the crowds pass by before I started up the trail. I am aware that many people are uncomfortable passing close to a large German Shepherd, so if the trail is narrow, I always have Timber do a sit/stay so folks can pass and know he is under control. It got silly on this trail however since there were at least 50 people that passed me on my way up Olberg. I was stopped more than I was hiking! However, I wanted to see what the fuss was about at the top. I didn't do the entire loop, just up to the first overlook of Lake Superior. There were great views of the Lake from the overlook. The sun broke through the clouds and the reflection off Lake Superior was beautiful. I took some pictures and headed back to the SHT.

At 3.2 miles I crossed the bridge over the Onion River. There is a campsite at the river. 4.3 miles brings you to East and West Leveaux campsites. There is a pond at West Leveaux campsite. 5.3 miles brings you to the junction with the Carlton Peak Spur trail. I finally reached Springdale Creek Camp at 4:18 PM. The campsite sits close to the creek and about 75 feet above it. Things were much drier now, so I was able to gather firewood and get a nice campfire going. A hot cup of coffee, dinner, a warm fire, and I was very much enjoying the evening!

Just as it was getting dark, we heard a bizarre noise in the night. Timber was very nervous. He paced the perimeter of the campsite, staying in the light of the campfire. After the trip I learned that the noise was a Lynx. Here is a link to an audio of what we heard. It really was spooky to hear this out in the wild. Fun!!


Day 3



drying out at west rollins creek cg.jpg
drying out at west rollins creek cg
10.17.2009
Time: 09:42
brown water yum.jpg
brown water yum
10.17.2009
Time: 11:48
img_0094.jpg
img_0094.jpg
10.17.2009
Time: 12:42
N47 37.770 W90 46.136
oberg junction.jpg
oberg junction
10.17.2009
Time: 13:11
N47 37.624 W90 46.839
finally sunshine.jpg
finally sunshine
10.17.2009
Time: 13:23
sun on superior.jpg
sun on superior
10.17.2009
Time: 13:24
lake superior view.jpg
lake superior view
10.17.2009
Time: 13:24
N47 37.532 W90 46.749
view of valley.jpg
view of valley
10.17.2009
Time: 13:25
timber and i.jpg
timber and i
10.17.2009
Time: 13:30
fall on the sht trail.jpg
fall on the sht trail
10.17.2009
Time: 13:45
N47 37.610 W90 46.869
oberg loop sign.jpg
oberg loop sign
10.17.2009
Time: 13:49
N47 37.658 W90 47.011
leveaux loop trail.jpg
leveaux loop trail
10.17.2009
Time: 13:53
N47 37.704 W90 47.123
onion river cg.jpg
onion river cg
10.17.2009
Time: 14:05
N47 37.515 W90 47.322
img_0117.jpg
img_0117.jpg
10.17.2009
Time: 14:07
bridge over onion river.jpg
bridge over onion river
10.17.2009
Time: 14:09
N47 37.440 W90 47.320
img_0119.jpg
img_0119.jpg
10.17.2009
Time: 14:25
leveaux mtn trail.jpg
leveaux mtn trail
10.17.2009
Time: 14:26
N47 37.099 W90 47.680
img_0121.jpg
img_0121.jpg
10.17.2009
Time: 14:27
east leveaux cg.jpg
east leveaux cg
10.17.2009
Time: 14:47
N47 37.012 W90 48.300
west leveaux cg.jpg
west leveaux cg
10.17.2009
Time: 14:51
west leveaux pond.jpg
west leveaux pond
10.17.2009
Time: 14:51
img_0125.jpg
img_0125.jpg
10.17.2009
Time: 15:00
img_0126.jpg
img_0126.jpg
10.17.2009
Time: 15:00
N47 37.104 W90 48.431
img_0127.jpg
img_0127.jpg
10.17.2009
Time: 15:08
img_0128.jpg
img_0128.jpg
10.17.2009
Time: 15:09
img_0129.jpg
img_0129.jpg
10.17.2009
Time: 15:11
img_0130.jpg
img_0130.jpg
10.17.2009
Time: 15:14
carlton peak trail.jpg
carlton peak trail
10.17.2009
Time: 15:24
N47 36.717 W90 49.158
fall on the trail.jpg
fall on the trail
10.17.2009
Time: 15:36
img_0135.jpg
img_0135.jpg
10.17.2009
Time: 15:38
img_0136.jpg
img_0136.jpg
10.17.2009
Time: 15:41
img_0140.jpg
img_0140.jpg
10.17.2009
Time: 15:47
img_0143.jpg
img_0143.jpg
10.17.2009
Time: 16:04
N47 36.305 W90 50.007
well marked trail.jpg
well marked trail
10.17.2009
Time: 16:08
springdale creek cg.jpg
springdale creek cg
10.17.2009
Time: 16:13
N47 36.180 W90 50.063
springdale cr 2.jpg
springdale cr 2
10.17.2009
Time: 16:14
room for two.jpg
room for two
10.17.2009
Time: 16:55
timber hears cat.jpg
timber hears lynx
10.17.2009
Time: 18:18
springdale cg camp.jpg
springdale cg camp
10.17.2009
Time: 18:18
img_0157.jpg
img_0157.jpg
10.17.2009
Time: 18:22