Jay Cooke Below ZERO

The kids didn’t have school today so we went for a hike/ski to get out of the house (Hank got XC skis for x-mas)

It was gorgeous seeing it with a blanket of white. We put on 2.25 miles, the trails we took were packed down pretty good with what snow we have so it was pretty easy going

We’re already looking forward to doing it again

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Good job, Dad!

Way to brave those conditions and get out there and enjoy a beautiful area.

that is a great state park too!!!

Very cool B-man! Give B&H a high 5!
Cool pics!

Have you checked on the bear den?

mojo wrote:

Have you checked on the bear den?

We checked it in late November and early December, it was vacant

Thanks guys

We and a lot of fun and it was a cool way to kill some time today.

Since Hank was going to be focused on skiing I put Ben in charge to be our navigator, I showed him our starting point and planned route. He had the map and used the compass on my backpack.

We were over a mile through a 1.8 mile loop and came by a creek that was on the map. I asked him to point where he thought where the parking lot was.

He looked at the map, looked at the compass, looked at the sun, looked at the creek, then closed his eyes for a few seconds…and pointed in the perfect direction

It was an AWESOME proud Dad moment

If you are up for a bit longer hike (not really a skiable one tho) the FW and I and our lab Ammo have been doing the Spruce Trail loop quite a bit this fall/winter. Small parking area off of 23 and its just a bit under 5 miles total. Nice area without alot of folks. Hiked it over New Years weekend and didnt seed another soul out there.

We’ve also snowshoed from the swinging bridge to Carlton a few times in past years. Some really cool ice formations along the river usually.
All I could muster yesterday was a quick trip around the White Pine loop trail at Pine Valley with Ammo, was a chilly one for sure.

That’s pretty cool! I haven’t been to Jay Cooke yet. Still working on getting there along with so many other parks.
If you haven’t taken them to see the frozen Gooseberry falls yet, that’s pretty cool. Just went up last week with my oldest daughter. Walked the big loop of trails on each side the highway for an almost 7 mile total.

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B-Man life up north seems to be going great! Awesome stuff!

BigWerm wrote:

B-Man life up north seems to be going great! Awesome stuff!

We are loving our new life, I don’t see us ever regretting the leap

The boys love their new school and having so much room to run around. They also find it really cool seeing deer, turkeys and bears right in our backyard.

Jay Cooke is less than a mile away as the crow flies, we can dump a boat in the St. Louis in 10 minutes, and Lake Superior is so much more accessible.

I was talking with Corey on Sunday at Marine General, he has 40 acres by us and said there are plans to re-introduce Elk in the area.

We’re right on the edge of where the big woods meets agriculture, so there’s the potential to one day see elk out the living room window (that would be unreal)

Xplorer, I see a vehicle or two often parked at that trail entrance. We’ve just barely touched the surface of all of the trails available and with your recommendation that one has moved up the list. Thanks man

Our commute to work takes us through the east side of the park where you hike, it’s just a “little” prettier than our old commute to the TC metro

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B-man wrote:

Our commute to work takes us through the east side of the park where you hike, it’s just a “little” prettier than our old commute to the TC metro

I used to do some deer hunting over near where you are, all along the Wild Valley road to the border. Over the years we’ve covered most all of the park at one time or another, great having it so close and usable all seasons!
Glad you’re all enjoying your move north!