Nomads in Frontenac State Park

 

Nomads in Frontenac State Park

Frontenac, MN

11/4/12

5 hours, 10.3 miles

 

62 days to Africa

 

 

Inspired by the previous week's adventure, Deb and Greg hit the road and headed back to southern Minnesota for another round of hiking.  This week, we chose Frontenac State Park.  The park came highly recommended by our friends Paul and Karensa and featured a challenging hike down and up a steep bluff along the impressive shores of the Mississippi River.

 

 

The portion of the Mississippi River that touches Frontenac State Park is also known as Lake Pepin.  The area was a high end steamboat stop in the years immediately following the Civil War and drew visitors for New Orleans, St. Louis and St. Paul.  The arrival of the railroad to southern Minnesota in 1870 ended the town's heyday but did little to subtract from the areas natural beauty.

 

 

 

We began our hike by descending the bluff down towards the river.  There were steps, a few more steps, a steep slope with rocks and roots along the trail and then a few more steps.  After descending perhaps 300 feet, we followed a meandering trail for about a mile below the bluffs before re-encountering stairs, steps, upwards slopes with rocks and roots and then some more stairs.  We ended up seeing three deer along the trail and when we reached the top of the bluff we saw a herd (gaggle, crew, posse, or whatever you call a group) of turkeys.

 

 

The remainder of the hike was fairly gentle in its terrain, but scenic nonetheless.  We crossed prairie lands, walked through hard wood forest areas, and had a chance to observe areas of the park that had recently undergone a controlled burn.  The charred landscape still had the scent of being burned, and we even saw one pile of sticks still smoldering. 

 

 

As we hiked, we had a great chance to visit with each other and unwind from the hectic week we had just finished.  We talked about our fundraising efforts and the great opportunity we have to make a difference in the lives of people we have never met.  It has been a powerful experience to have found support from those we know well, as well as from folks who we do not really know. 

 

 

We also talked about how cool it has been to use our training as a way to explore new areas of Minnesota that we have yet to see since moving here ten years ago.  We have been very fortunate to have the chance to travel to a wide variety of places throughout the world, but taking time to see more of the local geology and topography has been a fun way to spend some of our weekends. 

 

 

The goal of our trek was to log some significant hours on our feet, and we certainly accomplished that goal.  By the time we returned to our car to head back to St. Paul, we had gone over 10 miles.