
Today was one of those winter days I could not, would not, stay indoors. In past years I’d be soaking up the winter sunshine while on a fatbike.

This winter I’ve been trying to stick to walking, hiking and snowshoeing to let my arms heal up.

We’re warming our way out of a deep freeze. After of period of night time temps in the teens and twenties below zero, today was 25F/-4C degrees with light winds. It felt warm. The bitter cold firmed up the trails nicely. No snowshoes needed.

When we moved into this area in the early 2000’s there were no trails for human powered travel. Now there is the Superior Hiking Trail and a network of mountain bike trails that crisscross or run parallel to the hiking trail. There’s also a snowmobile trail and the deer have their own network of well packed down trails. The deer and an occasional snowmobile used to have this wooded hilltop “park” overlooking the City of Duluth and Lake Superior all to themselves. Nowadays it’s fun to see so many people out fatbiking and hiking in February. I’m not sure the deer like sharing though.

I hiked four miles. I enjoyed every step on a beautiful winter day on a beautiful winter trail. A trail right in my neighborhood.