Hike 10 - Theodore Wirth Parkway

We've been to Theodore Wirth Parkway many times before - mostly to the quaking bog and the Eloise Butler Wildflower garden, but this time we decided to hike a trail on the other side of Highway 55 near the golf course to try something different.

Hike #: 10

Trail: Theodore Wirth Parkway

Location: Minneapolis, MN

Trail surface: paved, dirt

Date: 6/10/18

Right away as we get out of the car, we can't figure out which way to go. I pull up the trail map and it appears that there should be a trail where there wasn't. We decide to start walking, pass the Luce Line trail, walk through a foresty area with a buckled paved trail, and find ourselves facing Highway 55 - just where we didn't plan to walk. We debate about walking back to find our planned trail, but instead cross the highway and head over to the bog. It's been about 5 + years since we've walked through the bog so it seemed like a good idea.

But we got lost in the bog too. I'm beginning to think we are hopeless with direction. Here's the thing, though... a bunch of trails have been added for off road biking and the trails were way more overgrown than we've seen them in the past. At one point I stood in the middle of 6 trail heads - I'm still not sure where they all lead. We finally found our trail and it started to all come back, but it was clear that the trail hadn't been as maintained as it once was. We saw a lot of vines that seemed to be taking over trees and bushes, and lots of paved paths that had seen better days. Also, I will note that it might not be a great idea to walk around a bog after a big rain because your shoes might get wet (although Riley loved how the water would shoot up through the floating boardwalk) and the mosquitoes will be out in full force. A little tip - bring bug spray like we did.

Even though lost our way (again) we like this trail. It's really close to our house and has a lot to offer (we'd actually went to the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden the month prior).  I also read that they had a couple projects they were working on - including getting rid of invasive plants. Plus, it motivated me to sign up for AllTrails so I could download hiking trails and hopefully follow a trail as planned. 

Jo: ★★★

Jesse: ★★★

Riley: ★★★

Hike 9 - Hyland Richardson Nature Park

I planned to hike Hyland park the week before, but it was 95 degrees that day so that was a big 'nope'. A week later, we got up and called my mother in law to see if she wanted to join us for a morning hike. We met up at the Richardson Nature Park, a section of the larger Hyland Park.

Hike #: 9

Trail: Hyland Richardson Nature Park

Location: Bloomington, MN

Trail surface: dirt, paved

Date: 6/3/18

I printed out a trail map and off we went, although we weren't sure on which path to take. We checked the map near the nature center and couldn't quite figure it out (even Jesse who is usually better at navigation than me) so we just started walking. Soon enough, we found ourselves on a great nature trail. I have to admit it was a bit of a surprise to find an area that we could feel so secluded and still be in a highly populated city.

But then we got lost. We didn't realize it at first. We found ourselves amongst the ski trails and disc golf area. We'd checked the printed map and Jesse checked his phone multiple times, but somehow we'd gotten way off. The kicker is, early in our walk, Riley suggested we go back the way we'd just come and we said 'no' thinking she wanted to cut the hike short, but it really was the way we needed to go. While we LOVED this trail at first, it could have used much better signage along the trail, and that caused us to dock it points. We thought about cutting through the woods at some point and eventually stopped people to ask if they knew how to get back to the correct trail. We all joked that it was a good thing that we brought food and water because we might have had to camp out on the ski hills of Bloomington.

Even with getting lost and putting something like 12,000 steps on my Fitbit, I'd really like to come back and try this trail again. It deserves a better rating.

Jo: ★★★

Jesse: ★ (he started out with a 4 until we got lost)

Riley: ★★

Hike 8 - Interstate State Park - Minnesota

When I mentioned my hiking goal to a co-worker she suggested Interstate State Park on the Minnesota side and suggested we explore the glacial potholes there. So, Jesse and I scheduled  a day trip over Memorial Day weekend to do so, but as the day neared, we sort of regretted our decision as it was going to be close to 100 that day and we don't deal well with heat. We'd also changed our day trip to an overnight camping trip so we felt fairly committed to this. We got up early, drove the hour there, and were hiking by 8:30. It was probably close to 80 degrees by that time, which is too hot for hiking in our opinion (50 - 65 is a good temp range). 

Hike #: 8

Trail: Interstate State Park

Location: Taylors Falls, MN

Trail Surface: Rocks, dirt

Date: 5/19/18

We wandered around the glacial potholes, climbing and exploring for awhile when Jesse turned to me and noted that I already looked like I was in the danger zone as my face was all red. My danger zone usually leads to a three day migraine so we both know the importance of steering clear of it. I drank some more water and poured some over the back of my head (which is more effective in cooling me down). I wasn't ready to give up so we followed the river trail ever so briefly and then headed back to the air conditioned truck after it was clear that Jesse and Riley were getting a bit crabby from the heat.

I'm a little embarrassed to count this as a hike as I don't think we quite met two miles, but Jesse assured me that this one counts due to the nature of the trail. We worked hard to get to this trail so we weren't about to let it not count. I would have liked to hike the entire loop before rating it as I'm certain Jesse and I would have rated it higher. I'd like to come back here some day, but I'm guessing we'll check out the Wisconsin side of this park the next time we head up that way. Either way, I like hiking along the St. Croix River.

Jo: ★★★

Jesse: ★★

Riley: ★★★★★

Check out my post about our day exploring the Taylors Falls area.