Monday, April 14, 2014

Backpacking the North Shore

By Andrew Clarke
Summer/Winter Sports Sales Manager

We here at the Joe’s love stories relating to our outdoor pursuits.  No matter what you do or where you go, the best stories you have are the memories you take away when only footprints remain.  A buddy of mine and I have been backpacking since we were Boy Scouts and every year we have made it a point to get to the Superior Hiking Trail.  Last year I thought I’d try something different and take my dog with on what would have otherwise been a standard North Shore backpacking trip.  Joe’s had just taken in a shipment from Granite Gear and Mountainsmith with new products and in the pile I saw something new even for us, dog backpacks.  I have a Yellow Lab (Molly) that has been my faithful pheasant hunting companion for years and never considered taking her on the trails with me so I figured “why not, how hard could it be.”  My buddy and I made plans for a weekend trip in June to George Crosby State Park, an out of the way trail managed by Tettegouche State Park, which are full or rugged somewhat maintained trails with my friend, our collective gear and Molly with her new rig.
 

I was shocked at how well she did on the trails with her food, treats, bowls and other necessities a lab has to have strapped to her back.  Last year was a rough one in terms of downed trees and other blockages on the trail.  Even so, Molly jumped over some downed logs, ducked under others and managed to breakthrough the brush without too much trouble.  It didn't take her long to start smelling out the trail and leading the pack.  We would break as we hiked to take advantage of the scenery and Molly, being a retriever, would always find something to have me throw.  The weekend excursion took us from one end of the park to the other with clear skies, rugged terrain, a few goodly hikers on their most recent leg of the Superior Hiking Trail and one happy, eventually worn out Yellow Lab.  The best part was after eight miles of trails and who knows how many times Molly found something for me to throw, including our frisbee cutting board, by the time the stars were out and my friend and I were taking night time photos, she was staring at the tent flap whining to go inside and to bed.


The next day we saw clouds start to move in and broke camp early to make the return hike to the car. The hike was made easier by moving uphill right away when we were fresh and took the longer smooth route the rest of the way.  I could not believe that even after the night before when Molly was so tired, she was back at the front sniffing out the trail, only getting side tracked when a grouse was clucking and thumping on a log.  By the time we got back to the parking area, it was still morning and we saw a few people milling around their camp sites near the parking lot. We found an empty table by the small lake, broke out our stove to have a hardy breakfast of Mountain House Eggs and Honey Stinger waffles.  Once we got the car packed up and started making our way back south, the skies opened up with heavy rain.  Before we even made it to Silver Bay, my pup was sawing logs.  Molly slept all the way home and well into the afternoon as I was unpacking and airing out my (and her) gear.  If you ever backpack and have a dog that listens to your commands, consider taking them with.  I have been backpacking for over 10 years now and can say without a doubt that the first weekend I took my dog on the trail with me was one of the top 5 backpacking experiences of my life so far.




Until next time, GET OUTDOORS!

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