Gandy Dancer and Trade River - October 11, 2020

88 miles done ~ 2192 miles to go.  

Gandy Dancer & Trade River. (8.9 miles)

Only got in 2 miles yesterday for the 40 mile challenge and they were miles I had done before in St. Croix Falls, so I needed to make up some mileage today. The drive north was beautiful and worth the trip.

 

It was a lovely fall day with perfect hiking temperatures. A day for the senses. The colors were still vibrant - yellows in particular, with reds and rust leaves for contrast. Also many birds flitting around. And enjoyed watching the leaves slowly drift to the ground. But the wind was strong so during one section there was a flurry of leaves and I thought about the Monty Python cartoon where one leaf falls from a tree then the rest all fall at once to leave it bare.

Wonder Marty joined me for my hike and wanted to stop and check out the sugar bush. The bright yellow leaves contrasted with the blue tubing woven between the trees. Quite an operation.

The sounds were also many. The wind rushing through the trees, plenty of birds and unfortunately traffic from Hwy 35.

And feeling the wind blowing against my skin and the crunching leaves underfoot made the hike quite enjoyable. This part of the hike was 5.7 miles.

When I got back to my car after the short road connect, I was still feeling pretty good. I changed into my hiking boots, grabbed a snack and my hiking stick and set out on the Trade River Ski trail segment. I had thought maybe I'd only do half of it, but finished the 2.6 miles easy peasy. The trail marking in the ski area was a bit confusing so pay close attention.

But once in the woods the trail was easy to follow despite all the leaves being yellow. Wonder Marty wanted to stop and enjoy the view of the lake.

After the short wooded area the trail skirts some farm fields where I harvested some milkweed seeds to try to plant in my yard. Then I turned around at 140th and headed back. It was a quick return journey.

I really enjoyed my day on the trail.

Stats for the trip: Roundtrip miles to get to trail: 162

Costs: $7.87 for gas