Peggy Schaefer
Update on the Border Route Trail Association
The same powerful windstorms that hit the Kek also wreaked havoc on the Border Route Trail further to the east. Areas hit particularly hard included the Rose Lake Cliffs/ Stairway Portage, South Lake Trail, and Daniels Lake spur trail. Timing, however, was on the side of the Border Route Trail Association (BRTA) as the Superior National Forest was able to dedicate firefighting crews that were in the area last summer for prescribed burns toward blowdown removal on the BRT and spur trails. Clearing was mostly complete by last fall and BRTA clearing trips have gone out this spring to tackle more clearing and also brushing. A winter ice storm in 2015 left a lot of brush drooping across the BRT. Learn more at http:// www.borderroutetrail.org/conditions.html. The BRTA is always looking for more volunteers to participate in their trail clearing trips. See http://www.borderroutetrail.org/trailclearing.html. The Border Route Trail Association is planning an update of their BRT guidebook in the near future.
www.northcountrytrail.org
Update on The Superior Hiking Trail By Jo Swanson, Outreach Coordinator
Great progress has been made on the Superior Hiking Trail in the last five years. Several new permanent easements have been secured, with others to follow we hope. The two southernmost sections between Jay Cooke State Park Visitor Center and the Minnesota/Wisconsin border have been constructed. Some loops along the trail have also been constructed or improved in recent years. Of particular note is the Brewer Park Loop in the city of Duluth, a popular year-round hike. A major re-route north of Gooseberry Falls State Park is also nearing completion. This re-route brings the trail off private and onto public land. Storm clean-up has been a major challenge in recent years. Since a destructive flood in 2012 hit the Superior Hiking Trail, massive trail rehabilitation has taken place. This year a previously-closed route will re-open, along with a spur trail and a trailhead which were damaged in that flood. A 2015 ice storm brought significant brush and fallen trees onto the northern end of the trail while in 2016, one storm alone caused over 400 trees to block the trail in the Duluth area. The Superior Hiking Trail Association has been taking steps toward the replacement of several aging bridges. Due to the intensity of recent storms and eroding banks, new bridges must be longer than previous designs. Several bridge replacements are planned for 2017.
July-September 2017
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