Ely's Peak - Day 324

  The Superior Hiking Trail is drawn to hilltops like a moth to a candle flame. If there is any little bump to go over, they just have to go to the top. There was even one bare rock today that didn't have any kind of view. It was just a lump in the woods, but the trail cheerfully went to the summit and then did a horseshoe curve and came right back down. I had to laugh, even while being annoyed at the total PUD (pointless up and down).

I saw this bump ahead of me and said to myself, "I know where I'm going next." Yup. Although I can't be annoyed about this one.

This is Ely's Peak, a lump of volcanic rock. It's only 1133 feet high, but it stands out from the surrounding land that is about at elevation 800 feet. I went right to the tippy-top. (OK, it is a short spur trail, but it was worth it) It was named for Edmund Ely who founded Oneota, which is now West Duluth.

The view back toward Duluth into the morning sun.

And the view northwest, which takes in the next rock outcrop.

I've actually been here before, even though all of the trail I walked today is new since I did my first NCT hike. (then the trail stayed down low on a rail trail). But in 2014, the NCTA Conference was in Duluth. The big joke of the weekend was that it was so foggy all weekend that the scenery was all a bust. Here's the situation on Ely's Peak on that August weekend in 2014.


The climb up was fairly gradual. Not coming down! Lots of rock scrambling. After I got down on the level where the SHT still follows a short piece of that rail trail (the Willard Munger Trail), you can see Ely's Peak standing alone. The trail basically zig-zags down that front rock face.

There is also a railway tunnel that goes through the rock. I haven't ever seen that. And supposedly there are 18 rock climbing routes up to the peak.

Although the fall colors are certainly past prime, there are still some really nice moments in the woods.

Finally, the trail gets down to the St. Louis River and follows an historic portage route.

But is it content with that? Oh, no! It just can't resist climbing back up 300 feet- apparently just because it can- before coming back to the river again. But it can't even do that in one up-and-down. In the middle of that, it drops 200 feet to a creek and climbs back up again. Was there a different trail that didn't make this dip? Yes there was. But I did my duty and followed the official route.

Miles today: 15.2. Total miles so far: 3741.2.

See Hills and Rocks