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10 miles of hiking • 1750' elevation gain •

Finally found a chance to hike the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) from a gravel road that leads to our nearby cabin, along the Cascade River, clockwise down to Lake Superior, then back up again along the other side of the river. The SHT is sooooo different from our local trails, in particular from the PCT! Rocks and roots characterize the tread. And stairs. This isn't no 6%-max horse grade! Campsites are "official" and offer not only fancy fire circles but convenient latrines with nice views as well.

Fall foliage was just starting to light up, as Harleigh and I did this trek. Just beautiful. Red maples, yellow maples, and lots of yellow birch and poplar. Mushrooms everywhere. We lunched at Lake Superior (on Sven & Ole's pizza!), before trekking back up the valley. There were coho salmon attempting to swim up the river, and folks more than willing to catch them.

Within the state park itself are a series of magnificent waterfalls and overlooks. The river looks like root beer! It's dark brown and foamy. According to one sign along the trail, this is due to all the swampy areas it passes through along its 17-mile course. The foam is simply from the turbulence of the cascades. More detail in one of the photos.