Superior Hiking Trail 2021 Introduction

Introduction 

As the vaccine rollout in full swing, it is possible to plan a badly needed thru-hike.  While I don't have 150+ days to hike one of the major trails, there are some excellent trails a couple of hours away.  My wife and I have been section hiking the Ice Age Trail for a number of years, and I would love to re-hike the Taylor County hike I did back in 2016, however this pent up time requires something a bit more significant.  Not too far away is the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) and it is perfect!

There are two types of SHT thru-hikes according to the Superior Hiking Trail Association a traditional and a total thru-hike.  The traditional hike is 260 miles with the southern terminus at the Martin Road Trailhead and a northern terminus at the 270 Degree Overlook near the Canadian Boarded.  The total hike includes trails and road hikes through Duluth, extending the hike to about 300 miles.

The primary issue with the extension is the lack of camping in the city.  I would need to rent hotel rooms while I did this section, and I'm not interested in doing that, so this will be a traditional thru-hike.

Footpath

The next major decision I have to make is which way to go.  Like the PCT there is a north-bound and a south-bound trek.  However, there is a hybrid method where one hikes north-bound to Grand Marais and take a shuttle near the 270 Degree Overlook and hike south.  There are advantages to each.

Mobile Phone service is extremely limited at the Northern Terminus and it is illegal to hitchhike in Minnesota, so travelling north-bound has some major challenges in the end.  It is possible to pay for a shuttle to take you to the Northern Terminus and hike south.  The major challenge is that the last section is the most rugged and I would not have any hiker legs to start.

The hybrid of starting at the Southern Terminus and hiking north to Grand Marais and taking a shuttle to the Northern Terminus and hiking back to Grand Marais is the most appealing.  It all depends upon transportation.

Conclusion

I have some choices and I need to figure them out.  In the meantime, I'm focusing on training.  The only way to train to backpack is to put on a backpack, so that is what I'm doing.