If you read my blog post, 160 Miles on Bike https://daysoffadventureblog.com/2022/11/25/160-miles-on-bike/ you know that a few years ago, Brandon and I decided on a whim to bike pack from the Canada to Duluth.

We had such a great time on that trip we devised a plan to bike the eastern border of Minnesota, broken down into three trips.

Border to Bridge (Canada to the lift bridge in Duluth) Bridge to Bridge (the lift bridge in Duluth to the lift bridge in Stillwater) and Bridge to Border (the lift bridge in Stillwater to the Border in Iowa.

The following, is our trip report from our Bridge to Bridge Trip in 2021.

In July in years past, we have typically taken time from work to head to the PNW for some mountaineering. In 2021 while we had the time off work, we hadn’t booked a trip for several reasons. What we were left with, was time off in July and nothing to do with it. We don’t typically like to camp in July; bugs are bad and it’s hot. For those of you in the area, you might also remember we had a nasty heat wave in Minnesota. Temps consistently in the 90’s and humid as….well it was humid. But, when you have the PTO…you go!

Day 1, we left our car at a ramp in Stillwater (and then logged on each day to pay for the spot) and got a ride from my sister in law-thank you again Megan, to Duluth. This way we could ride back to our car.

We left about mid-day, sunscreened and hydrated. We had plans to follow the Willard Munger Trail, but we weren’t super sure how to connect it to our start at the bridge. Brandon kindly let me attempt to navigate-which led to several hills up and down, crying, walking bikes and extra miles. Ouch. After that, Brandon navigated; a talent well developed given his profession. Megan asked if I had put sunscreen on my back, to which I answered yes of course…..but not the triangular section in the center of my sports bra that would show as I leaned forward on my bike.

We finally made it to the Willard Munger Trail which was awesome to be on. We biked past Jay Cooke State Park and over the St. Louis River. We ate lunch at a wonderfully air-conditioned spot, Magnolia Cafe in Carlton, right off the bike trail and continued to a suggested spot called TJ’s.

Had we known that place would be a full on grocer, we would not have packed as much food. We had an ice cold drink, left the caps in the hole in the floor (if you know you know) and continued on to Moose Lake. We decided to camp at State Parks this trip-knowing that no matter what, they would make room for us even if they were booked.

In the town of Moose Lake, we left the trail and headed a few miles away to Moose Lake State Park. At camp we were super thankful to have showers, make dinner and climb into our tent….to hot for a fire and too buggy to stay out.

That first day we biked around 55 miles and maybe slept half the night. With no wind, and overnight temps still in the 80’s camping can be pretty miserable. That’s also when I discovered I had fried to a crisp, a small triangle in the center of my back-don’t be like me.

We left early the next morning, knowing we had a lot of riding and a very hot day. Quick iced coffee and snacks from the closest gas station and we were off. We made it back to the Willard Munger and somewhere a few hours later had an amazing ‘second breakfast’ in a very small town.

We stopped for a late lunch and a much needed AC break around Hinkley, and left the Willard Munger from there. Humidity took on new meaning as it started to rain in 90 degree weather and we turned east toward Wild River State Park. Non-stop hills, fatigue and the disappointment of leaving the trail hit moral hard…at least for me.

Once we got to the park, we still had a 2 mile bike on gravel (not great on my road bike) to get to camp. All told day 2 was around 82 miles, and later that night we maybe got 2 hours of sleep?

If you aren’t at all familiar with camping in northern Minnesota, there are a lot of pine trees….typically close together. How does this apply to this story? Let me tell you. After a few hours of attempting to sleep in stagnant hot air…we heard a rustle by the bikes which we had tucked under a tarp to keep any dew, rain or sap off of them.

Fearing that our snacks were being pirated, I jumped out of the tent in my t-shirt and underwear to scare off some heathen of a creature…..which turned out to be a very robust and impertinent raccoon. I discovered he had UNZIPPED a bike bag, taken several snacks and was coming back from more! Greedy little guy.

I spent what felt like an eternity attempting to scare off this raccoon, squirting it with my water bottle like it was a house cat and getting the same smug response as it just came closer every time I thought of turning around. Annoyed, tired and completely illogical I say to Brandon “Do we wake up a neighbor and ask if we can look food in their car?” He laughs saying “No, we’ll just put our bikes in the bathroom”. Oh. Sure. Of course. The bathroom building was close by and with shower stalls large enough to secure bikes for the night without disturbing anyone. Pro Tip: Adventure with someone who is logical. Bonus points if you marry them too.

Our final day was a grind….muggy the entire time. We got coffee and treats for breakfast at Coffee Talk in Taylors Falls-a favorite place of ours, and recognized a car as we went through the round-a-bout just south of town.

KAYLA-our longtime friend and the one who dropped us at the border for our first bike pack trip!

We biked through a section of William O’Brian State Park and survived several miles on Hwy 95 into Stillwater. We had already picked out a pizza spot, and we’d be looking forward to it for the whole trip!

It rained (of course) as we rode into town, only to discover that Stillwater closes down half of their town mid-week, including the pizza place, and settled on burgers from Leo’s (recommend for sure).

All told that last day was about 45 miles and we were so happy! The car hadn’t be towed (phew) and we loaded up our stinky, soggy selves and headed for home.

Soon we’ll finish the third leg of the route, our planned weekend in 2022 brought snow and we weren’t interested in that sort of trip.

Thanks for reading folks-stay tuned for more adventures. Head to Instagram @daysoffadventureblog for more day to day adventure, and subscribe here if you like what you read!

Thanks again, hope you find some time to get out and enjoy your Days Off!