BW Outbound: Day Four (9/5/2026)

Previous: Outbound Day Three

The last leg of our outbound travel took us up the Lake Superior shoreline from Duluth to Grand Marais, where we turned inland on the Gunflint Trail to reach the outfitter on the northern edge of the Boundary Waters. This was one of the shortest legs of the trip as we "only" covered about 165 miles, but it was probably the most scenic of our drives.

We left Duluth in fog and mist, which slowly dissipated as we headed north on Highway 61. For variety, and because we were not on a tight schedule, we took the literal "scenic route" along the lake as far as Two Harbors. At that point 61 becomes the only option on the Lake Superior shoreline.

A couple of large rock outcroppings extend to the shoreline and are pierced by tunnels. At the Silver Creek Cliff Tunnel we notice cones being set up inside the tunnel, which would play a part in our return southward.

One of my side goals on this trip was to return to Split Rock Lighthouse. I remember seeing this as a four-year-old when my father was doing some summer classwork at Macalester College in Minneapolis. Until late in the return trip this marked the longest time interval between being in one place and returning to it.

The lighthouse has a good visitors center and various trails. When I went to buy the entry ticket the ticket-taker asked if I had been here before. "Yeah, when I was four." "Well, the lighthouse is still here but pretty much everything else is different."

No need for a tall structure when you start 130' above the water

Halfway between Duluth and Grand Marais is the company town of Silver Bay with a huge ore dock and processing/loading facilities on both sides of the highway. There are similar facilities at Two Harbors but they were not visible from the highway.

Skies had cleared by the time we reached Grand Marais. Thinking we would need more bug repellant, we stopped in an outdoors supply store and picked some up. We also made contact with S and P; they invited us to lunch but we figured we would use up the rest of our perishable lunch supplies so we headed for a lakeside rest stop. My navigation was a bit faulty and we went farther north than planned to a fairly crowded spot, but we had a nice view of the lake.

We backtracked to Grand Marais and turned onto the Gunflint Trail for the drive up to the outfitter. The road wound up through thick forest, with the only break being a gigantic lumber processing plant a few miles north of town.

We drove down a short dirt road to the outfitter and immediately began violating unwritten rules about where to park etc. I was also mildly chastised for locking the car when I got out. I suspect this is standard practice when dealing with those with out-of-state plates. This is nothing new for me; I was once referred to as a "flatlander" in Vermont in a conversation between two other people for the sin of parking my car inappropriately far from the gas pump. 

Shortly thereafter S and P arrived and we took our gear to the "lodge". As it turned out our room was basically an unfurnished dorm - bunk beds with mattresses but no linens - but it at least had power for a last charging of devices (plus my CPAP) and an indoor bathroom. In retrospect the Spartan conditions were a better transition to the following week of "roughing it" than more comfortable accommodations, but as always hindsight is 20/20.

CRH, P and I drove back up the road for a good dinner at Trail Center Lodge. Tasty food in a fun divey atmosphere, but more importantly, I got to meet Thomas the dog while he was working the front desk:

Large good boy

Once we were all set up in the room we undertook a review of camp gear and a discussion of our itinerary through the lakes. I lightened my load by one T-shirt, but as we shall see every gear review results in some kind of reduction.

Our lodgings were not optimal as our room was on the end of the building right next to a picnic table and grill, so we heard a lot of conversation and subsequent walking back and forth late into the night through remarkably thin walls. However, before we turned in we got some good tips from other groups heading in and out of the area.

Next: On the Water Day One