With our weekend plans changing to a Saturday race, we had all day Friday to do something new and fun. Our friend Wendi invited us to go along with her on a hike around the Bean and Bear Lake loop of the Superior Hiking Trail.

We arrived around 1pm on Friday, and the sunny morning had suddenly turned cloudy and windy. I decided to bring my hoodie along, but as the hike progressed it got nicer and nicer. The hoodie quickly got tied around my waist in typical 80’s fashion. The hike up to the bluffs overlooking the lakes is your typical SHT fare. It’s rugged, with tons of roots and quick climbs. Very quickly we were ascending and on the entire loop we managed 1200ft of elevation change.

Arriving at the lakes, and seeing the stunning beauty of the overlook, made all the pain worth it though. Many of the runners on the Superior 100 race comment on how Bean and Bear Lake is one of their favorite spots in the race. Having seen it in person, I can totally understand why. It is truly stunning. The picture in the header of this post doesn’t even begin to do it justice.

Eventually, we had to head back to reality, and the completion of the loop gave us almost seven miles of hiking for the day. It was a great introduction as to what we were going to be in for on Saturday, but that is a tale for another blog.