On the Mesabi Trail

September 17, 2023

Day 11: Grand Rapids to Hibbing

"DO YOU LIKE Hibbing?"

"I don't know- I've never Hibbed. I don't even know how."

Now that we have THAT out of the way...

Today's experience is probably best described with photos. Fortunately, I have several to share, unlike some recent past days. I'll set the scene, then let the photos and captions do most of the talking.

It's a short day of riding- only 41 miles- so we're content to wait out the morning fog before departing our Grand Rapids hotel. We check out with the same pleasant, energetic, engaging woman who was on duty yesterday afternoon to check us in. Several of us take silent note of the contrast between her manner and style, compared to the disengaged, apathetic, I-couldn't-care-less-don't-bother-me attitude of the night clerk.

A pair of moose, relaxing in the hotel's small meeting room.

The weather's still foggy at 9:00, and consequently also decidedly on the cool side of comfortable. Nevertheless, we set off, following A D like so many ducklings following their mother. We parade slowly through the side streets of Grand Rapids, making our way to the County Fair grounds where we'll pick up the Mesabi Trail that we'll follow for the bulk of the day.

The fairground has numerous pieces of heavy equipment related to the logging industry staged up. It's difficult to determine whether they're simply on display, or if this is a staging ground from which they'll eventually find their way into active use. Regardless, they make excellent subjects for the first photos of the day.

In the loving embrace of a tree-felling machine.

Shovels and rakes and implements of destruction.

Our next stop, as we exit the fairgrounds, is the entry portal to the Mesabi Trail. Unlike the trails we've used so far, it's either privately maintained or a public/private partnership. In either case there's a $10 fee to be paid, which buys us three days of access. Perfect: after today we have a rest day and then another day on the trail as we continue on our way.

Just after we join the trail we encounter a trailside shelter. It's the only one I see for the next 35 miles.

It's immediately clear that there's another key difference: we're not following a converted railroad bed. The trail twists and turns, climbs and dips, sometimes at grades approaching eight percent. It's definitely enough to serve as a wake-up call, and test whether our legs are tired from yesterday. (They are.) The overall elevation profile for the day resembles saw teeth cut into the surface of an inclined plane: we'll climb over 1,500 feet as we gain a net of about 200 feet on the day.

The net result is a wonderfully laid-back, stress-free, relaxing ride. The fog gradually burns off, revealing and heightening the emerging autumn colors. There's still not a lot of traffic on the trail, but unlike yesterday where we passed through very few towns or even overt signs of human presence today we pass through a number of small towns.

Alright, enough of the scene-setting jazz. Let's get to the photos.

Trailside wisdom. Come to think of it, it's a good motto for any time or place, actually.

It's calm and quiet along the trail today. Not a ripple on the pond.

Beaver's handiwork. I was impressed by the size of the chips it/they took out.

A reminder of where we are riding today.

This lake's a muddy red rather than clear like all the others we've been seeing. I wonder why?

Ah, here's the reason. There's an active mine, or at least an ore handling operation, just around the corner. Interesting choice of building material too, don't you think?

Several of the small towns through which we pass have similar markers to this one.

Trailside panorama. Hard to envision a more quintessentially northern-Minnesota tableau.

An island with "happy little trees" on a mirror-smooth lake. Looks like a Bob Ross painting, doesn''t it?

A spider's web has collected dew from the overnight fog.

Beads of dew turn this web into nature's version of a pearl necklace.

The fog eventually lifts and the sky gradually clears, at least partly. It's enough to bring the emerging autumn colors into greater contrast with their surroundings.

A trailside invitation. It's too early in the ride, though.

This floating bridge carries the trail across a marsh. "Dismount and walk across" the sign advised (instructed, actually). I wasn't tempted to disregard the advice.

Afternoon sun. I wish it had been out earlier, when I took the photos of the colorful trees. Ah well.

Despite it being just 12 miles from the hotel and end of the day's ride, some of us stop for lunch at The Wizard Cafe in Nashwauk. It's a nice respite, but I pay the price afterward because my legs have stiffened up and my mojo is gone. It takes another five miles of riding to get back into it.

Not all of Minnesota's lakes are naturally occurring.

The mine is now an immense lake, one in string of several that were formed as the mines which followed the iron deposits were shut down.

This is a sample of what they were taking out. It's clearly high in iron content.

I wonder how long this boulder will stay lodged in the hillside. When it does finally go, it's going to make a BIG splash.

Mt. Hibbing looms in the background over a marsh.

A better view of Mt. Hibbing. It somehow reminds me of a mine tailings pile. I don't know why.

Riding through areas so strongly affected by the timber harvesting and iron mining industries sets me to musing once more on the balance between our society's need for the materials they produce versus the environmental cost of production.

I arrived here in a steel car, I ride a steel-framed bike. I'm dependent on iron ore for those luxuries. I like woodworking, I use paper products daily, so I'm equally dependent on forestry. But both logging and mining are incredibly hard on the land, and each leaves permanent scars behind. I don't know how to reconcile the two sides of the equation.

We're at a nicer hotel than usual (not that we've been in fleabag dives, far from it) today with an off day tomorrow. It'll be a good opportunity to learn a few details for tomorrow's story, maybe visit a barber, and generally hang out.

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Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 502 miles (808 km)

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