Day two. There are hills on the North Shore?

This is part three of my North Shore bike tour.  Check out parts one and two!  I woke to the smell of eggs and sausage cooking, thanks to my wonderful mother!  Between food, dogs, packing the bikes, and general malaise, we didn't get started until almost 11, but we figured that was ok since we were still hours ahead of where we were at this time yesterday, and today the sun was out!

Just about to say goodbye to mom and the dogs and head out

This day would see us passing through the area of the shore I'm most familiar with, mainly around Tettegouche State Park and Silver Bay.  With some of the best rock climbing in Minnesota, right over Lake Superior, Tettegouche is my usual North Shore destination.  One of the reasons I picked this route for the tour was my familiarity with the area, and my memory that it really wasn't all that hilly.  As we'd driven north the day before though, I realized that my memory wasn't quite as accurate as I'd hoped, and today I paid for that oversight.  The route seemed to consist of long rolling hills as far as the eye could see, so the previously-neglected lower 18 gears of my bike saw some serious use.

With the bike+gear weighing in around 80lbs, the quick rests at the top of especially long climbs, for water and snacks, felt amazing.  Before long we'd made it to Tettegouche, where we stopped for lunch, and I took advantage of the break to string up my hammock and get off my feet.  The brand new visitors center and picnic shelter at the park happened to have the perfect supports for hammocking!

Just south of the park we passed through Silver Bay and Beaver Bay, and then picked up the next long stretch of the Gitchi Gami State Trail which would take us through two state parks to our destination for the evening at Gooseberry Falls.  This stretch of trail ran through the woods well back from the highway, and was quite beautiful, and largely deserted until we reached the Split Rock Lighthouse.

We'd planned ahead and had my mom stop at Gooseberry to reserve us a campsite that morning on her way home, and that foresight had paid off, since as we pulled in every single campsite at both Split Rock AND Gooseberry were reserved.  We'd even gotten a site with ample trees to string our hammocks, and dinner was some pre-cooked brats heated up over a quick fire.  Total distance for day two was 45 miles, and you can see the whole route here.

Camp for the night