Smoke, Stairs, and a Surprise: A Hike at Tettegouche State Park
Today was one of those days where the outdoors just calls to you, so I decided to heed the call and head up to Tettegouche State Park on the North Shore of Minnesota. Now, if you haven’t heard, Canada’s been having some wildfires lately, and unfortunately, their smoke decided to vacation in the Duluth/Superior area. As I drove north, the smoke got thicker and thicker, but I wasn’t about to let a little haze ruin my adventure. Onward to my destination!
After finally reaching the trailhead, I parked my trusty Wrangler and grabbed my Shimoda X30 camera backpack. I’ll be honest—this thing was overpacked and a bit heavier than I anticipated. But hey, what’s a hike without a little extra weight to keep things interesting? With my camera gear securely strapped to my back, I set off up the trail to see the High Falls.
The hike started off pretty manageable, until I arrived at the bridge—well, where the bridge used to be. It’s been washed out for some time, and wading across the river to reach the other side of the trail wasn’t exactly on my bucket list today. Even so, the setting was beautiful, with several viewpoints along the way to appreciate the falls from a distance.
The remnants of the bridge.
Overlooking High Falls
Not one to be easily deterred, I hiked back up the trail to the junction for Two Step Falls. After navigating this trail, I was greeted by a sign that read, “Two Hundred Stairs, No Outlet.” Did I mention that I hate stairs? Well, I do. But down the stairs I went, and wouldn’t you know it, I actually started counting them on my way down. Spoiler alert: I lost count.
At the bottom, the trail opened up to the river, with the falls about 100 yards upstream. The sound of children playing in the pools mixed with the roar of the falls created a serene atmosphere. I set up my tripod and started shooting some long exposures with a 10-stop ND filter. I moved around to a few different spots, capturing shots of the falls from different angles. I have to say, I was pretty pleased with the photos I snagged that day.
Image of Two Step Falls
I lingered at the falls for a few hours, trying to muster up the motivation to tackle those 200 steps back up. The distance back to the trailhead was only a mile, but those steps—oh, those steps—felt never-ending. After much huffing and puffing and questioning my life choices, I finally made it back to my Wrangler…only to discover that I’d been ducked!
The newest addition to my duck pond!
For those of you who aren’t in the know, getting “ducked” is when one Jeep owner leaves a rubber duck on another Jeep as a nod of appreciation for their rig. It’s a little thing, but it definitely put a smile on my face after the day’s adventure.
