Today I decided to go check out Mount Josephine in Grand Portage, Minnesota. I couldn’t find the parking area so I stopped into the National Monument center and got a map. The parking area is not very visible from the road. Once parked I grabbed all of my gear and rain jacket and started down the trail. The first half mile was a nice, fairly level and wide trail. 
Once I got to the sign pointing to the summit things changed dramatically. This was a fairly steep trail that was narrow and rocky. The Forrest was beautiful when I had a chance to notice it but most of the hike required looking down and plotting every step. This was a true test of my new hiking boots and my old body. I’m not too proud to say that I had to stop a few times to catch my breath on the hour long trip to the top.
Many times I had to stop and try to determine where the trail continued. It wasn’t always apparent and I didn’t want to take a wrong turn.
By the time I finally got to the top, my Fitbit registered that I had climbed 55 flights. There were no stairs, however. So 55 flights of rock and dirt. My legs were jello.
At the summit I met a group of young girls that passed me up early on in the hike. They asked me to take their picture and I abliged.
I set up some camera gear and took a few photos but spent a good deal of time taking in the view. It’s one of the best I have seen on the north shore. A few more groups came to the top and we all chatted about the climb and that given the view, it was worth it. I took more group photos and joked that I should set up a stand.
On the horizon you could see Isle Royale, the least visited national park and the only one that is only accessible by boat or plane. That’s an adventure for another day.
The hike back down seemed like it would be easy since gravity would be on my side but it quickly became apparent that the climb was even steeper than it seemed going up. It was easy to get going a little too fast or miss your footing. At one point, I had to go over a downed tree that crossed the path and though my first foot went over just fine, the next one didn’t due to my jello legs and I took a tumble into the brush on the side of the path. I scraped up the palm of my left hand but was otherwise fine. In total, the trip down took about a half an hour.
It was good to know that I can still do this sort of thing and I attribute a good deal of it to my great new hiking boots. I wouldn’t do this again without them.
I have been exploring the north shore my entire life and am here often. Every time I find a place I haven’t been before. I never worry about running out. The adventures up here are truly limitless.