Dry Falls 07-31-2011 (Minnesota)

With a little free time on my calendar, I had an opportunity to meet up with some of my favorite buddies for a hike near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in northern Minnesota, ya.



Based on a recommendation from Mary Ann, Rachel, Steve and I found ourselves setting out for a +3 mile hike on the Bass Lake Trail, just north of Ely, MN.



This hike is located in the Superior National Forest. In this context, Superior isn't an opinion. Superior refers to "nearby" Lake Superior (one of the Great Lakes, ya).

It's also near the thriving metropolis of Winton, MN.



Upon a study of the trail head map, we decided to hike out to Dry Falls first, then we'd decide whether we wanted to do the Bass Lake loop or the Dry Lake loop. Ultimately, we decided on the shorter option: Dry Lake loop.



The weather was a perfect temperature - right about 80 degrees. Other than a few pesky flies, the bugs weren't all that bad (considering what we'd experience later that night at the Cabin).

The scenery is pretty similar to what we have here in western Washington, minus the long and steep hills. Minnesota hills are less steep and certainly a lot shorter.

Lots of greenery and luscious lakes.



Our first glimpse of Bass Lake:


Our first glimpse of Dry Falls, and a couple enjoying the water:


There is a little bridge that allows easy access across the creek, and offers a nice view over the top of the falls, with Bass Lake in the background.


Dry Falls contains water flowing from Dry Lake into Bass Lake.

As you can imagine, Dry Lake isn't actually dry, although it used to be 'more dry' than it currently is. It seems that back in 1925, Dry Lake contained a lot more water, until it breached a natural dam and drained out. You can read all about it from an old newspaper story at the trail head.

While enjoying the falls and nearby scenery, we happened to witness the arrival of Hilary and her grown up pup, My-ya.







After a short break, we continued onward to circumnavigate Dry Lake and Little Dry Lake. We quickly located the beaver dam(s) that are currently preventing a faster drainage of Dry Lake.







Found some stuff that didn't look familiar... maybe because all our stuff here in WA is still under snow:






Video of that thing:






All in all, it was a very nice hike. Great recommendation Mary Ann!

Happy Trails!

~E