High Temperature: 84

Low Temperature: 45

Barometric Pressure: 29.71

Relative Humidity 7AM: 87%

9 AM Temperature: 64

Moisture: .25"

Route: Peterson Lake to Baker Lake

Peterson Lake

Portage 10 rods

Baker Lake

Up at 6:00. Left camp at 8:15 and were out at Baker Lake at 9:00.

Take Out on Baker Lake

We had two beers left over from our first night tucked away in Jim’s mini-cooler. Several times during the trip Jim would ask if hot beer exploded. He thought we might return to an aromatic car. We opened the cooler and not only were the beers not exploded, but were still cool. Yep. Before 9:30 in the morning Jim and I were drinking (Jim’s idea, not mine!). They tasted good, too.

We pulled away from Baker Lake at 10:00. Jim zeroed out the trip mileage on the odometer. At 10:20 we were back to Sawbill Outfitters for showers and souvenirs.  As we walked into the store there sat Frank Hansen. It was déjà vu all over again as Frank got Jim’s stalker routine just like Bill Hansen did days ago.

We left Sawbill at 11:00. Saw a doe and her two fawns on the trail.

Once in Tofte (about 11:45), we did a little shopping for our wives at the Waters Edge. Then next door to the Coho Café for lunch. Excellent food. Good prices. Then across the road to the store for cokes, and back on the road at 12:30.

Jim at Coho Café

We reached Two Harbors at 1:30. Two Harbors was just a town I have always passed through. I never thought about what could be there except what I saw on Hwy 61. Jim decided we’d check it out, so we made a left turn and followed the signs to the harbor. 

What a treat! There was a lot to see: The Edna G. Tug Boat; Iron Ore Dock; Train Depot with real antique trains; the Historical Society; The Community Center; The Lighthouse; The Crusader II, a wooden, 36-foot, Lake Superior fishing boat built in 1939; and a nice city park. To top it off we got to see a huge, iron ore freighter, The Edwin H. Gott, dock at the Iron Ore Dock. Very cool.

Edna G. Tug Boat & Iron Ore Dock

Old Train

We left Two Harbors at 2:45 and made it to Rice Lake by 5:00. Jim wanted to show me the Bear Paw. Basically it is a Cabelas-lite. You can see it along highway 53. A convenient stop if you realized you’ve forgotten something on the drive up.

Then off to the Rice Lake Cullvers for supper. We get out of town at 6:15.

We make it to La Crosse, WI at 8:45 p.m. and Jim drives me the additional 30 minutes to my home. 11 hours and 15 minutes for the return trip. Significantly longer than the 6-and-a-half hours it took us to drive up.

We check the mileage counter. 375 miles since we left Baker Lake. Pretty good, especially considering all the side trips we took on the way home.

Great trip. Just what the doctor ordered.