This will be a trail clearing trip to the Pigeon River Cliffs Section of the Border Route Trail located out of Grand Marais, MN.

Trip highlights will include scenic vistas from the bluffs overlooking the Pigeon River valley, great food, camaraderie that can't be surpassed, plus the chance to see wildlife such as loons, black bear, moose, and fox. This is a great opportunity to experience some of the best scenery in the Upper Midwest and at the same time feel good about giving something back for all of the times that you've hiked or skied on well maintained trails.

Activities include doing a maintenance and flagging sweep from Portage Brook east past the overlooks along the Pigeon River Ridge to the connection with the Superior Hiking Trail at the Swamp River. Tools will include chain saws and power brush cutters (sort of a glorified weed whipper) as well as hand operated limbers. For those preferring to keep their distance from the power equipment, there will be plenty of opportunities such as flagging, throwing brush and deadfall pieces, limbing, etc. We'll also make sure that we get back to camp early enough for a swim in Otter Lake before dinner.

Our base camp will consist of car camping at the Otter Lake Access Trailhead primitive campsite located on Otter Lake just off the Arrowhead Trail / Cook Cty 16 out of Hovland, MN. Amenities include a lake to swim in, the possibility of tango on the bedrock, and a BWCAW style privy. There is no running water, but we'll bring enough to supply the group for the weekend.

Bring your own personal gear and between meal snacks, we provide all meals and community gear such as stoves, cooking pots, and all trail maintenance gear. Contact the trip coordinator for a copy of the summer mechanized trail clearing equipment list for details on what personal gear to bring.

This trip is open to beginners but bear in mind that you should be in good physical condition with prior camping experience being an asset. We provide OJT for those new to trail clearing and those desiring to get the feel of running a brushcutter. Those using the chain saws must be USFS certified.

We'll depart from across the street from the Roseville REI at 6:15pm on Friday, July 24th and return at approximately 9:30pm on Sunday, July 26th.

The tax deductible trip cost of $49 includes transportation and meals (except for stops on the way up and back.

This trip is organized by the Border Route Trail Association in conjunction with the Minnesota Rovers and the Minneapolis Hiking MeetUp Group.

As this is a volunteer service trip, you need not be a member of Rovers to participate. Please feel free to contact me with any questions that you might have.

Thanks,


612-822-0569