I Found My Blueberry Hill on the Gunflint Trail

     Years ago, before children and before the Blowdown I used to love to hike around Chik-Wauk.  Ralph and Bea Griffiths, the last owners of the lodge spent their summers there and were fine with me walking around.  I stumbled upon a trail one time that led me to the most magnificent view ever.

     It was a breathtaking view of the surrounding area at the end of the Gunflint Trail.  You could see Seagull Lake, Saganaga Lake and other smaller lakes in the area.  Up on this hill were also the biggest and sweetest blueberries known to mankind.

     I’m not sure if these blueberries tasted so good because of the surroundings or because of the challenging hike to the top of the hill.  In any case, the numerous blueberry bushes made me refer to the hill as blueberry hill. 

     One time I told Ralph and Bea about the hill and he was quick to say, "Oh, you mean Blueberry Hill."  I guess I wasn’t the first person to come up with the original name. 

     Like every hike I didn’t go up there too often but each time I did I was in awe at the surrounding beauty.  Then in 1999 the blowdown occured and I had my first baby.  Those two things prevented me from hiking the trail again until yesterday.

     Now that Chik-Wauk is a Museum and Nature Center they have incorporated many of the old trails into new hiking trails and the trail to Blueberry Hill is getting added this summer.  I read about it on the Gunflint Trail Blog and as soon as I did I had to go and hike it.  

     The trail to Blueberry Hill looks a little different than it did pre-blowdown and pre-Ham Lake Fire but it’s just as beautiful of a view today as it was then.  The Trail is flagged and it’s been cleared some of the way but is still quite challenging.  Work will be done on it during the Gunflint Green Up this May and hopefully it will be in good shape after that.

     Now that I have found it again I hope to make it up to Blueberry Hill again soon.  If you’re up at the end of the Gunflint Trail this summer then be sure to plan some time for a hike.  With the way the weather is this spring there might just be blueberries on top of Blueberry in June so come on up and find blueberry hill for yourself.