Oberg Mountain – Valerie's Voice

Lake Superior Venture

We just returned from an amazing time on the north shore of Lake Superior. As I’ve written before, it is one of my all-time favorite places to be. When we arrive at the cabin we rent, I sigh a happy sigh when I walk through the door and see the lake through the floor to ceiling windows. It is a marvelous and breathtaking sight that I never grow tired of. I literally feel a calm come over me. I miss it when I’m not there.

During our time at the cabin, we did what we normally do…we enjoy God’s bountiful creation. We bike and hike, drink our morning coffee on the deck, watch the sunrise, have a bon fire on the rocks, relax, read good books, eat delicious food overlooking the lake, and just sit and look at the lake.

I had good intentions of cleaning up my computer files, or deleting photos off my phone, do a little writing, but none of that happened. The lake is alluring and mesmerizing, and we can just sit and do nothing but enjoy the vista for hours…and so we do, and we do not worry about getting anything accomplished. I believe we are being rejuvenated from the inside out.

We traditionally go up to the north shore in September but this year we had reservations in July. The weather was cooler than normal for July, the sunrise is earlier in July…5:20ish…and different kinds of flowers are blooming in July…like beautiful lupines, perky daisies and bright yellow bird’s-foot trefoil.

A photo exposition follows:

A view outside the cabin. I was pleased to see lupines on the property. We started seeing lupine along Scenic Drive as we were driving up. Lupines are not in bloom in September, when we are usually at the cabin.

One of our hikes…overlooking Oberg Lake in summer, 2023.

This is same overlook of Oberg Lake in autumn, 2019.

Streets lined with gold…Highway 61, back roads and bike trails were lined with bird’s-foot trefoill. It was impressive.

This is a bridge on the new section of the Gitchi-Gami bike trail, which we rode on from Cutface Wayside Park into Grand Marais.

Temperance River…a hike we always enjoy, along the gorges of this wild river.

We enjoy a bon fire on the rocks outside the cabin.

Clear water reveals the rocks underneath the waters of Lake Superior.

Our hike to Caribou Falls…down 156 steps to see this beautiful waterfalls, then back up 156 steps! It’s worth it. It’s gorgeous.

Our son Tim took a photo of lupines and a single daisy years ago…it was fun to recapture a similar posturing.

Lake Superior…some days it’s calm, other days it’s not…somedays it’s gray, other times it’s blue, sometimes it’s somber…sometimes it’s glistening… with everything in-between. And, sometimes it all happens in a day. (I told Gary these are the kind of glistening diamonds I like.)

I’m so grateful for our time on the shore of Lake Superior.

Fall on the North Shore

We often go up to the cabin we rent on Lake Superior in the fall. One never knows what kind of color autumn will have painted on the trees and foliage when we arrive.

The leaves usually change up there in late September/early October. The last couple of years we have seen some good color up on the north shore, even though our dates staying up at the cabin have varied – a lot.

This year, the day we went for our annual hike up Oberg Mountain, was one of those perfect fall days…bright sunshine, a vibrant, bold, blue, autumn sky, great temperature…it was stunning.

And the vistas from the seven lookouts on top were very colorful.

A lot of people were on the trail, and a lot of people were up north in general…more so than usual… evident with traffic and full parking lots. However, back at the cabin all was peaceful.

On another hike, in Tettegouche State Park, we spotted an unusual mushroom. It was golden…it looked like it was spray painted but it was far enough off the trail to know that was unlikely.

I tried to identify this mushroom with a quick internet search, but was unsuccessful. We saw other fun fungi on that same trail.

As wonderful as our hiking and biking and fall color drives were, the time spent with our son and daughter-in-love, and our two grandchildren, up north, at the cabin on Lake Superior, was the best!

Themed Hike

The Oberg Mountain trail is one of our favorite hikes on the north shore. It’s a fairly easy 2.2 mile hike…climbing up and circling around the summit. There are eight fantastic overlooks along the loop trail. Some places look out over Lake Superior….

…other areas view the inland forest and Oberg Lake. It’s a hike that never disappoints and is always enjoyable.

Looking inland towards Oberg Lake with the colorful maples past peak.

This year as we approached the top I saw a sign posted that looked like it could be another Story Walk – like the one we discovered at Forestville State Park a few weeks ago.

However, the sign project on top of Oberg was not a storybook walk. It was referred to as a themed hike.

Along the trail several signs were posted near trees to identify them and talk about their characteristics, or tell stories about their species. The United States Department of Agriculture logo was listed on each sign so I assume it was their project, in collaboration with the Forest Service.

I’ve often thought, while hiking through the forest, that it would be helpful if all the trees and flowers and bushes and plants in the forest could all have little signs identifying themselves – so I liked the concept of this themed hike.

Although I can identify a lot of the common trees there are many more trees I do not know.

I’ve noticed these sweet, little seedlings growing next to the trail. They are soft and elegant.

I was happy to learn about these precious, little pine trees I have seen lining the hiking trails. Sign number 10 identified them as Princess Pine…a fitting title I think.

Over all there were eleven trees highlighted on this trail: White Cedar, Mountain Maple, Quaking Aspen, Beaked Hazelnut, Sugar Maple, Red Pine, Black Ash, Balsam Fir, White Spruce, Princess Pine and Paper Birch.

According to the last sign they plan to create another themed hike about a different topic…hopefully next year.

I’m thankful for these intentional ways different organizations are helping the public learn about nature, out in nature.

Oberg Mountain Trail

Our annual trek to our beloved (rented) cabin on the waters of Lake Superior again proved to be refreshing, relaxing and good family time as our oldest son and his wife and daughter joined us at the cabin. We miss you TAZE!

From the fall color we had already seen we anticipated amazing vistas from nine overlooks on a favorite hike, the Oberg Mountain trail. It’s great trail that takes you to the top and then loops around offering a 360* view of the surrounding area.

So we waited until our son and his family arrived to hike this trail. It was a sunny day and the colors were spectacular: vibrant in the sunshine with a blue sky dotted with some white clouds.

Walking through the yellow and lime-green trees and stepping out into open vistas over looking Lake Superior, inland forest and lakes and surrounded by incredible colors: red, yellow, orange and evergreen… it takes your breath away.

On top of Oberg Mountain with Lake Superior behind us.

No words can describe and pictures really don’t capture the spectacular beauty we see…we are just grateful to be able to be here in the moment.

Memorable Hikes – Lutsen, Minnesota 2017

Continuing my series on memorable hikes…

The Oberg Trail, near Lutsen, Minnesota ascends about a quarter mile and then levels out to a 1.8 mile loop around the top of this “Minnesota mountain”. The trail has eight scenic overlooks in all directions…several looking out onto the big lake, Lake Superior, and a few overlooks facing the inland forest and a beautiful small inland lake called Oberg Lake. We’ve hiked this trail many, many times over the years…it’s an easy trail and a nice length, close to our rented cabin and a wonderful way to see spectacular vistas of Lake Superior. Some years we get to see the trees in their beautiful autumn array of color. In 2017 we saw an ample start on the fall colors. When the sky is blue it makes the colors more vibrant. This year the fall colors were emerging but the sky was clouded over. It’s still a wonderful sight and a place I love to be!

Last fall our trek up Oberg Mountain we hiked the trail with our son and his wife and our five-month-old granddaughter. It was her first hike on the north shore. She wore a darling moose outfit in honor of the occasion. We didn’t see any moose but she drew attention from the hikers we passed along the trail. It’s funny how babies and dogs often provoke comments from strangers.

She seemed to enjoy the hike, and so did we.

It’s hard to say good-bye…

09/21/17 The sun did it’s beautiful thing again this morning with no clouds to obstruct our view. We leave for home today and I’m sad to say good-bye, although I’m so grateful for the time we had up here in this amazing place. I’m praising God for this incredible beauty.

Our adventures this year included hikes up Oberg Mountain (two times), Britton Peak, Shovel Point, Temperance River (several times, different areas), bike rides on the Gitchi-Gami trail, drives along Hwy 61 and inland roads, eating delicious meals right at the cabin overlooking the lake. We took time to read, reflect and just plain “sit around and watch the lake”. We pieced together a jigsaw puzzle, enjoyed campfires on the rocks… explored new places.

It was wonderful to be with our son, his wife and our five-month-old granddaughter.

Three seagulls on the rocks outside the cabin.

There were many seagulls in the air and on the rocks, an eagle that flew by several times, hummingbirds at the cabin feeder and a few ducks floating along.

It was fun to see this barge heading out to sea, sailing past a beach we were exploring for the first time.

We always enjoy having a jigsaw puzzle out on a table to slowly piece together during our time in the cabin. There are many puzzles available at the cabin. I chose this Tall Ships puzzle to remind me of my kayak trip watching the Tall Ships parade last summer.

We saw a lot of fall color on the inland trees this year, and we had several varied weather patterns: wind and rain and rough seas, and some gorgeous, clear, autumn blue skies…all makes for a wonderful week on the north shore of Lake Superior.

Our lunch spot…can’t find a restaurant with these views!

We’re going home relaxed, renewed, rejuvenated and rejoicing.

Sigh…it’s so hard to leave, but my heart is full.