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The author's family – kids Grace and Sam and wife Shelley – check out the Silver Creek Cliff Overlook along the Gitchi-Gami State
Trail. by Eric Chandler I crested the hill on my roller skis near East Canyon Reservoir in Utah. Exhausted, I crouched into a tuck as the road started downhill near a campground. Like a gift from above, my wheels hummed as they hit brand-new pavement. "Sweet," I thought as I started to skate.
Roller ski safety advice emphasizes remaining calm and riding it out. I tried, but then I heard my wheel bearings screaming. I pictured myself trying to hug a guardrail at 30 mph. I balanced the options: broken leg later or road rash now. I grunted, threw myself down, and dragged a human chalk line across 30 yards of pavement before careening into the ditch. While I roller skied back to my car, sweat stung several square feet of my scraped skin. OK, that's an exaggeration, but I bled enough that I vowed I'd never roller ski an unscouted road again. Seven years later, I live in Duluth. I've got Marwe 610s without brakes and the itch to explore new trails along the North Shore of Lake Superior. And I'm wiser now, so I scouted two paved sections of the Gitchi-Gami State Trail on my bike before trying them with roller skis. Now fellow roller skiers can benefit from my summer of pioneering and from the fact that I'm a great big chicken. Silver Creek Cliff When you barrel up the pavement along the North Shore of Lake Superior, you pass through two tunnels just east of Two Harbors. The first tunnel punches through a wall of rock called Silver Creek Cliff. This tunnel was completed in 1994 and speeds you on your way to Gooseberry Falls, Split Rock Lighthouse and the other mandatory scenery. When the road used to wind around the cliff, the route itself was part of the adventure. What used to be the highway is now a one-mile segment of the Gitchi-Gami State Trail. The long-term goal is to connect a paved trail system from Two Harbors to Grand Marais. There are currently only a few segments finished and this is the one closest to Duluth. My family and I found the parking lot on the right side immediately after exiting the tunnel eastbound. The "Danger: Falling Rock" sign made my son smile as he pedaled uphill. Heading west, we crossed a dramatic bridgelike structure and quickly reached the high point of the trail where there are plaques and signs that show what the road used to be like. We then left the roar of the highway behind and were staring off the precipitous ledges at the big blue lake. Sheltered from the west wind and road noise, it was eerily silent as we looked all the way across Lake Superior to Wisconsin. There was no time to loiter as my wife and son were enjoying the long downhill run to the west end of the trail. My boy kept going down the road past the west terminus and I had to holler for him to come back. "But I wanted to keep riding until I got tired," he said. I reminded him that he had to go back up what he just coasted down. We admired the bright blue lupine on the side of the trail. Then we stopped at a dramatic arch over the path that replicates a gateway here when the original shore road was new. We paused to take some pictures before returning to the high point. My wife kept the kids from chasing each other off the edge of our perch and, lickety-split, we were back at the truck. There are a couple reasons why I won't roller ski here. The grade from either end of this trail was fine to go up. But once you're at the scenic high point in the middle, you've got to escape somehow and the path in both directions is too steep, in my opinion. To the west, you've got a long twisty downhill without even a guardrail between you and the big blue. To the east back to the parking lot, you have to avoid the posts meant to keep out vehicles. Plus, the Silver Creek Cliff section isn't long enough for roller skiing to justify the trip. However, I had a great bike ride here with my family a few days after Grandma's Marathon, and it's definitely a very quick and pretty walk. Gooseberry Falls to Beaver Bay Later in the summer, the next portion of the Gitchi-Gami State Trail that I visited was the stretch from Gooseberry Falls to Beaver Bay. This paved section is 13.2 miles. The young lady behind the counter of Gooseberry Falls State Park Visitors Center said I could join up with the Gitchi-Gami by exiting the park to the east, finding the 42-mile marker on Highway 61 and parking at the public water access there. I left the masses behind and found a nearly deserted parking lot in the middle of a bluebird weekend day. I climbed on my old road bike and headed east through a pleasant tunnel of evergreens. I crossed bridges near some classic Lake Superior cliffs and the Split Rock River offering tremendous views of the big lake. Then I hit the rolling hills that lead to the west end of Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. Then things got dicey, even on a bike. Nearing the park road, I encountered a swooping, descending section off trail with signs ordering bikers and inline skaters to dismount. Within the park there are some hairy climbs and descents that were fun on a bike, but would be death-defying for my roller skiing skill set. But the trail does flatten out en route to Beaver Bay. From Mile 42 to Beaver Bay was 10 miles. It was a fantastic road ride. I'd say the most fun and scenic section for roller skiing would be the five miles west of Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. To confirm this, I finished my 20 miles on the bike and strapped on my roller skis for a test run from Mile 42 to the Split Rock River. I was cautious crossing several plank bridges on the trail. Most troubling were the metal lips on both ends of all these bridges. I don't recommend assaulting one of these bridges at top ski speed. Road rash and splinters would be a festival of pain. Bonus at the finish When I finally arrived at the parking lot at the end of the day, I took a short 200 yard walk to a place called Iona's Beach, a striking beach of pink rhyolite stones that stretches off to the east – perfect for dipping your ski-boot heated dogs. It's a Minnesota State Natural Area and a perfect ending to a multisport day. There are more sections for me to roller scout further up the shore. But for now, I've figured out how to save my skin on the 14 miles of Gitchi-Gami State Trail nearest to Duluth. Eric Chandler is a a pilot who lives with his family in Duluth, Minnesota. He is treasurer for the Duluth Cross-Country Ski Club, a coach for the KidSki program at Snowflake Nordic Center, and a multiple finisher of the American Birkebeiner. He recommends visiting www.ggta.org for more information about the Gitchi-Gami State Trail.
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