Border Route Maintenance - East

the Border Route Trail heads north from Otter Lake Rd. at the northern end of the Superior Hiking Trail (photo by JHY)

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from Ed Solstad, Mechanized Maintenance Coordinator, Border Route Trail Association

We're pleased to announce that all portions of the Pigeon River Cliffs section of the Border Route Trail from The SHT / BRT Otter Lk Rd Junction through to McFarland Lk have now received both a dead-fall and a brushing sweep between mid-May, 2009 and mid-September, 2009. All it needs now is more users to help keep it open. This is where all of you come in.

If you've avoided hiking the BRT because of the usually exaggerated reports of impenetrable brush and dead-falls every few feet, take heart. While it is still not up to Hennepin Park standards, we want to keep it that way on purpose. The Pigeon River Cliffs Section has many of the same characteristics as the BWCAW sections such as magnificent overlooks, stands of old growth forest, and solitude without having to deal with wilderness restrictions, permits, lack of road access, etc. We guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

Pigeon River Cliffs on the Border Route Trail (photo by JHY)

We highly recommend that you give it a try this fall while the recent maintenance is still fresh. If you can't make it out to hike this fall, consider joining one of the BRT maintenance trips next Spring.

Speaking of maintenance trips, we're planning a non-mechanized trip to the East Rose Lake Section on Oct. 2nd through the 5th. Contact Chris Fothergill at 651-454-7030 or csfothergill@gmail.com for further information. There are also two mechanized maintenance trips to the Gunflint Section on the weekends of Oct 3rd & 4th and Oct 16 through 18th. Contact Ed Solstad at 612-822-0569 or esolstad@pressenter.com.

We welcome anything that will help to keep this trail open and usable be it as simple as a getting out and taking a day-hike to one of the easily accessible overlooks to a longer overnight, or for the truely hardcore, a through-hike. What the is most in need of however is maintenance in the Wilderness Sections. One way of improving the situation would be to establish a network of interested people who actually live closer to the trail. Trying to run an adequate trail maintenance program from the Twin Cities is certainly not the most efficient way of doing things. If you can provide anything along the lines of sugestions, contacts, actual manpower, etc. pleas contact us. The trail thanks you. In the meantime, get out there and hike.

Border Route Trail
Contact Ed Solstad at 612-822-0569 or esolstad@pressenter.com.