Kawishiwi Falls and hiking Dry Lake

It was gloomy and windy Saturday morning with rain in the forecast so we took the hike to Kawishiwi Falls instead of going kayaking. It's about a 3/4 mile loop, and the trail is pretty for such a short hike.

I couldn't resist hiking up and down the rocks along the Kawishiwi River, and on the way out Wayne couldn't resist trekking out to the top of the falls.

The 71 foot high falls is located near the Winton Hydroelectric facility that was built in 1922 by the Minnesota Utilities Company.  In the late 1800’s loggers floated millions of board feet of lumber from the waters within what is now the BWCAW over these falls to the mill town of Winton.  In the above photo you can see a little bit of the dam behind the trees, the photo below shows the river emptying out into what I think is probably Fall Lake.

I dragged the tripod along with me but didn't use it. Maybe I should just start thinking of it as strength training equipment!

We met a family that was nice enough to take a picture of the two of us, and I think we looked pretty good for a humid, windy morning!

It threatened rain all day, but it never materialized. In the afternoon we took our chances and went out to the Bass Lake trailhead for a hike around Dry Lake. The Dry Lake loop is only 3 miles long...but it is a hard 3 miles. My legs were quivering toward the end and it was one of those hikes where you're looking for the parking lot around each bend after awhile. 

 It reminded me of a roller coaster ride, except instead of saying "wheeeeee!" as you go down each hill you say "whew!" and instead of wind in your face you're wiping sweat out of your eyes. But, you don't get magnificent views without paying a price.