Hike 28 - Murphy-Hanrehan

I think back to last spring and all the hikes we attempted, but were foiled with flooded trails and rainy weather and I am grateful for better conditions. Especially, since our ‘leave the house’ activities are limited by the COVID-19 stay at home order. Hopefully, we can make hiking more of a weekly thing now that we don’t have a bunch of other obligations (some of which I miss, of course).

The week before this, my in-laws called my husband and mentioned this trail close to them. They talked it up quite a bit so my husband suggested we check this one out. We headed out early as we tend to do, but were a little apprehensive by a fairly full parking lot. These things bring extra concern when you are supposed to be social distancing, but we noticed that most of the vehicles had bike racks and that most people were mountain biking and not hiking. We saw a number of people on the hiking trail, but it was far from crowded.

Hike #: 28

Trail: Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve

Location: Savage, MN

Trail surface: dirt

Date: May 2nd, 2020

Jo: ★★★★

Jesse: ★★★

Riley: ★★★★

This trail is also used as a cross country trail in the winter and we took the route that is opposite of the winter route. There were plenty of fairly flat areas, but also a number of inclines (and far fewer declines) which meant my glutes got a nice workout. It was a wide trail (for those cross country folks), but still had a nice nature-y feel to it.

We had a little confusion over if we were going to follow the 4 mile or 2 mile trail and ended up putting in about 2.5 miles which was fine. I’d totally go back to this trail - expecially after all the trees have bloomed. It was a bug free trail this time of year so I wonder what it will be like farther into the season. Maybe we’ll meet the in-laws here this summer to find out.

Hike 17 - America Hill

I can’t believe it’s been 6 months since I officially logged in a hike. I’ve been on some walks, but didn’t take advantage of any winter hiking. At any rate, I am ready to get back to it this year. My first official hike of the year was in the Virgin Islands. We’d gone to St. John, USVI 10 years ago (it’s where we got married) and hiked Ram Head Trail at that time. It’s a great trail with fantastic views, but absolutely no shade. We headed out early, but I still ended up with heat stroke. It was horrible and when Jesse suggested we do it again I had to shut him down. Once was enough. Plus, this island has a ton of trails - most of the island is a national park, so I wanted to explore something new.

I wanted a trail with shade and a local recommended America Hill Ruins. To get there, you start at Cinnamon Bay Trail and walk up a steep hill before turning left on the America Hill trail head. We went early to try and avoid the heat, but it’s never really cool in the Virgin Islands so it was a humid and sweaty hike to the top. We counted down our five switchbacks and were rewarded with an amazing view at the top. Once back down we walked over and did the Cinnamon Bay Loop Trail as well. It’s a short, mostly paved trail around some ruins with guided signs.

Hike #: 17

Trail: America Hill Ruins

Location: St John, United States Virgin Islands

Trail surface: Dirt, rocks, leaves (paved and boardwalk on the Cinnamon Bay Loop trail)

Date: 4/20/19

This certainly wasn’t a long hike, but it wasn’t an easy hike either. It’s totally doable, just be prepared for the incline and the heat. Gratefully, there was a lot of shade and a beach nearby that we cooled down in afterwards. We all agreed that we took a point off for the heat. Jesse also noted that there wasn’t much to look at on the way up, but the view at the top was worth it. I’m not sure what he wanted to see (animals, flowers?), but I enjoyed the forest feel of the hike. Riley also took a point off because she was tired, but I wouldn’t hold that against this trail. :)

Jo: ★★★★

Jesse: ★★★

Riley: ★★★