I found out about this loop last year when Chantal and I did the Pukaskwa Coastal Trail. We hiked by it and I thought, this would be another cool one to do one day. Fast forward one year later and we were on our way to Terrace Bay to do Casque Isles Trail and driving by this area. When in Rome!
We lucked out with the weather. Things were nice and dry. We hiked down to the start of the loop for a warmup. I got started at 11:10 and Chantal’s plan was to start a few minutes after me. I was going in blind! Never done this loop before. But I did create a route on Gaia and had it on my watch. Crossed my fingers and got going.
Huge climb to start off. Red lining in no time! The trail was pretty tough. I did my best but also really had to stay safe. Made a couple small navigation errors, but not bad for my first time on this loop. I actually took a pretty good fall but was so lucky and landed on a soft, mossy, grassy patch of ground. Phew. Got up and kept going. The latter part of the loop wasn’t as rocky and hilly which was nice. I closed up the loop and stopped my watch. 12:35 per mile avg pace. Happy.
I carried no water or food but had an energy drink and a gel 10 min before the start. I waited for Chantal and we enjoyed the 4 mile hike back to the car. I made the mistake of not bringing enough water for after, but luckily Lake Superior was near and the water is so nice and clean. 14 miles total for the day. Pukaskwa is an amazing national park!