Blazing Trail: 40 Years on the Superior Hiking Trail

Making Family Memories on the Superior Hiking Trail

The Superior Hiking Trail provides great opportunities to connect people of all ages with wild spaces. In Episode 4 we meet Jody Nonnemacher, a North Shore grandmother who has established the tradition of hiking with each of her grandchildren when they turn five-years-old. She talks about how to prepare for a hike with young children, and the importance of creating healthy habits related to walking in the woods together. In the second half we talk to Henry Downing and Erin Soderberg Downing, a mother and son who tackled 100 miles of the SHT while Erin was doing research for her middle-grade novel "Just Keep Walking." The hike inspired the storyline for the book and deepened the real-life connection between the two of them, proving that families can do hard things and that connections made on the trail sometimes last a lifetime.

Blazing Trail Ep. 3 Teaser - Volunteers!

Episode three of Blazing Trail, is all about volunteers! In this teaser, we meet Steph Hoff, a competitive trail runner and volunteer crew leader for the SHTA, Monica Shoberg, founder of Unruly Women, an all-femme organization that partners with the SHTA on group trail projects, and Barbara Budd, volunteer coordinator for the SHTA.

Blazing Trail Ep. 4 Teaser - Family Connections on the SHT

In Episode 4 of Blazing Trail: 40 Years on the Superior Hiking Trail, we talk with Jody Nonnemacher, a North Shore grandmother who established the family tradition of taking each of her eight grandchildren on a SHT hike when they turned five years old, with more hikes planned. We also had a nice conversation with Minnesota author Erin Soderberg Downing and her son Henry Downing about a 100-mile hike on the SHT they tackled while Erin gathered research for her book "Just Keep Walking," a middle-grade novel published in 2024.  The full episode will be available on May 25th!

Episode 3: Volunteers, and Finding Your Inner Wild

Episode three of Blazing Trail, is all about volunteers! We meet Steph Hoff, a competitive trail runner and volunteer crew leader for the SHTA. After that, we discuss "finding your inner wild," with Monica Shoberg, founder of Unruly Women, an all-femme organization that partners with the SHTA on group trail projects. And, to close out the episode, we speak with SHTA Volunteer & Education Coordinator Barbara Budd, who shares news about upcoming volunteer opportunities, and reflects on the role of volunteers, as we near the 40th Anniversary of the Superior Hiking Trail. (Photo courtesy of Monica Shoberg) More information at:  superiorhiking.org or unrulywomen.org

Blazing Trail Ep. 2 - Finding Love in its Many Forms on the SHT

This episode is all about finding love in its many forms on the Superior Hiking Trail. We meet Beth Kaszynski and George Dahm, a couple fell in love while volunteering for a trail rehabilitation project near Lutsen. We also hear from Katie and Josh Belanger, who planned a thru-hike on the SHT for their first wedding anniversary. The trip itinerary didn’t go as planned, but the hike still serves as a formative part of their relationship with each other, and with the SHT. Finally, sisters Lynn, Krista and Cheryl planned a hike together during the COVID 19 pandemic. After an injury on the trail set them back, the three sisters tried for a second time, reaffirming sisterly love, pride in each other, and a love for the trail, after the loss of their father.