xc skiing!
❄️ mille lacs kathio state park!
i love cross-country skiing and on february 20th finally got to hit a groomed trail for the first time this season. there wasn’t much snow at home so southern minnesota guy & i drove a few hours north to mille lacs kathio state park in mille lacs county — traditional territory of the Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ ↗, Bdewakantuwan (Mdewakanton), and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ nations.
our home-away-from-home on this trip was a lovely camper cabin. many minnesota state parks feature these cabins, which offer a screened-in porch, bunk beds, table & benches, electricity, and heat. the only real “roughing it” was a lack of indoor plumbing; a chilly vault toilet was just a few yards away. i brought my thru-hiking stove, and we alternated between “trail” meals and “town” meals.
this was the 2nd of several mini-adventures during a super-fun, late-february, winter weekend getaway for me and southern minnesota guy. it was chock full of micro-spike hiking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, state park cabin sleeping, basic camp cooking, and amazing restaurant food. stay tuned for part 3, coming soon!
my trail name’s mythic and in 2026 i’m continuing my multi-year thru-hike (m.y.t.h.) of the pacific crest trail. as i prepare to return to the pct (and hopefully tackle other section- and thru-hikes in the future), i'm going on day hikes to help keep in trail shape!
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