Blazing Trail: 40 Years on the Superior Hiking Trail

In Episode 5 of Blazing Trail: 40 Years on the Superior Hiking Trail, we meet Myrtle Turnquist, her husband Eric, their son Ray Moose and Ray’s girlfriend Chloe Banken, who were preparing to hike to the Pincushion Overlook near Grand Marais, Minnesota as part of a day-long community hike and celebration on June 6th, 2026. SHTA Director Lisa Luokkala talks about the many ways the trail brings peopl...

In this teaser for Episode 5, we meet Myrtle Turnquist, her husband Eric, their son Ray Moose and Ray's girlfriend Chloe Banken, who were preparing to hike to the Pincushion Overlook near Grand Marais, Minnesota as part of a day-long community hike and celebration on June 6th, 2026. The day of hiking was organized by the Superior Hiking Trail Association as a way to commemorate the 40th Anniversar...

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 walkin...

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.

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 h...

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 Coor...

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...

The February episode is all about finding love in its many forms on the Superior Hiking Trail. In this Episode 2 teaser we meet Beth and George, a couple fell in love after 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 hi...

Welcome to Blazing Trail: 40 Years on the Superior Hiking Trail! In Episode One of this limited-series podcast we meet some of the early trail blazers including Jim Shinners, Denny Caneff, Dennis Rhysdahl, Jo Swanson and others, including a few stories from Tom Peterson (pictured), an SHT pioneer who helped plan and build many beloved sections of the Trail.  Podcast producer Staci Drouillard explo...

The Superior Hiking Trail Association and WTIP Community Radio are teaming up for a new podcast called Blazing Trail: 40 Years on the Superior Hiking Trail. In this preview, SHTA Director Lisa Luokkala talks with podcast producer Staci Drouillard about what listeners can expect when the podcast launches in January of 2026.