Superior Hiking Trail 101: Planning Your First Adventure

Are you planning your first day hike or run on the Superior Hiking Trail? Interested in experiencing winter on the Trail for the first time? Or maybe even attempting your first overnight backpacking trip? This is the video for you.

A recording of our February 25th, 2023 webinar and Q&A with Jo Swanson. Jo, our former SHTA Trail Development Director, joined us to share “a short introduction to a long trail,” which covered everything trail users need to know about planning their first adventures on the SHT.

About the presenter: Jo Swanson worked with the SHTA for 6 1/2 years and has more than 20 years of backpacking experience, including thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, the Great Eastern Trail, and backpacking more than 20 other long-distance trails all over America. She has also camped at every single campsite on the Superior Hiking Trail and hiked or backpacked every mile.

[dadassery]

Thanks. Planning a through hike for next year. This was helpful.

[iangordon]

Loved the video! I'm planning a hike up there this fall and this video definitely helped me with that. (thought I'd post some timestamps for anyone looking for specific)

Intro - 00:00
Get to know the trail - 4:18
Trail marking, interest points, trailheads, campsites, and bridges/boardwalks - 7:20
Day hiking and trail running - 11:35
Backpacking - 16:05
Winter use - 18:35
Spring snow condition - 19:50
Basic safety and preparation - 21:35
Preserving the Trail - 31:00
Commonly asked questions - 34:20

[judybriancunningham]

Great presentation, I really enjoyed it! And I had the pleasure of meeting Jo Swanson in July on the Cohos Trail in northern New Hampshire. We both stayed at the Neil Tillotson Shelter; it was my first night on the trail and I think Jo's second.
Brian C

[jeromebullard]

My brother and I are doing fifty miles in mid October. Super exited to get back on the SHT!!! Are the campsites pretty busy in mid October and in the middle of the week?