bluffs | Field 2 Field

May 3, 2020May 3, 2020

History and hiking at the Indian Mounds Loop Trail

History and hiking is one of my favorite combinations. In this day and age of staying at home as much as possible, it’s become an even bigger favorite. You never know what you’ll find around the next corner in any of the dozens of trails around the Twin Cities metro area. The sights to see and the history behind the location are a remarkable combination.

Indian Mounds Regional Park and the Loop Trail that runs through it was my destination of choice. The park gets its name from the six Native American burial mounds that sits on top of bluffs that overlook St. Paul and the Twin Cities in Minnesota. The views up on those bluffs were spectacular.

At least 16 burial mounds were up there on top of those bluffs at one time. Nineteen more mounds were located further down the bluffs near a place called Carvers Cave. The mounds remain scared to the Dakota Tribe to this day. It’s believed by experts that the burial mounds were created between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago.

Back in the mid-1800s, several scientists with an interest in Minnesota history examined the contents of the mounds that were still left. Experts found different types of burials under the mounds.

Here are just two of the Native American burial mounds you’ll see at the Indian Mounds Park while hiking on the Loop Trail. (Photo by Chad Smith)

The most common types were simple burials. According to the historical information I found, people were buried with mussel shells and an occasional projectile point. Smaller bundle burials were found in the upper parts of many mounds, which meant they were buried by later peoples than the original population. Even more interesting, there were a few tombs made out of logs found at the base of at least three tombs.

A couple of the burial mounds had stone cists which were seven inches high and made up of thin limestone slabs which were set upright. Human bones were found in each cist and were accompanied by grave offerings like shells, perforated bear teeth, copper ornaments, a piece of hammered sheet copper, as well as numerous projectile points.

The hike isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s rated as a medium difficulty, which means there are hills. Of course, if you’re going for a workout, it’ll be right up your alley.

Plus, if you like trains, there’s a bunch of trains going by down at the bottom of the bluffs. And I like trains, so it made a fun day that much better.

You’ll find a remarkable view of St Paul and the Twin Cities while hiking down the Indian
Mounds Loop Trail. (Photo by Chad Smith)

April 21, 2020April 21, 2020

Hiking the Winchell trail in Minneapolis

Hiking has to be one of my favorite forms of exercise. The Twin Cities has more than its share of great places to hike. This time I was off to the Winchell Trail.

Winchell. You hear the name and the first thing that comes to mind is the old Winchell’s Donut franchise we used to partake in out on the coast. I went out to hike the Winchell Trail earlier this week and found some interesting old relics from years gone by.

Hiking the Winchell Trail in Minneapolis was a great way to blow off some steam. (Photo by Chad Smith)

It’s an five mile out-and-back trail, so don’t plan on going in a big circle. It’s pretty much a straight shot, no matter which direction you head in. The trail itself runs from 44th Street up to Franklin Avenue, right along the west bank of the Mississippi River. The first thing I noticed was that the flooding along the Mississippi River appears to be lowering. I could see a lot more of the riverbank than I had since early last summer.

There’s a bike path up by the road, with the walking trails further down in the trees. The bluffs are absolutely scenic. If you walk the entire trail, you’ll see sandy beaches, an oak savannah restoration project, and what’s called a floodplain forest.

However, the one thing that did NOT make me happy was all the road construction. It’s a freaking TWO-LANE roadway, with one of the lanes blocked off by those little orange things that seem to sprout up every spring. Makes parking down there even more of an adventure (pain in the ass) than it already is. But, I digress.

The Winchell Trail is described as a moderate trail designed for all hiking skill level. The out-and-back trail has a total elevation gain of 500 feet.

Looks like a staircase from a Lord of the Rings movie, doesn’t it? (Photo by Chad Smith)

April 5, 2020April 5, 2020

Abandoned Jabs Farm Near Jordan, MN, Was Underwater

Abandoned places are so much fun to explore. The history, the old structures, and the stories they tell just fascinate me. I have at least three kids in my family that feel the same way I do, so we hop in the car regularly and go looking for neat places to see.

This was a solo trip for me on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. I have an app on my iPhone called AllTrails that shows me great places to hike all around the state. The Mazomani Trail between Jordan and Carver drew my attention because of something called “Jabs Farm.” Another adventurer had posted several pictures of the app that immediately caught my eye.

The Jabs Farm sits in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, which automatically makes it a great place to visit. It’s a lovely place to hike (at your own pace), get some exercise, fresh air, and some beautiful pictures.

Hiking the Mazomani Trail looking for an abandoned farm built in the early 1900s. (Photo by Chad Smith)

The farmstead was first built between 1860-1880. In 1905, the Jabs family bought the property from the Riedel family, who initially owned the property. The Valley News says there are still members of the Jabs family living in the area today. The structures themselves are remarkable, a combination of wood and blocks of local limestone that’s produced in the area. I HAD to see this site.

The site was owned by the Jabs family for a long time. Back in 1979, the area, including the farmstead, became the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge area. The farm was first restored in 1981, and sat untouched until another restoration project in 2017. Believe it or not, the buildings were redone by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. I had no idea they did things like that, but I am sure glad they did.

Heck, they even brought in a full-fledged archaeologist to oversee the renovations.

The views up high of the wildlife area were striking and I’ve got some pictures to prove it. Walking along the bluffs was beautiful that day, with a slight breeze and temps a little over 40 degrees, but it did feel a little warmer than that. It was nice and quiet. I did run into a few people, along with the occasional rustling of the leaves on either side of the trail that likely heralded a squirrel, woodchuck, or some other member of the vermin, err, rodent family.

So after about a 20-minute hike, I came to a split in the trail. One direction would take me to the other trail head, which I had no interest in. But hey, the other one said “Jabs Farm, 1/4 mile” the other way. Well, I came around a slight bend as the trail angled downward and this is what I found.

The most remarkable thing about this? The buildings were less than a quarter mile away and were nowhere in sight. As near as I could tell, they must have been ALL underwater. Wow. That’s a lot of snowmelt in a short time, I guess.

The trees looked like they’d
make a great horror movie
setting. (Photo by Chad Smith)

As I get a little more experienced in the urban exploration game, I’m finding out that it does take some patience. Not every place you go is going to be “lit,” as the kids say. Let me offer one final example before I leave you.

I got back to the car and realized I didn’t want to head back yet. It was nice to be outdoors and I wanted to see if I could find another place to explore. Well, I pulled up the “Abandoned” app and scanned for something close by. Turns out, there was (supposed to be) and abandoned barn about 15 miles away. Well hey, I’m an old farm broadcaster/writer. Let’s take a look.

Well, needless to say, the app hadn’t been updated. I wound up in downtown Chanhassen. It happens. Hey, at least it was a nice day.

The entire video from start to finish.