Hike on He Mni Can/Mt. Le Grange/Barn Bluff 2025-04-06 1129
Hike on He Mni Can/Mt. Le Grange/Barn Bluff 2025-04-06 1129
Renner and Martha
Since our daughter is working on a phenology project, Martha and I decided to see how many phenological events we could add to our list for 2025. Here are a few: American White Pelicans, Common Motherwort, Meadow Buttercup, an unidentified butterfly, a Mississippi River towboat and barge on the Mississippi, and rock climbers on the rock face of the limestone quarry. One of my photos caught one of the climbers purposely falling. Her fall was interrupted by her climbing rope. Quite exciting and a first for me!
Another first for us was discovering that Minnesota has its very own Via Ferrata on the steep, north-facing side of the bluff. Although I had seen Via Ferrata routes in Europe on Komoot, I also had no idea this technology was available in Minnesota. We had traversed the same trail on snowshoes in the past, and having a Via Ferrata cable would have been helpful.
He Mni Can-Ft. Le Grange-Barn Bluff began to form over half a billion years ago as part of a shallow inland sea floor. Its current shape was created by the raging waters from melting glaciers, which carved out the Mississippi River Valley. He Mni Can-Barn Bluff, along with its nearby neighbor, Sorin’s Bluff, endured much of the powerful erosion and became islands in the river, and later, isolated inland island bluffs.
From trailside plaques, I learned that this hill has had many names. The indigenous inhabitants of the area knew it as He Min Can. Later, French explorers named it Fort Le Grange, and finally, English settlers referred to it as Barn Bluff.
Henry David Thoreau, a well-known American nature writer from the 19th century, hiked to the top of Barn Bluff in June 1861. As Martha and I walked along the ridge of the bluff, admiring the Pasque Flowers at our feet and watching Turkey Vultures circling overhead, I imagined Thoreau walking with us, sharing in our amazement at the beauty all around.
For many years, limestone was quarried from the east end of the bluff. The A.G. Carlson lime kiln was situated at the base of the quarry. In 1908, citizen protests led to the closure of the quarry and kiln. By 1910, Barn Bluff was donated to the City of Red Wing to be converted into a public park. Citizens unite!
Title: Hike on He Mni Can/Mt. Le Grange/Barn Bluff 2025-04-06 1129
Date: 4/6/25, 11:29:32 AM CDT
Distance: 2.6 mi
Time: 03:05:16
Average Speed: 0.8 mph
Max Speed: 2.5 mph
Ascent: 292.3 ft
Min/Max Altitude: 701.0 ft, 994.9 ft
Started: 4/6/25, 11:29:32 AM CDT - (44.56757, -92.51982)
Ended: 4/6/25, 2:34:48 PM CDT - (44.56774, -92.51993)
