Thursday, July 26, 2018

Day 11: Lake County Road 6 to G. Crosby Manitou State Park

June 12, 2018

Ed left for home today after dropping me off at the trailhead. The forecast was a 30% chance of rain in the morning. It did drizzle on and off, but nothing that got me too wet, so that was nice.

Unfortunately, I did something with my backpack -- leaned it over too far, I think -- and a bunch of water leaked into the bottom of the pack and then dripped all over my shorts. So they got soaked. I stopped and took a microfiber cloth and sopped up as much water from my shorts as I could, then applied Body Glide to my inner thighs to avoid chafing. But I didn't unpack my loaded bag -- too much work.

The terrain in the morning was easy and lovely. I crossed a 440-foot boardwalk at one point; Brian took drone shots of that. I passed a 20-foot erratic, which was very cool. That might be the biggest one I've ever seen. I met two nice, young men packing up camp and interviewed them for the series, then texted Brian to meet them and take photos/videos.

Then things turned sour. In the afternoon the trail devolved into this rooty, muddy, rocky mess. The roots were so tightly entangled you had to walk on top of them, which chewed up the bottoms of your feet. It was slow going and nasty. I could barely enjoy the scenery because I had to look down and watch every single step. The only nice part was a detour off to Lilly's Island, a cute, tiny island linked to the mainland by a short boardwalk. There was a trail register on the island, which I signed; BlueBerry had already gotten there!

Late in the day I passed BlueBerry and Green Tortuga, who had set up camp at a spot called Aspen Knob. I didn't even let myself stop and chat because I just wanted to get to my camp at Crosby Manitou, and it was just ahead. GT termed the terrain we'd just come through "brutal."

My misery wasn't quite over. I thought once I got to Crosby Manitou, the campsites were just off the parking lot. So I ambled into camp, all happy that I was almost there, then took the Middle Trail, which led to my campsite #4. Brian had dropped a jug of water (9 pounds), which I decided to carry in to save time filtering.

Well, after hiking about .5 miles down the trail and seeing nothing resembling a campsite, nor hearing any water (the site was riverside), I decided I'd taken the wrong trail. So I backtracked only to discover I WAS on the right trail. Some guys drove up in a truck then, with a campground map in hand, and I learned I had about a mile's hike to my site.

So back down the trail I went (for the third time), toting that gallon of water. I finally reached the river, passed campsite #3, and then was not seeing #4. The terrain got bad again -- rocky and rooty -- and I thought I'd passed #4 while looking down. I finally found it, and Brian was there, and then I just started crying.

I was exhausted, hungry, dehydrated and mentally shot. I finally calmed down once I drank some water and took off that heavy pack. Brian helped me set up my hammock and boiled water for my dinner while I washed up. He also gave me his down jacket in case it got cold at night. It did, and thank goodness he gave me that jacket, as I used it as a blanket.

The campsite was quite lovely. I wish I had arrived there earlier, and under better circumstances, so I could have fully enjoyed it.

Snowshoe

Miles: =22 (definitely more with my backtracking)
MN NCT Miles to Date: 194.4
SHT Miles to Date: 194.4
Total NCT Miles to Date: 466.1






Day 10: Penn Road to Lake County Road 6

June 11, 2018

Today we had a hike of about 19 miles ahead of us. That's a lot! The day began wonderfully. We hiked up to Bear and Bean Lakes, a very popular destination with locals and those that know the North Shore. The views were spectacular!

After the twin lakes, we hiked up to Mount Trudee, another mountain offering impressive views, then slid down the Drainpipe. O.K., we didn't slide. The Drainpipe is a narrow, rocky chute that you have to walk down. There's a wooden railing along part of it, but the railing is about shoulder high, and leaning, so it's rather ineffective. Most of the Drainpipe you have to navigate on your own.

Once out of the Drainpipe, you enter Tettegouche State Park. Sounds great, but unfortunately the trails here were confusing and sparsely marked. We got lost a few times and probably hiked an extra half-mile or so. That might not sound like much, but it is when you're hiking 20 miles and in tough terrain.

When we got out of the park, we had a 6.8-mile stretch left. It was nearing the end of the day, so we knew we'd be hiking until 7:30. Oh well, at least it was light. We just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. 

This stretch of trail (around Wolf Rock) was actually pretty magnificent. But we were tired and couldn't enjoy it as much as we should have. The route featured many sweeping views of Lake Superior and other spots. 

About one mile before we reached the parking lot, we saw our car on the road far below. The trail led us past the car, so we knew we'd have to switch back at some point after descending from the mountain. We eventually did, but -- as Ed said -- it was a cruel move because we had to climb a bit before the final descent.

Snowshoe


Miles: 17.7
MN NCT Miles to Date: 172.4
SHT Miles to Date: 172.4
Total NCT Miles to Date: 444.1









Friday, July 20, 2018

Day 9: Split Rock River State Park to Silver Bay

June 10, 2018

An awesome sauce day! 

Ed dropped me off at the spur trail leading back to the SHT where I had gotten off last night. He then parked the car and planned to meet me up the trail a bit. It only took him an hour or two, which was pretty amazing.

But more amazing was the route today. This is finally the Superior Hiking Trail I envisioned. We climbed a lot to great rocky outcrops with expansive views of the lake. It was just incredible and indescribable. The lake was everywhere you looked. I know it's enormous, but this was just crazy cool.

We have another two nights in the motel, so we were hiking with day packs, which was a nice change of pace. We ran into one other couple about our age who were hiking for three days. There was some mud, but nothing like some of the earlier days.

My big toe hurt a fair amount, which wasn't fun. But the scenery made up for it.

Brian met us twice and took some virtual reality shots plus used the drone. We passed more beautiful waterfalls.

Oh -- one interesting encounter was with a mama grouse. She rushed out of the bushes and was squawking and flapping her wings and rushing at us. We then saw one chick duck into the undergrowth. Ah! She was protecting her babies. But she was right on the trail, and every time we tried to advance she'd rush at us. We didn't want to get bitten.

Eventually Ed took the lead and we slowly advanced. Mama rushed once or twice more, then changed tactics and folded in her wings and scurried down the path in front of us, leading us away from her nest. Fine with us! 

We're back in the motel, clean and fed and in need of a good night's sleep. Tomorrow is supposed to be a long, difficult day.

Snowshoe

Miles: =16
MN NCT Miles to Date: 154.5
SHT Miles to Date: 154.5
Total NCT Miles to Date: 426.4





Day 8: East Gooseberry Falls to Split Rock River State Park

June 9, 2018

Well, shoot! Today was supposed to be sunny. Instead, shortly after we woke up it started to rain. My phone said the rain would last until 9 or 10. Our clothes and gear were already full of mud, and this was making things much worse. We didn't want to start the day off getting soaked, so we bided our time. 

Ed, the champ, got out of the tent and made us coffee. I huddled inside and packed up our pads, sleeping quilts and everything I could. Finally we could wait  no longer and struck out around 9:30 a.m. Luckily the rain stopped shortly after. But it was cool and windy. We didn't want to risk hypothermia again, and were fed up with the mud and rain, so we decided to bag our last night's camping and booked a room at the AmericInn in Silver Bay. That made the day easier to take!

Because of our change in plans, Ed had to reconnoiter with Brian and Bob. So he stayed with them while I hiked on. After finishing Gooseberry Falls State Park, which was lovely, the trail has a temporary reroute: it runs along the Gitchee-Gami State Trail for 2.1 miles, then goes up Blueberry Hill Road for a mile before getting back on the real trail.

At the start of the reroute, I ran into two other thru-hikers: BlueBerry and Green Tortuga. Nice guys. We chatted a bit, then went our separate ways. A minute later I was looking at my map and did something -- who knows what -- and ended up falling down and wrenching the big toe on my right foot. Wonderful.

I gimped down the path and missed the turn onto Blueberry Hill Road, adding another .8 miles to my day. Then I somehow lost my hat without even realizing it. Luckily some trail runners practicing for Voyageur found it and, as they were doing an out-and-back, delivered it back to me. How sweet!

At that point I had reconnected with BlueBerry and Green Tortuga. I said the hat return was trail magic, but Green Tortuga said that kind of incident is actually called trail mail. Love it! 

The trail wound through Split Rock State Park, which was absolutely gorgeous. The path goes up one side of the Split Rock River and down the other. I hung out with Green Tortuga for most of the way, chatting about our hiking adventures and lives. 

He has a website, Walk4Fun, which lets you log your steps (if you track them) and then see where your daily mileage would get you on a famous long-distance trail like the AT or PCT. He will add the SHT to the options!

At one point in the hike, the bridge crossing the river was out. We knew this; it was posted all over. Supposedly the crossing is easy to do on rocks, assuming there hasn't been a lot of rain. The latest intel said the crossing was fine. Um, no.

When we got there, the bridge was out but there was no obvious spot to cross safely. Everyone was doing their own thing. I'm not great on crossing rushing rivers, nor hopping on stones that are far apart. BlueBerry -- a young man -- was able to nimbly hop across. I asked him to wait and make sure I got across walking through the water. Two other women hikers helped direct me as well. I made it across, but I'm not sure if I would have done it if there weren't others around.

Once on the other side of the river, I saw the campsite we had planned to stay at tonight. It was absolutely lovely. Possibly the best I've seen, based on the flat tent pads, easy access to water, lack of mud, etc. Oh well.

Ed hiked in to meet me, and as nice as that campsite was, I almost wept for joy checking into the AmericInn. There is nothing like a shower and comfy bed after four days of hiking through mud, rain, rocks and roots.

Snowshoe


Miles: =16
MN NCT Miles to Date: 138.5
SHT Miles to Date: 138.5
Total NCT Miles to Date: 410.4








Day 7: Reeves Falls Camp to East Gooseberry Falls Camp

June 8, 2018

Bob and Brian made us French press coffee this morning -- yum! Then it was time to hit the trail.

The first few hours of hiking took us through a lot of wet grass, water and mud. Ugh. But then we began climbing, and got our first few views of Lake Superior! I know it's the largest freshwater lake in the world by volume. I know how massive all of the Great Lakes are. But it is still so impressive to see her from the trail -- she is so enormous!

We also enjoyed hearing more grouse drumming and a woodpecker busily pecking away (but couldn't spot him); there were also lots of little wood frogs hopping around. We also heard a deer make this interesting whistle/snort, which I'm guessing was to scare us away from a baby.

Despite the thrill of seeing Lake Superior, this day was hard. The trail was often rocky and rooty, especially at one spot where there had been a rock slide and you had to maneuver along a narrow trail covered in slippery shale. I got a bunch of blisters today. The bottoms of my feet are killing me. 

But I did enjoy crossing the Encampment River (some wading involved) and climbing Wolf Rock, a pretty outcrop.

We had planned to camp at Middle Gooseberry Falls. There are several Gooseberry campsites in a row. When we got to Middle, one couple was already there and the remaining site was poor. Ditto with East Gooseberry Falls. We did find this outlier site near East Gooseberry and decided to take it. No place to hang my hammock so it was another night in the tent with Ed. Not that I don't love my hubby, but I find hammocks more comfortable than tents.

Since we weren't at an actual campsite, there was no fire ring or bench. The mosquitoes were bad. So after dinner, we went into the tent for an early night.

Snowshoe


Miles: =20
MN NCT Miles to Date: 122.5
SHT Miles to Date: 122.5
Total NCT Miles to Date: 394.4











Day 6: Big Bend Camp to Reeves Falls Camp

June 8, 2018

I finally fell asleep at about 5 a.m., only to be awoken around 7:15 by Ed packing up camp, specifically his squeaky sleeping pad. It was annoying, but of course we did need to get moving. It took us until 9:30 a.m. to break up camp, eat breakfast and get going. Clearly, we are novices at camping!

The day was pretty nice weather-wise, sunny and not too hot. The day's hike was all in "the green tunnel" (Bill Bryson's term for the AT and trails that are all in the woods) -- none of the famous Lake Superior views yet for us. But that's O.K. It builds the anticipation. The mosquitoes were bad on and off, and there were some rocky spots that hurt our feet. 

We ran into a nice mother-son duo. They have been section-hiking the SHT for a few years as practice for the mom, who hopes to hike the AT and PCT some day.

We also met a couple celebrating their 10-year anniversary by hiking 15 miles on the SHT. We'd actually run into the guy on our second day on the trail; he was doing some trail running to practice for Voyageur, a famous ultramarathon in these parts. But they are section hiking the SHT as a couple, which is a great goal.

The only bad part of the day came at the end. We were tired and really wanted to get to camp. Well, the sign for the camp was obscured by vegetation, so we passed it by and probably hiked an extra mile out and back. 

Reeves Falls wasn't the greatest camp. The access path was very rocky, rooty and muddy. Ditto with the path to the water. Our tent pad had a lot of grass, and we had to pitch our tent on a slant. There wasn't much room for my hammock, so we tented together. 

I did get to wash up in the (tiny) waterfall, which was wonderful. Another bonus: Bob Timmons and Brian Peterson from the Strib were camping nearby; they made us a wonderful dinner of rice, zucchini and Spam, plus beer! They also made a fire at night. All in all, a good day.

Snowshoe

Miles: =17
MN NCT Miles to Date: 102.5
SHT Miles to Date: 102.5
Total NCT Miles to Date: 374.4






Thursday, July 19, 2018

Day 5: Normanna Road to Big Bend Camp

June 6, 2018

Today was the first of four nights camping. But it was raining in the morning -- not in the forecast -- so we decided to wait it out before starting. Why start out and get soaked?

We got on the trail at 11 a.m. The day's hike was O.K. There were a fair number of mosquitoes, but luckily we had bug nets. There was still a lot of mud on the trail, but a lot of the time you could walk around the worst spots. 

One of the best parts of the day was walking alongside a HUGE beaver dam and seeing the resulting lake. Oh, and hearing grouse drumming. I wish we could see them, but hearing them is nice, too. We also hear two specific bird calls a lot. I wish I knew what they were!

We met one section hiker today: Leah, a lovely young lady who had just graduated from St. Olaf and wanted to do some hiking before heading back home to Connecticut. 

Our campsite tonight was great (Big Bend). Ed set up the tent and I set up my hammock. Water was just a few paces away in the river. The mosquitoes were still out, though, so we had to wear our bug nets for dinner.

Ed found two ticks on his legs while hiking, then found one on my butt during our evening tick-check. YUCK! He tried to pretend it was just a mosquito so I wouldn't freak out, but I could tell by his voice what it was. (And yes, I freaked out.)

At least he saw it.

One bad thing happened when I went to get into my hammock. I have a new underquilt that is the same color as the hammock. As it was dusk, I couldn't see well and sat in the quilt, not the hammock, to get in. I promptly crashed to the ground and hit my tailbone on a tree root. OUCH! I think I bruised my tailbone pretty badly.

To make matters worse, it got down to the low 40s so I froze in my hammock, despite the underquilt. I guess I should have had a blanket and warmer clothes. Oh well, live and learn. But I only got about two hours of sleep last night. :(

Snowshoe


Miles: =17
MN NCT Miles to Date: 85.5
SHT Miles to Date: 85.5
Total NCT Miles to Date: 357.4








Friday, July 13, 2018

Day 4: Hartley Nature Center to Normanna Road

June 5, 2018

Today was an up-and-down day. Not the terrain, but how we felt about the trail. We started off from the Hartley Nature Center on some city streets, and then dipped into the woods. This was pleasant, and there was one very nice overlook.

But then the trail piggybacked on the North Shore Trail, a multiuse path. This wasn't fun. The trail is wide and relatively flat, but the grass was shaggy and there were TONS of spots with water and mud. Sometimes you could hop around it, but most of the time you could not. So our shoes got filled with water and mud. And every time they dried out, we'd reach spots where they got soaked again. :(

Yet there were some fun parts to the day. We saw a pair of Mallards swimming around in a puddle and a funny fish sign by a creek. We saw more wildflowers. Sometimes there were awesome reflections in the puddles.

And there were no bugs. At least until the last 15 minutes or so. That's when some mosquitoes arrived. We've been waiting for them to come out in full force and be horrendous, but so far we've been lucky. Knock on wood.

Tomorrow we leave our nice motel and will be hiking five days and camping four nights. Rain is forecast for three of the four days. Wish us luck!

Snowshoe

Miles: 16.9
MN NCT Miles to Date: 68.5
SHT Miles to Date: 68.5
Total NCT Miles to Date: 340.4







Day 3: Kingsbury Creek to Hartley Nature Center

June 4, 2018

Yessss! An awesome day. The sun finally came out on Day 3 of this adventure. Not only did we have sun, but the temps were perfect -- low 70s for the high -- and there was a breeze. The breeze cooled us off, plus plugged away at drying all of the mud.

The Superior Hiking Trail boasts a gazillion waterfalls, and we saw so many today. I have to research more about where all of this water is coming from, but one sign said this particular creek was part of the Lake Superior watershed. All I know is we crossed loads of creeks, and many were flowing fiercely and there were lots of waterfalls.

Early in the day we climbed up high above the city and stayed up there for the most part, enjoying glorious views of Duluth, Lake Superior and its tributaries. In the afternoon we descended into Duluth and had a lovely walk past its famous aerial lift bridge and along a boardwalk rimming the lake. 

Around 5 p.m. Brian, the Strib photographer, and Ed and I enjoyed an ice cream cone lakeside. There's nothing like ice cream after a long day's hike! But we weren't finished.

We had another 5 miles or so until the end. It was a lovely hike through various parks and around the University of Minnesota-Duluth, but it was a long day. And these last 5 miles featured a TON of uphill.

Oh, one fun thing. When we were dropping one car this morning at the Hartley Nature Center, our end point for the day, we saw a deer nibbling on the vegetation as we drove in. It didn't seem shy at all about being so close to people or cars. At the end of the day, as we hiked into Hartley, the deer was still there, only greeting us on the back end. :)

Snowshoe

Miles: 18.9
MN NCT Miles to Date: 51.6
SHT Miles to Date: 51.6
Total NCT Miles to Date: 323.5













Day 2: Jay Cooke State Park/Grand Portage to Kingsbury Creek

June 3, 2018

Well, piffle. I thought we were going to have a warm day, if gray, and no rain. Instead, it rained until shortly before we started. This meant the trails stayed super water-logged and muddy. Not only that, but on this, Day 2, the big climbs and descents started. So we slipped and slid all day long.

Still, there was a lot that was enjoyable. We saw a lot of beautiful wildflowers once again. There were a lot of quaint creek-crossings on boardwalks, although some of the "creeks" seemed like raging rivers and featured waterfalls. Since it was a Sunday, we ran into several trail runners and others on outings.

The highlight today was climbing to the top of Ely's Peak. The views were pretty cool -- almost 360 degrees -- even though it was gray and cloudy out. The winds kicked up about the time we arrived, though (15-20 mph), so it was rather cold.

I have to remember to eat more while I'm hiking. Normally I'm pretty good at gauging what I need, but I must be expending more energy on both the mountains and the slip-sliding on the mud. I keep having little mini crashes where I can barely move, and all it takes is eating a few nibbles of food and I'm good to go again.

As the day was winding down, the sun suddenly popped out. We caught a few awesome glimpses of downtown Duluth and Lake Superior's St. Louis Bay, I believe. I can't wait to see the views tomorrow, with all of the sunshine.

Snowshoe

Miles: 16.4
MN NCT Miles to Date: 32.7
SHT Miles to Date: 32.7
Total NCT Miles to Date: 304.6