Ed's foot was a tiny bit better today, but still nowhere near hike-worthy. I headed southwest on Burma Road, walking the first stretch. I was clad head-to-toe in my bug suit. Last night I kept waking up and feeling like I had a tick on me, so I wasn't taking chances anymore.
I jogged the next few sections as well, which were all in lovely pine forests and featured lots of rolling hills. It was just lovely. The trail ran by Brevoort Lake, which was quite pretty.
Then more snafus. After a lovely picnic lunch, I headed east on a 4.9-mile stretch that ended at Castle Rock Road. I wanted to take my pack so I had plenty of water, but at the last minute I decided not to. Well, the mapping for this section is very poor. This segment does NOT end at Castle Rock Road, as indicated on the map. It just parallels it -- from atop a really steep hill.
Ed was on the road, at the bottom of the hill, and we were yelling back and forth trying to figure out what was going on. Eventually we figured it out and realized I had to continue hiking the next segment, which was another 3.4 miles. I was low on water, but at least it wasn't hot out.
Ed drove ahead, parked the car, and met me on the trail about .5 miles in to replenish my depleted water supply. From there it was 6.3 miles to St. Ignace and Straits State Park. Since the day's total was +27 miles, we decided I'd hike to the northern edge of the city and stop there, a move that would cut 2-3 miles.
So that's what I did. And thus ended our first foray on the North Country National Scenic Trail! We had a fantastic experience (except for the tick I found in my bed tonight -- so I wasn't imagining it last night!), and are anxious to explore more of this phenomenal trail.
Snowshoe and Cheese Ed
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