This was the only thing separating us from the Canadian Border.
If we really wanted to, we probably could have entered illegally, but we
chose to obey the law.
|
Apocalypse?
Can we talk about the
Border Route Trail (BRT)? Tess had originally asked me to do a thru-hike of
most of the Superior Hiking Trail (about 250 miles of the 300 total) in
northern Minnesota with her, but then, as she was planning mileage (and
forgetting that I was 26 years older than her), she decided to throw in 35
extra miles along the Border Route Trail, which crawls along the border between
the US and Canada, just to make it a little harder more fun. This would
mean that we would need to average about 15 miles a day to keep to our
schedule. Remember that. It is an important future detail. So, when we finished
35 miles of the west to east BRT, we intersected the SHT and started our trek
south. The intersection point was actually the northernmost tip of the SHT, and
since most people go from south to north on this trail, the signs we
encountered on our fourth day said “End of SHT” even though we were just
beginning it. Believe me, by this time, I was actually kind of wishing we were
at the end of the SHT. And also, believe me, the fact that the acronym for the
SHT looks like another word that I never actually use, but that came into my
mind several times on the trip, was not lost on me.
This was definitely
the most remote place I had ever hiked. In fact, it was a little unnerving to
be so all alone. And maybe because of the previous fall storm, or maybe because
the trail people just didn’t have very much ribbon, the trails were marked
every three miles or so with a little tiny piece of plastic blue ribbon tied
high up in a tree or sometimes really low down on a destroyed branch laying in
the ice. Other than right at the beginning of our route, throughout our first
four days, we had seen absolutely no people at all. We saw no cars, heard no
airplanes, saw no footsteps and had no phone or internet service. We discussed
whether the world had ended or at least been evacuated and that we had
evidently been forgotten. Or maybe it was a deadly plague. Regardless, we were
apparently the only two people left...AND THEN WE SAW IT!!! A footprint in the
mud! It was going the way opposite us, but it looked fresh and so we celebrated
knowing that no disaster had befallen humanity. When we had nearly finished the
Border Route and were set to start hiking the SHT, we encountered two other
actual humans and we nearly hugged them, but restrained ourselves. After this
discovery, I felt a sense of relief mixed with exhaustion from lack of sleep
during the night of the day that shall never be spoken of, so I convinced Tess to hike into
nearby Judge Magney State Park, and by mid-day, I had rented a tent spot in the
campsite and taken an actual (albeit tepid) shower in the bath house—my first
of three that trip (did you get that? I took three showers in three weeks).
Tess actually showered too but got so chilled by the cool water that I had to
force her into her sleeping bag to get warm while I heated some hot water to
put in her water bottle so she could hug it and not freeze. I fed her supper in
the tent that night so she would live. I also made her hug the dog, who was now
regularly sleeping his stinky self beside us each night. We FINALLY had cell
service here so I was able to call home to tell my family we were still alive
and to check to see if Shay (my daughter who had traveled to China on the third
day or our trip) arrived safely at her destination (she did). I also found out
that my nephew and wife had delivered a baby girl--two weeks early--while we
were taking our very long walk. It was good to be in touch with humanity again.
May 19, 2017 Day 5. MUD! Today was so muddy that my feet were caked with
mud all day. The mud is so deep that your foot goes in and the mud seeps into
your shoes. Ick! Last night was the coldest yet! I washed some of my clothing
in the beaver pond yesterday and dried it on logs. When I got up, all of it was
frozen stiff, but I had to put it on because I had to wear all of my clothes to
stay warm. Tess was sweet to me and we stopped in the afternoon at Judge Magney
State Park and rented a tent spot in the camping section. We only got 13 miles
in today but got a semi-warm shower in the bathhouse as a reward. We also
walked alongside Devil’s Kettle Falls today and I thought the name was
appropriate.
Hungry
Hippie Hostel
We stayed at Judge
Magney State Park all afternoon that day and slept in our tent on our tiny
concrete tent pad that overlooked the freeway. The next day, we got up early
and had the privilege of eating our oatmeal at a table--a true luxury in the
wild. After breakfast, we hiked a 13 miles to one of the only hostels close to
the SHT (even though the guide book said it was “a mile from the trail, it
seemed like 5 miles all uphill, and we thought that every house along the route
must “finally be it") and found that they were full and we couldn’t stay
there. They had, however, received the resupply box that we sent ourselves to
their address. This was very fortunate since we were quickly running out of
food and supplies. After we waited on their porch for a little while, they
happily drove us into the beautiful village of Grand Marais, MN (pop 1339). In
Grand Marais, we found a pet-friendly Best Western and walked in the front door
in all of our grungy glory. I had forgotten that I was wearing bright pink leg
sleeves that day with my skin tight capris because no one cares what they are
wearing when they are hiking and I looked ridiculous. When we got to our
room--an actual room with a ceiling and running water and a bed--we opened our
resupply box; it was like Christmas had arrived! We were still missing some key
items though, so we decided to take a zero day (a no-hike day!) the next day
and shop for them. Meanwhile, we were hungry and dirty so we ordered pizza and
took showers and wore things like down vests and raincoats with towels while we
did laundry in the hotel laundry room. We had to make creative outfits so we
could answer the door and not be naked when the pizza man came. When our
clothes were done, I put on more acceptable and modest attire and went next
door to the QT and bought a quart of chocolate moose tracks ice cream. Since we
had no freezer in which to store our treat, we ate the entire thing.
That night, the skies
outside stormed and blew and poured rain; we were happy to be clean and dry and
snuggled together in a king size bed watching the food channel. When we awoke,
it was still raining, but we were inside a building and not a tent! Before
doing our needed shopping, we each went down to the breakfast buffet by
ourselves since we had the dog and all. And we pilfered enough cereal and
granola and tea to last us for a few days. Seriously guys, it was just two
small baggies full and maybe we shouldn’t have taken it, but we did, so please
don’t tell the motel. I tried to stand outside of the security camera so they
wouldn’t arrest me. Then, together, we trudged out into _________ ____________
(fill in the blank with the most obvious weather situation) in search of a few
more key food items. The only store close by was a food co-op that sold all
organic, bulk items—not the best option for our backpacking lifestyle. But we
managed to get what we needed. The chocolate sundrops were the bomb. Since we
had a dog, I decided to “walk” him when Tess got the groceries. But, per usual,
the rain came pouring down and I was again wet and freezing. Luckily, I noticed
an “Adventure Store” nearby so I ducked under its canopy and saw that it was
dog friendly (as were most places in Grand Marais). Seizing the opportunity to
get warm, Jet (who acted like he was an obedient and calm dog) and I entered
the store where we were greeted by a friendly store employee who said that she
owned 13 sled dogs—13! I noticed a bright orange dog coat in the back of the
store and asked if my very skinny and freezing dog could try it on. The owner
of 13 dogs said yes and helped me find one that fit him perfectly. I bought it.
Immediately as I put the fleece-lined coat on Jet, he dropped his head and
acted humiliated. He wouldn’t even get off of the floor or walk around. But, as
he wore it and found that it kept him warm and dry, he was hooked. And less
shivery. I wish I had a picture of him in his new coat, but I don't. I do,
however, have photos of these first attempts at trying to keep him warm.
Oh. And Tess didn’t
get any dog food at the co-op so we had to go to a convenience store to get
some. Have you ever shopped at a convenience store in a tiny town for dog food?
The selection is somewhat limited. I did what I could and bought the pup 8
pounds of food and prayed this would last him until our next resupply arrived.
Remember this detail—the C-store dog food detail. It will help you as you read
farther.
May 21, 2017 Day 7. Zero Day
in Grand Marias! Wonderful breakfast that offered Lefse!! Really?! Grocery
shopping. TV watching! Coat for Jet. Rainy!! Cold!! People in GM love dogs! Jet
go so many compliments on his behavior today. He is turning into a good dog. I
think it is because he is so tired.
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