Tanja Tackles Trails

3 night Solo Backpacking Trip on the SHT

36.5 miles

Day 1 - July 5th, 2019

4.75 miles

I had started out early at home and arranged to meet up with Aunt Libbie at her cabin. Erick and Lissa were also there and we had a quick sandwich and visit before they followed me to the Britton Peak Parking lot to position my car. They then gave me a ride to my starting point at Bally Creek Road which was quite far in the boonies. I felt great and was excited. I started out around midafternoon and hiked 4.75 miles into North Cascade River Camp. I made good time with about 2 1/2 hours to camp. There was only a single retired camper in camp and I had the pick of several beautiful sites. The camp is quite high above the river with no river view but beautiful mature cedars. The river can be accessed with a rather long trek down the hill. I was thankful for its clear and refreshing water by the time I arrived. It was not particularly hot and humid and not majorly buggy but it still felt great to soak feet and legs in the water and get away from bugs when removing long pants and shirt. I set up my tent and got dinner ready after filling up water at the river.

Day 2 - July 6th, 2019

13.75 miles

I awoke early with the bright morning and felt excited and ready to get up. Why not enjoy the day before it gets hot. After breakfast I set out through Cascade State Park. It was beautiful to hike along the river. I took a second breakfast break in a peaceful spot by the river to elevate my feet and enjoy the quiet morning. Not long after I reached Lookout Mountain where a group of Millennials offered me a puff on their joint!

At Indian Camp Creek I stopped for an early lunch and longer break. The creek was a perfect small trickle and I dozed in the part shade with my feet elevated against a tree. It was perfect and I was alone. Taking long breaks in beautiful spots is part of what it's about for me!

Beautiful Lunch Spot!

Love my compression sleeves!

At Spruce Creek Camp I used the latrine and by the time I got to Jonvick Creek I was getting pretty tired legs, but I had determined that I would beat my highest mileage by going over 10 miles today and I really had my heart set on camping at Lake Agnes although it was Saturday after 4th of July. Jonvick Creek is on a beaver pond and pretty small and overgrown, so I was glad to pass it up and continue. I rolled into Lake Agnes camp with very worn out legs but very happy at around 6pm. I had been on the trail about 12 hours but I beat my record by many miles! My average was almost an hour per mile because of my breaks.
The campsite is one of the most gorgeous on the trail I am sure being on a peninsula on a lake There were many groups of people and many tents and hammocks. I picked a spot quickly anxious to swim while I was still hot. Unfortunately as I walk around and around I could not find an appropriate place to swim and the wind was picking up and cooling me off by the minute. There were fires in Canada that clouded the sun. Tired and hungry I gave up and prepared for dinner and bed instead a little disappointed not to have swam at such a pretty lake spot. But I was so glad to eat and lay down. There was a nice commeraderie during dinner and afterwards for a campfire. I tucked into bed quite early, as usual.

Lake Agnes Camp

Day 3
14 miles

I started out early but not quite at day break. I enjoyed my morning coffee and a visit with a fellow solo hiker. When I reached the end of the lake I suddenly felt like taking a morning swim. The water was glassy calm and I still felt sad over not getting cleaned up the night before. So I picked a spot by the water and spread out my tarp, got my change of underclothing ready and glided into the glassy waters. What a feeling!! I love calm water for swimming. So peaceful and getting out is not cold although the morning had not warmed up much. Nobody was around so I got to towel off and change clothes and get back on the way.

My morning swimming spot!

The section right after Lake Agnes going south was one of my favorite, with a great vista soon after and a beautiful hike along the Poplar River. By the Poplar River Campsites I decided to take another break and hopped out into the slowly flowing river onto some rocks for some stretching and meditation and a snack with fresh cool river water (filtered of course.)

After that the trail got steeper but with some beautiful mossy boulders and great views. I was hiking into the Lutsen mountains. I debated hiking into Lutsen to eat at the restaurant there but I felt all "woodsy" and "disconnected" and I was loving it at the moment, plus the extra several miles matter to my legs, so I decided against it. I had trouble wayfinding for a short time and stumbled across some neat old rock ruins in the woods next to the river. Then I found the trail and headed up the mountain on the other side of the river up to Mystery Mountain Camp. There I took a longer lunch break, aired my feet and elevated my legs.

The next section was long and woodsy with very few people. It was Sunday now and I think many people had headed home. I saw a large moose track in the mud. Overall there was very little mud. I got lucky because this had been a very wet and muddy Spring on the trail. Rollins Creek Campsites are both very nice. I used the latrine and was starting to long for camp. Hiking by Oberg Mountain was special since that has always been a hike with many memories for Brett and I.
Most of the day I hiked with shorts and my green shirt sleeves rolled up. The mosquitoes were not bad until evening again or when stopping too long in the shade. I love hiking in shorts. I planned to camp at Onion River but when I got there I could not see or hear the river anywhere and the campsite, while large, was littered with fallen Spruce trees and very shady. I didn't like it. So I consulted maps and put long clothing on because now the bugs were coming back out. It was late afternoon now. My Anker power bank was working beautifully for recharging my phone while hiking. I kept in airplane mode and did not have a problem running out of charge. After looking at the maps I decided I felt good enough to make it to the next camp so I hiked on. First I found the Onion River a little ways down the hill. It was very pretty and had the late afternoon sun shining on it, so I decided my feet could use a wash and soak and I would fill up water because the next camp was on a beaver pond. I enjoyed this evening break and felt refreshed for the last few miles to Leveaux pond. There was an east and a west camp so I dropped my pack at the East one and ran (yes, one enjoys a short run after taking a heavy pack off) over to the other side of the pond to check out the West one. They were both nice but the East side, while weedy, had the nice evening sun shrouded by Canada wildfire smoke again. I decided on East and got to work cooking dinner.

Day 4
4 miles

This morning started with some beautiful early morning sun and when I saw it shine onto the West Camp so nicely, I decided to pack up my very wet with dew tent and head over to the other side for my breakfast. So I ended up using both campsites! It was a beautiful breakfast site and I enjoyed the peace, although I started feeling very alone. I had not seen people many people on Sunday and none since afternoon. It was neat to explore feelings of loneliness in the woods, exactly what you head out there for and yet so foreign to us. I only had a few miles out since I had hiked more miles than planned on both day 2 and 3. I got to Britton Peak around lunch and hiked up it to take a celebratory break just before getting to my car.

I was excited to have time to spend at the cabin on the beach in the sunshine. I almost didn't want to leave. I ate the big apple and smoked salmon I had bought on my way down the Sawbill Trail at the little store in Tofte. They tasted delicious after 3 days of trail food!