September 13-15, 2018 SHT with Kate

Superior Hiking Trail with Kate
22.5 miles total

The dream of this hike started to take shape in early summer as my personal goal for the end of the backpacking season. As Kate and I chatted about backpacking in the summer a plan started to take shape and at the Geisen Reunion we looked at dates and came up with a plan. We would meet with our family and Jed and Kate at the Lake Superior cabin and get a ride to the trailhead the next morning. The evening before we fine-tuned pack details, packed food and studied maps.

Day 1 - 8.5 miles

Jed gave us a ride to the Caribou River Wayside rest and trailhead. I was super giddy when I got into the car. This was a dream come true for me. The weather was warmer than average and sunny. 

We hiked Northbound for 8.5 miles with a one hour lunch break to air out our feet and rest. We also peeked into each campsite we passed to have an idea what they looked like for future reference. 

 Posing by Alfred's pond

 Our camp at Dyer's creek. So peaceful right next to the gurgling creek.

 Day 2 - 6.5 miles

This bridge is right by the Dyer's creek campground. We set out after a leisurely breakfast and a restful nights sleep. We did consider getting going earlier since these days were unusually hot and humid.

 












A resting spot with a nice view!

 We made it to the Cross River campsites after a hot and humid day and it didn't take us long to hop into the cool waters of the river! It felt especially good on my swollen buttocks since we had some excitement on the trail today. I had stopped along the trail for something and set my pack down next to a log and it only took a few seconds for me to notice a couple of wasps, which exponentially increased to a whole swarm of wasps. Two of them stung me in the leg before I could back off. They were swarming around my pack and we were helplessly standing off 10 feet wondering what we could do to get my pack back! We finally decided that I would put Kate's rain gear on and then grab the pack from behind the log. It worked! I didn't even get one more sting as I grabbed the pack and ran down the trail many yards before setting the pack down again to inspect it for hiding wasps. I am not sure what I would have done, had Kate not been with me. My leg was starting to throb at the sites of the stings but I was dealing with it fine. The cool water of the river felt perfect on the quite swollen leg. I will spare you the photos I have of it. I am glad that I am not allergic to bee stings. 

Day 3 - 7.5 miles

My back ached so much by morning that I had to get up and stretch, otherwise I slept fine and felt great during the day. We headed out toward Temperance before it started getting too hot.

 The scramble up to Carlton Peak was quite neat!

Yay! We made it!

I had texted Brett our ETA for the Carlton Peak Parking Lot but they surprised us on top of Carlton Peak with Jed and also Grandma and Lloyd! Carlton Peak has a special place in the heart of Brett and I since we took the NDSU Camping Trip group up here back in 1998 when we first got to know each other. I was all smiles being up here with the people I loved and after such a great 3 days in nature! I was on such a high I had the energy and desire to never stop and just keep hiking on! Some day I will thru-hike this trail I told myself!! Some day! 

August 28-30, 2018 Bear Head Lake State Park

Bear Head Lake State Park Day Hikes
14 miles total

Day 1 
6 miles

I hiked from our campsite along the lake and onto the back country trail system with my loaded pack. It was a cloudy day and the temperature hit a maximum of about 55 degrees. I wore a hat and rain jacket for warmth and was glad that it never rained. I did six miles around Blueberry Lake and to a hike-in, boat-in campsite on Bear Head Lake that I had reserved weeks before. I decided not to camp out by myself since the weather was cool and clammy and once again the camper with my family and a nice dinner was only a short boat-ride away. Brett picked me up and I was happy with a nice day of mileage and some pretty scenic trails. I really enjoyed this hike.

Day 2
5 miles

On Day 2 I had Brett drop me off at the campsite again and I hiked along the paths that I had not taken the day before and returned back to the campground a few hours later. Had I camped in the hike-in site this is the hiking I would have done. It was nice to see so many new trails. And the temperature climbed steadily today to almost 70 degrees with sunny skies. Much nicer!



Day 3
3 miles

On Day 3 I decided to take one last loop around to a favorite trail and a couple last ones I had not taken. I even discovered a few leaves that were turning red. 
Now I truly know every trail in the State Park. 

August 5-6, 2018 Waboose Lake with Dana

Waboose Lake with Dana
3 miles total

Dana and I decided to do a short hike-in to Waboose Lake NCT campsite for an overnight in this gorgeous site. The weather was perfect 80s with no chance of rain. 

We hiked in 1.6 miles and once again the swim just felt amazing! We set up camp and got ready for cooking supper, one of Dana's favorite things to do! We also read by the lake in the sun, Dana swam and dove with her goggles. Then we hung our bear bag after many failed attempts. We didn't mess around and hung it way back at the main loop trail. Then we took a calm water, sunset swim and tucked into bed. This was the first time I slept all night with the fly off. It was amazing to sleep under the open sky and watch the stars. 

Unfortunatley on a Sunday night we had the bad luck of having a camp neighbor across the lake who found it necessary to run a generator from 8:30 to 11 pm!!! We have no clue for what? After that it was awefully quiet and despite our bear spray and food hung far away Dana struggled with the sounds of the night forest. I think we slept from midnight to 3 and then she listened to her audio book for hours while we both dozed off and woke many times. After 5 we both slept like rocks as daylight brightened. I got up at 8:30 and filtered water etc. then decided to get the bear bag alone since I could not get Dana awake. I finally woke her around 9 out of deep sleep and we ate our oatmeal. We ran out of fuel after this morning cooking which was good timing. It lasted for 5 nights and mornings of cooking. 

After packing up we hiked around the north end of Waboose and reached the boat landing after 1.5 miles. Brett and Leo picked us up! Another wonderful time in the forest!

July 5-6, 2018 North Country Trail

First solo overnight trip
20 miles total

Day 1- 10 miles

Brett dropped me off at the County 4 Trailhead south of Lake George around 10:30am. I had prepared my route with the brand-new edition of the North Country Trail in MN guidebook.

This was my first solo trip with an overnight. I think my pack weighed 15 pounds without food and water and then about 22 pounds with food and water.





I hiked 10.3 miles down the NCT to Nelson Lake. I was already familiar with the lake and campsites there, which made it a little less daunting. I took a 1 hour lunch break at a little lake and with an average pace of about 30 minutes per mile I got to camp in the late afternoon and set up camp.

It was a beautiful evening and I enjoyed setting up, swimming, cooking, making a fire and all in total solitude and silence. I was pretty pretty worn out. After 8 miles my legs were pretty much done for the day and yet I had two more miles to do, so now after supper, they said: "Time for bed!" I heard quite a few sounds but was able to keep my mind in check and relax and get good sleep. The mat, my z-lite Therma-rest is not the most comfortable. I might have to upgrade that if I do several nights with big hiking days. 

Day 2 - 10 miles

It is always surprising to me how cooled off I get in the mornings although the temperature is usually around the 60 degree mark. It was a beautiful calm morning with mist hanging over the lake surface.

I had breakfast and headed out for the day. Day 2 was hiking on to Waboose Lake. Another lake and campsite I was familiar with about 10 miles away. I was planning on meeting Brett and the kids there since Waboose is some of his old stomping grounds and good fishing and they could just boat into the campsite Dana and I had discovered. 

I found many wild raspberries and also some strawberries each day. They were delicious and my only raw, fresh food on the trip. The crop is plentiful this year. The hiking was quite different this day. On Day 1 I came by quite a few lakes. This day was on higher ground and when I still didn't come by a Lake after 7 miles, I decided I had to come up with a different solution to take a lunch break. I finally decided to just set up my tent in the middle of the trail and lay down and enjoy my lunch. 

 My feet had gotten drenched in the dew-covered morning grass and this was my first time airing them out. I discovered a small blister underneath my right pinky toe. I hung my socks out to dry and set my shoes in the sun. I had yet to see a single person on the whole trail so I was not concerned blocking the trail. I was pretty proud of my great solution! It was nice to lay down and not worry about bugs and flies. There were enough mosquitoes every day where just sitting down as not an option, unless your idea of lunch is feeding your blood to the mosquitoes while eating your crackers and guacamole! I was almost out of water in my 1.5 liter bladder. Since I had assumed that I would get to a lake by lunch at least, I had not even topped it all the way off last night. Live and learn. I ran out by mile 8 and hiked the last 2 miles without water. 

Nothing feels as good as a lake swim after a sweat-drenching 10 mile hike in long pants, long shirt, socks and shoes with a 20 pound pack! When I got to camp, I dropped my stuff, ripped my clothes off and ran into the lake. Amazing! 

After that I filtered water and drank and then set up camp. I laid down in my tent to read since I had made good time this day, and fell asleep until I heard a boat motor coming closer and it was Brett and the kids. 

We enjoyed more fishing, swimming and grilling and after those monster 20 miles in summer heat and alone, I decided the option to go home with them and sleep in my own soft bed was just too tempting to pass up. I had planned on overnighting and then hiking out 5+ miles to Highway 64 the next day, but that seemed unimportant now. And I think it was a smart decision since that night my right calf seized up and got painful. I used magnesium oil, supplements and rested well and it was much better the next day, but I doubt that hiking 5 more miles on it would have been good. 

I was really happy with my first big Solo Backpacking Trip!

June 23 - Itasca Day Hike

Itasca State Park Day Hike (no pack)
5 miles

I joined an Itasca Lady Slipper Hike in the morning, which was a leisurely 2 miles, I believe and since I was there and prepared I did a 3 mile power hike to the Firetower, up the tower, back down and back to the car. Took me 1 hour for the 3 miles. I had no pack but it was a good workout.

June 14 - Gooseberry Day Hike

Gooseberry State Park Day Hike
8.1 miles

I used the chance to day hike with some elevation changes and a heavy pack when we camped at the North Shore of Lake Superior at Gooseberry Falls State Park. Since my goal is to hike the Superior Hiking Trail in the Fall, I wanted to see how I do with a heavy pack and lots of miles. 


So I hikes 8.1 miles and wow, that was about enough too! I couldn't have done much more. My legs were pretty quivery but I was pretty happy with myself doing that with my pack and quite a bit of up and down. Such beautiful scenery too. Only downside was that I had to hike out and back but it was great training. It took me just under 4 hours to do it with a couple of shorter breaks. 

June 12, 2018 Whiteface Day Hike

Whiteface Reservoir Campground
2.1 miles

This is one of our favorite campgrounds and when we camped with the family I took a morning to explore a hiking trail that led out of the campground. I shouldered my pack to strengthen my legs. 

I hiked 2.1 miles and found some neat boat-in/hike-in campsites on the lake. It was buggy so I used my head-net and it was cool enough to use the rain jacket for warmth and bug protection.