Month: August 2021

Day 10: Extraction

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Location: Finland, MN (Mile 122.4)

Total Distance: 6.2 Miles

I woke up in the middle of the night.  I ate a ton of carbs and drank two liters of water over dinner.  I went to urinate, and it was extremely painful to do so.  Double-Whammy.  I slept in a bit to see if the situation changed.  It did not.  I texted Harriet that I needed a pickup.  She said she would be in Finland at 2:00 p.m.  I hiked in slowly and sat at the local community center.  Harriet was on time and took me to my vehicle and I drove home.

I’m going to spend a moment an focus on what went wrong.

Day 9: Maximum Brutality

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Location: Section 13 Camp (116.2)
Distance: 16.0 miles
Achievements: Mount Trudee, The Drainpipe, The Lime Squeezer, Sawmill Dome

Reading this blog, you may notice two things.  First, I intentionally keep it raw.  I’m typing on my phone’s little keyboard at the end of the day.  I’m exhausted.  Second, it is filled with numbers.  The reason for the numbers is pretty simple.  I use math to keep myself safe.
When I woke up this morning, I had one and a half day’s worth of food.  The next two campsites at roughly 10.0 and 16.0 miles are both dry.  If I decide to camp ten miles from now, the closest water source requires me to carry water for two days, six miles.  Or, I can hike 16.0 miles with a water source one mile before it.  I need one liter of water per five miles.  I need three liters of water if I’m camping for the night.  I’m much better off aiming for a sixteen mile day where I’m carrying just two liters of water for most of the day.  If I stop at ten miles, I will need to carry four liters of water for six of those ten miles.
The hike today was nothing short of brutal.  The hike started late due to an unexpected thunderstorm.  Then the temperature increased to over 80° with 80% humidity.  The whole hike was one climb after another, including two mountains, Trudee and Sawmill.
The cherry on top was the last mile.  It included 600 feet of climb, plus some bouldering.  I was so tired and thirsty that I decided to carry four liters up to camp.  It sucked, but I knew I was really dehydrated.
Throughout the day, I was struggling with some severe chaffing.  Between the rain and the high humidity, I was wet all day.  Eventually, every step was painful, but I pushed through, but it was slowing me down.  I found myself about four miles out with just a half of a liter of water.  I stopped, rested, and prepared for a big push.  I reached the water source a mile before camp at 7:00 p.m.
Seriously dehydrated, I filtered four liters and powered through the final climb.  One mile, 600 feet, at the top, bouldering to the campsite.  It was getting dark.  There was my new friend Andy.  We talked for a bit as I cooked and ate.  Andy chooses to go stove-less.  It certainly saves you from long water carries.
After eating, I tried to stand up.  My clothing was sticking to my body and peeling it off my body was quite painful.  I put up my tent and started to prepare to sleep.  As I was getting ready, I discovered that the chaffing was now blisters.  The path in front was clear.  I was going to be going into town the next day and spending some time to recover.

Day 8: Celebrating 100 Miles

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Location: Bear Lake Camp (100.3 miles)
Distance: (12.0 miles)
Achievements: 100 Miles

When I initially talked with Harriet, she said that I would be surprised by the difficulty.  Talking to southbounders, they said they averaged 10 miles a day.  I’m here to confirm that this trail has been rough the past two days.
The PCT is notorious for its climbs.  The hike into Wrightwood is a 16 mile, no water, uphill climb.  There are all the mountain passes where I would spend half the day assending up the pass.  What could the SHT do to compare to that?
Turns out the 12 miles without more than a minute of flat space before more altitude change is really exhausting.
I reached Bear Lake at three, giving me a decent body of water so I can rinse out my clothes.  When I returned, there was another hiker camped with me.
He is from Madison, was a councilor at my children’s highschool for a while, and a really nice guy.
Better yet, he chooses to go stoveless so he can carry bourbon instead.  We talked until it was dark.  An awesome day.

Day 7: Increased Difficulty

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Location: Faultline Ridge Camp (88.3 miles)

Distance: 10.2 Miles

For different sections in the guidebook it says something like “Some hikers may find this challenging.”. Castle Danger was one area, but I crushed it.  The combination of Breadloaf Ridge, Split Rock, Christmas Tree Ridge and Faultline Ridge kicked my butt.  The goal was 15 miles.  I reached the Faultline Ridge Camp at 3:45. Looking at the map, I had one more massive climb to go.
The funny thing is that I probably have enough in the tank to do it, but I checked the guidebook.  The next couple of days it listed as the most challenging on the entire trail.  I decided to keep my reserves if things are going to be more challenging in the next couple of days.
Injury wise, I have a blister on the left side of my left foot.  It is annoying, but taped.
Although my performance sucked, some of that had to do with the views.  I spent an hour in Split Rock taking pictures.  The views were much better 
My penalty for walking too slow is that I have to drink from here:

Day 6: Castle Danger and Gooseberry Falls

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Location: Blueberry Hill (78.1)

Distance: 20.6 miles
Achievements: 10 By 10, Assaulted the Castle, Bonus Miles Averted, 20 Mile Day

I woke up at 4 a.m. with one chore to do — charge my phone.  I was not looking forward to the five mile road hike with a pack with five days of food.  It was a Sunday.  There was no chance anyone would be up.
I left the campground at 5:30.  I took about twenty steps on the road when a car pulled to the side and asked if I was looking for a ride!
The trail angel’s name was Laura, and she lived right by the trailhead.  She has just dropped off her son at work and was surprised to see a hiker so early.  So, I avoided that long road walk that doesn’t count.  That put a spring in my step all day.
On my today’s agenda was the ups-and-downs of Castle Danger.  I crushed it.  Honestly, it was nothing compared to other things I’ve done.  I claimed up Mike’s Rock, another place with a good view, but the fog was in.

From there I hiked to Gooseberry Falls and climbed down from fall to fall.

I made it to Blueberry Hill by 4:30, a very solid 20.6 mile day.  I’ve eaten dinner and I’m chilling for the rest of the day.

Day 5: Zero in Two Harbors

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Location: Two Harbors

Distance: Zero + 7.0 Extra Miles

Today was a rest and do chores day.  The first priority was the laundry.  That was a two mile round trip, but completely worth it.
I cleaned my filter, charged my battery pack, and sorted out my resupply.  I’m ready for the next five day push.  Hopefully, I’ll eat better.
Calorie wise, I successfully carbed up.  The backpacking diet allows me to eat a medium sized pizza, a bacon cheeseburger, a slice of pecan pie, and have some sugary drinks, all for the good of the hike.
I mostly rested and healed.
After dinner at Judy’s Place, I decided to walk around and see the sights.  It was a dreary day, but it was a good walk.
The last chore will be to charge my phone in the morning and off I’ll go.

Day 4: Bonus Miles Are Bad

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Location ; Burlington Bay Camp Site, Two Harbors

Distance: 18.8 miles + 5.0 road miles + 1.8 bonus
First, Cooper.  Cooper was only going tem miles today, so he was sleeping in. I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. He will understand. This is hiking your own hike.
Now for these miles.  Let me to explain…  My resupply point, Two Harbors, has two entry points.  The first is at mile 52.1 with a six mile walk into town.  It is against the law to hitch.  The second is at 57.5 with a five mile road walk.  However, it was supposed to be easy to get a Lyft from the second stop and the additional miles were supposed to be very flat.  So, I was up at 4:30 a.m. with a stretch goal of 18.8 miles.  Unfortunately, the Lyft ride was but a false rumor and I walked the 5.0 miles in.
The road walk was all down hill and my pack had neither food or water, so it was fast.  The pizza place was right next to the post office, I set my pack down and made it to the post office with little time to spare.
Put simply, I really really over did it.  I have reserved an extra day here and I’m doing to heal my feet and rest.
I should mention that last night I discovered that this trail has an unusual pests.  Slugs.

My shoes were covered on them.  My tent was covered with them.  As I hiked I discovered that they hang from trees on slimy snot webs.  So gross.

Here is a peaceful view of a remote river to clear your mind of that horror 

Now to sleep for a day.

Day 3: Like Old Friends

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Distance: 14.8

Location: Ferguson Camp (38.7 miles)

What an eventful day!  I slept had and woke up at 6:00 to the sound of drizzle on my tent.  I packed up quickly and was on trail.  The drizzle turned into an absolute downpour that lasted another four hours.  While it was terrible to hike in, all I could hear was the trees cheering.
That also meant that every mosquito woke up.  Since this trip started, I have struggled to take in calories.  I’m more thirsty than hungry.  The rain was an excuse not to eat.  I was barely moving, and I knew the reason why.  I needed to force myself to eat.  It was a struggle, but I choked down two Cliff bars.  That kicked in my hiker hunger. I would hike for an hour, get hungry, eat, and hike some more.  The miles were less of a struggle today 
I reached camp at 3:30.  Again my choices of where is camp are limited.  I’m either hiking 14.8 or 22+, so 14.8 it is 
A short while another hikes stopped to camp.  We started talking. We shared trails.  I told him I completed the PCT.  He said he sectioned hiked.
His gear was not the normal fare, however.  A section hiker is going to have gear you can buy at REI.  He had a cottage industry backpack.  He had an $700 zPacks tent.  So, I asked a loaded question.
“What is your base weight?”
“12.8 pounds.”
“Mine is 13.8.”
No section hiker was going to know that off the top of their head to the tenth of an ounce.
He asked what it was like hiking the PCT.  I was reluctant to tell him stories of that hike.  Who an I kidding, I told him some of the classics.
He said that in full disclosure, he attempted to hike the PCT this year, south bound, but discovered that he was really afraid of heights.  The views were awesome, but he didn’t realize that he’d spend so much time just inches from falling.  He didn’t believe at first that I finished it, but my stories were not something you just made up.  Without reception, I couldn’t show him any pictures.
His name was Cooper, and we stayed up until the mosquitoes forced us to retire to our tents.  It was a good day.

Day 2: Roll On Down the Highway

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Distance: 12.3 miles

Location: Fox Farm Pond (23.9)

I was up by 5:30 and on trail by 6:00.  To this point, the trail consisted of dual use trails.  Hiking trails in the summer and snow mobile trails in the winter.  They are flat and not very interesting.
Today the goal was 12.3 miles with a stretch goal of 19+ miles.  I had 2.5 liters of water remaining and the next sure source was 7.2 miles away.  As I was leaving early, I was taking advantage of the cooler temperatures.  The high was supposed to be close to 90° with high humidity.
I hiked the first 7.2 miles by 10 a.m.  I rested and ate second breakfast.  The next 5.1 miles were much harder.  It became quite hot.  I made it to my goal by 2:00 p.m. Now I had to decide to wait out the heat and try and hike the last 7.4 miles.
A little while later, two southbound hikers, Loren and Alise stop.  The had just come from where I was going.  They said it was reasonably flat, but there was no place to stealth camp.  If I couldn’t finish, I’d be in trouble.  So 12.3 it is.
Loren and Alise also told me that many people skip the first 50 miles, because it is boring.  That means I’ll run into more people soon 
That means I have to do a minimum of 14+ miles tomorrow to stay on schedule, but it is supposed to be ten degrees cooler.  It is a much better option.


Day 1: Foreplay / Long Time

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Day 1: 11.6 miles plus bonus.
Location: Lone Tree Camp

I set my alarm for 6:00 a.m., but went to bed as soon as it was dark.  I woke up refreshed and ready to go at 5:20.  There are so many things that are chores for thru-hiking that you take for granted when you have a place to live.  You have to filter your  instead of turning on a faucet.  In my case, I need to charge my phone.

I have a fully charged battery that should charge my phone five times, but it takes half a day to charge it.  Waking up early gives me some extra time to charge while I’m in civilization.
I did my hiker trash priorities correct.  Power over shower.  I watched the sunrise by the outlet.  Yes, those are port-a-potties.

Not exactly the epic views like I had on the PCT.

After I was good to go, I walked to the Senior Center.  I passed by a coffee shop and went in.  The smell of coffee was repulsive.  That only happens when I’m hiking.
While I waited, another hiker came aboard.  I was hoping he was doing the same I was, but he was leaving the trail early.  He started at the Northern Terminus, hiked two 25 mile days in a row, and decided to quit.  Turns out that he parked his car where I was starting, so we took a Lyft together.  He paid for it, despite my protests.

I started hiking at 11:00 a.m. My goal was six miles, with a stretch goal of 11.6.  I made an unforced series of errors.  I didn’t hydrate.  I skipped breakfast.  I was crushed after three miles.  I was expecting to go five miles per liter of water   I think I went two.  Eventually, I made it to the six mile camp, but it was only 3 p.m.  I really had no choice but to reach for the stretch goal of 11.6 miles.  The only problem is that I had to carry water as the site is dry.
So, I tried pounding out five more miles with five liters of water. I made it by 6 p.m.  I am a soggy sweaty mess.  Now I’m getting rained on in my own tent as all my sweat became condensation on the tent wall.  Good time.
I haven’t seen a soul today.  I hope that changes.
This is why it is called Type-2 fun.