Superior Hiking Trail — Trail Vagabonds

THE SUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL

Last year, someone, I don’t remember who (it may have been me), brought up the idea of fast-packing/through-hiking the entirety of the Superior Hiking Trail. The idea might have been brought up in a brewery over beers… I was living in the Minnesota at the time, working part time between a few jobs and getting back into running long distance. The idea was discussed for a few months, usually over beers, where dreams tend to run wild, until finally Tony and I committed to the plan. A lot happened in the year of planning including changing jobs and a cross country move for me from Minnesota to North Carolina. Tony and I continued to plan, worked through the logistics and ultimately made the trip a reality.

Tony (left), Dave (right) and I on the summit of Mt. Sneffels (14,157')  Colorado 2016. This is after some stress crying on my part getting to the top! — Tony (left), Dave (right) and I on the summit of Mt. Sneffels (14,157') Colorado 2016. This is after some stress crying on my part getting to the top!

First things first, before I talk about the trip, I need to introduce you to Anthony (Tony). Tony and I have been friends for just over a year. We met through a mutual friend and almost immediately were put together in a car for two weeks on an amazing westbound road trip of climbing and backcountry camping. Because of that road trip, I know that Tony and I do well together in stressful situations. Meaning, his reaction to my hysterical stress crying is such that, I will still get to the summit! Tony is one of a handful of people that I would want to attempt this goal with. He is driven and motivated, and encouraging. He believes in you when you don’t or can’t believe in yourself. He knows when to push you to get you toward your goal, but also when pushing will be counterproductive. Off the trail, he is a business owner, devoted boyfriend and dog dad, and an amazing athlete. He runs, bikes, climbs, camps – the works. And he doesn’t just “DO” these activities, he excels at them. Tony is also responsible for the on-the-ground logistics and work that went into this through-hike attempt, which I am forever grateful of.

Our goals to start were ambitious. We were unsure if it was even possible for us to cover the mileage we needed to cover to achieve the though-hike in the short time we had. Both of us were in good shape, but neither of us had attempted something to this magnitude. I was nervous. But dream big, right?

This adventure started like most do, with a few plane rides and airport layovers to transport me back to the land of flannel and beards. Tony, Monica (Tony’s girlfriend) and I set out for the North Shore later in the afternoon on Saturday. We got to the trail head after dark, set up camp, and promptly went to bed. Surprisingly the stress of what was to come did not impede my ability to sleep soundly for 7 hours.

Let me tell you, this trip would also not have been possible without Monica. Mon is a super badass and inspirational woman. She has traveled the country, largely solo (with her dog The Traveling Grizz or Grizzly Adams). Mon's help in this endeavor was invaluable. Monica drove us up north, dropped us off at the northern border, helped Tony cover shifts at work, took care of their dogs while we were gone and was so completely and utterly supportive of the whole adventure. Priceless.

Sunday morning, we awoke at dawn to the sounds of hikers clomping past our wet tents. Possible foreshadowing of the next few days to come. We left all of our gear at the car and hiked the 1.2 miles to the most northern point of the Superior Hiking Trail. We quickly warmed up into the hike, stripped layers, and were greeted at the 270 degree overlook to the sun just peaking over the horizon, shooting bright red rays of light in all directions, illuminating rock features to the north and a beautiful expanse of forest in fall dress as far as the eye could see. Three other hikers from Texas were already taking in the view. This was the finish for them. Their northbound through-hike took them about 19 days. They were accompanied by their adorable cattle dog Mika (trail name – Mika-chu). Like everyone we encountered on this trail, they were warm and friendly – offering advice and swapping gear talk. We signed our names in the trail log; a new spiral bound notebook that had yet seen the effects of the rainy weather. The hike back to the car was bathed in gold light streaming through the yellow of the birch leaves as if to welcome us to the trail. At the car we caffeinated and ate a light breakfast. We packed up checking last minute gear, making sure we had enough water. I was petrified that we would forget something crucial in the car. Tony and Monica shared a long farewell hug. Then Tony and I high-fived and started on our journey. The first few steps were like floating on air. We were giddy. Finally, all the talk and planning and worry faded away, and all there was left was to do the damn thing! Of course we almost got off trail in the first ½ mile, but we’ll conveniently skip that part. The weather on day one was ideal for hiking – largely overcast and cool, with some fleeting visits from the sun to highlight the overlooks. In the first section we hit the highest point on the trail (1829 feet) and also had our first sweeping ridgeline overlook of Lake Superior and Isle Royale at the “Hellacious Overlook”. We pushed on all day, hiking about 10 hours straight with limited snack breaks, eating on the go. My pack weight was heavy enough to notice its presence, but not too heavy to cause any issues – at least to start. We got into our first campsite around 5:00 pm, which put us at about 20 miles for the day. We elected to stop for the day because the next campsite was almost another 10 miles away, meaning we would be night hiking, and I personally could not envision taking another step! My feet were so sore. I’ve been dealing with pain at the point of my arches after high mileage days, likely as a result of being so flat-footed with weak arches. After 20 miles They. Were. Sore! No blisters, luckily, just soreness. Stopping where we did meant we were behind to start. This made me nervous, and I know made Tony nervous. To be off on mileage goals on the first day could be catastrophic to our through hike attempt. But we both hoped we would be able to make up mileage later so we remained cautiously optimistic. This was the first day we met a fellow through-hiker (trail) named “Bluegrass”. He was camped at the same campsite and regaled us with stories from the Appalachian Trail and his previous SHT through-hike. He would become a fixture on the trail for us and a happy sight at our future campsites. At the Hazel campsite was also another woman hiking solo for two weeks. This was not uncommon on this trail. It lifted my spirits to see a woman out on the trail on her own and I really wanted to high-five her and pick her brain about her life, her motivating factors, her life experiences. It provided fuel for the fire behind my motivation for this blog, and got the wheels turning for future content. We chatted and ate in good company and then retired to our tent early for some stretching and bed.

Day 2

I was awakened in the dark by Tony shaking my shoulder. “Katie, do you hear the wolves?” Off in the distance a long lamenting howl broke through the crisp, early morning air. We had hoped we would hear wolves on the trail and see some if we were extremely lucky. I have always felt drawn to these creatures and know that I have romanticized them in my own head as mysterious creatures, symbolizing strength. I went through a period of obsession and read every book I could find on their behavior, the packs in Yellowstone and on Isle Royale, and any research into their lives, behavior and conservation. To hear them howl gave me goosebumps. Our first hour of the day was spent hiking in the dark in a light drizzle, our vision of the trail narrowed to the small area illuminated by our headlamps and further limited by our hoods. It was slow going. The trail is technical and full of rocks and roots. Slowly the sky lightened and a cloudy, rainy overcast day began. Again, we hiked and hiked and hiked. Hours on the trail were spent chatting about various topics. If you ever want to feel connected to someone, to get to know their true selves – spend time outside with them. I’ve found that hours running and hiking really opens up our true selves. How can you be anything but truthful and open when surrounded by the trees and the mountains? Hours were also spent alone with our own thoughts. My thoughts were scattered. I brainstormed about this blog and what it could become. I daydreamed about buying an A-frame in the mountains. And as my mind does, it also wandered to past relationships, relationships lost or never given the chance to blossom. Love is such an integral part of every day life; it’s hard to not contemplate it when your mind and heart are open, raw and exposed in the wild. I personally find Nature to be the best place to contemplate what could have been and what was. Here I find it easy to allow things to just be, to forgive, and to let the expectations and societal implications fall away and to find closure. On this day we covered one of my favorite sections of the trail, called the Lake Walk. Its about 1.5 miles of trail traversing along the shoreline of Lake Superior. If you have never been to the shores of Lake Superior, it’s a unique experience. The rocks and pebbles are smooth and round and colorful and the water stretches out like an ocean in front of you. Today the waves were crashing heavily onto the shore. The sound of the pebbles scraping along each other with each wave was mesmerizing. We spent some time just looking out across the vast expanse of water in awe before heading inland. Around 2:00 pm, I really started to get worn down mentally and physically. I do think some of the lows I’ve experienced here and in the past are related to nutrition and hydration status – but that is just a theory. I started to get really grumpy in my head. I just wanted the day to be over. To be able to stop moving. I pulled out my phone and put on the latest episode of Real Talk Radio by Nicole Antoinette. In this episode she talks with Jenny Bruso, the founder of The Unlikely Hiker. You need to listen to Nicole’s podcast; all of them. Its real and refreshing and relatable. Instantly, I was distracted. Drawn into their conversation. I found myself laughing out loud and relating so hard to everything being discussed. This did the trick to distract me for a few hours, but then the demons descended. I would look at Tony and think “Ugh, he looks like he’s not feeling this mileage at all”. I would notice how slowly I was putting one foot in front of the other compared to earlier in the day. I noticed how my feet ached with every single step. The weight of being the limiting factor in this goal was so heavy and weighed on me like an additional ten pounds in my pack. I carry this demon constantly in life. It tells me I’m not strong enough, not smart enough, not experienced enough. It tells me that I can’t and that I shouldn’t. That my goals are too big or I’m too weak. This demon was screaming in my head that I should just stop. Tony would probably be more successful at this goal without me. I should just stop and accept defeat right now. I need to stop. We have to stop. I couldn’t shake it. I couldn’t make the demon shut the fuck up. We had planned to stop for dinner and continue hiking into the dark to finish our day. My brain screamed “NO. NO. NO.”. We found a campsite and as we hiked in I was barely holding back tears. AND OF COURSE, there are people at the campsite. All I want to do is just sit down and break down and cry. I could do that in front of Tony. I have done that in front of Tony before. But I couldn’t do that in front of strangers. The two men camping there could tell I was struggling and I’m sure they could tell I was about to burst into tears. They were pleasant and we exchanged stories. They asked us the usual question “Why are you pushing the mileage, why not just come out here and enjoy yourself, enjoy the nature?” Our short answer? “We don’t know - its what we like to do”. This was probably not an answer that provided them with any sort of clarity. And not an answer that I even believed at the time. We scarfed food, or I did – I was ready to go back to my mental isolation – and Tony ate on the trail as we started back out into the dusk and the rain. Yea, it had started raining again. We made it about 1 mile to the next campsite. Tony hikes a bit ahead normally, and I’m especially happy to let him when I’m feeling this way. But we got to the campsite and he waited for me. As I walked up to him, I couldn’t hold the flood back anymore. This situation is exactly why Tony is the best person for this endeavor. He looked at me and said “Katie, its ok. My only rule is if one of us wants to stop, we stop – there is no reason good enough not to”. Of course this campsite also had people camped there. Tony fluttered around me starting to get stuff together while I just kind of stood there dazed. As we got set up, my spirits started to lift. I was able to laugh through the tears and sniffles. We collapsed into the tent. “I’m sorry.” I said. “There is nothing to be sorry for” he replied. He poured over the guidebook. We had hiked 25 miles that day. This was my longest day of mileage, with a pack, to date. We went to bed knowing we were even further behind our goals than before – but this was a silent knowledge that we didn’t yet dare to discuss out loud.

Day 3

It torrentially down poured all night. We later learned that over the next 24-hour period, the north woods would get 3 inches of rain. We stayed in bed 30 minutes longer than planned and were able to pack up in a relatively dry weather window and again hiked out into the darkness. It rained, and rained and rained. We joked all day that we were hiking on the “Superior Hiking River”. This fateful day is the day that I lost my phone. We came up on a cliff about 100 feet above a river that was raging due to the influx of water heading toward the lake. The water was muddy and rushing. A fine mist rose up from the waters. It was hauntingly and dangerously beautiful. Humbling to know that if you fell in, that’d be the end. There’s no way you could survive the pressure of the water on your body, pushing you to the bottom. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and reached to wipe the screen off on my dry shirt underneath my raincoat. My hand was wet, the phone was wet, and a tiny bump into my body sent my phone careening out of my hand toward the cliff. It bounced once, twice and disappeared over the cliff into the raging river below. I yelped, Tony stood with his mouth agape. I thought I might vomit. Then I started laughing hysterically. What a perfect way to punctuate the trip to date and my overall feelings about my phone and social media hahahaha. At least now I wouldn’t have to acknowledge the fact publically that we were behind our goals. That everything hurt and that we were miserable! Silver linings. Much of the rest of the day is a blur. At one point we hiked through calf height water on a wide and boring trail. The only reprieve was that it was flat, and we saw Moose tracks EVERYWHERE. Our feet got soaked, and our spirits plummeted to an all time low, as only can happen when you’re feet are wet and painful. This was the first time I was aware of Tony suffering in any kind of way. His rain jacket was a POS and he got soaked. His feet were wet and his usual optimism and drive were dampened. Our stops were more frequent. We reached our goal campsite at mile 16. It was a beautiful spot on an absolutely gorgeous pond. By this time it had stopped raining and the sun was peaking out behind the clouds. We were exhausted, our feet were painful, we felt defeated. We sat dejectedly on the benches around the fire ring and our discussion slowly and reluctantly turned to our goals. At this point we were a whole day behind our goal of finishing the entirety of the trail. Everything was soaked through. We KNEW going into it that to achieve this goal it was going to be hard and painful. Was this something we wanted to continue to push for? Was it worth it? Ultimately no. We decided that it wasn’t. Together we made the decision to rest, slow down, and enjoy our time on the trail. What a relief. I have learned in recent years how detrimental to my mental health it is hold onto a goal so tightly that anything less is a complete failure. In the most basic definition, yes this was a failure – we did not reach our initial goal. But the experience as a whole would have so much more depth and provide so much more fulfillment than simply completing an, ultimately arbitrary, goal ever could. To learn is never a waste of time, and never a failure. It was at this point that the entire emotion of our trip changed. Gone was the stress of unfulfilled goals, and out emerged the playful joyousness of spending time in nature with those we love and care for.

Day 4

We spent almost 18 hours in that campsite. We went to bed as soon as the sun went down and slept for almost 12 hours. A cool crisp wind blew through leaves as the morning sun shone brightly through the gold leaves of the adjacent birch trees. A classic northern fall morning. Nothing was dry. My saving grace for the day was knowing that our goal for the day was only 10 miles! ONLY TEN! And at the end of the ten miles, my dad would be waiting for us. I don’t remember much of this days hike. Lots of raging water, and mud to be sure. What I do vividly remember is hiking along the cascade river toward to the Cascade River State Park and towards my dad. My dad and I had planned early on to coordinate a meet up on this trip. My mom and dad have always been huge supporters of my adventures and my dad has almost always been directly involved. I’m not sure if this is because I’m the oldest and he worries, that he needs to be there in person to make sure I’m doing ok?, Or if he’s fueled by the adventure itself. It might be multifactorial. My dad had planned to drive 7 hours from Wisconsin to set up a campsite for us at the campground as a reprieve from the trail. He arrived at Cascade River State Park and set up a massive tent complete with a wood-burning stove inside and cots, COTS! to sleep on. He brought a grill, food, beer and wine and all the fixings for an amazing morning breakfast. The relief was palpable as we set foot into the campsite. We were able to completely dry our boots and clothes. It really is the small things, like dry feet, that make all the difference! It was glorious. We chatted and exchanged stories about the current trail and previous adventures. My dad is an outdoor enthusiast through and through. He amused us into the evening with stories from his mountaineering and climbing days. Tony and I were both feeling the mountaineering bug by the end of the night. ((One adventure at a time guys!)) It completely set the tone for the remainder of our time out. My dad is absolutely the best around.

Day 5

Our morning was easy and unrushed. We enjoyed a magnificent breakfast of fried eggs and cinnamon rolls with my dad. By this point on the trail we were full on feeling the “Hiker Hunger”. That insatiable, gnawing hunger that will never ever be fulfilled with dehydrated backpacker meals and Cliff bars. Day 5 was a blue bird day. The sun was bright, the air cool and there were no clouds to be seen. We were treated to vast overlooks at Lookout Mountain. I immediately thought to recommend this dayhike to my friend Megan who I’ve spent many hours on this trail with. Megan, lookout mountain is bomb – Go hike it! At this point we came across another woman solo camping for a few days. It was her birthday, so she decided spend it out on the trail alone. Her husband was meeting her that afternoon at the trailhead to pick her up for a nice dinner. My brain was exploding with questions for her and I wished longingly for a phone to record an interview with her. I want to know these women on the trail. I want to share their experiences, their drive and their thoughts, with others. They are stories worth telling. The night of Day 5 found us on the shores of Lake Agnes with our friend Bluegrass. We met even more through hikers. Another young woman through-hiking south bound. Her dad had also met her for a few days on the trail. We are lucky women! For the first time out on the trail we were able to enjoy time by a fire. It is hard to adequately express the camaraderie felt around a fire. Tony and I had already begun our discussion on “how to do this all the way through” by that point and our brains were once again filled with optimism. The full moon rose over the camp, casting the forest in brilliant bright light, and the sky glistened with the entirety of the solar system. You just don’t get to see the night sky like that in the city.

Day 6

The morning of Day 6 was spent with coffee on a flat rock overlooking the lake. Tony and I chatted about future hopes and dreams in hushed tones. It always feels wrong to disturb the morning silence in the woods. Fog rose above the water, which glistened as smooth as glass in the morning sunshine. Only the occasional fish, or mammal interrupted the smoothness of the water. Our morning hike was spent making our way toward Lutsen resort. Our friend Matt was going to meet us there to join us for the remainder of our hike. During our reprieve from trail food with burgers and beers, Matt sorrowfully informed us of recent events – the two most notable being the Las Vegas shooting and the loss of Tom Petty. Hearing about the tragedy of so many lives lost just takes my breath away and makes my stomach turn violently. I can’t understand. My brain can’t wrap itself around it. It makes me feel frozen and helpless and so deeply overwhelmed and drowning in the cruelty of our world. The woods and trail feel safe, and we are able to hide away from society for a few more days. I can’t speak for Tony, but my soul needed the reprieve.

Our rag tag group continued down the trail. We assured Matt, who was sick with a cough, that all he really needed was some fresh woodsy air. Matt and I did’t know each other that well, but sometimes you just know when someone is going to be important and worth knowing. It can be surprising how quickly that can be realized. Like I’ve said, the trail is a great place to get to know someone. Our day ended at the Onion River Campsite. Being close to the trailhead, it’s a large campsite, with lots of tent space. It was Friday night so many of the tent pads were occupied with weekend groups. There was an adorable family out with their small child. I commend parents like that. Being out in the woods with a child is no easy feat, but IMO the benefits of the experience are worth it – having been one of those children! We met a group of men out for the weekend. One of which had his rescue Sheba Inu with. We talked at length about the training he was working on with him and all the progress he had made. It was very refreshing to hear about his experiences with positive reinforcement training and the impact its had on his dogs progress. I tried to be encouraging of the process without laying all of my hopes and dreams about dog training in our society onto his shoulders. Bluegrass also made it into camp as the sun went down. Its so funny how a recognizable face can add to the experience. Having another person to commiserate with about the days events, update on trail happenings, mishaps, and wildlife sightings. Just having another person there who KNOWS, who understands on a fundamental level what your day has been like. Its comforting.

Overlooking Poplar river - Tony's favorite part of the trail.

Day 7

On Day 7, nothing was more important than meeting up with Kensey on the trail, (and David and Nathan!). Kensey is one of my best and favorite friends from veterinary school. It is a relationship forged around long stressful days at school, climbing, birds, wildlife and knitting. She is gorgeous and smart and strong and funny. I admire her for so many things, I can’t even begin to list them all. I am also quite close with David, her boyfriend of a decade– he is the one who introduced me to Tony in the first place. He is smart and passionate about the outdoors and climbing. He loves to be challenged, and works his ass off. They are good people. Like really good people. You should all know them. Their dog Benny also joined us on the trail. Benny was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor after beginning to have seizures. He is 12 and one of the best dogs I know. He is responding well to symptomatic therapy and Kensey is pursuing radiation therapy for him. He loves being out in the woods and on the trail and had a great time. I felt like my heart was going to burst open having all these amazing people around, supporting us on this adventure and sharing time with us on the trail. I have been truly fortunate to call so many inspirational, caring people friends. More than anything else this trip highlighted this fact and was a lesson in gratitude. Note, we met another solo woman camper at this campsite!

Day 8 started out bittersweet as we had to say goodbye to Kensey, Dave and Nathan after a short while on the trail together. This was our last true day on the trail together. I checked out mentally. It was too much having to part ways from Kensey and Dave. The monotony of the trail was getting to me. My daydreaming was frustrated by the lack of “doing” toward the goals I was envisioning. My life in the real world was calling, and calling loudly. We eventually ended our day ended at the Crystal Creek Campsite. We only missed Bluegrass by about an hour! This campsite is known to have the best view of the lake from the latrine, which we had heard multiple times from Bluegrass and it certainly lived up to the hype. The sunset was glorious, the air crisp and we stayed up late into the night, looking at the stars and swapping UFO stories.

The next day Matt and I left the trail. Tony did a ten-mile hike solo to the next trailhead. Matt and I ran into some acquaintances of mine from sled dog racing and I practiced a little veterinary medicine on a trail dog with a limp. The three of us spent the next day and a half dipping our toes back into the real world. Because of many of the trail heads are just off the major highway that runs from Duluth to Canada, we were able to continue to camp on the trail during this time. We spent our free time eating pizza, drinking beer and having amazing conversation. I covet the friendships where a conversation over beer effortlessly arcs toward topics ranging from politics to feminism to our canine companions. It is crucial to have friends that challenge what you think you know, push you out of your comfort zone and open your eyes to alternative ideas and thoughts. Expand your awareness of World and Self. Surround yourself with those people and they will help you grow.

In total, we covered about 120 miles of trail from North to South. We laughed, I cried, we dreamed. Important trail lessons were learned and in true over achiever fashion, we are already making plans for the future. I have no doubts that we will achieve a through hike sometime in the next few years. The fire is there. In coming back to the real world I feel rejuvenated. Feelings of stagnancy that were present prior to the trip have disappeared. My goals are clear in my mind and I again have the energy to pursue them. The trail has the power to heal.