July 10, 2024

Silver Creek Campsite to Two Harbors

4.2 miles

To the surprise of literally no one, the early start we had planned does not happen today. This is probably mostly because the idea of having to do all that mud again makes me so depressed. We have to repeat the same mile we did last night because the private land on which the portion of trail that runs north from Silver Creek to the road is no longer open to SHT hiker access, but the camp is, so hikers have to walk a mile in to the camp, walk back out, and then road walk around the trail closure. All morning I steel myself for having to go back through that mud. The idea doesn’t get any more appealing, but it must be done.

When we do finally start moving, it’s not as bad as it was last night. It still sucks, but at least it’s not a mud pit at the end of a long day. As I walk I think about some lessons I’ve learned on this hike about discomfort. It’s inevitable, discomfort. In one way or another, it’s going to happen. I can’t wish my way out of mud, slugs, or mosquitoes on this trail. So I try to think of how I’ve learned to manage these obstacles. For slugs: Bring everything inside the tent at night and have a plastic bag so your shoes don’t get the rest of the tent dirty. For mosquitoes: Treat everything with permethrin, use repellent on exposed skin, and accept that you will live in your head net. For mud?… I’m still working on it.

It’s not a long walk on the actual trail. When we get to the road we take a break to dry stuff out. Machine kindly let me take the nicer of the two tent sites last night, so his stuff is covered in mud and condensation and needs to sit in the sun. The sun, as it happens, is rather intense this morning, so it doesn’t take long.

The rest of the walking is road walk. Long road walk. First on a gravel road and then along Gun Club Road, which does indeed have a gun club on it. Road walks are profoundly boring to me so it doesn’t take long for me to break down and put music on. But they are also a lot faster than trail walking, so before long we’re at the road that leads to Two Harbors. We decide to try to hitch rather than walk or take the bus. Basically the moment we stick our thumbs out, a car pulls over. Um, okay? After all the other challenges of this hike, we definitely didn’t expect that. Hitchhiking is the easiest part of the SHT so far!

The driver turns out to be a local named Mitch. He’s retired, he says, and lives just up the road. He sees people every once in a while trying to hitch on this road, and he likes to give rides to and from town when he can. He drops us off and we thank him profusely. Town time! Before lunch!

We breathe a sigh of relief as we get sorted at the hotel and then go to lunch at McDonald’s. McD’s hits different on a thru hike. McDelicious. Hilariously, it’s right next door ro the Kwik Trip where we got locked out of Slapshot’s truck on the way up. Was that really the same journey? It feels like ages ago. After lunch I pass out while Machine does laundry (why is he so nice to me) and then we do our resupply, which is happily right across the street. Later we walk down to the main part of town and visit Castle Danger Brewery, where we share a flight of tasty beers. (I am the main driver of the beer quest, obviously, but Machine is a good sport about it and tries some of them anyway.)

After drinkies it’s dinner at Black Woods Grill, where I get Swedish meatballs that taste delicious but do weird things to my stomach the rest of the night. I’m determined to use the last hot tub but I don’t want to get my clothes wet and deal with drying them, so I just get in to the knees and sit so that a jet is right on my aching foot. It is excellent.

Just a few days left of this hike. I feel ambivalent about the end. Even with all the suffering, it’s sad to see the end of a hike. I will not miss the mud, bugs, slugs, or heat, but I will miss the entire experience of being a thru hiker, so I am savoring these parts while I can.