July 1, 2024 Johnvick Creek to Springdale Creek 18 miles As has become usual, we are slower getting ready than we planned to. I don’t know how I expected anything less, knowing how I am as a person. But when we do get moving, the trail is really lovely for a while. There’s slop, of …
June 30, 2024 South Bally Creek Pond to Johnvick Creek 16 miles The morning is slow as we pack up and chat with Slapshot and Feather Blue. They’ve decided to go hike Eagle Mountain, the highest point in Minnesota, before heading south, since they have to get back to the Twin Cities tonight. We walk …
June 29, 2024 Grand Marais to South Bally Creek Pond 6.2 miles When I say this hotel is nice, I’m talking huge cozy common room nice, six varieties of coffee nice, hot breakfast labeled in aesthetically pleasing font nice. I’m talking, an hour of quiet early morning to myself to eat my Chobani yogurt and …
Oh, zero day. How I love thee. Today consisted of a nice blend of chores and enjoyment. We had a luxurious breakfast at the Blue Water Café before moving our stuff over to the other hotel for the night, laundry, resupply, catching up on journaling and social media, and finally some shopping. This town has …
June 27, 2024 Cliff Creek Campsite to Grand Marais via the North Shore State Trail 10.8 miles It was cold last night, I didn’t sleep well, and I was slow to wake up today, even though I knew I was going into town. “Hello in there!” Machine called tentatively just as I became conscious. “What …
June 26, 2024 Judge C. R. Magney State Park to Cliff Creek 13.4 miles I woke up to the sound of raindrops again. I had to poke my head out of my tent to roll down my vestibule (which Machine calls a “vegetable”) and decided that if I had to be awake, I may as …
June 25, 2024 Caribou Pond to campsite at Judge C. R. Magney State Park 17.0 miles It thunderstormed last night out of nowhere. One minute I was falling asleep and the next, it was pouring rain and thundering so loud it seemed like it was right next to us. I rearranged the inside of my …
June 24, 2024 Northern Terminus to Caribou Pond 11.3 miles I didn’t sleep well because I never sleep well the first night of a backpacking trip, but on the bright side, the moon was absolutely gorgeous last night, huge and round and low in the sky reflecting on the water. This morning was cold and …
Continue reading Superior Hiking Trail Day 1: Otterly Out Here
Man, it feels good to be on a long trail again. And to be writing about it again. Opening the WordPress app for the first time since last summer gave me crazy amounts of dopamine and adrenaline. Like the years of masquerading as a real adult in between thru-hikes can be shed for the summer …
August 6-7, 2023 August 6: ~3 miles hiked I wake up without an alarm around 7:45. It’s smoky today all of a sudden. I’m extremely grateful all over again for the great weather we’ve had this whole trip. Apart from Trauma Night, as we’ve been calling the cold wet talus experience, it has been very …
Sarahmarie Specht-Bird 