Backpacking is not measured by the number of miles hiked or nights spent on the trail. I'd rather evaluate my experiences by the number of rivers waded, the quantity of breathtaking views absorbed, and stories shared with new hikers I meet along the way.
My latest adventure took me to a segment of future North Country Trail that parallels the Canadian Border in extreme northeast Minnesota. The Border Route Trail is 65 miles long and the greater part of it is in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Unfortunately for us, there were fires in the vicinity of the trail. There were also some other challenges, like a seven mile bushwhack around downed trees and a massive beaver dam. Having my friend, Chet, who is a new backpacker tagging along, we adjusted. I'm glad we did, as the Border Route Trail was closed a couple days afterwards due to the expanding fire.
BACKPACKING
Since I still have many miles of trail to choose from, we decided to hike from the northern terminus of the Superior Hiking Trail and backpack 50 miles to the south to Grand Marais.
This is the first time I've ever backpacked where I did not cook my meals. The idea was to save weight on the fuel and stove. Well, he talked me into bringing the stove so he could have his morning coffee. However, he carried the fuel, not I.
This was a big mistake, as I really longed for my macaroni and cheese. And my hot chocolate. Ramen noodles...beans.
I completely lost my appetite for about three days. Not a good thing when your body is probably demanding five thousand or more calories a day. On top of that, it was brutally hot, in the upper 90s.
TRAIL ANGELS
Three days in, and I cannot eat. I'm tormented by heat exhaustion.
We've been drinking from mosquito infested, beaver contaminated, (use your imagination) stagnant pools of water. Tossing your cookies on the trail moving one mile an hour during a day where you need to hike 13...not my idea of a good time.
We finally found a real river, cooled myself off, loaded up on water, and lumbered towards a modern Minnesota State Park campground.
Finding ourselves on a well-used path in the state park, we see a couple walking towards us. We realize these are the first humans we've seen in over three days. The second set of humans witness our miserable quandary and offer us a diet soda. Upon finding that the campground was full, we were grumbling in the dark as we passed their campsite.
"Would you like to stay with us?"
Known as "trail angels", this couple hosted our wretched selves for the evening. Chet has never experienced a trail angel, where I usually do on nearly every trip. I think they feel sorry for us, as they cook us hamburgers, popcorn, and the food that recharges my soul—you guessed it—macaroni and cheese.
SLACKPACKING
We continued onto Grand Marais, with cooperative weather, and ended with a great view of Lake Superior. I swap my friend Chet for another friend, Shawn. I destroyed Shawn backpacking in the Pictured Rocks about 10 years ago and he still has nightmares of the mosquitoes, blisters, and miserable weather.
Instead of backpacking, we day hike the trail by spotting our cars and the beginning and end of the trail.
By completing the 285-mile Superior Hiking Trail over a three year period, I've reached another milestone. Doing the math, I have hiked over 1,500 miles on the North Country Trail. Yes, this sounds like a lot, but I have 3,000 miles to go. Being 1/3 of the way there, I'll take this measurement to inspire myself and others to keep on hiking.
