Back at Home

Well, I've been back from my Superior Hiking Trail adventure for over a week now, and I'm starting to settle back into my life & work routine.  While I was posting from the trail, I shared some pictures from my camera phone... not exactly the highest quality.  Check out the slideshow from my dad's picures below.  Not only was he a good support crew and substitute hiker, he was the team photographer as well!

I've taken it pretty easy for the past week (aside from getting my butt kicked at my new job which requires a bit more manual labor than I'm accustomed to!), but now it's time to dust off the running shoes and get back on the trail.  The Stone Steps 50k is only 5 months away, so I need to get into gear.  Look for some occasional posts as my training progresses.

Thanks again to everyone for following along on the journey and for your words of encouragement!

Matt

End of the Line

The end of our journey on the Superior Hiking Trail

This morning we awoke to a cold, but clear day.  Dad and I would be splitting the remaining 29 miles of the SHT.  I had finished yesterday's 24 mile hike just a few feet from our campground at Judge Magney State Park, so after eating breakfast, dad hiked out of camp for his 15 mile hike.  You can see his entry for today below.

After dad left, I broke down the tents, packed up the car and drove to a trailhead that would mark the end of dad's 15 mile hike and the beginning of my final 14 mile leg to the northern end of the SHT.  While my feet and knees were still sore from the 24 miles the day before, with a shorter hike and the end of the trail beckoning, I set off in high spirits.

Based on the guidebook's description, I didn't think this last leg of the journey would be very scenic.  Fortunately, I was wrong.  After a few miles, the trail led me on a brutal climb up to a ridge named Hellacious Overlook.  I'm sure the name comes from the lung-busting climb to the top (and the knee-wrecking descent back down), but the view was incredibly rewarding.  I was greeted by the sight of a beaver pond dotted valley, the Sawtooth Mountains and Lake Superior.  Off in the distance, I could see Isle Royale, the country's most remote National Park, set in the waters of the lake.  This would be my last clear view of the lake on the trail, so I stopped to savor it.

The View from Hellacious Overlook

After descending from the ridge and hiking a few more miles, I arrived at Swamp River Pond and the surrounding cedar swamp.  While I was afraid I'd be slogging through the wet ground, I was amazed to see nearly a quarter mile of boardwalks which had been constructed to allow the hiker to enjoy the sights and sounds of the area.  From rocky, pine studded ridgelines, to cool maple forests, to bog areas exploding with wildflowers, butterflies and bird song, the SHT is home to an amazing diversity of wild habitats.  It's hard to get bored on the SHT when the scenery changes so dramatically every few miles.

Wildflowers in bloom on Swamp River Pond, with the sky reflecting off the water

After passing these highlights, I moved onto the final, relatively flat and uneventful few miles of the trail.  At this point, I was really struggling to move forward after all the miles yesterday and today.  While on the one hand it would have been nice to have easily cruised to the finish, in a sense it felt really good to hobble to the end, because I knew I had given this trail everything I had.

When I arrived at the parking lot at the end of the trail, dad wasn't there yet, and I realized that I had left earlier than I should have/hiked faster than I thought I would and would be waiting for him for a while.  While I wasn't exactly expecting a brass band and champagne toast at the end of the trail, it was an odd experience to complete such a major challenge and find myself completely alone.  This was quite a contrast to the finish line of the Flying Pig Marathon!

This solitude did, however, give me some time to process the experience.  While I think it will take a while to fully understand what I've learned on this trip, I will share one lesson.  I did this trip for a lot of reasons, one of which was to gain a renewed sense of confidence.  I thought that after I finished this challenge, when I encountered a challenge at work or life in general, I would be able to look at the problem and say to myself, "I hiked 235 miles in 10 days, this will be a piece of cake."  And while I certainly did have to dig deep on this journey and overcome a lot of obstacles on my own, when I reached the half way point on the trail I came to a place where I simply could not meet my goal of hiking the trail on my own in 10 days.  I had two choices here: give up on my goal of hiking the SHT, or adjust my goal and ask my dad to tag team the remainder of the trail with me.  After coming to the end of my journey, I'm so glad that I chose the latter!  I hope that when I encounter a seemingly impossible challenge in the future, I remember this lesson, seek a creative solution, and ask my wife, my family, my friends or my co-works for help.

OK, we've just pulled up to a motel somewhere in Wisconsin, so I'm signing off for now.  Look for more posts over the next few days with a slideshow from the trip, more reflections, and Matt's Expert Hiking Tips (aka Dumb Mistakes I Made that Hopefully you can Learn From).

Matt

Blessings
Matt and I finished the hike this afternoon and we're enjoying a last bit of scenery as we drive down the North Shore.  This trip has given me an opportunity to reflect on the many blessings I have received.

It's a blessing to live in a country that has such abundant resources.  We are lucky to have had leaders with the foresight to set aside some of the most beautiful areas for our enjoyment.

It's a blessing to be healthy and fit enough to enjoy an experience like the SHT.  There's nothing like walking a couple miles into the backcountry to experience peace and solitude.

It's been a blessing to share this experience with  my son, Matt.  He has been the most congenial of traveling and hiking companions.  I've shared a million laughs with Matt and his friends Ted Tofte and Bill Lutsen.

Finally, it's a blessing to be heading home to the rest of my family.  I love them and I've missed them a lot!

Dave

A Day at the Beach (literally, not figuratively)

After a good night's sleep and a delicious continental breakfast at the Best Western in Grand Marais, I hit the trail for what would be my longest hike yet.  While we had planned on finishing the trail on Thursday (day 12), I realized that if I put in 24 miles today, we'd only have 29 miles to go, which my dad and I could split in half on Wednesday to wrap this baby up.  I didn't really know if I had nearly a full marathon in me at this stage in the game, but I figured it was worth a shot.
 

The first 3 miles of trail were about as easy a warm up as I could have hoped for: dry, flat, and a soft, smooth trail surface.  Much to my surprise, my right heel was not giving me any problems for the first time in several days.  Feeling good, I started ticking off the miles at a pretty quick pace.

After about 4 miles, the trail steeply descended to a bridge over the Devil Track River, followed by an equally steep and rugged climb back to the top.  The trail followed an impressive gorge through which the Devil Track flowed.  As little as a hundred feet across in certain parts, the river was at least 300 feet below... it was like a mini grand canyon!  After the Devil Track, I was greeted by more ridge top views of the distant Lake Superior.

Yet another gorgeous view of Lake Superior

While the terrain had grown more difficult, I was still feeling good so I kept my pace up, and after 17 miles I met dad at a road crossing a little before 1:00pm.  I had arrived at a segment of the trail that I had been looking forward to for quite some time:  the Lake Walk.

Every long distance trail has its own unique defining characteristics: the rugged Green Mountains of Vermont's Long Trail; the sights of Yosemite and Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the continental US, for the John Muir Trail; and of course the storied Appalachian Mountains for the Appalachian Trail.  For the SHT, that defining characteristic is of course Lake Superior.  A thru-hiker catches his or her first glimpse of the lake within the first few miles, and the lake is a constant, though distant companion of the hiker throughout the trail.  Although we've been close to the lake at several of our State Park campsites, the SHT does not actually hit the lake until the Lake Walk, near the 200 mile mark.

 

Here, the trail ceases to become a hike through the Sawtooth Mountains, and for a mile and a half follows a sand\pebble beach along the lake shore.  I had truly been looking forward to this moment, although at the same time dreading it because I knew it would be tough walking.

Fortunately, the weather cooperated with me for once.  The day had started off with glimpses of sunshine, and I was really hoping for a warm, sunny walk along the lake.  About a mile before I got to the Lake Walk, however, some clouds had rolled in and it started raining (although this actually felt somewhat refreshing due to the quick pace I was keeping).  Thankfully, just before I stepped out onto the beach, the wave of clouds passed over and the sun revealed itself!

View from the Superior Hiking Trail lake walk section

I felt like I was on an entirely different hike.  I had gone from forests, ridge lines and rainy bogs to a beach with the sun glistening off crystal clear waters.  Although it was really tough going through the sand (my quads were on fire!!!), I had a real sense of fulfillment hitting the 200 mile mark of the trail and finally reaching this lake which for so long had been only a distant view.  I was truly glad to be here in this moment, and happy that I had stuck it out in spite of the challenges.

After leaving the lake behind, I hiked the final 5 miles into Judge Magney State Park, where we are camping tonight.  While it seems hard to believe, we have only one day of hiking left!  There are 29 miles between us and the end of the trail.  Tomorrow morning, dad will hit the trail from here, while I break camp and then drive the car to a parking lot 14 miles from the end of the SHT.  I'll start hiking the final leg, and when dad gets to the car he'll drive to the end of the trail to pick me up.

I'm definitely feeling the 24 miles from today, but I am super motivated for tomorrow's hike knowing that it will bring me to the end of this journey.  It has been an incredible experience so far, and this trail has revealed more and more to me the further I have gone, so I'll anxiously await to see what's in store tomorrow! 

Matt

Grand Marais

Dad was back on the trail today, and I had the day off.  After breaking down camp and dropping dad off at the Cascade River, where I left off yesterday, I headed into the town of Grand Marais.  We're taking a break from camping and staying at the Best Western... wow what a difference a roof, beds and a hot shower makes!

Since dad was on the trail today, his report is below.  I'm back on the trail for what will hopefully be 24 miles tomorrow, I'll keep you posted!

Matt

I walked 17 miles today on a foggy, overcast day.  The Cascade River was another river booming through a narrow gorge and was very spectacular.  Unfortunately, the view of Eagle Mountain, the highest peak in Minnesota, was obscured by the fog.  Actually, the day's highlight was a stroll through a stand of red pine.  After dealing with various obstacles on the trail surface, like rocks, roots and large puddles, it felt great to glide effortlessly over the soft pine needles.

Yes, after a couple days on the trail I was more interested in my aching knees, ankles and feet that the scenery!  Matt was right about walking every other day.  Today would have been pretty dicey if I hadn't taken yesterday off.  All in all, a good hike, though.  You kind of get in a trance after the first five miles!

This may explain Matt's odd behavior recently.  Perhaps he was inspired by the reference to his dialectic North Shore commentary in my last blog entry, or maybe he's suffering from some kind of "trail hypoxia."  At any rate, he has adopted the persona of Ted Tofte, union taconite worker and "Mr. Snowmobile 1999."  For the past two days, I have been surrounded by a cast of characters like Bill Lutsen, Ted's best friend and "Mr. Snowmobile 1998," Judge Magney, and Mike Marais, president of the Taconite Ball Rollers Local 39.

 

Bill Lutsen's cousin, Bo, has a hunting cabin up at Caribou Lake.  I'm tempted to go up there and grab a rifle before Ted, I mean Matt, drives me crazy!

 

Dave

Back on the Trail

The Temperance River entering Lake Superior, just 50 yards from our campsite!

Yesterday was a nice break from the trail.  I got to take in some of the sights of Temperance River State Park (where we've been staying the last 3 nights), try my hand at the support role for dad, and do some badly needed laundry.  Most importantly, though, I was able get off my feet for a day!

This morning it was back on the trail.  We woke up early to a thunderstorm, and while I considered waiting it out in the tent to see if it would pass, I had no idea when (or if) it would stop raining, and the plan was to hike 23 miles today so I figured I better get an early start.  As we drove to the trailhead in the rain, I allowed myself to very briefly think about how if I had actually quit two days ago, I'd be lying in my warm, dry bed right now.  Fortunately, my mind quickly turned to the questioning\regret that I'd be feeling right now if I had gone home, so when I started my hike in the rain this morning, I could honestly say I was glad I was there.

It rained pretty hard for about the first two hours of my hike, and then abruptly stopped.  While it would remain overcast and windy, fortunately it would not rain for the remainder of my hike.  The first half of my hike was quite scenic.  I spent part of it walking along the Poplar River, and then later climbed to a view with a dramatic view of the river and the surrounding Sawtooth Mountains.

View if the Poplar River

After 13 miles, I met dad at a road crossing where, to my pleasant surprise, he was waiting with a hot meal of ham & eggs, hashbrowns, toast and coffee.  I had been hungry and snacking like crazy all morning, so this really hit the spot.

After the meal, I set out on my final 10 mile leg of the day.  There wouldn't be a single road crossing on this stretch, so I knew that once I started I had no choice but to see it through.  While the rest day had helped some, my right heel was still hurting with every step, although the pain was much more manageable.  I pushed on past more scenic ridges and a view of another inland lake.  When I was about 4 miles from the Cascade River, my ending point for the day, I really hit a wall.  Both my feet were hurting and my legs felt as though they weighed 100 pounds each.  While my first instinct when this happens is to slow my pace to a crawl, I've found that this really doesn't help much, and it can sure draw out the day.  So today, I decided to respond by picking up the pace.  As I gained momentum, I encountered a flat section of trail and decided to give running a shot.  Surprisingly, my feet and knees actually seemed to feel better jogging than they did walking.  I guess this makes some sense because most of my training for this trip consisted of running, much of it on trails.  For the final 4 miles, I did about a 50-50 mix of running the flat or gentle downhill sections, and walking the uphill or steep downhill sections.  By 3:30 in the afternoon, I had arrived at Cascade River, and 23 more... miles of the SHT were behind me my longest day yet!

Well, a delicious meal of freeze dried spaghetti and a "semi-cold" PBR awaits, so I must sign off.  Dad is back on the trail tomorrow, and we'll be breaking camp and heading to the Best Western in Grand Marais for a night of luxury living.

See you down the trail,

Matt

You Hike it, You Write it!

I've gotten a few requests for a guest blog entry from dad.  Dad knocked out 18 miles of the SHT for me while I lay around in my tent all day resting, so we both thought this would be the perfect opportunity for him to tell his side of the story.

Enjoy!

Matt

Dad setting out on the SHT!

First of all, it is a real honor to be offered a hiking slot on Team Flege.  Matt has turned away a lot of applicants so I jumped at the chance.  Of course I wanted to impress everyone, so I hiked 18 miles today.  Now I'm sitting in the camp chair in a semi-comatose state, sipping the rum punch that Matt so thoughtfully served.

I had a nice hike today.  Matt advised me that I didn't need to take a lot of spur trails because there's always a lot of great scenery right on the trail.  He was right.  I saw three rivers, Lake Superior vistas, waterfalls, beaver ponds, and a wildflower riot.  The Temperance River was very spectacular, and the trail took me right to the edge of the foaming gorges and waterfalls.  All in all, it was a great hike even if I was dragging by the end.

Temperance River

Now a serious word about humor.  Matt has always been cheerful, even through three days of rain.  The irony, awful puns, and Minnesota cultural commentary delivered in a Sarah Palin\faux-Scandinavian accent has kept me laughing even when I wanted to curl up in my soggy tent.

Yeah, there's no one I'd rather do a hiking challenge with than Matt.  It's been a real bonding experience.  But I could have done without the "wet hiking socks" air freshener on the dashboard of the car!

Dave

The Way

Is that the SUN glistening on the water???

Despite last night's humorous post, yesterday's 21 mile slog through the pouring rain really took it out of me.  When I woke up this morning, I felt horrible, both mentally and physically.  My right Achilles heel had hurt with literally every step for the past two days, and sure enough my first step out of the tent sent a shooting pain through my leg.  My shoes were still soaking wet from the day before, and even though today was supposed to be sunny, according to the 10 day forecast this might be our last day on the trip without any rain.  The thought of putting myself through another 135 miles of this seemed impossible.

I called Heidi and told her how low I was feeling and that I didn't know if I wanted to keep going.  She's given me this advice before, and gave it to me again: don't quit on a bad day.  While I thought that this was a bit of a setup because I probably wouldn't have a single "good day" for the rest of my trip, I thought what the heck, I'll go out and walk a few more miles, try to enjoy the nice weather and then end it on a high note.

 

After dad dropped me off back at the trail, about 10 painful steps in, I decided to quit.  My body wasn't going to get any better, the weather wasn't going to improve, and I just wasn't going to get anything out of this.  As I had every morning for the last four days, I felt like I had just run a marathon, but instead of two weeks of rest I was staring down another 20 mile day, then another, then another.

 

Content with this decision, and happy to be at the end of the journey, I decided I would finish my day, hit 120 miles and pass the half-way point.  I started writing my final blog post in my head (I do that most days, something to think about during 9 hours on the trail!).  It would be about how I gave it my best shot, how I would have trained differently, how we learn more from our failures than our successes, how I had walked 120 miles in 6 days and that was still a big accomplishment, etc. etc.

I called Heidi from a ridge on the trail to tell her about my decision, and as always, she told me exactly what I needed to hear.  She said that I had done an amazing job, that I was hurt and the weather was bad so that was totally understandable to stop, and that she was still proud of me.  While she meant all of this very genuinely, it had an unsettling effect on me.  I wasn't "hurt," I just had a sore heel.  Yeah, the weather was bad, but what did I expect coming here in May?  What did she mean she was still proud of me?  Did she even think I could have done this in the first place?  (Sidebar: Women are clever.  If she had said "you can do it, keep toughing it out" that would not have gone over very well!)

 

A bit disconcerted, I continued down the trail.  The shooting pain with each step helped reassure me that I had made the right choice.  About 10 miles in, I arrived at a bridge over the Caribou River.  Like most of the creeks I had passed over (or waded through) today, the Caribou was absolutely booming from the last three days of rain.  I sat down on a rock just above the river, and took in the sights and sounds.

The Caribou River booming toward Lake Superior

This was just the type of moment I had come here to experience, right?  Mother Nature was showing the awesome force of the storm she had produced yesterday.  But I had survived that storm.  I had walked through that storm.  I had put down 21 miles in that storm!  And now on a sunny day I was going to quit?

I got back on the trail seriously questioning my decision to quit, but each step forward reminded me of the problems I was facing.  Jeff Alt described his Appalachian Trail thru-hike as a 2100 mile exercise in problem solving, so I decided that I would try to break down the problems and see if I could find a solution.  As far as I could tell, there were three big issues with the 6 or so remaining days of hiking I was facing:

1.  Strain on the Body:  I thought that training for the Flying Pig Marathon would put me in good shape for this hike.  I was wrong.  I wasn't prepared for the daily, repeated strain on my body.  My physical problems were getting worse, not better, and I needed rest.

2.  Moisture:  If I walked all day in the rain, the next morning my shoes and socks would be soaked, even if it was nice that day.  This was causing blisters and all around unpleasantness.  I needed to take a break between hiking days so I could dry out.

3.  Mentality:  The thought of 6 more wet, sore, 20 mile days was frankly overwhelming.  At the same time, the thought of bagging the trip now and not achieving my goal was disappointing.

So, what were possible solutions to address all three problems?  I could quit, which would certainly address problems 1 and 2, but not problem 3.  I could take a couple of days off and then get back on the trail, but I was back at problem 3 again.  I knew that if I took a "rest" day and sat in my tent, not making any forward progress, by 10:00am I would either be back on the trail running myself into the ground, or packed up and driving home to Cincinnati.

Then I thought of a third way.  While I had done all the actual walking, this hike had certainly been a collaborative experience so far between me and my dad.  In addition to playing the support role, he had been joining me on some stretches of the hike, and had also been taking some scenic loops on highlights of the trail.  With today's break in the weather, in fact he was taking a nearly 10 mile round trip hike up Mt. Trudee, and so far his knee had not given him any issues.  So, what if we tag teamed the trail?  With 6 days and 110 miles to go after today, he could do a 15ish mile day while I rested, I could do 22 the next day while he rested, and so on and so forth.  This would give my body some time to heal, my shoes and socks a day to dry out between hikes, and psychologically I'd get a boost knowing that when I was feeling it on a rough hike, I had a day of rest ahead of me.

When I met my dad at a road crossing around mile 15 of the day, I pitched the idea, and he was on board!  Whether he knew it or not, I felt that he had as much to do with the fact that I had made it this far (whether from the support he had provided me on this trip or in making me the man I am today) as I did, so I was glad that he could have this extra stake in the game.  And while I personally wouldn't be going all 235 miles, Team Flege would, and I think that's pretty cool. 

Despite the pain, with a new game plan in place, I finished the last 5 miles of what was actually a scenic and enjoyable hike.  Tomorrow, I'll drop dad off for a 13 mile hike, attend to the laundry, and then make dinner as he writes a guest blog entry (I've had a couple requests for that so here ya go!).  A little different plan, but we're still moving forward.

Icing down after 120 Miles

Matt

PS:  since I didn't have a song recommendation for you today, I have a movie recommendation.  "The Way" is about a young man (played by Emilio Esteves) who is hiking the Camino del Santiago, a 500ish mile pilgrimage in northern Spain, but dies in a tragic accident.  His father (played by Martin Sheen of course) travels to Spain to collect his ashes, but ends up continuing the pilgrimage.  I thought of this movie because I wish I had died on day one like Emilio and then I wouldn't have to walk anymore.  Ok seriously, I thought about it because I realize how fortunate I am to share this experience with my dad.