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