Hike 100 Challenge on the actual North Country Scenic Trail/Recon for 2021

During this pandemic, we made the choice to drive from Lakewood, CO to Michigan to see family and learn what the North Country Trail has in store for me next year. I was able to get my 100 miles in on the NCT by visiting portions of the trail in Michigan's lower and upper peninsulas as well as Minnesota and finished up in North Dakota. It was a whirlwind and semi-exhausting tour, but taught me a lot. Below are some of the lessons I learned from each adventure. Beware, this is a semi-long post. Enjoy!

Day 1: Rogue River State Game Area

We were headed from the in-laws house to my father's house, and I wanted to get in some miles on the trail. So, my husband and I agreed to him dropping me off on one side of the Game Area and picking me up on the other side. It was a wet day, and I was formulating a video to send in to the North Country Trail Association to be part of the Virtual Kick Off Celebration of the trail, which was to occur on Wednesday. The trail was well managed through the area. It was an interesting hike as I listened to the gunshots of people out shooting target practice as signs in the area warned. I made sure I had my orange covering my running vest to make myself hunter visible. The end of the 7+ miles was a trail not real well maintained, but still passable. Thank goodness for the blue blazes.

Day 2: Bowman Lake Area

This day, we had left my father's house and were headed to my mother's house, where we had a 5pm dinner date with my aunt. So, I needed to move somewhat quickly over the almost 9 mile distance, as we had not left my dad's house until about 1100. Again, my husband dropped me off on one end, and picked me up on the other. The trail in this section was well maintained and well marked with blue blazes. I enjoyed the time in the woods to reflect and actually create the video I eventually shared with the North Country Trail Association.

Day 3: Hodenpyl Dam with my mom

This was probably my most rewarding day on some level as I got to take my mom out for a hike along the trail that will challenge me next year. We talked about what it looks like to wander these woods with a backpack. Her role in my adventure next year was also discussed. I pointed out places to potentially camp, if they were NOT owned by Consumer Power. Some parts of the trail took extra vigilance to make sure we were on the trail, but overall it was an easy, pleasant walk in the woods with my mom.

Day 4: Sturgeon Bay to Mackinaw City

This was a long day on the trail with lots of ups and downs, not only physically, but also mentally. The first put consisted of rolling hills that promised views of Lake Michigan, but never delivered until road crossings. I encountered people bikepacking, who expressed concern over listening to someone telling them to take the trail vs an easier route. In the second half, it was mostly flat through the woods with many encounters of little stream/swamp/pond areas, where I encountered a lot of little toads. 

As I neared the end of this hike, I received a phone call from one of my best friends, who battles mental illness daily, and he was counting his psych pills to determine whether he had enough with which to kill himself before heading to the place he has requested I take his ashes upon his death. He had already hung up on another friend, who gave me the heads up that he was suicidal. The intermittent cellular signal was frustrating along with the increase in mosquitoes as the sun disappeared into Lake Michigan. As I tried to talk my friend down, I either lost signal or he hung up on me. Eventually, he called back from the Manistee Forest where in his attempt to hike to the spot where I am to spread his ashes, he fell trying to get over a downed tree and severely sprained his ankle. He was laying in the woods figuring nobody would find him. Luckily, his friend who gave me the heads up was working on getting 911 to him. She succeed in getting them connected via the phone, and he hung up with me to talk to them. He ended up being rescued by paramedics and taken to the hospital, where he texted me the next day to say he was waiting on his psychiatrist appointment to determine whether he would be admitted to the psych unit. I did not hear anything further from there. I was glad he was safe, and very thankful for his friend and his mom, who worked together to get description and photo of my friend and his car to the authorities who saved him. 

Our campsite this evening was a godsend, as it was near a small inland lake, where I was able to hear the loons that evening telling me everything would be alright for now. My husband had met me while I was on the phone managing my friend in crisis, and had taken over walking the dog along the trail, while I figured things out. Once at camp, he presented me with the subway sandwich he had gotten me and the chilled Faygo Rock-nRye soda I had bought when I was at my mom's. We had a beautiful fire, thanks to previous campers who had left wood, and enjoyed a solid night of rest.

Day 5: Big Two Hearted River to Muskallonge Lake

On this day, the funnest part was getting to the trailhead at the mouth of the Big Two Hearted River. Basically, we were taking our Subaru Forester through the dune two tracks in the area thanks to Google maps. We made it through to the trailhead, and it was an amazing hike along the shore of Lake Superior. There were wild blueberries often along the trail, and many opportunities to enjoy my favorite of the Great Lakes. It was a wonderful bluebird sky, that made me wish I had not forgotten my wider brim hat. Parts of the trail were beach sand, while other parts were forested. At one point, the trail disappeared off a bluff overlooking the shoreline, and I had to bushwhack through to the other side. It made me laugh. The hike did end a little earlier than Muskallonge lake simply because that is a State Park with fees and it was crazy busy according to my husband, who ran the opposite direction of my travel. I got to pick him up back at the mouth of the 2 hearted river, and then traverse to Munising area to find a campsite that night. We made sure to enjoy a tall Bell's Two-Hearted Ale that night in celebration.

Day 6: M64 to South Boundary Road - near the Porcupine Mountains

Oh what a day this was. I was planning on going to Presque Isle Campground in the Porcupine mountains. My husband and I had arranged this the night before, and he was supposed to find us a campsite in the campground, so we could drink our Presque Ale beer. Unfortunately, the park was very busy, and my husband realized he messed up the math, and I would have ended up doing 27 miles vs the 16 miles I was originally planning on doing. I was very thankful he figured that out and rescued me at a little over 12 miles. The trail, although very well blue blazed, underfoot was non-existent. It was a day of going from blue blaze to blue blaze, occasionally bushwhacking through waist high grasses and through swamps. If there wasn't so much humidity and the mosquitoes were not eating me alive, I would have felt like I was back in my youth, but alas that was NOT the case. When my husband showed up on the trail, I was relieved as I knew I was close to being done for the day. I was hot, sweaty, itchy, and exhausted. That night, I played my hotel card and was relieved to be able to wash off the ick. Of course, that all fooled me for the next day.

Day 7: Jay Cooke State Park to Magney-Snively Natural Area on the Superior Hiking Trail

Hike #2: Mesabi Trail from Hwy 164 into Buhl, MN

Over the night, a severe thunderstorm had passed through the area, and I thought that would have cooled things off. So, I was excited to get started for the day. When I walked out of the hotel, I was smacked in the face with the humidity that I long forgot about after being in Colorado for close to 19 years. The trail was beautifully maintained in the Jay Cooke State Park area and was a wonderful series of rolling hills. I enjoyed coming up behind a gentleman out on his own smoking marijuana. He reminded me of a war veteran, and I assumed he was based on the quality smell of his marijuana. Yes, I have become a connoisseur of marijuana smells over the years in Colorado, one of the first states to legalize it. Anyway, I digress. As I continued along the superior hiking trail, which only seemed part of the NCT because of the blue blazes used to mark the trail, the terrain got more rigorous and the temperatures got hotter with suffocating humidity. My husband met me multiple places along the day to see about having the dog join me. We both decided it was too hot for the dog. When my husband met me at the 12 mile mark, I decided it was his turn to come out in this crazy humidity so that I could cool my inner temperature in front of the car's air conditioning. So, he took the long climb up and over the Magney-Snively Natural Area. I enjoyed McDonald's and air conditioning with the potential of hiking out to meet up with him, but that didn't happen...NOT after McDonald's 

From there, we travelled on to the next section I wanted to checkout, which was the west side of Minnesota. We got there at a decent hour, set up camp in a $7/night small town campground/park, and my husband then took me about 3-4 miles down the road. The idea was to make up some miles since the past few days had been rather short due to one complication or another. This part of the North Country Trail, according to the trail maps on the NCTA's website, follows the Mesabi bike trail. So, I walked 3-4 miles along a paved bike trail to our campsite, which was right off the trail. It was a pretty walk as there were many lakes along the way. It was nice to know I was knocking off some easy miles to make the coming days better.

Day 8: Mesabi Trail; Buhl to Hibbing, MN

Another long day on the trail. I woke up early and got on the trail from the campsite. The dog joined me on this walk, and I attempted to do the whole thing in my Chaco sandals.  On the Appalachian Trail, there were people hiking in Chacos and Keens to save on having to carry/wear socks. So, I thought maybe I could do the same thing, especially since this was just a walk along a paved bike path. Unfortunately, it was also raining/thundering most of the day. This day, I deemed my Neverending Story day, as I passed what I called the Swamp of Sadness as I was looking for Morlah, the ancient one. I guess in this story I would have to call my dog, Artax (the horse, for those who are familiar with the movie); however, I did NOT let him or drag him through the swamp of sadness. I never found Morlah, but I was joined briefly by my husband, whom I was happy to see as the Chaco idea was NOT working out. By the time I reached the car at 12 miles, I had sliced into my right big toe, scraped off the top of my left pinky toe, acquired 2 big blisters in my arches, formed a blister on the inside of my left ankle where the strap rubbed, and acquired mini-abrasions on the top of my feet at any point the straps crossed. At the 12 mile mark, I had drawn blood, and was planning to switch to my flip flops for the last 4 miles of the day. My husband thought I was insane. It was a wonderful choice, especially since I was NOT carrying a heavy backpack. Next year, I will definitely be wearing my hiking shoes or maybe something with a little more cushion to manage the paved bike path. 

Day 9: Riverdale, ND to Lake Sakakawea State Park - Western Terminus of the NCT

Don't worry. This ends the NCT Pandemic recon mission...day 9. We camped near a small lake the night before this hike, and it was possibly the best sleep I had gotten. Temperatures had cooled down such that we needed to actually sleep IN our sleeping bags, and wear a sweatshirt to start out this portion. It was a beautiful blue sky day on which to finish my NCT Hike 100 Challenge. The trail in this section was a little challenging to find, as I followed the maps from the NCTA website versus finding any blue blazes. There really is only one way to get across the dam. So, that is the way I took. It was all road walking until I got to the state park. Once in Lake Sakakawea State Park, the trail was a nicely mowed path well marked at trail junctions with signs, but there were no other markers along the route. Somewhere in Minnesota I lost the blue blazes. I can't wait to find out next year where that happens. 

It was wonderful to be able to take this opportunity to venture onto the trail and see what I am looking at for next year. It has made me realize I do NOT need the rain jacket I use here in Colorado year round. Instead, I will carry a lightweight coat that will be water resistant during the summer months through o-HI-o, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The same is true of the weight of sleeping bag I will use through the summer months. I might simply use my silk liner, thus lightening my pack weight by a ton, thus reducing the heat I will more than likely produce, and overall making me a happier individual.

After this recon adventure, I am finding it even harder to stay focused at work. All I want to do is get out there on the trail. The high humidity day on the Superior Hiking Trail near Duluth had me thinking about coming back from this adventure, telling my job I quit, and starting the trail at that time and hiking it through the winter. Sure, I have minimal winter camping experience, but maybe I would be fine!? The one thing I realized that day was that there would be less humidity/heat issues as well as fewer bugs of all sorts. My husband squashed that idea right away with Logic. That's why I love and hate him. Every so often I just want him to feed in to my illogical state of minds. Of course, after 22 years of marriage and 25 years of knowing each other, he is fully aware of what would happen if he fed in to my illogical thoughts. For that I am grateful for his insight, love, and support. Here's to better planning for this full adventure net year! Don't worry, the posts will be a lot smaller next year as I will more than likely be exhausted and using my cellular phone to post updates. I can't wait to start. Only 200 +/- days left...NOT that I'm counting or anything. 😎

 

Pandemic Backpacking practice

 Around the beginning of the pandemic (possibly before), my sister convinced me to take time off the end of June with her and my nephews to do some camping, hiking, and possibly backpacking in the mountains of Colorado. My sister's middle son has expressed an interest in hiking the Colorado Trail maybe after he graduates High School next year, so I worked on a semi-easy route to show him the route and introduce him to a small part of the Colorado Trail. 

My plan was to do 10 mile days on the Colorado Trail from Twin Lakes to Monarch Pass/Fooses Creek. I figured it would be low enough to not have a problem with Snow, but still have some decent climbs to give my nephew an idea of what he would be getting in to. 

As the time approached, my sister started to bail out due to work, money, and safety concerns. She moved from backpacking to meeting up a little and doing some hiking, maybe camping. The pandemic anxiety that has hit many of us overtook my sister, thus removing her from the equation all together for the week I now had off from work. Well, I was not going to let it go to waste. I was going to test my backpacking gear on a daily basis as my husband supported me each night with campsites and food. 

So, we took off from home early Saturday morning to get to Twin Lakes Dam at a decent hour to make the 10 mile hike to Clear Creek reservoir. It was amazing how many people were camped along the edge of Twin Lakes not far from the Colorado/Continental Divide Trail there at the Dam. Social distancing was next to non-existent. For the first mile or so there were people camping, and it worried me that I would have this amount of population along the trail the whole time. Luckily, once the trail moved away from the lakes I saw fewer people.

 

The hike was pretty uneventful and I was feeling pretty good...no nausea/vomiting, and I was carrying my REI Flash UL 50 pack with my tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and some clothes as well as water. My husband's job was to find us a good shaded spot at Clear Creek Reservoir, where he would set up camp before he went to run. I could then come in to camp and be setup to wait and rest. Luckily, he found an amazing shaded spot despite the overpopulation of the free campground.

The next day, I woke up early and started out on my 18mile hike from Clear Creek reservoir to Silver Creek Trailhead near Buena Vista. In 2017, I started this section of the Colorado Trail and found myself puking up the first climb and bailing at the first valley, where I met a nice couple who drove me to Buena Vista to recover and lick my wounds. This time, I was feeling good despite the long tough climb. I had an apple and was carrying my running vest with everything I would need for the day. 

The trail was relatively empty, and I trekked along peacefully. On the second climb of the day, I started to remember how much I did NOT enjoy this section when I did the entire Colorado Trail in 2013. So, why was I out there doing it again? I finally made it to the top of the ridge and loved the views, but at that point it became my job to just get through the hike and meet up with my husband.

 

Along the route, I enjoyed remembering the fun times of the hike in 2013 and how it was done in a thunderstorm, which had made Liz and I nervous, but we kept going. The views from up high were beautiful, and I kept hoping I would somehow run into my husband. Unfortunately, I did not run into him. Jasper and I made the entire 18miles to the trailhead, and did not see my husband. So, we wandered to the start of the next section of the Colorado Trail, as that was the true trailhead where I agreed to meet my husband. He was not there either, so Jasper and I enjoyed the river and waited for my husband to arrive. A

After waiting for almost an hour, I decided to return to the other trailhead, where I ended up finding the car, but not my husband. I figured he had only made it up the trail a little way, but eventually my phone had enough signal to receive the text message from my husband, who had made it 4 miles up the trail looking for me. I told him to come back as I was at the trailhead. Once we were reunited, we made camp, had hotdogs and macaroni and cheese and headed to bed.

Upon waking the next morning, I decided I was done hiking sections of the Colorado Trail that I did not like when I hiked the whole trail in 2013, and I was going to rest for the day with the plan to start at Monarch Pass the following day and do the Collegiate West side of the loop. So, my husband went for a run while Jasper and I rested, checked out Cottonwood Pass, which I would be crossing in a couple of days, and waited for my husband to finish his run. 

Once my husband was done and had met up with us at the Avalanche Trailhead, we headed for Monarch Pass to find camping for the night. We attempted to take the road up to Boss Lake, but made it only a small distance before deciding we did not have the appropriate car for that route. From there, we moved to Old Monarch Pass Road, where we found an amazing campsite overlooking the highway leading up to Monarch Pass. Despite the sound of semi-trucks throughout the evening, we enjoyed the site and felt like we were mooning the traffic as we squatted in the woods.

 

Upon waking the next morning, I again decided I did not want to backpack and was worried about the amount of snow in the area. So, we headed to Buena Vista for breakfast, WiFi, and to make new plans. While eating breakfast, I mentioned to a friend that we were headed to the Flat Top Mountains, and she suggested the Devil's Causeway. We took her suggestion and headed for the Flat Tops and the Devil's causeway. We found a wonderful pay campsite next to a waterfall that was spring fed, and spent 2 nights. The mosquitoes were awful, but the sound of the water all night was very relaxing. 

When we were headed out of the Flat Tops, my husband decided to run from one side of the flat tops to the other, and I picked him up from there.

 

My husband had decided that since we were sooo close to Dinosaur National Monument, we might as well go so that I would stop bugging him to go. So, we headed for the Northwest part of the state, where we checked out the Utah side of Dinosaur National Monument and then camped on BLM land near the Colorado side.

The following morning, we packed up camp and headed out to checkout the Colorado side of Dinosaur National Monument. At this point, I was only doing little hikes here and there. With nobody getting in our way at Dinosaur, we made quick time looking at everything we could with the dog before heading to Steamboat Springs area.

In Steamboat area, we found dispersed camping up a pass that is part of the Run Rabbit Run 100 course. It was a beautiful site, but we woke up the next morning with a desire to move on to something new. So, we packed up and headed towards Grand Lake/Granby area. Along that route, we found a spot for my husband to run and me to hike on the Continental Divide Trail. What an amazing spot! My hike was cut short due to hail and thunder while on a ridge, but my husband was able to complete his entire run.

Upon completing his run and learning that he had seen a Mama Moose and her baby, I was determined to see a moose. So, we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park. With the COVID restrictions of needing a reservation time during thedaytime, we were forced to wait out the time limit at Grand Lake, where the dog was allowed to swima little. 

In Rocky Mountain, the first thing we encountered was a field of Moose! So, I felt fulfilled. We then took trail ridge road over to Estes Park and made our way home. It was nice to revisit my favorite park, but did makefor a long day in the car. We were both happy to be home after that day. Overall, the trip, despite bailing on the Backpacking gear testing was a success. We simply kept moving away from the populated areas to find dispersed camping away from all people. The best spot was the Colorado side of Dinosaur national Monument. I think we may return someday, but will not be able to bring the dog, so it may be a long while.

Memorial Day Adventures in Backpack training

 With my North Country Trail trip postponed until next year, I have the chance to test out gear, get in shape, and figure out things like food, pace, and rest. The first adventure in practicing/testing all of this was Memorial Day weekend.

My husband and I left from work on Friday after work and headed to Lost Creek Wilderness area with the hopes of having decent trails and minimal snow. We chose a lower route again hoping for good trails. A good portion of the Lost Creek Wilderness consists of open valleys divided by groves of trees. It is a beautiful area that few people are aware of in the Metro Denver area. 

Upon arrival to the trailhead, after getting Wendy's for dinner, we found a place to setup camp just up the connector trail a little. It was a perfect place for the night. We were close enough to return to the car in the morning to fully pack up and get started, but far enough from the trailhead to not be bothered by people passing on the road.

The next morning, we got up, packed up our packs, and headed out on the Colorado Trail Segment 4 to do a lollipop loop of the Lost Creek Wilderness. The first day was planned to be on the Colorado Trail from Long Gulch Trailhead to the connection with the Brookside McCurdy Trail. Along the way, we decided to take a detour at Payne Creek trail as the trails appeared pretty dry and clear. This would lead us to do the Brookside McCurdy Payne loop instead of going past The Castle. We found a great spot to setup camp next to a stream, and got in at such a time to be able to relax, which was much needed as I had vomited at one point during the day and was having trouble wanting to put more food into my body. 

I'm not real sure what caused the vomit episode. I was trying to make sure I took plenty of breaks as I often power through things and then deal with the repercussions later. That has not helped in the past as I just perpetuate the problem. So, I had stopped to rest while my husband chatted with some runners he knew doing the Brookside McCurdy loop on a long run. Upon returning to our trek, I coughed a little, and then threw up. From there, my stomach was unsettled the rest of the day, and I was afraid of putting in more food. About 4 miles from the end of our day, I finally pooped, which I had been needing to do since the beginning but had trouble with because we kept leap frogging another duo in the woods with their dog. This helped my stomach a little and by the time I reached camp for the night, I was able to eat...after some rest.

After wonderful sleep for the first real night out on the trail, we got up, had breakfast, and headed out for our new route. Day 2 brought us across a section of the Payne Trail that my husband and I had hiked previously. It was nice to have the familiarity.

 

This day, I woke up feeling good, and had hardboiled eggs and some cheese for breakfast. These did not stay down long, and I found myself vomiting more than the day before. It was a really weird phenomenon as I felt fine otherwise, but just ended up puking everything I had in my system. Once I got it all out, then I was mostly alright except for the lack of energy as the day wore on. At one point, I discussed camping at the Payne Creek Trailhead and having my husband run to get the car in the morning to come get me. He talked me in to continuing. I was able to get a little bit of food into my system and keep it down, so I agreed to keep going. At this point, the thunderstorm rolled in.

We moved along the trail slowly, making many stops to rest. With our slow pace, my husband finally took some of the weight from my pack. That helped for a little while, until it didn't. He then took my pack for awhile and I took the dog. My husband had the task of finding us a camping spot and setting up camp as it was beginning to snow. We made it to a trail junction and I took my pack back, as I was warmer with it. This of course slowed me down along with the increasing nausea as we climbed to 11,000+ feet. At the top of the pass, the wind whipped up from the valley and nearly froze me. We found the first flat spot with a tree covering it and minimal snow, and set up camp. My husband moved quickly as I was shivering too much. I should have stopped to put on my warm layer, but just wanted to find camp. Lesson learned there. 

As soon as the tent was up, I was inside with my pack digging for warm, dry clothes, and getting in my sleeping bag. Thank you Wilderness First Responder course from March 2020. I was still having trouble warming up, and once my husband got himself settled, he draped himself over me to help warm me up. It was not long and I was finally not shivering and had warmed up enough to think clearly. At that point, I was very tired, but semi-hungry. My husband cooked us dinner after making hot chocolate (my favorite calories on ANY backpack trip) and I was able to put some calories in. 

In the morning, we woke to this beautiful winter scene     We got up, packed our packs for our final hike of the weekend...back to the car! I was actually feeling better despite having had a major episode of vomiting in the tent, where I brought up the acidic yellow contents of my stomach. I was still nervous about eating, but at least I was feeling good enough to get moving. 

The day was magical in the beginning with all the snow cover, although it was challenging finding the trail at times. Then it started warming up, and things got sloppy. It had not snowed enough to really cover the trail, but made it sloppy enough to be careful as we hiked along. After a rough night with our first winter camping experience, learning on the trail, we put on our packs and hiked with purpose to get back to the car. The trek to the car seemed longer than the whole weekend put together. We started to wonder if we somehow missed a turn. Once back at the car, it was nice to remove the muddy/wet shoes and put on flip flops. We had survived, and we were thankful for the experience.