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Time to switch to the next map!
Woke up a few times in the night with a really sore shins. The outer muscle of my lower legs really hurts and had to stretch a lot in the middle of the night. We hope to make it to North Bally tonight I think thats 17 miles and over devils track. I took two ibuprofen before getting out of bed really hurting today. We are a few miles behind schedule and hope to be able to make that up soon.
I hope we don’t sound like we’re complaining too much but the first few days of thru hike are pretty brutal no matter how much training you do, no matter how much you break in your shoes, and things will happen. We’re doing good and just trying to work all that out.
The climb up Devils track then back down devils track then up pincushion mountain then down pincushion Mountain then up the hill out of Grand Marais did my knees in. Luckily what followed was about 3 miles flat grass and mud for the remaining 8 miles to our campsite.
We met our new best friend Uncle Tim at the pincushion parking lot and he joined us for the hike into camp. We would learn that this was his very first backpacking trip and he was thrilled to have the company.
Shortly after the hellacious hill up and out of Grand Marais we all took a break on a bridge and caught our breath. Just as we were about to leave, my friend John showed up! He is our first food resupply and decided to hike towards us until he intercepted us. It was so great to see him and the four of us hiked all the way back into camp. He’s the one who first convinced me I could thru hike this trail a year ago and is also a skydiver! Bear calls him skydiver dude.
We spent a little time together with John after he ran to the parking lot to get our food. We sent him home with a bag of stuff we didn’t want. SUPER NICE of him to help us out. We are so grateful. He’s our trail angel of the day!!! He even brought us more stuff to fix our feet! Seriously cool of him to do that for us.
Later Fred and Dan joined us. I finally used my hammock and we did some much needed laundry with Bears fancy waterproof bag.
Dan is from St Louis and planning on doing 20+ miles a day. Fred is a sailor and cracked us up around the campfire with his stories. Tim was soaking in every bit of knowledge he could and made all of our backpacking dreams come true when he whipped out a giant block of cheddar cheese. He was our favorite person and we all decided we loved him. Cheese! We called him cheese man for the rest of the night.
Happy Trails! Red Squirrel & Bear
Trail Log:
I am so proud of you. This trip will definitely imprint a lot of memories in your big ole heart.
Thank you!!!
Impressive job, ladies. I want to remind you, that a schedule is just a plan -often made from the comfort of home. Don’t place too much emphasis on it, especially in the early days. Listen to your body, don’t put blisters on blisters this early in the adventure. Be kind to your body and respect it’s messages… you can always make up miles after you’ve ‘found your hiking legs.’ Your goal is to successfully complete the thru-hike, don’t jeopardize it by over-reaching the first week. Sorry, no more lectures. Have fun. Enjoy the Cascade River gorge and Lake Agnes!
Thanks for the reminder and encouragement Mike!!
I agree with Mike 😇 Slow and steady wins the thruhike.
I’m curious as to what shoes/boots/socks you are wearing ?
Even in rhe heat of the summer months, I wear boots and change socks often. We did Split Rock Loop at almost 90° and boots were a blessing.
If you gals need anything (socks/boots/goodies etc) let me know.
Thanks Roberta!! Will do!
I am a boot guy when hiking rocky terrain, and light, liner cocks work wonders cutting friction/blisters.
Ditto above. You look great! Enjoy.
Thanks!!!
It doesn’t sound like complaining at all. So often people just show the pretty side of things. I love knowing what I’d really be in for if I ever attempted something like this. Have you massaged your shins? 🙁
Awesome to see you guys! You are doing so awesome!