Superior Hiking Trail Day 4: Friday, August 28

Tenting at the West Gooseberry River Campsite (SHT mile 111.5), walked 21.3 miles today

Decamped by 7:30 this morning, my foot aching, and took the first two miles verrry slowly while waiting for the ibuprofen to kick in. That happened around the same time that High Loon caught me up, and we spent a few miles mostly talking about the AT and various people (besides him) who own and operate services along the trail. This feels like one of the last times I may get to walk and talk with someone my pace and my direction: I was totally alone the rest of the day save for one southbounder passing me without breaking stride.

There were glimpses of potential in the first 14 or so miles of today’s hike, and mercifully the mosquitos from yesterday never reappeared, but the dominant memory is of muddy trail as far as the eye can see. But after those 14 miles, starting right around the Encampment River, the character of the trail changed completely. Previously unthinkable luxuries like overlooks, lake views, soft dry piney trail tread, and scampery climbs and descents became the norm. The sun even came out to bless my passage through this suddenly commodious and inviting forest. The sun didn’t stay around forever, but the trail itself stayed very pleasant even as the skies above redarkened and resumed raining within literally an hour.

Mud was more or less a constant, until suddenly and inexplicably it wasn’t.

Hiking alone was followed by camping alone, when I came to this site perched above the Gooseberry River around 5:45pm and to my surprise encountered no one but a few squirrels. Cooked a hot meal of spuds avec summer sausage, took another immensely satisfying leg and arm bath in the river same as yesterday, made use of the strong cell signal to call home to Tucson and listen to my cat purr into the receiver, and called it a night. Another 20ish miles plus a possible friend visit on the cards for tomorrow.

Minnesota gothic: a 20-year-old Dodge minivan with a canoe strapped to the roof lurks in the brush down a remote dirt road. Skulls on the dash.

A view?? Of the lake???

The trail, all of a sudden considerably more appealing thanks to the Sunshine.