May 7th Monday (Part II): A continuation of the events that took place on Sunday May 6th.
At 2:10pm, I recall being in a familiar place. It looks as though I am standing on the ridge that my girlfriend and I took pictures at while the sun was rising on our las trip over the Minong Trail. Cool that I would remember such a thing right? Not really. As I was saying, this was a familiar place because this was where the sun was rising when my girlfriend and I took our pictures. To put it shortly, this is where we found ourselves after leaving North Desor on our way to Windigo on the morning we got up super early at 4:45am or something like that. Well what is wrong with that you might ask, you had the intentions of going to Windigo today did you not? The answer is Yes, I did, but that was before I took an unexpected dump, that was before I decided to do some off trailing to see the raging stream of water, and that was sure in the hell before I thought I would ever have a face to face encounter with bullwinkle. I had the intentions of getting to North Desor at 12:00pm, and 1:00pm if I was running slow over all the ridges I would travel up and down between Little Todd and Desor. 2:00pm, or 2:10pm in my case, was not part of the plan. I was off schedule and had just been shaken-up by a moose. After that encounter my mind began leaning towards staying at North Desor, but when I realized the time, it was no longer a question. North Desor had my name written all over it even if I didn't want to set up a tent. Worse yet, I only had 28oz of water left and something like 12.5 miles to go. And as Im taking all of this in, I look to the left and sure enough, there is a large body of water. I totally missed North Desor. Apprarently I dislike the Desor sites as much as they dislike me.
Ok, I tell myself. I know if I could average my 3 mile an hour pace or close to it, which I should be able to do since I won't be doing many ridges, I woculd make it to Windigo in a little over 4 hours, but we'll say 5 hours just to be safe. So technically speaking, I could make it into Windigo, at the latest, a little past 7pm and at the earliest a little past 6pm. In my book that is not a problem because the sun will not set until about 9:15pm which puts me in the clear of not having to do any night time hiking. Then I thought about my water situation and how I had been getting thirstier than usual on the account of the tuffer terrain. This was an issue, especially with only 28oz left. I told myself I would limit myself to 8oz an hour and know that for the last couple of hourts, I might have to go without water. Well, without over thinking things any further, I knew that it was time to get a move on it.
As I began walking, I questioned how I had missed North Desor. I came to developing only two possible conclusions: 1) The moose that had gotten in my way made me go off the path where the North Desor Marker was located. While this was a possibility, I did not find it to be likely. My next conclusion, and the one I will fall back on is that the Marker had been tipped over just like how it was at the Little Todd/North Desor intersection, and I just could not see it because it was mixed in with a bunch of other sticks and logs. This seemed most likely to be, but whateve was the case, I had more important things lying ahead of me like getting to Windigo and not dehydrating.
An hour passes, it now is going on 3:10pm. It's time for a drink of water. Almost another hour passes and I'm pretty darn thirsty. It's going on 4pm and I see what looks to be a familiar site that I remember walking over. There is a pond-like pool of dirty brown water to the right of me, and in front of me lies a narrow embankment of dead hay-like grassy meadow blades. I go over it and this is where things get difficult.
(I'm falling asleep, will have to continue where I left off writing tomorrow. Sooo tired. Sorry.)
The last picture I take before making it to Windigo:
Rafiki wrote:
When I clean it, on the first liter of water it filters, 80 smooth and easy pumps. However, after its first liter it usually jumps and stays at 100-110 pumps for about 3-4 liters of water judging on water conditions.
Sweet holy hell. 80 pumps when it's clean? Again, I stick with my original statement...get a new water filter! I can fill a Nalgene in about 30 pumps, even with my filter dirty. Most modern pumps should require arms of steel to use. I recommend an upgrade!
I can fill a Nalgene in about 30 pumps, even with my filter dirty.
Holy crap that is awesome. I am so jealous. I was reviewing your filter on the REI website, and you are correct, your filter does average at 34 strokes per liter where as mine averages at 72 strokes per liter. That literally means that you filter is more that twice as fast as mine. Unbelievable! I am definitely going to be considering a new filter now and yours ranks at the top of my list knowing that it appears to be the fastest pumping filter that REI offers. Thanks for your input.
P.S. I also noticed the Katadyn sells a Pocket Water Filter for $349.99. I am intrigued by the device because it is said to be of high quality with a lifetime warranty. However, it doesn't pump nearly as fast as your filter, and lets face it, $349.99 for a water filter is pretty crazy.
Pumping... not for me. I'd make a video of my setup but this guy has exactly the same thing and already did. I know it may not be for everyone but I sure like it.
That system is genius. Really, I am amazed at its simplicity and conveinence. I am definitely going to investigate sawyer filters not that you have showed me how easy it would be to attach to a bladder. Thank you very much for giving me a link to see it at work. It was much better than a description probably would have been.
May 7th Monday (Part III): A continuation of the events that took place on Sunday May 6th.
Once I make it over, there is no clear path that is obvious I should be taking. It's just leaves and more dead leaves, but it appears as though left is the proper option as I notice there to be an opening in the middle of the trees. I start walking left and things are feeling good. Yes, the leaves feel a little deeper than on the previous pathway I was on before crossing the yellow hay blades next to the pond, but there certainly did not seem as though there was a better alternative. 15 minutes pass, and something just does not feel right about my choice. As I am driving myself up a hill, the leaves still feel thick under my feet. I never have felt the leaves to be quite this thick on other hilly parts of the trail i have been walking on. I look behind myself and question where my path went. Truth be told, I had been in such a hurry to get to Windigo, I was kind of hoping my way through everything. I realized that I might not have been on the path after I crossed the pond, but hoped for the best when there wasn't a path that could easily be distinguished. This mode of thought worked out when I avoided the moose and went off the path a little when it was obvious there was no clear choice to follow. Unfortunately, this mode of though would have been fine and dandy if I was 15 steps into my decision, but I was 15 minutes into it! I go .8 miles in that amount of time, with that in mind, I could be a mile off of the trail by now. It is impossible for me to back track right now, plus everything looks the same and there was nothing that stuck out like a sore thumb that would act as a landmark to get me back to where I needed to be.
I AM LOST!!! You don't even get it...LOOOOOST!!! As in, I have no clue where I am, I have no idea where I should be heading, but most importantly, I am not going to make my boat and see my family and girlfriend this tuesday, and if things go really bad, this might play out like the move 128 days (Ok, so maybe I was a little overly stressed and embleshing on that last part.) I began to panic. My heart rate is going at 125bpm and I am standing still. Usually when I pause to take a break in the middle of a hike its at around 95bpm. My body is going through so much anxiety that my stomach begins turning and I immediately have to deficate. I pull my pants down and release all of the nervous tension that had built up inside of me. I look at my water level. 12ozs!!! I'm really thristy. I look at the amount of calories I had burned up intil this point, 2800 and counting, I shoukd eat something, but I can't bring myself to focus on food at a time like this.
I begin scaling the hill I was initially traveling up in hopes that I can see Lake Superior somewhere near by, but could not see anything from this scrowny hill. The only thing I see is a small pidly creek of water below me. I tell myself I need to start filtering water from that much if i do not want to dehydrate and die out here. This stuff is wicked. It takes me 160 pumps to fill my first bottle even though I took the time to clean the filter before starting the process. I drank my remaining 12oz of clean water out of my other bottle, claned the filter again, and another 160 pumps later I have my second bottle of water prepared.
The water is Yellow/Brown in color. It smells weird, and there is no way I want to drink this stuff. Really beginning to panic now. Still really thirsty too. Ok. Ok. Ok, I tell myself to calm down. I remind myself that I have enough food and all day tomorrow to find my way back to Windigo even if I have to camp in the middle of nowhere tonight. As fara as the yellow water is concerned, since I don't trust it, I could always boil it, and due to my water bottles now being contaminated by it, I could always pour the boiled water into the tarp cover of my backpack and drink it from there. None of these ideas are making me feel more settled, but I am still trying to maintain a logically calm persona in this time of desperation.
I bust out the map and toss the camera in my backpack. Up unitl now the camera has always been close by my side, but right now I could give two moose scats if a pack of wolves passed by me in this very instant. I look at the map. Great the Minong is far from Lake Superior. My plan of trying to make it to Lake Superior and working my way along it until I reach Windigo is not going to work. THe only idea that comes to mind is that according to the map, Washington Creek has fingers of it that spread out along side the Minong Trail. Perhaps if I follow this creek of dirty water in front of me, it will lead me to Washington creek and thus back to Windigo. The question is which way do I go? Well I better just pick a way because time is not a commodity that I have right now. I go left, and for about 10 minutes I'm weaving and winding around down trees and tall grasses to keep with where the creek is headed. Its around 4:45pm now when I find that darn area I crossed next to the pod. I get downon my knees and thank God for answering my prayers.
Now the question was where do I go? There still is not an obvious path and even if I do find a path, who's to say I won't run into this same problem again. This trail has been nothing but problems. Should I just go back and try to return to the Little Todd/Hatchet intersection so I can take the Greenstone to Windigo? No because thats much to far and who's to say I'd even find the imfamous North Desor campground that eluded me eariler today. No, I must continue onwards and ask God for guidance and safety as I try to make it over to Windigo. I take a new guess on which direction to go in since left didn't cut it last time. Thankfully, and I don't know how, I somehow magically was back on the path. Thank you god! This still did not change the fact that I was extremely thirsty or how it was going on 5pm, but at least I was headed towards my destination. Regardless, I was going to refain from drinking that yucky yellow water if I could help it.
Another hour passes and I hear a hawk making a call, it must be looking for a mate for the spring I think to myself. It gets closer. It appeaers to be swooping from tree to tree along my path. Well, I think to myself, I told myself that I wasn't going to be preoccupied with watching a pack of wolves if they passed by me and I'm sure in the hell not going to let my attention be drawn in by a hawk. I am thirsty as can be and I need to press forward. The hawk had other palns just like the moose
that came before him. With one diving screetching bombing missle assault, he flew by my head, close enoug to where if he wanted to, he could have grabbed my hat. I was totally like are you kidding me. I'm worried about getting lost again and my lips are so dry and chapped from a lack of water, the last thing I need is a pist off hawk on my trail. The hawk surly did not care what I wanted or didn't, he alerted me of his presense once more as if I didn't notice him the first time with all the squawking he was doing. I get my hiking poles in attack position. I swear to God I'm going to bash him out of the sky if he gets anywhere near me again.
In an exasperated voice, I ask him to please stop. Whether or not he understood me, I will never know, but he did stop swooping at me. This was great, but with so much attention being devoted to him, I lost track of where the path went. At least i didn't lost track of the path for 15 minutes like I did last time I tell myself. Regardless, I start traveling forward in hopes that I will stumble upon the path again.The direction I am heading in doesn't feel right. All of a sudden the hawk summons my attention again with another squawk. I'm like what do you want you stupid bird. I get my poles ready for combat, but he does not look like he is in attack mode. His cries do not sound pist or rapid like before, they are slow and deliberate. I decide on trying something new.
I have been getting lost all day on my own. Let's follow this hawk and see where he takes me. If he starts diving at me again, I will forgo any thoughts of following him and continue on my own with trying to relocate the path. Once I get near the tree he is perched on, he moves to another tree with a single squawk. I assume this is him signaling me. He has moved seven or eight trees ahead of me. I followed him to the tree he is on ans again he lets out a call and moves to another tree a similair distance from the first one he moved to. I head in his direction and half way towards arriving at the tree he is resting at, I FIND THE PATH!!! Sweet! It's going on 6:20pm, Let's hope that I don't get lost again I think to myself. This is also the point where I realize that it's getting late and that I need to have a backup plan in case I find myself on the trail shortly before its about to get dark out. I tell myself that if I do not arrive at the Huginnin Cove loop trail head by 8:00pm, esentically the point at which I'd be 1.8 miles away from Windigo, I will set up camp and drink the nasty yellow water that I have been dreading taking a gulp of. Water and Windigo, the two W's I want most right now.
7:00pm slowly came along, I saw slowly because every 5 minutes that passed seemed like an hour with how thirsty and tired I was. I told myself, or rather questioned myself, that I had to be getting there soon right? All of a sudden, I begin seeing orange plastic ribbons tied on occasional trees. I didn't know what to make of it. Don't get me wrong I was happy to know that I was on a trail, but what trail?
Earlier in my quest to Windigo I saw a red marker just before reaching Little Todd. This was where I had found that raging stream. Was that marker placed there because it represented the Minong Trail or was it placed there because someone wanted a land marker to find that beautiful site I had found? Furthermore, didn't I see white trail markers on various points while on the Minong? I could have sworn I did. Arggh!!! It sucked not knowing if I was on the Minong trail or the Higinnin Cove Trail. I tried to look on the bright side and reconfirm that i was at least still finding myself on a trail at all, and that was working for the most part, bit then there was still that yellow water being though about in the back of my midn. Ha Ha Ha damn that water! There was no use complaining, I would either reach Huginnin Cove campgrounds, Windigo, or have to camp out in the middel of the wilderness if I did not get somewhere by 8:00pm. No choices. No options. It is what it was and there was no going around it. 7:15pm comes along and all I can think of is damn I'm running out of time. While Windigo is my obvious first choice, Huginnin far outweighs sleeping out in the wilderness. I just at least want to be able to tell where I am. I want to put a star on my map and say, "Tim you are here!" Thats all I want...and clean water would be nice too if requests are being filled.
My prayers had finally been answered at 7:20pm. I found the Windigo/Huginnin Cove trail marker and I was just 1.8 miles away!!! Thirsty and dizzy, the next 45 minutes was my longest, but I managed to make it back. The first thing I do after getting to Washington Creek is locate the first water spigot I could find. I get to it, turn the valve, nothing. ITS OFF!!! Arghhh!!! So freaking thirsty.
I trudge all the way to the Rangers station, but no one is there. It's closed!!! I go down to the bathrooms and showers. Nothing is open besides the womens washroom, and as I recalled, there is not a water fountain located in the area. I go inside the women's bathroom turn the valve on the sink. ITS ON!!! I let it run to clear out the line in case it had not been turned on for a while. I also take the time to turn onthe light switch. When the lights flicker on, I notice tons and tons of dead cluster fly corpses surronding me. We are talking hundreds. They are all over the floor and all over the sink. Completely gross!!! I would have taken a picture, but I was in no mood, all I wanted was water. I realize now that my bottles are contaminated with that yellow water, I will need to store my water in my stove pot. I begin boiling some of the sink water in the pot to decontaminate my pot from its last lake water rinsing I did at Todd Harbor. I think to myself, the 20oz that this pot will hold sure is not going to be enough to camp with at Washington Creek. IfI rely on this little amount of water, Im going to have to make numerous hikes up here. I pause on that thought, and bury my face in the sink for my first drink of water in over 4 hours. It tastes weird, but sure beats the idea of drinking that yellow water. After I take a slow couple of first sips, I sit down and relax for a second. Then I take another couple of sips and relex again. I do this a couple more times as not to overwhelm my body with an all of a sudden overflow of waters.
It is going on 8:20pm. My water is finished boiling and my stove canister has just ran out of fuel. I decide that I am going to go to the employee housing to see if they will let me borrow a gallon size container so I can store my water in and to see if they can give me some water from their living quarters because the womens bathroom water is tasting more and more funky the more I drink of it. I drop all of my stuff and walk to their housing. I get there around 8:30pm and knock on their door. Someone tells me to come in. There are three people reading and talking in what appears to be a living room like setting. Two me and one woman. The man to the right of me has a long beard which I of course admire and make a comment on. The girl in front of me has glasses on with shoulder length hair ( I don't know it at the time because I am exhausted and dehydrated, but this is Katie, the girl I met on the Ranger III). The guy to the left of me has glasses on, but his most defined feature is his crocked nose and twisted face. He is balding in the center of the head. All three individuals appear to be in there late thirties.
I tell them my story and ask for a gallon of water. They bring it to me, but the lady warns me that their water treatment specialist has not cleared the water as being safe to drink yet so I should still boil it. Dreat I think! What am I going to drink now? I probably only had 8oz at the womens bathroom. I'm thirsty as hell, what does it take for a dude t get a drink around this place. However, something even more worrisome takes over my mind. I drank the water in the womans batroom, if the water is not cleared yet, what does that mean I exposed myself to? I ask this question and the guy with the beard reassures me that he's been drinking it for the past week and nothing has happened to him. He even throws in a joke about how he thought the water had made his beard grow an extra 4 inches long in the time he has been drinking the water. Funny, but not. I look towards the girl, and you can tell that to her, this is not a joking matter. She again reconfirms that I should boil it. Without anymore questions and without anyone looking as though they are going to make even the slightest move to get me something that I can drink immediately after I just told them I have had nothing to drink for the past several hours, I make my way to the door and leave I can only hope that my boiled water has cooled down. I get to the restrooms and pack up my stuff to make my way to Washington Creek.
It is only .3 miles but it sure seems a hell of a lot further with all I've been through. To compliment that news, I am left drinking warm pot water to quench my thirst and even when I have drunken all of it I still remain thirsty. There are some flys on the ground of the shelter I select, but I am feeling very sicck so I just throw out my pad, sleeping bag, and pillow without even sweeping up. After inflating my pad, all of my energy has been explanded. I lean over and vomit a warm mucousy like bile all over the floor. I fall to my sleeping set up and debate whether or not to put my mosiquito netting over me. There are several mothsflying around in my shelter and I fear that my puke may bring some other unwanted bugs my way in the morning if they are able to creep into the shelter somehow like these moths did. I don't want bugs crawling on my face, but then again, I don't want to forget that I have the headnet on me while I sleep and puke all over myself because I forgot to pull it off. I decide to wear the netting and hope for the best.
Without caring about the condition of the Windigo tap water anymore, I chug some of the water from the gallon. While not hungry, I take a few bites of a granola bar because I know my body needs food even though it might not want to hold it down. Around 9:45pm, I don't know for certain, I finally drift off to sleep. Somewhat warm and some what cold due to the layers I have on which are drenched in sweat except for the outside ones.
(This concludes my day from hell, but I still have to discuss the events that took place on Monday, the day I am currently on.)
Sorry. There were no pictures taken after I got lost on this particular day.
I just wanted to weigh in on the Sawyer. If it freezes while wet, it's likely shot. Not just Sawyer, but any hollow fiber filter will cease to work correctly if it freezes with moisture in it, so you you have to take the necessary precautions. My brother uses a similar setup to Alecto's for base camping and it can put out more water than we can use.
I just wanted to weigh in on the Sawyer. If it freezes while wet, it's likely shot. Not just Sawyer, but any hollow fiber filter will cease to work correctly if it freezes with moisture in it, so you you have to take the necessary precautions. My brother uses a similar setup to Alecto's for base camping and it can put out more water than we can use.
I put it in a ziploc bag and sleep with it when called for.
Just curious Raff, lost...no compass? My own opinion is never wait no....NEVER go without a compass. I saw a kid with no shoes once just insoles and straps, he had a compass.
I'm sorry to break it to you, but you had an Adventure. I know you mentioned that you weren't out for one, but the last day made it an Adventure with a capital "A". Danger, attacks by wild animals, man against the wild, extreme distances, deprivation, etc. Tell that story in a bar and people will buy you beer. The conditions are fully described in the Man-Law book. Going to the Ranger house to ask for help might have been a slight violation of Man-Law, but asking for help probably reflected vulnerability in your girlfriends eyes and that recoups Man-Law points. Just don't make a habit of asking for directions or help.
I'm curious if you lost any weight during your trip. Your descriptions of your meals and snacks make me wonder if you were suffering a calorie deficit during your hike. That and dehydration can lead to mental confusion and mistakes. I am a solo backpacker and that's always a big concern of mine. You've got nobody other than yourself so you can't make mistakes. When you go back with your girlfriend the weather will be warmer. Try to drink a full liter of water before you start out on the trail each morning.
I hiked the Minong in mid-May two years ago. The trail between Desor and the Hugginin intersection was often hard to follow due to the leaves and the fact that they hadn't been walked on much at that point. I lost the trail several times and found that going back to the last maker was the best recourse. A couple of times I got really frustrated and just sat down for a break. Usually once I had relaxed the trail direction became obvious. Were you carrying a compass?
Thanks. I know I can always count on a great comment from you. Ha Ha Ha. Ya, no compass. Lesson learned, no questions there. Besides having just ordered a compass over the weekend, I am taking a class on how to use it next week.
Gimp:
Ha Ha Ha. Ya, I guess I did kind of have an adventure now that you mention it in the manner that you did. I am not giving it a title though And yes, you could take away my Man Card for my last move of getting water from the rangers, but I appreciate your leniency and understanding. I vow never to ask for directions again, always to carry a compass, and to drink yellow water with a smile...even if that leads to worms coming out my rear on the following day. And even then I will still be smiling. A true representative of one that follows the man law religiously would have handled things much more courageously than I did. So thank you. Thank you for allowing me to keep my Man Card. Your a good man Gimp.
I did not loss but a pound or two of weight. I never do, believe it or not. When it comes to food, I always seem to remain full and satisfied throughout my entire trip. Now on May 6th things definitely fell way short of the norm. I probably have 300 calories that day and burned over 6000. That is never good, especially when you don't have water in you either. Most of my dehydrated meals are between the 800-1200 calorie zone. One days where did a lot of hiking, I usually ate two of them. Combine that with trail mix and other snacks, I think I do pretty well on getting enough nourishment. Perhaps, I might fall short ever so slightly on a couple of days, but never on anyone of them do I go to bed hungry.
You make an excellent point about drinking a liter of water on a hot day, or for that matter, on any day. One should try to get in as much water as they can possibly take in at one time. As far as making mistakes are concerned, I think you can make them, but they can't be dumb dumb mistakes I the one I made by getting lost on a trail that did not exist for several minutes.
A couple of times I got really frustrated and just sat down for a break. Usually once I had relaxed the trail direction became obvious. Were you carrying a compass?
I really loved what you wrote above. I was frustrated at points too. Unfortunately, while the moose and the surpise dookie incidents were ones that I could not avoid, I should have been more strict with my plan of trying to tackle 23.3 miles in one day. I should have gotten up even earlier. I should have made it a point to depart by 6am, and when and if this did not turn out to be the case, I should have selected North Desor at my route right at the beginning of my day. I should have made it a point to tell myself, no surprise pauses to go sightseeing along the trail if something caught my eye. If I planned to make into to Windigo at a reasobable time, I could not afford such luxuries. If such occurances did take place, again, North Desor would be my fall back. I also should have stuck to my guns about telling myself that if I did not make it to certain points at certain times like I planned that I needed to forgo my expectations of making it to Windigo. Regardless if I missed Lake Desor, I saw it behind me a one point. Even if I did not find the path that would take me to the campgrounds. I knew I could easily manage my way down to the lake without any problems. From there I could find the campgrounds. And when leaving in the morning, I could learn where I missed the marker by following the trail out of the campgrounds. Most importantly, it was like you said, if I planned things appropriately, I would have been able to sit down and take a break to think things through as you have stated doing in the past. When you are in a rush, when you are dehydrated, and when you mind is not thinking straight, you don't have or allow yourself the time to take a breather, clear you mind, and let the trail find you. When this occurs, you make mistakes. And I admitt, I made a mistake. I should have planned my time better and not been stubborn about going back to find North Desor. It was right there in front of me. Had I planned my time better, I very well might not have had to even go to North Desor, but that is not even the point. The point is, things would not have been so rushed and desperate. I would not have been so anxious and I would have been able to take a much need mind clearing moment to pause and calm myself down. So thank for sharing that important ability that you allow yourself to have when solo hiking. It is something everyone should be able to fit into their day if they plan there intinerary properly. And as you might have guessed or learned, I did not have a compass. As I told Drobarge, I just ordered one and will be taking a class on how to navigate with it using a map next week.
Thank you for your wonderful comments and sound advice. Those with ears ought to listen to what Gimp as just said.
May 7th Monday (Part IV): Finally getting a chance to recap the events that took place on Monday May 7th.
I wake up at 12:45AM after going to sleep at 9:45pm earlier in the evening. Shocking right? You'd think I'd sleep like a baby after what I had gone through. I wake up hungry and eat the large portion of granola bar that still remained along with 4 handfuls of trail mix. At this point, I am full, and after drinking several gulps of water, I realize my body does not want to go back to sleep. I literally tried for an hour to go back to sleep but it wasn't happening. I go in search of my headlamp that i carelessly tossed somoewhere in my moment of defeat, but can't find it. I light my stove up and begin searching for it. I just cannot find it. All of this moving around is making me weak so I give up. I lay in the dark without having much to do and wonder if the Voyageur will come by tomorrow so I can warn people not to do the Minong if they do not have a compass or gps unit based off of the path being difficult to see and to also let them know about the goshawk that gave me grief. I finally go to sleep at 3:45am only to wake up at 7:45am. Talk about troubled sleep.
I had my alarm set for 9:00am, but 7:45am would have to do. I eat a granola bar, drink a lot of water, organize my shelter a bit, and make it over to Windigo carrying my jug of water, some food, camping stove, book, journal, camera, and map. It is 9:30am when I arrive. While the Voyageur never came (too early in the season for it to be active on Mondays), a lady on a golf cart pulls up. I scare her as I say "Hello, Ranger" and ask when the visitor center would open. She said it was closed for the seaon until tomorrow, but that she was opening it for a little bit to clean up for a supervisor that was visiting and that I was more than welcome to come in. I take her up on her offer and later find out that she is not a ranger, that her name is Mary, and that she is the water treatment specialist on the island! My first question inquires about the safety of the drinking water. She tells me that although it may taste a little funcy with all the chlorine that is in it, she just analyzed the results this morning that she took samples of on Friday and the water has been safe to drink all weekend. Yes, no but worms or parasites for me!!! The water from the women's bathroom still did not taste right to me compared to the employees, so I told myself I would get a refill from them on my way back.
As Mary and I talked, I signed the daily log book, the first person to do so for the 2012 season. My comment involved telling people that the Minong is where the weak are eatten and not to travel it until June, because it is hard to see and easy to get lost on. I ate 2 handfuls of trail mix, 2 handfuls of pistashios, and three peach slices while we discussed a lot of things unrelated to Isle Royale regarding each others lives back home. I notice she is doing a lot of sweeping and I went to go look over at what she was sweeping. It turned out to be mounds of cluster flies. I took a picture of them, because the flies in the bathroom were cleaned out earlier this morning. I knew this because I went to go take a picture of them. All of these flies really question whether or not I want to bring my girlfriend here in July. I know these are cluster flies, and are usually found in the September month, but just the idea of all the bugs bombarding my girlfriend in the mind of July as she travels from campground to campground does not seem to be a wise option. She will hate it and I am beginning to think I will too.
Eventually Mary has to leave and lock up. I take the time to boil a dehydrated meal before heading back to my shelter around 3pm once I obtain a refill of water from the employee housing. Shortly after returning, I go to check out the surronding shelter graffiti and head back to Windigo at 5pm because Mary said the Ranger III was coming at 6pm. I bring all of the items that I brough earlier today and wait for the Ranger III at a picnic bench by the dock. As I am waiting, I bump into Ranger Rob on a golf cart. He noticed me before I noticed him. It was weird to see him over hear because he usually monitors the station as Daisy Farm over by Mott Island. He said he was helping the trail crew take down trees from the trail and that they had just finished up Huginnin Cove today and were going to start the Feldmann Loop tomorrow. He said they have until June 1st to clean trees so they were trying to get a start on things since the Wilderness Act does not allow them to operate chainsaws in the wilderness after this point. Interesting note to keep in mind. I told him a little bit about my trip, and before you know it, the Ranger III was arriving and he was going to greet friends. We wished each other farwell and I began eating 2 handfuls of trail mix, 2 handfuls of Cheddar Pizza crackers, and cooking my fianl dehydrated meal.
Before heading back around 8:30pm, I talked to a ship member who though they were leaving at around 10am tomorrow. I went to bed at 11:15pm after organizing my stuff for pack up tomorrow. Today I did not walk anywhere. I did not filter any water. I must say, it was a nice change of pace
Chilling on the deck of the Rangers Station after I found out it was closed. It was nice to take a break and not hike:
The cluster flies I was telling you about:
The Windigo Dock:
Washington Creek Shelter Graffiti. If you can read through Picture #6, its hilarious. Picture #10 is cracked me up to think that somone would track such a think. Pictures #12-14 Touched my heart and I thought it was cute:
The Ranger III arriving and docking along with the sun setting:
I set my alarm for 7:00am because I wanted to get to Windigo by 8:00pm. I made perfect timing and automatically woke up at 6:55am and got to Windigo at 7:55am. The Ranger Office was opned and things were getting under way with the organization of things and computers being loaded for the 2012 season.
I saw Ranger Lucas, the senior interpetur at Windigo (I'm sure many of you are familiar with him, a very nice guy to say the least) and asked if he could print me out a permit for my records. He did. Then he told me that the hawk I experience was probably a Goshawk after I told him about my Minong adventure. It was as Ranger Rob had said, a ground nesting bird that was probably trying to ward me away from its nest. I still think it was my personal guide there for a moment. He also told me the Minong could be quite dangerous and some people will build cairns and make marks on the trail to help people stay on the path but that there is a certain crowd of people that believe the Minong should be kept rugid, rustic, and unmarked for those that appreciate a true adventure into the wilderness. He said that those people try to knock over cairns and remove marking to heep the tradition of the trail being for the more serious hiker. I know which side I belong to and promise never to be a cairn kicker.
As I watched them gets operational, I had a granolo bar for breakfast with 4 peach slices and a handful of cherries. The last of my remaining food. At 10:10pm I left the office to throw all of my garbage away, thanked Ranger Luke for everything, and before you knre it, I was on the Ranger III at 10:20am and leaving the dock at 10:30am. What a crazy trip that was and I hope you all enjoyed reading about it. After points some final stats and thoughts, I will be sure to start uploading pictures from my trip onto the boards. Thanks for taking the time to read all of this if you made it this far. I hope you enjoyed reading about my trip as much as I enjoyed taking it.
Leaving Windigo on the Ranger III:
Water that is pumped throughout the ship to cool the engine and release on the sides of the vessel:
The Rock of Ages Lighthouse:
Some more pictures of inside and outside of ship as my trip comes to an end. I thought I'd show some red, white, and blue for my last picture:
I hiked a total of 64.4 offical miles, but we all know it was more than that with my side trips and getting lost.
I went without seeing anyone for 125.75 hours at one point.
I burned a total of 10,761 calories when my heart rate monitor was activated, but again, we all know more calories were burned than mentioned during times when my heart rare monitor was not activated.
Now for the important stuff, what did I take away from this trip besides photos and memories? I have to get a compass! (as we now know, I have recently ordered one.) Not a cheapy one, but a top notch one so I can naviate myself around in case I ever get lost again. I learned that obstacles will come up. Some that you welcome like checking out a stream on the side of a trail and some that you don't like a moose staring you straight in the eyes. Either way, always give yourself enough time to complete itineraries, and then some extra added time for the "just in case" events. Do not underestimate how thirsty you will be on a given day just because you were not that thirsty the day before. if you are running low on water, call your next campground home, or if you have time to carry on, at least take the time to stop and filter more water before going to the next campground. If you feel like you missed a campground, don't heistate to think about going back and taking a half hour out of your day to find it. its better to be safe then sorry.
And for me, I have learned, I don't like much like solo hiking as opposed to going hiking with someone else. I love people...well most people...at most of all the ones I encounter at Isle Royale. I love sharing in experiences with my girlfriend. I also like discussing experiences with people at the camgrounds. I don't particularly like being alone on the trails or sleeping alone at night. A certain level of safety is removed from the equation when you are on your own. You have nobody but youself to rely upon and this especially holds true when you are the first people on the island during the season or the last. When I was there, there was no one else on the trails. So even if something did happen to me, it could have been 5 days before anyone from the Voyageur made their first visit to the island. This alone doesn't mean much, because there was no guarantee that the people getting off from Grand Portage were heading in the same direction as I was going in. With low amounts of traffic, or none at all as was the case during the being of my trip, you could find yourself in a deep pile of scat if you get lost or injuried. You really have to be on top of your game. While this experience had built up my coinfidence, and while I still believe that I can fair well enough on my own, I just like the idea of always being with someone just to act as a safety net in case something goes wrong. Don't get me wrong, I loved the seclusion of my trip. I loved being out of touch with the world as I know it. But if I were to ever do a solo trip again, I think it would have to be during a busier part in the season so that if anything ever did go wrong with me, an outside party would hopefully stumble accross me.
In the moment of my trip where I got lost and went into a world of anxiety, I told myself that I would never go backcountry hiking on Isle Royale. This was something I was thinking about before taking this trip. In my moment of fear and doubt, I said I would never be remotely interested in this idea after what happened. Having made is back alright, I have rethought this and believe this is something I would still like to explore, but I think I would definitely want to do it with someone else rather than alone. This of course after I get my compass. So ya, while I gain much more insight than just the things mentioned about, I will leave it at this and work on getting some pictures posted for everyone.
On a quick last side note, if you recall I told you have had to put mole skin on my toe and ankles. Well we all know the reason for the toe. On the other hand, the ankles were a weird story. They felt slightly irriated when I got to McCargoe and pushed my way over to Todd Harbor. Nothing serious by any means, but still somewhat bothersome. Honestly, I thought it had something to do with my shoes from work that I where as I serve tables. For the past two months before departing to the island, my shoes had been rubbing on my ankle in a very painful matter. The friction was so great that I was starting to get holes in the back of my socks at work. When I went on my trip, I think my boots even aggriavated the problem further. By the time I go to Windigo, I felt like I had small paper cuts on the back of my ankle. When I looked them over, there was no exposed flesh. I was curious as to what was causing this pain, but hoped that it was no big deal. I went back to work a day after I got back. While I was walking through the doorway of the kitchen alley at work, ny friend and I confronted the door at the same time. I had my toes and ball of my foot wedge up again the door as I was pressing the door forward when my buddy contacted into the door. He didn't push it to hard, but my ankle did strech a little. After two steps forward, I yelled out in pain. My right ankle felt horrible. Seriously, like someone slit a paper cut into it and tried to spread the wound open. For the rest of the day I hobbled around. Whenever the back of my shoe encountered my ankle, the paper cut pain would shoot up my body. I still have been hobbling around for the past week. I have gotten new work shoes, but do not allow the backs to touch my ankle in fear that it will cause a great deal of pain. I went to check it out at my primary physican. He said that he did not think it was that big of a deal and that I sprained it. I told him that I use to play basketball a lot and have had my fair share of sprains and never once did it ever even like a paper cut ripping open wider. He recommeded me to a orthopedic foot specialist, so I am hoping that he is right and this is nothing serious. When looking at the ankles both look the same, but when running your fingers along it, it feels as though there is a slight bump on my right ankle. Almost as though they is a very small fleshy ball of substance that is maybe rolled up overlaping other skin. I have been icing it and taking aleve. There is no pain when I move my foot as long as I do not like it come into contact with the back of my shoe. Anyone want to play Dr. and throw some ideas my way as to what I might be experiencing or if you have every experienced such a dilemma. Thanks. ahead of time. I will begin uploading pictures and videos tomorrow and shortly thereafter linking them up on here. Keep your eyes peeled. They should be posted soon.
I had a little extra time tonight before going to bed, so after waiting an hour to upload the pictures and videos online, they are finally loaded onto my photobucket account. I need to go to sleep now, but intend to go back and start posting them throughout my trip report some time during the evening today after I get off of work.
On a different side note, I forgot to mention that a wedding that my girlfriend and I were planning on attending got moved while I was on my trip. Instead of going in July and October as originally planned, we moved are July trip to September and are going to cancel our October trip so we can make it to the wedding. The October trip was with the Ranger III. I know you're allowed to move your reservation around, but if you cancel you get a 15% fee towards your refund. Anyone know if I could move it to next year to avoid the fee
And yes, you could take away my Man Card for my last move of getting water from the rangers, but I appreciate your leniency and understanding. I vow never to ask for directions again, always to carry a compass, and to drink yellow water with a smile...even if that leads to worms coming out my rear on the following day. And even then I will still be smiling. A true representative of one that follows the man law religiously would have handled things much more courageously than I did. So thank you. Thank you for allowing me to keep my Man Card. Your a good man Gimp.
