Travel journal of my solo backpacking trip
I think I’m in a toxic relationship with the trail. It treats me so badly but I take it back every time! Even when I manage to stay on the trail it is often poorly marked, grown over, blocked by fallen trees. And every time I lose the trail, I curse it and get mad at […]
Last night is the most scared I have been in a long time. Here’s what happened: It doesn’t happen very often that the weather, bugs, and geography align in such a way that I can sleep under the open sky. Last night looked like it might be that kind of night. I set out my […]
A lot to think about today. I am sitting by only the second campfire I have made on this trip. I am on beach along the Lake Superior shore. I am totally alone and it is truly beautiful. Yesterday I suffered a major setback. I tend to worry about food and water and insects and […]
I am marooned in a brewery next to the Tahquamenon Falls as the sky dumps down all around me. I ordered myself Falls Tannen beer and am contemplating my next move. I hardly slept last night. Crazy thunderstorms woke me up and itching feet kept me up. I guess I got poison ivy on my […]
Jesus what a day already. I was out on the trail by 8:15am and it’s only 9:30 now. I walked all of 5 minutes from my little cabin shelter and what a shock to see my first view of Lake Superior! I actually laughed out loud when I saw it because it was such a […]
To the Boy Scout Troops and the Hiawatha North Country Trail chapter, Thanks so much for the wonderful shelter that you built! I am writing to you from inside of it right now, where I have set up my tent (I still need it to keep the bugs away) and am happily settled for the […]
Another day of total solitude. I think most women in my situation might fear the possibility of encountering someone, might fear being taken advantage of. But in the safety of my imagination, I absolutely hope for it. Once again I‘ve been comparing myself to a soldier (I’m such a cocky asshole). This time though, the […]
Last night I slept over 11 hours. This is the second morning in a row I woke up after 10 hours or so and then went back to sleep. It felt wonderful. I was totally surrounded by forest, completely alone. There was a soft breeze and the sun shone through the trees. I stared awhile through […]
The UP has been good to me so far. It is very peaceful here. Not a whole different world like I might’ve expected. It is all familiarly natural, just maybe turned up a notch; slightly wilder, slightly hillier, and a little–over-slightly more solitary. I have not seen any people today, no wildlife either, really. I […]
My first full day in the UP has been far from seamless and it’s not the fault of the trail or the terrain or the outside world, it’s just me. First thing this morning I found the trail really easily but accidentally headed the wrong way. It worked out though because I ended up at […]
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