Saturday May 29, 2010
I slept out in my van in the parking lot of the Grand Portage Casino. I had a good night’s sleep and woke up at a decent time, not too early and not too late. I decided that I would not go into the Casino for breakfast. I wasn’t all that hungry because I had that Salmon dinner late last night, plus I had plenty of food that I had not used up for my backpacking trip. I went down to the restroom at the RV park and Campground. I used the facilities, filled up all my water bottles and took some photos of the bay in the morning. I noticed that Don’s camper was all buttoned up and that his car was gone. He and his grandson must be on their way to Isle Royale.
I decided I would drive around Grand Portage and take some photos. I drove down by Fort Williams, which wasn’t open yet because it was too early. I took some photos of the buildings in the downtown area of Grand Portage. Then I noticed a sign pointing to the Isle Royale Ferry Service, So, I decided to drive out and check it out. It’s out on a peninsula northeast of the town. I drove out about a mile and pulled in the parking lot. I noticed a bunch of people out on a pier next to this rather old boat. But it was a fairly big boat. I went out on the dock and saw Don. He had an old external frame backpack on. I talked with Don for a while, and asked him how much it costs to ride the ferry. He said that the total cost for him and his grandson was about $120. They were going to be staying out on Isle Royale for just one night. I thought it was a lot to pay for just one night, after all, you’d be paying the same price for staying several nights. I said goodbye and good luck to Don and I was on my way. I roamed around Grand Portage some more, taking photos, then I thought I wasted enough time and should be on my was to finish the Border Route.
I drove down to Hovland and turned onto the Arrowhead Trail. I wasn’t going to be taking the roads through the Reservation this time. I had enough of the Reservation’s back roads. I drove up the Arrowhead Trail and turned right on to Otter Lake Road and parked at the Trailhead and Campsite at the Otter Lake Cutoff. The plan for today was simple. I would finish the last 5 miles of the Border Route, then I would ride my bike up Otter Lake Road to the van. I packed really light because I didn’t need my tent and sleeping bag, and I was off. Mostly what I packed was food and water. I hiked the flatlands near Otter Lake, went through the flat clear-cut area, then went down the major downhill section to the Border Route. It was easy to that point, but I knew I’d be going up to some overlooks in the next mile, so the easy part was over.
The Trail went up, but again, it was pretty gradual. There were only a couple spots that were a little strenuous. It was a gradual and steady uphill climb. Eventually, it started to look like I was getting to the top, and then I came upon the first overlook, and it was spectacular. There is a little lake down below the overlook. The Guidebook had said that you could bushwhack over to the little lake on the way up to the overlook. But I’ve got news for you buddy, I’m not bushwhacking anyplace unless I have to. I took many photos at this overlook, it was a beautiful sunny day, and the contrast of the sunlight in the woods made for some interesting photos. I picked up my gear, which I had placed on a big rock at the entrance of the overlook and I continued.
The Guidebook showed that I would be getting to another overlook within a mile. I was taking some photos of some beautiful majestic pine trees as I went. But it seemed like the trail was going down instead of going along a ridge to another overlook. I wondered if I went the wrong way at the overlook. And sure enough, I did, because I hit the Otter Lake Cutoff again. Boy was I mad.
I started hiking back up the hill. And I went fast because I was not stopping to take photos. Soon I made it up to the overlook again, and started hiking the right direction. I usually take a simple step to make sure I am hiking the right way after an overlook. I usually hike past the overlook a little ways, then set my gear down and go back to look at the overlook. Then when I go back to my gear, I am headed in the right direction. But this time, there was such a nice rock at the overlook to set my gear down, that I did. And I didn’t hike past the overlook and set my gear down. I felt like Parker who went the wrong way on the Border Route at the Arrowhead Trail or the football player Jim Marshall who got spun around after getting a fumble and ran into the wrong end zone. I had made a mistake almost everyday on this backpacking trip. Why should today be any different? Hopefully, that’s the only mistake I make today.
I continued hiking east along the Pigeon Ridge looking for the next overlook. It was pretty easy hiking up there. It was flat for a long time then it went gradually uphill and I made it to the next overlook. There was a big rock at this overlook, but I didn’t set my gear on it. I did hike past the overlook, set my gear down and came back. This was a great overlook of the Pigeon River Valley. I set out the Spot Messenger on the big rock, to mark my spot. I took a good self-shot of me sitting on the rock. I was enjoying it.
According to the guidebook, the trail went down into a little valley then went up again to two overlooks a half a mile away from the overlook that I was at. That’s pretty much what happened, but it wasn’t very much of a valley. Sure it went downhill, then it went uphill, but it all was pretty gradual. The trail went from totally clear because of rocky areas, to somewhat overgrown, but not overwhelmingly overgrown. The trail was pretty much completely clear of downed trees. Thank you Ed Solstad and all the Trail Crews. I made it to the two overlooks in good time. I was cruising. And they were great overlooks, There was no question on whether it was an overlook or not. But these overlooks were different than a lot of overlooks I had seen in the Boundary Waters. Mainly because there was no water involved. The overlooks were of the great massive woodlands looking into Canada. The Pigeon River was down there someplace, but I couldn’t tell where. The second overlook had a tall skinny pine tree sticking up in the middle of it. I continued on. From this point it would be over a mile to the last two overlooks. And I definitely would be going downhill then back up a hill. As I was going down the hill I saw another overlook, which I felt was not marked on the Guidebook map. I was pretty spoiled with all the overlooks. The Trail goes downhill, then is flat as you get to a rather large clear-cut area. Again, as in the Otter Lake Cutoff, it looked as though the Clear-Cutting had recently happened.
Again, the trail was well marked through the clear-cut area, and the grass was greener where the trail is, so it was easy to make out. I crossed the clear-cut area and made it back into the woods only to walk a few hundred more yards and hit another large clear-cut area. I made it across the second clear-cut area and made it back into the woods. This time I was hoping it would be the end of the clear-cut areas. And it was. The trail started to go uphill gradually, so I thought maybe I would be approaching the last two overlooks. Soon it started looking like I was getting to the top of the hill and I came upon the first overlook. It was a nice overlook of the wooded plain down below. I didn’t set my gear down here because according to the Guidebook, the next overlook would be the most spectacular one yet.
The next overlook would be on a spur trail going away from the Border Route about an 1/8th of a mile. I kept going through the woods with some easy hiking, and I found a trail junction and a sign saying “overlook” with an arrow. I set my gear down and started hiking up the trail. It went up at a fairly decent rate, but wasn’t too strenuous, besides, I didn’t have my gear on. Then I came out to a spectacular overlook. This was a 270 degree panorama. I could see the Swamp River to my south and the massive woodlands everywhere else. I took several photos here including a panorama shot and a self shot. This was the best overlook on this section. Perhaps the best overlook on the whole Border Route. And I was enjoying life up there.
I was enjoying life because I knew that it was only .8 of a mile until the end of the Border Route, and most of it would be downhill. I hiked back to my gear at the junction, and headed out. It was mostly downhill for a long ways then it became very flat. At first I was hiking in the dark woods on the side of the hill, then the trail went into some scrubby woods. I thought I would be walking along the Swamp River soon. But I checked the map and the trail doesn’t go directly next to the Swamp River until near the end of trail. Instead, I would be hiking something else, a clear-cut area. I could see the clear-cut area to my left, but the trail never went into the clear-cut. Evidently, the Border Route Trail Association was rather mad about the other clear-cut areas, and had negotiated with the forest to keep the clear-cutting away from the trail. I continued and eventually cleared the clear-cut area. Then I came across a grassy forest road. It’s shown on the map, so I knew I had only about 1/4th of mile left. Soon I could hear the Swamp River to my left and saw glimpses of it. Then I made it to the Trailhead.
I HAD COMPLETED THE BORDER ROUTE TRAIL!!!!!!!!
I was happy. There was one car in the parking lot, which I thought was funny because I had not encountered anyone. Perhaps they were using the two car system and had started at the Arrowhead Trail after I had.
I took photos at the trailhead to document my achievement. While I was doing that I truck pulling a boat pulled up and was backing into the Swamp River Boat Launch. This is no easy task, because the boat launch was about a football field back into the woods. I talked to the guy and he seemed confident that he could back his boat into the launch. And he proceeded to do so. As he was doing that I grabbed my bike that I had hidden in the woods next to the latrene and proceeded to duct tape my hiking poles onto the bike.
While I was doing that another truck came along hauling a boat and was getting ready to back into the boat launch. I went over and said Whoah to the driver and he rolled down his window. I told him that there was already a truck down at the boat launch. But they had been down there for a while, so they should be coming out soon. And it was only a couple minutes later when the first truck came out of the boat launch. Then the second guy started backing in. All of a sudden there had been a traffic jam at the boat launch when this was a really remote area. I thought about asking one of the guys with the boats for a ride up to my van, but I had my bicycle, so I decide just to bike it. Besides, they were busy with their boats.
So I headed up the road riding my bike. It was difficult biking on the red gravel, even with my mountain bike. During the uphill stretches I would have to get off my bike and walk it up the hill. But using the bike was definitely faster than walking the whole way. It took me about 40 minutes to cover the three miles back to the van. When I got there it was around 1:30 pm. I had made really good time hiking and biking that last segment. The one thing I had forgotten to do back at the trailhead was mark my spot with the Spot Messenger. Oh well.
Now I had a decision to make. Should I start hiking the Superior Hiking Trail or should I call it quits. It was Saturday, and I knew that the Birch Terrace in Grand Marais had Karaoke on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Nights. So, if I wanted to sing Karaoke, I would have to do so tonight, because it would be the last chance. So I decided I would pack it in and go sing Karaoke tonight to celebrate completing the Border Route. Then I could decide tomorrow if I wanted to hike some more.
I hopped in my van and headed down the Arrowhead Trail. I turned right on Highway 61 and made it down to Grand Marais. The first thing I did was stop at the Grand Marais Best Western and pick up my keys that I had left there. It was the keys with the UW-Milwaukee Lanyard. Then I went to Dairy Queen for my usual vanilla cone dipped in chocolate. It was the third or fourth time on the trip that I used the drive up at Dairy Queen. And always the same guy had worked the window. I had become a regular there.
Then I drove down to the Grand Marais Municipal Campground and swung around to the Restroom/Shower House next to the Ball Diamond. I just strolled right in and took a shower like I owned the place. To tell you the truth, there wasn’t anybody around except a couple old timers going to the bathroom and talking about the Cubs. This was a very nice facility and was very well kept up. I bet you there were 8 shower stalls, and a bunch of toilet stalls, urinals and sinks. The building was fairly new, and looked great. It was 2 pm in the afternoon, so it is to be expected that there would be nobody else taking showers at that time. I wasn’t a resident at the campground, but it didn’t say anything that the showers were for campers only. Perhaps some swimmers at the beach or ball players at the baseball diamond also use the showers. I used the shower and nobody confronted me about using them. And if I were confronted I’d use the same line as when I was at Grand Portage. I’d say I was hiking and needed to clean up before I went out for dinner and an evening of entertainment in Grand Marais. Hey, Grand Marais is my favorite place to spend money on the North Shore. I showered without incident and continued on.
Then I decided to go to the Laundrymat. I had planned not to go to the laundymat and had taken a lot of extra clothes. But I had been out and about for ten days and most of my clothes were dirty, except for what I had just put on at the shower house. So, I headed up the Gunflint Trail to the Laundrymat. I knew exactly where it was because I ducked into the Laundrymat last year when it started raining. There were two women at the Laundrymat while I was there. One of them was very young and I started talking to her. She had just graduated from Grand Marais High School and had an older sister that the other woman knew. I asked her what she was planning to do after High School. She said she was going to be attending YTech this fall. She wants to be an automobile mechanic and YTech has a good program she said. She had worked restoring old cars with her dad, that’s what got her interested in auto mechanics. I asked her where YTech was located, and she said Laramie, Wyoming. So then I thought it must be WyTech and not YTech.
I put my wash in the dryer except for my wool hiking socks which I laid out on the table. As some of my clothes started getting dry, I started folding them and putting them in my California Pack. I took some of my nicer clothes and went back into the restroom and changed into them. I was all set for a night out. I finished up at the Laundrymat and I headed for downtown Grand Marais.
I always wanted to try Sven and Ole’s Pizza place. I walked in and the place was packed. You order at the left of the front door, then the dining room was to the right of the front door. Then in the back of the dining room there is a mezanine that has a bar. I asked at the counter how long it would be to get a pizza. They said 40 minutes. That was a little long for me, but they had a heated glass rack that had pizza by the slice. I got a slice of sausage pizza and headed up to the bar area. I ordered a local brew and ate my pizza. It wasn’t the best. I think it had been sitting around in that glass case for a while. But everybody who ordered a pizza got pizza that looked really good. Maybe I should have ordered a pizza.
It was getting to be around 7 pm and a bunch of people in the bar wanted the bartender to change the TV from baseball to the Stanley Cup Playoff game. Since there are 3 big widescreen TV’s in the bar, the bartender changed one of them to the hockey game. It was game one, and everyone seemed to be rooting for the Chicago Blackhawks. Maybe it’s because that’s the team people rooted for before the Minnesota Wild came into existence. At any rate, the Blackhawks were doing well, so everybody was happy.
I finished my pizza and beer. I decided to stop over at the Birch Terrace to see if Karaoke would be starting soon. So I drove a few blocks over and went inside. To my surprise, Liz the bartender at the American Legion on Wednesday night was now my bartender at the Birch Terrace on Saturday night. I made a little joke like what bar should I go to tomorrow night to get a beer from you. She laughed and served me up a Miller Lite. The Slice of Pizza from Sven and Ole’s didn’t really fill me, so I asked to look at the menu.
I also asked when Karaoke would be starting and she said at 9 pm. I was over an hour and a half early. Then I stated that I thought Minnesota was hockey country and why don’t they have the hockey game on instead of some baseball game that wasn’t even the Twins. So she switched the station, and the Blackhawks were continuing to do well, I believe it was 2-0.
I ordered a burger and it arrived a lot faster than the burger I had at Burger Night at the American Legion. But there were many people that had ordered food right before me at the American Legion. Right now, I was probably the only person ordering food at the Birch Terrace. I ate my burger and drank my beer fairly leisurely while watching the hockey game. But I was getting tired, it had been a long day, so I told Liz I would come back later for Karaoke, because it wasn’t going to be starting for a while yet anyway. Then I drove up the hill from the Birch Terrace and found an empty church parking lot to park my van. I crawled into the back and took a nap.
I woke up at about 10 pm. I had taken a nap for at least an hour and a half. It felt good. I drove back down to the Birch Terrace where the Karaoke had already begun. They do Karaoke a little bit different in Grand Marais. A lot of people show up to request that Dave, the karaoke dj, to sing a song. They seem to turn in slips for Dave and a fairly regular rate. I turned in a slip to sing “Wild World” by Cat Stevens and after a couple songs it was my turn to sing. I introduced myself as Tman, a backpacker from Madison, Wisconsin. I told everybody that I had seen Stairway Falls, the Rose Cliffs, the Watap Cliffs and the Pigeon Cliffs while backpacking, so I knew it was a “Wild World.” I told everybody to help me with the chorus “Oh Baby it’s a Wild World.” The song started and soon I had everyone singing the chorus with me.
Dave had sung “The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald” as a request from someone in the audience. Then another guy sang “Sundown.” All of a sudden we had a run on Gordon Lightfoot songs because the guy’s wife liked Gordon Lightfoot. I continued the trend with “Carefree Highway,” just to make the lady happy. Meanwhile, while sitting at the bar I met two ladies. One was named Ellie and the other Luba. Ellie was an older lady, I’d say in her 60’s and Luba was younger, I’d say in her 30’s. Luba had sung a song, but Ellie was still hesitant about singing. It turns out that Luba is from Russia and had been working in Grand Marais for 7 years before moving to the Twin Cities recently. And Ellie was a long time Grand Marais resident.
I continued singing songs when it was my turn. I sang “Fly Like an Eagle” by Steve Miller, which I dedicated to all the veterans. After all it was Memorial Day Weekend. As the night wore on, Ellie finally got up the nerve to sing. She sang “Half Breed” by Cher. I continued the Gordon Lightfoot trend by singing “If I could read your mind.” I encouraged Dave to sing “Beautiful” which was the last Gordon Lightfoot song in the book that had not been already sung. I didn’t know the song, and apparently neither did he because he didn’t sing it. The night wore on and people came and went. Luba and Ellie actually sang a song together. I could tell they were good friends. It was getting about time for Karaoke to be over with.
I had a nice conversation with Luba. She had a sales job down in the Twin Cities. She was pretty spunky, and not afraid to talk to people, so I could see how she would be a good salesperson. But she said she missed her parents who were back in Russia. And she had not seen them in seven years. I didn’t tell her that I haven’t seen either of my adult children since a rather nasty divorce 6 years ago. Is it any wonder why I’m hiking out in the wilderness by myself?
I figured out that Dave, the Karaoke DJ, was probably either the owner or the manager of the bar, because he had to go take care of some stuff. But he returned shortly and we continued singing. My last song of the night was “Don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone” by Cinderella. What a fitting song for a backpacking trip where you don’t have a nice bed to sleep in and other comforts of home. I finished the song and karaoke was over. Dave thanked me for coming and singing. I finished off my sprite, because I had switched over from beer to soda. It was a good night, and the Blackhawks had won.
I drove my van up the Gunflint Trail to the Pincushion Mountain Trailhead. I parked the van and went to sleep in the back.