Tuesday, May 25, 2010
I woke up in the middle of the night and I thought someone was shining their flashlight onto my tent. It took me a few seconds then I realized it was the moon. My tent was on the overlook, with not many trees around it to block the moonlight. I went outside to go to the bathroom and I also took a photo of the bright moon. Then I went back to sleep.
I woke up in the morning pretty early. I was determined that I would not make the same mistakes as yesterday. Yesterday, I got going too late, I skipped taking water at stream and I walked in the heat until I puked. Today, will be different. Today, I will get started early, I will get water at every occasion it is available, and I will be taking an extended break in the middle of the day when it is the hottest. I got up and started packing up. I was feeling pretty good. The night’s rest as really refreshed me.
It was a very hazy morning, again, I took some photos of West Pike Lake including the island that I call Hatchet Island. I took the bear bag named CP30 down from where I has strung it up a ways down the trail. I really didn’t want to eat anything because I didn’t have any water to wash it down.
I decided I would do something different about my rashed up crotch. My first aid kit contained a gauze pad that is about 4 inches by 4 inches. I would cut the pad in half so that I have 2 pads that are 2 inches by 4 inches, then I would tape each pad on the inner section of my leg in the crotch region. I figured this might reduce the friction on my crotch and give the red skin some protection. So I proceeded doing so, using one of the 3 foot high rocks next to my tent as a table to put stuff on.
I proceeded to pack up. My tent was really wet from the heavy dew. I checked on the back portion of the tent to see if there were any water puddles, but there was not. I shook the tent to see if the dew would form into puddles. But there wasn’t enough dew to make that happen. Last year when I camped at Aganok Falls it had rained a little bit during the night, and I was able to collect a few cup fulls of water that was in puddles on the back portion of the tent. That’s because I was pitching the tent like a teepee or pyramid, instead of extending the back part of the tent out and putting a pole there. The way I pitched it now was more than big enough for me. If I ever have someone else share the tent with me, I would have to extend it.
I packed up fairly fast, leaving the wet tent as the top item. I took one last photo of the overlook and I was on my way. The trail traveled on a little ridge. From looking at the map, it looked like there were 4 or 5 little hills on this ridge. Each of the little hills were shorter than the next, so I would be going mostly downhill. But there was the possibility that I would be doing some up and downs right away today.
So, I headed off, and the trail was fairly flat for a ways, then it went gradually uphill. When I got to the top of the uphill section, I had made it to the other overlook that was marked with a star on the guidebook map. Boy that was fast. I wasn’t expecting to reach it that fast. The overlook wasn’t as scenic as the one that I pitched my tent at, and it didn’t have a good view of the lake below. But it had a couple big rocks at this location, so I took some photos of the rocks and the view and continued on.
The trail was mostly downhill or flat from there. As I was walking down to the portage, I was thinking about the movie Sahara. I had not seen the original movie with Humphrey Bogart, but I did see the more recent made-for-TV movie starring Jim Belushi. The setting was the Sahara Dessert in World War II. The Bogart/Belushi character was an American tank captain. They had picked up some Allied stragglers that were separated from their unit. They also shot down a German Plane and captured the pilot. From the pilot, they found out that the Germans were headed for an ancient Roman well for water. The Bogart/Belushi character decided that they would try to get to the well first, and they did.
They fortified the well building and dug in their tank. The German came and the Allied group successfully defended the well. But the problem with the well was it had dried up and was barely dripping, But the Germans didn’t know that. They continued to battle from time to time and the Allies continued to defend the well even though they only had 9 people. But again, the Germans didn’t know they only had 9 people. This went on for a few days, and at one point the Germans put up the white flag for a ceasefire and wanted to talk. But the Allied said there commander could not talk right now because he was taking a bath. It showed the commander coming out and washing himself. The water was dripping back down into a pan that the commander was standing in, but the Germans couldn’t see it. This was quite the demoralizing to the Germans. They really needed water to drink but the Allies had so much water they were bathing in it. The Germans finally did get to talk to the commander and wanted some water. Some of the German soldiers had died from the heat, so they really needed water. But the Allied Commander said they would have to surrender if they wanted water.
The German Commander went back to his troops and they made one final assault using everything they had at the Well building. They were blowing up the Well building pretty good using missiles from their tanks. But all of a sudden in the middle of the battle the Germans stopped shooting and just surrendered. After they surrendered they all dropped their guns and started running up near the well building. The Allies didn’t know what was going on. But what had happened is that one of the missiles from a tank had opened up a water gusher near the well, and all the Germans were running to the water.
I felt like the Germans, I really needed water. I was saving my last swallows full of water in case I started to cough or choke. Soon, I hiked down a big downhill stretch and made it to the Portage. And getting to the portage was a joyous occasion. I took a photo of me hugging the Border Route Sign at the portage. I unloaded my gear, and set my tent out on some limbs to dry. I packed up some food and the alcohol stove in my bear bag named R2D2, grabbed the water filter and water bottles and off I went to West Pike Lake.
I had already settled the debate on whether I would go to Pine Lake or West Pike Lake. Going down to Pine Lake would involve going down around 15 contour lines on the map and was over a mile in distance. Going to West Pike Lake involves going down around 7 contour lines and a distance of 3/4 of a mile. Actually, going down wasn’t the problem it was coming back up afterwards. Plus, on the West Pike Lake direction of the portage, it looked like the portage went over a creek. So, maybe I could get water at the creek.
Going down the West Pike Lake part of the portage was pretty easy. It was a gradual downhill, and wouldn’t be too bad coming back up. It did take a while because it was about 3/4 of a mile. After hiking for some time, I came up to a puncheon over a creek. I wondered whether I should take water from the creek or continue down to the lake. I decided I would walk down the trail to a curve and see if I could see the Lake, and sure enough I did. So I continued on to the lake. I figured it would be better down by the Lake than back in the woods by the creek where there might be more bugs.
Well, I made it down to the West Pike Lake landing and started my little holiday. I found this nice rock about two feet high that had a curved indentation that was just perfect to sit on. I sat on it and took off my pants. The gauze pads down by my crotch had already disintegrated. So I took them off and put the remains in my trash pocket.
I got the water pump and read the instructions. It came with a scrubby pad, so after reading the instructions, took apart the water pump and scrubbed the ceramic cylinder. I reassembled the water pump and started pumping. I sat down in the water and started pumping water. It filtered the water much faster now. But my Nalgene bottle was not filling up very fast because I was drinking the water as soon as there was a few cups in the bottle. But, I did manage to fill my Nalgene bottle eventually,
]Then I got out of the water and sat on my favorite rock to sit on. I searched through R2D2 for some food, and laid it out on the nearby rocks. I thought I had brought a dehydrated meal to cook on the alcohol stove, but I couldn’t find it. Instead I had a whole bag of beef jerky, some trail mix and an energy bar. I started eating. I was living the High Life at the West Pike Lake Portage Landing. I would eat food for a while, then pump water while sitting in the water. Then I would get out of the water and eat more food while sitting on my favorite rock to sit on. Then I would go back to pumping some more water. This was truly the High Life, all I was missing was the beer.
All good things must come to an end. I need to get going so I put my pants back on. This time I decided to put medical tape on my crotch to cover up my rash. I figured this would protect the skin and cause less friction. It might be real painful to take the tape off, but I’ll worry about that when the time comes. I will probably soak it in water, then it might come off easier. After taking care of that and getting my pants on, I put on my socks and shoes. At least I thought I put on my socks and shoes. Afterwards, I look down and saw a wool sock that I had missed. I did put on the liner for my left food. Then I just put the boot on without the wool sock, which goes over the liner. So I had to redo it. Even the simplest things were becoming difficult to concentrate on.
I had eaten all the food that I brought down to the landing. I stuffed the other gear in R2D2 and hung it and the water filter from my hiking stick. I would be hiking back up to the Border Route Trail hobo style with everything hanging from my hiking stick, and my hiking stick going over my shoulder. I really enjoyed my time at this landing. And I think the Border Route Trail Association should investigate having a campsite near this location. Like I said before, I believe it is a much easier hike down to West Pike Lake than going to Pine Lake. Plus, West Pike Lake does not have any campsites within a mile of the portage, so it might be a good location.
When I started up the portage I wondered where the portage to East Pike Lake was. It connects with the West Pike Lake/Pine Lake portage and goes east to East Pike Lake. As I walked back I was making a concentrated effort on finding the trail. And sure enough after I crossed the puncheon over the creek, I saw the trail veering off to the left. When I was coming down the portage earlier, I was so excited about seeing the water in the creek that I totally missed seeing the portage to East Pike Lake.
I continued up the portage I was on. It was a fairly easy ascent, but at one point I saw something shiny on the trail. It was my dehydrated meal. I had dropped it out of R2D2 on the way down to the lake. I picked up the meal and continued back up to the trail junction and packed up my gear. I made sure the water filter was looped into the backpack strap correctly, then, I was on my way.
The trail goes up from the portage like the trail usually does near a portage. A portage is usually at the low point between two lakes, so naturally, I would be hiking uphill afterwards. It was a fairly easy ascent compared to some other that I encountered on this hike. I had made it to the top of Pine Ridge. I know that it is called Pine Ridge because my next landmark is called the Pine Ridge Campsite. But, that campsite is over 3 miles from the portage. But it is one continuous ridge, which is located between East Pike Lake and Pine Lake.
Once in a while I would get a glimpse of East Pike Lake, but there are no overlooks marked on the map for this section. So, I can now overlook the problem of whether it is a real overlook or not. I had problems on other days deciding what was an overlook that is marked on the guidebook map with a star. Some of those overlooks were just glimpses of the lake below. Now I was getting several glimpses of East Pike Lake.
I figured that this would be another up and down day hiking on a big bluff, just like the last few days were. And it was another up and down day and all around type of day. The trail didn’t seem as it had been cleared recently, but it was still in reasonable condition. Yes, I did encounter some dead falls, but most were easy to get over or around. Yes, the trail was thickety in some spots, but in other spots it wasn’t bad.
Early on in the hike, I encountered an interesting tree configuration. At first, I thought it was two trees that were growing extremely close together. But when I got up close I realized that it was a large pine tree whose top had tipped over on it self. Thus, it looked like two trees right next to each other. Also early on in the hike I encountered a small stream. I know I had the rule of getting water at every occasion, but I would break that rule already, as I skipped getting water there. I had found the top to one of my platypus bottles that I thought I had lost. So now I had one nalgene bottle and 3 platypus bottles all pretty much full. Plus I had rehydrated myself really good when I was down at the portage. The creek that I skipped was very small and looked as though it would dry up in late summer.
I would be hiking on Pine Ridge for about 4 miles. It would give me a chance to think about things. I had made some mistakes on this hike. It gave me a chance to go over them. First of all, the concept of going on a Trail Crew Trip, then going on a backpacking trip immediately afterwards was an ill fated concept. I should have taken at least a days rest before going backpacking. But it seemed like a great opportunity, mainly because the trail crew would take me near where I wanted to start backpacking, and I would get my van driven back to a location that I could hike to. As Spock’s father Sarek said, “it seemed logical at the time.” He said that about marrying a human woman. Taking a backpacking trip after being worn down from doing trail crew work was definitely a bad idea.
Another big mistake I made was pushing myself too hard at times. Yesterday, I pushed myself trying to get to the portage. And Saturday, I pushed myself trying to get to the Clearwater Lake Campsite. Today, I know it will be different. I will be taking a nap in the middle of the hot afternoon, then walking later when it is cooler. Also, yesterday another mistake was not getting water from that stream I encountered. I was so sure I would be hitting the portage soon. But it didn’t happen yesterday, I made it there this morning. Today, I had much more water to work with because I found the missing bottle cap.
Another really big mistake I made was not bringing something to take care of a rash. From now on, rash medicine would be the most important thing in my First Aid Kit. My crotch is really hurting. And it may have contributed to my overall exhausted feelingthat I had last night.
Another small mistake was not putting my phone in a plastic bag. Now my phone is not working properly because it may have gotten wet from the platypus bottles that I carry in my vest next to it. But who knows what’s wrong with it. It could be just that I am out of Cell Phone range.
Other stuff that I have done, may or may not be viewed as a mistake. For instance, I got a late start yesterday at Lake Gogebic, thereby making me walk more in the heat of the day. But, my body really needed to sleep in, so maybe it wasn’t a mistake. Maybe the mistake was not staying at Gogebic for another day and just resting.
Also, I was hauling too much gear. I was hauling long underwear tops and bottoms, plus I was hauling a warm jacket. I really don’t count that as a mistake either because if I had not brought those items it would surely be really cold. Last year when I hiked during the same time period, I froze every night, and sometimes during the day. Last year my biggest mistake was not bringing enough gear to stay warm. I was making sure I didn’t repeat that mistake.
Today, I knew that I had a 4 mile stretch on top of Pine Ridge before the trail hits the East Pike Lake/McFarland Lake portage while yesterday it was a 6 mile stretch before I hit the portage. So, today, I would surely make it to the portage. I wondered if I would make it out to the Arrowhead Trail today, It would be an eight mile hike from where I started this morning, and I only hiked about 5 miles yesterday. But I got a 4 hour head start today, and was refreshed at the portage. I definitely would not push it to make it to the Arrowhead Trail. The worst case scenario was that I would make it out to the Arrowhead Trail sometime tomorrow. I figured if I made it out today that I could hitch a ride this evening with a fisherman that was coming off the lake. I definitely would be taking a break from backpacking once I reached the Arrowhead Trail. Hopefully, I could get someone to give me a ride down to Highway 61, then I could hitchhike down to Grand Marais, back to my van.
I kept going on top of Pine Ridge. Again I was going up, down and all around, but mostly east. The day wore on, and soon it was the middle of the afternoon. I decided I would find a place to lay down. As I hiked I saw a really shady area under a pine tree. It seemed more shady than other areas that I had looked at. So, said to myself, this is the spot for a nap. I set my gear down, and set out my spot messenger on a pine tree branch. It wasn’t windy, so I thought I would stay on the branch okay. I laid out my poncho in the shady spot, put my backpack on one end of the poncho. Then I dragged over a small downed pine tree to the other end of the poncho. I would be using my backpack as a pillow and the small tree to put my feet up. I took a nap.
I took a nap in the shade for at least 40 minutes to an hour. When I woke up the shade had moved until the sunny area was right next to me. I set up a timed photo of me taking a nap, then I grabbed my spot messenger. I’m not sure if it sent and “I’m okay” message, I packed up my poncho and left. The Super Shady Pine Tree had served me well.
I continued hiking on the Pine Ridge, and soon I reached a trail intersection with a blue arrow pointing to the left. I wondered if the Border turned here or if this was a trail to the Pine Ridge Campsite, also known as the “Campsite in the Woods.” I went down the trail and found the campsite.
It’s a nice and flat campsite, with a forest service iron fire grate in the fire area, with nice log benches. The campsite has some nice flat grassy tent pads. I didn’t see the Latrene, but I saw a trail leading away from the campsite. The Pine Ridge Campsite is a nice enough campsite, but….BUT IT’S A VERY BAD IDEA!!!
You see, the campsite is near the East Pike Lake/McFarland Lake Portage. Once you get on the portage, it is 1/4 mile down to the East Pike Lake Landing. If a fire ever got out of control at this campsite, it would take you at least 10 minutes to run down to the lake to get water, and probably 15 minutes to carry a fair amount of it back. By that time the fire would be too big to contain. I’m thinking this campsite is a forest fire waiting to happen.
If the campsite is 1/4 mile away from East Pike Lake, why not just put it on East Pike Lake. It would get a lot more use, because canoeist would use it, and it wouldn’t be a fire hazard in my mind. Plus, there isn’t another campsite on the lake within a mile of the portage. Let’s make everybody happy and just move that campsite down to the lake. I headed back to the Border Route Trail and hiked east again. Soon I hit the East Pike Lake/Pine Lake portage. At the portage, it looks as the Border Route once headed straight, but a bunch of logs were piled up to prevent you from going that way. I turned left and headed down towards the lake. Within sight of the lake, the Border Route turns right, and there is a Border Route sign with an arrow. I set my gear down at the sign and took the water filter and water bottles down to the lake.
As I was pumping water, I looked to the left and saw some clouds moving in. I continued pumping and then noticed the clouds were really moving, they had already made it half way across the lake. It was a freaky storm front, with clouds whirling around as if they were going to start a tornado. I began thundering, so I thought I’d better cut my water pumping session short, and go back to my gear. I was actually scared for the first time.
I went back to my backpack, and immediately put on my poncho. I had not used it except for a ground cloth up until this point. I thought I would be in for a major rainstorm. It would be a deluge. It had started raining softy, but I just knew I was in for a beating. I thought I should high tail it for the Arrowhead Trail, which was about 3 miles away.
I continued up to the top of a ridge seeing glimpses of East Pike Lake to my left. It was slow going because it was raining and the trail was wet and slippery. But the rain kept falling softy, and the major drenching did not occur. Finally, it quit raining, and my fears subsided. It was quite the scary storm front, but it was more bark than bite.
I continued walking through the woods on top of the ridge. My next landmark would be an overlook, Then it would be a less than a mile, all downhill to the Arrowhead Trail. Plus I would be crossing a creek on the section after the overlook and I would be leaving the Boundary Waters, so there might be a sign. I kept going on the ridge. It wasn’t as up and down and all around as other ridges I had walked on, including the Pine Ridge this morning. There were uphill sections, but they were gradual and fairly easy to ascent. I came across one creek early on. I figured it was too early for it to be the creek on the map that was close to the Arrowhead Trail. I had water from East Pike Lake, so I continued on.
I started seeing glimpses of a lake to my left, and I wondered if one of these glimpses was the overlook that was marked on the map. Every time I went downhill for a little bit, wondered if this was the start of going downhill to the Arrowhead Trail. The Guidebook stated that after the overlook it was all downhill. I continued on the trail, and it continued to be in a reasonable condition. It was mostly clear, will a few downfalls and brushy areas. I walked through the woods and started to see a better view of the lake below. Then all of a sudden I came upon a beautiful overlook. It was spectacular. John Lake was down below me, and to my right off in the distance I saw some cliff-like hills which I thought were the Pigeon Cliffs.
I set down my gear and looked at my cell phone. It said it was 9 pm. Wow, I didn’t think it was anywhere close to being that late. Maybe the cell phone was wrong and was an hour off. So, maybe it was 8 pm. Nevertheless, it was late, and I didn’t want to push it again. The overlook had a nice flat area that would be good to set up a tent, so I did.
I wasn’t going to push it to get out to the Arrowhead Trail, and have another disaster. I know, I know, I know, I’m supposed to be camping at a designated campsite when I’m in the Boundary Waters Wilderness. That’s the rule. And I am not usually a rule breaker when it comes to the outdoors. But, am I really camping? Or am I just crashing? I haven’t been at a designated campsite yet on this trip. I am setting a really bad example. The first night I tried like hell to make it to the Clearwater Campsite, and made it within 200 yards before I couldn’t see the trail anymore and just crashed on the trail. The second night I thought I was at a designated campsite at Lake Gogebic, but it turns out I wasn’t. And last night, I puked at the West Pike Lake Overlook and decided to stay there for the night.
Again, I really didn’t feel that I was camping. I was just pulling in for a few hours of rest. The only place that I had a campfire and used my alcohol stove was the night at Lake Gogebic, when I thought I was at the real campsite. It had a boat landing, fire ring and tent pads, although it didn’t have the official Forest Service fire grate. However, I did think it was the official campsite. In the morning I was proven wrong.
I ate some dried food and set the bear bag C3PO down the trail from the overlook. I was tired and really didn’t feel like stringing it up. Besides, I was less than a mile from the Arrowhead Trail, if something got into my food now, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Hopefully, I would be able to hitch a ride down to Highway 61 in the morning when I get to the Arrowhead Trail. I am not planning on finishing the Border Route right away. Instead, I would like to rest a couple days. I went back to my tent and turned in. It was a beautiful, peaceful night, and I had a good rest.
In the morning, I woke up before sunrise, proceeded to pack up and take photos of the sun rising. I went down the trail and retrieve my bear bag C3PO. No animals had touched it. I ate an energy bar and some trail mix. I packed up my backpack and I was off. No one would be able to tell that I slept at the overlook. I did not have a fire, or even use my alcohol stove. I can see the headline now, “Scout Leader starts Boundary Waters Fire.” I’m not taking any chances being so far from water.
The Guidebook was right, it was all downhill from the overlook. Soon I got to the point where there was a Boundary Waters sign, so I was officially leaving the wilderness. I stopped and took a timed photo of me next to the sign. Then I came across a small creek and wondered if it was the creek shown on the map. But it looked pretty small. I continued on a found a boardwalk going over a bigger creek. That must be the creek shown on the map. I noticed that the trail was pretty cleared now, with some deadfalls being recently cut. I continued and crossed some more boardwalks and BADA BOOM
there was the road. I HAD MADE IT TO THE ARROWHEAD TRAIL!!!! Praise the Lord!!! There was a Border Route Sign at the Road. I turned to the left and started walking down to a road intersection. It was the intersection of the Arrowhead Trail and Ary Pt Road.
At the intersection, the Arrowhead Trail turns left and then I could immediately see a bridge. I walked down to the bridge and saw two beautiful lakes. Little John Lake was to the left of the bridge and McFarland Lake was to the right of the bridge. Both Lakes were named after prospector John McFarland. As I walked on I saw a boat ramp with a pier to the left going into Little John Lake. Then I saw a parking lot, which is actually the Trailhead for the Border Route Trail. The BRTA has a nice kiosk sign there, and the Border Route going East starts right behind the kiosk. There were several cars parked in the parking lot. This raised my hopes that I would find someone to drive me down to Highway 61.
As I continued down the Arrowhead Trail, I saw a cleared out area, which was the Firefighting Heliport I had heard about. It had a sprinkler system around it. The Border Route used to go right through the Heliport until last year when they moved the trail around the Heliport. I walked up to the McFarland Lake Campground of the Grand Portage State Forest. Maybe there would be someone here that could help me.
As I walked up the campground road, I heard voices to my left. I turned left on a dirt road and walked into a campsite that was occupied by 4 men. They had quite the layout. They had a big white cabin tent, some great cooking gear and a trailer to store stuff in.
I walked into the campsite and introduced myself and told them I was from Madison, Wisconsin. They introduced themselves and told me that they were from Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. They were up here fishing. There were 3 older gentlemen who I would guess were in there 60’s and one younger man who I thought was around 35. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember their names and I didn’t have my voice recorder on. I said that I was backpacking for the last 4 days and that I was worn down more than I expected to be. One of the older men said it was no wonder because Minnesota had record temperatures for May the last few days. It was in the 90’s. Wow, I thought, no wonder I was doing so bad.
I said that I was planning to hike some more, but now I too worn down. And that I would be willing to pay someone to drive me down to Highway 61, where I maybe could get another ride into Grand Marais. The younger man asked one of the older men how long it would be until breakfast was ready. The older man said about a half an hour. Then the younger man said that he would take me down to Highway 61. But first I took a nice photo of all four of them and gave them each a “I Saw Tman” card.
Then the younger man went over to his truck and opened up the tailgate. When he did so I saw that the back of his jacket said “SHERIFF.” So as we got in the truck I asked him if he was in fact a sheriff. And he said yes, that they all worked for the Sheriff’s Department in Wisconsin Rapids. But the rest of the men were all retired. I told him that my sister is a Police officer for the State Capitol in Madison.
Off we went, down the Arrowhead Trail. And my conversation with younger Sheriff proved to be very inspirational. But it will have to wait, because this is the Trip Report for Tuesday, May 25 and we are now way into Wednesday morning. I just wanted to let everyone know that I did get a ride. You’ll have to read the next installment to find out about the inspirational conversation. And it wouldn’t be the only inspirational conversation for Wednesday.