So I’ve been back from my fall vacation to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore for nearly a week, and I guess I could share parts of my experience with the madding crowds hitting this here blog. I’ve decided to do so by simply transcribing the notes that I took while there, and those will follow in this post and the next one.
To set the stage, I should mention that I took a short week to go camping at Hurricane River campground on the southern shore of Lake Superior. If you look at the little map up there, Hurricane River campground is represented by the two little tent icons a third of the way across the map – oddly enough, on the Hurricane River.
The dot at the point of land to the right of Hurricane River is the Au Sable Light Station. That small point is virtually the only area on the entire map where one can pick up a cell signal.
Moving west from Hurricane, you can see the icons for the Benchmark campsites (back country), Twelvemile Beach campsites (cars), and Sevenmile group and single campsites (back country).
To the east of the Au Sable Light Station are a number of back country campsites, the Grand Sable Dunes (labeled) and the little town of Grand Marais. The distance from the Sevenmile sites to Grand Marais, were one to walk along the North Country Trail, is right around 17 miles. Over the course of the week, I did indeed hike every inch of that distance. And loved it…although one of my ankles is still bothering me.
Now that that’s out of the way, on to the field notes.
10/3/16@19:10 – I’m sitting at my picnic table in a leather bomber jacket, listening to Lake Superior crash on the shore while my fire crackles happily. It is so nice finally to be somewhat chilly.
Today was mostly a driving day. I left my hotel room in Lima, OH, after sleeping until nearly 07:00, which was nice in and of itself. The drive to Grand Marais was uneventful for the most part. It did get rather interesting in the last 10 miles, when my GPS discovered what it presumed to be the quickest route fro me. Last year, I took only paved roads. This year, however, the Garmin took me about 8 miles down what amounted to a logging trail – and not a very good one. I admit that I considered turning around a few times, but the Subaru was a trooper. The Audi wouldn’t have made it.
[Note: I opted to take a longer route on the return trip. Did not want to try the Rhoddie Truck Road again after a night of rain!]
I arrived at my campsite at around 16:30 and got things set up before taking the 2-mile walk to the Au Sable Light Station to check my email and to let Jenny know that I’m still alive. Had a voice mail from my boss, so I called him and was informed of a mandatory meeting at 10:00 tomorrow. Oh goodie. I wonder if either a}Digital Life has been sold or b}I need to start looking for a new job…
10/4/16@08:15 – Not to be a global warming alarmist, but it is decidedly warmer here than it was during the same week a year ago. If I had to guess, the temp is in the low 60s this morning. I’ve put on my leather jacket now, but have been sitting here in just shorts and a t-shirt for the last 45 minutes. Last year, it was more like 45.
Made some coffee this morning, but probably won’t have anything else before I start the hike to the lighthouse for the 10:00 call.
While making the coffee, I did my first real test of the “charging pot” that I bought a few years ago. It has a wire attached to it that clips to other wires and eventually goes into my phone (or iPod or exercise band or whatever). Through some sort of magic, it is supposed to be able to charge small electronics by using the heat generated in coils built into the bottom of the pot. I was delighted to find that it works beautifully on my Coleman stove, and am determined to try it on my alcohol stove the next time I go ultra-light. What a great thing it would be to have a renewable source of recharging on those trips, rather than having to carry relatively heavy charging blocks.
I also brought a solar-and-crank-powered radio with me on this trip, but haven’t tried it yet (though I did let it charge via sunlight on the first driving day, and it seemed to take a charge really well).
Woke up twice during the night. Once at around 03:00 to pee, and again a bit after 05:00 because my blankets had become dislodged and I was cold. The first time, my fire was still burning, but it had died by the 05:00 awakening; and it was so unbelievably dark that I seriously wondered if I’d gone blind. After trying (with no success) to see my hand in front of my face, I pressed the “light up” button on my wristband and reassured myself that my eyes still function. Had an interesting time falling back to sleep, entertaining myself by imagining what I’d do if I’d actually lost my sight and had to hike to the lighthouse in order to call for help. Or, for that matter, how’d I’d be able to dial 911 (assuming I got there) on one of these newfangled phones with no tactile buttons. I guess “OK, Google – call 911” might work. I’ve never considered it before.
10/4/16@13:20 – As I suspected, the meeting this morning was called so that my boss could pass on information regarding upcoming firings at AT&T (“surplussing” is what they like to call it these days). Apparently, the company has decided that too many people with my job title exist, and they’ll let us know later this month who will get to stay, who’ll get shuffled to new AT&T jobs, and who needs to watch their ass as the door slams shut behind them. Having gone through this so many times previously, I’m almost too tired of it to be worried – although I’ll admit that it adds a bit of stress to life as I try to determine how I’ll take care of the cats if I end up looking for a new job in a few months. But I’m on vacation, dammit. I’ll try not to think about things like that for a few more days.
Made some hot dogs and mac & cheese for lunch and finished listening to “Mozart In the Jungle” this afternoon. It’s a book by oboist-turned-author Blair Tindall. A fascinating tale about a woman who hung her hat on being an orchestral musician while the world of orchestral music spun out of control financially. At 40, she gave up on her dream, went back to school, and became a journalist. Well worth a read (or a listen).
This afternoon, I think I’ll go for a long walk. The breeze is lovely, temp is in the 70s, and rain isn’t due to arrive until late tonight.
10/5/16@09:00 – Didn’t sleep particularly well last night. Not entirely sure why, as I re inflated my air mattress, had plenty of blankets, and got a lot of exercise yesterday. I think that it might’ve been too quiet, although at one point I got my radio out (works great!) and listened to a bit of the VP debate. There was no wind, however, so I couldn’t hear the trees or the surf. I need that stuff to sleep when I’m here!
It is much cooler this morning. I’m still in shorts and a sweatshirt, but the breeze has come back and the temp is probably in the 50s. Weather forecasts, however, have been saying that it will remain unseasonably warm – nearing or surpassing the 80-degree mark. Not at all what I was hoping for.
The heat – what else can one call 70s and 80s in the U.P. in October? – has had one extremely negative effect: flies. Flies have been incredibly annoying over the last two days, and I’m sitting here now stamping my legs under the table in a way that reminds me of Vermont Holsteins in the summer. During my walk yesterday – from Hurricane River to Grand Sable Dunes – I must’ve killed 1000 of them on my shirt. It used to be an orange one….now it’s orange with multiple little blood spots all over it. U.P. Tie-Dye, I guess.
Made some coffee and sausage links for breakfast today and took the opportunity to charge my charger while doing so. Everything seemed to work pretty well in that area, and I’m back up to 75% power on the charger.
Not sure what today will hold, but if it gets to be as hot as predicted, I might just jump into the lake for a minute. My hair could certainly use it!
10/5/16@19:03 – I took a very long walk today – long enough to drain the battery on my Microsoft Band, so I’m not sure how much distance it’s going to give me credit for. I know, however, that I went about 18 miles. Left my campsite at Hurricane River at around 09:30 and walked on the NC trail westward until I got to the Sevenmile back-country campsite, which is just about 6.3 miles. I then turned around and came back east, passing my site and continuing to the Au Sable back-country sites, which are about 3 miles east. Stopped at the lighthouse on the way back in order to upload the information from my Band. As I mentioned the Band was dead by the time I got there, so I just checked my email and walked back to the tent, where I started charging the band.
My feet, by the way, are killing me. However, I got a really nice (and really COLD) dip in the lake about 5 miles west of here. I kept passing side trails leading to gorgeous (and completely empty) beaches; so finally I took one of them, stripped down to my jockeys, and got wet. Spent probably 15 minutes there before getting dressed and continuing on my trek. Yeah – getting the sand off of my feet was a major pain in the ass, but I dried off pretty quickly, so wasn’t cold. In the water, though…wow! “Bracing” seems like a good word for it. Each dunk felt kind of like my torso was going to break. But damn, it felt good.
As I said, my feet were on fire when I got back to my tent…and I was also sweating like a pig….and I was also out of beer. The last problem needed to be addressed, so I unhooked the tent from the car and drove to Grand Marais, which is a tiny town about 13 miles away. It basically survives by catering to North Country Trail hikers and hunters, although it was a booming lumber town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Got some beer and some relish, figuring on grilling some hot dogs over the fire tonight, and came back to my site. Got the fire lite….and then the skies opened up. I spent 10 frantic minutes arranging tarps and tent flaps and getting everything into the tent, with a minimum of things getting soaked.
And that’s where things stand now. The fire is burning merrily in the rain and I’m waiting it out from the confines of the tent, wondering if maybe I should just boil the hot dogs. At least I’ve got beer.
To be continued……