Tackling the Trail. And Then the Trail Tackles You. What is your plan for the “Oh Shit” moments on the trail? For those of us hiking in northern Minnesota, spring means one thing. It is time to come out of hibernation and get outside. Hiking in northern Minnesota in the spring means mud, ticks, and unpredictable weather, but also some of the most beautiful trail conditions of the year. For me specifically, it means I get to don a layer of glow-in-the-dark topcoat. Yes, you read that correctly. Glow-in-the-dark topcoat. It is my thing. I joke that I always wear glow-in-the-dark nail polish on the trail so they can find the body easier. Safety first. When you are hiking in northern Minnesota, it pays to think ahead.
A Seven-Day Stretch Hiking in Northern Minnesota
Hiking in northern Minnesota on the Superior Hiking Trail means relentless ups and downs, and this particular stretch delivered exactly that. I was seven days into a fourteen-day backpacking trip on the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) with my “Pinky Swear Partner,” Melissa. The plan was to hike from the Demonstration Forest in Two Harbors all the way to Pincushion in Grand Marais. Our friend Katie had met us at the Finland Community Center and joined us for the final seven days. Despite the fact that it was a wet, rainy day, all was well.
After a spectacular lunch, a change of clothes, and a resupply organized by Katie and her husband, we headed back down the trail. We were happy to have Katie with us. We swapped stories from the previous week. Specifically, we talked about crossing the Encampment River in nearly waist-deep water and the silty river water that came with it.
At one point, our Katadyn Hiker Pro water filter was so clogged it would not work. As a result, we had to leave the trail and hitch a ride to Duluth Trading Company to pick up new filters. That detour is where I discovered and purchased my first Katadyn Be Free. The love affair began. Most importantly, I also learned that a coffee filter and a hair tie over the end of the Hiker Pro acts as a double filtration system and works beautifully in a pinch. Pro tip: tea bags can also work, depending on the size of the bag.
When My Ankle Went Pop
For those who are not familiar with the SHT, it is known for its relentless ups and downs. We were in the middle of one of those “ups” when it happened. I stepped down wrong and not only felt but heard a loud pop in my ankle. My good, left ankle. I say good ankle because I have had nine surgeries on my right ankle that ultimately ended up with a total right ankle replacement.
The pain was instant and excruciating. Melissa and Katie were right there, and of course the question became, “What are we going to do?” It was truly a “we” situation. My reply was simple: “I’m going to walk out of here.” Luckily, I was hiking in Oboz boots with high ankle support. I laced them as tightly as I could and continued on across the slippery rocks.
Eventually, we got a few bars of cell service from the top of one of the hills. We were able to call my husband Dennis. I was so distraught I could not talk to him without having a meltdown. Not because of the pain, but because I was downright pissed off. This was NOT part of the plan.
Getting Help on the Trail
As Tom Hanks’ character Jimmy Dugan screamed in the movie A League of Their Own, “There’s no crying in baseball!” I was screaming the same thing in my head on that trail. “There’s no crying in backpacking!” Between Melissa, Katie, and Dennis, we were able to get a hold of Harriet Quarles, the legendary Superior Hiking Trail angel. Harriet was in Duluth getting her hair done at the time. For those who are not familiar with Harriet, her hair is as legendary as she is. She agreed to meet me at the Sonju Lake Trailhead, which gave me time to gingerly hobble the last three miles down the trail. Harriet drove me to the hospital in Grand Marais for x-rays. Luckily, it was only soft tissue damage.
It was a slow, painful three-mile hike to the trailhead. I am glad I had programmed Harriet’s number into my phone in case of an emergency the previous year. Cooler heads prevailed. Ultimately, I was able to rejoin Melissa and Katie a few days later to finish the hike.
Round Two: The Mud Wins This Time
Fast forward a few months. Melissa and I went back out to cover the section of the SHT I had missed because of the sprained ankle. That section included the George H. Crosby Manitou State Park, a section I was looking forward to. I had heard it was difficult, with plenty of ups and downs. Day one was great. Day two was a different story. Not only was it raining, but it was also thundering and lightning. The trail was wet, slippery, and we were moving fast.
Let me paint a picture for you. Melissa is an athlete. She is a swimmer and a runner. Long and lean. She also has this “other gear” that appears out of nowhere, and when she grabs it, she is gone. I, on the other hand, am not an athlete. Melissa is long and lean, whereas I have more of an Oompa Loompa thing going on.
Down I Go
As I was running, more like waddling, trying to keep up, my foot caught on a tree root. Or maybe it was a rock. I lost my balance, fell, and went skidding down the muddy trail on my stomach. I broke my hiking pole with my face, directly below my eye, and almost went headfirst into a rock. Melissa realized I was no longer behind her. She turned around and came back to find me face down in the mud, completely piled up. I looked up at her and she moved the hair out of my face and winced. Laughing, “Is it that bad?” I asked. She took a closer look. Blood was dripping down my face. “No. No. It is not THAT bad,” she said. That resulted in a nice gash under my eye, a decent shiner, and oh lucky me, I was traveling to Washington, D.C. that week for a convention.
After we got off the trail, we went to Our Place in Finland, Minnesota, for a burger and a much-needed beer. I still crack up thinking about it. That had to have been quite a sight.
The Reality of Hiking in Northern Minnesota: Things Go Sideways Fast
The reality of backpacking and hiking is that things can go sideways quickly. Therefore, you need a plan. Or at the very least, you need to be able to figure out what to do to save yourself.
If you are hiking in northern Minnesota, especially deep in the backcountry, you need a real plan for when things go sideways. In 2013, a 66-year-old woman named Geraldine Largay was backpacking the Appalachian Trail when she stepped off the trail to use the restroom. She became disoriented and could not find her way back. With no cell signal, she was unable to text her husband for help. Ultimately, she survived for weeks before dying of exposure and starvation. Her remains were found about two years later, less than two miles from the trail. Gerry is the reason I took an REI Backcountry Navigation Course. Admittedly, I need a refresher. It is absolutely a use-it-or-lose-it skill, and we need to be continually practicing it.
I recommend taking any sort of class that will enhance your knowledge and skills in the outdoors. I recently took a class on foraging for spring wild edibles at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais. Up next for me is my Wilderness First Aid certification. The bottom line is knowledge is power. Especially in the backcountry.
What to Do When You Cannot Use a Compass
So, you are terrible at using a compass. That is fine. I am too. Instead, I recommend carrying a long piece of bright plastic flagging tape that you can grab quickly if you need to leave the trail. Simply tie it to a branch and it will act as a beacon to find your way back. It is lightweight and takes up no space whatsoever. Flagging tape is also useful if you think you have lost the trail. Break off small pieces and tie them to tree branches along the way. It works like a trail of breadcrumbs.
Hiking in northern Minnesota means navigating trail systems like the SHT, the Border Route Trail, and the Kekekabic, each with its own quirks and challenges. We are fortunate that the SHT has a lot of trail heads and access points along the way. The Border Route Trail and the Kekekabic Trail, however, are different stories. While the Kek is on my list to tackle, I first hiked the 65-mile BRT in early June 2019 with my friend Sue. Like the SHT, the BRT is part of the North Country Trail. It follows the northern border of Minnesota through a portion of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which means a permit was required.
Six Nights on the Border Route Trail
Because we did not know exactly what we were getting into, and because the trail had a tremendous number of blowdowns and was substantially overgrown in certain areas, we decided to plan our hike entirely around the campsites. We spent six glorious nights on the trail. What was nerve wracking about the trip was knowing that once we were a day and a half in, we would be past the point of no return. There would be no road access for the next two to three days.
We did not have a Garmin inReach system, though I do recommend one. Unfortunately, they require a subscription, which is not ideal for those on a budget. At the time, they had just released the inReach Mini, which only weighs 3.5 ounces. It was an option, but we decided to take our chances. I am happy to say that everything turned out fine. That said, we did lose the trail quite a few times, especially early on. The trail was so overgrown we could not tell it apart from the deer trails. We eventually found our way to one of our campsites using a map, a compass, and a Garmin GPS system.
Our Backup Plan
Before we left, I made sure Dennis had a copy of our full itinerary. He and Sue’s husband were planning to meet us on the trail on the third night by canoeing into one of the campsites. Sue is my adventure-enabling dear friend and the other half of most of my bad decisions. You have probably read about her before on this site.
Better Late Than Dead
Because Dennis is an adventurous spirit himself, he spends more time than I do in the backcountry. We have an understanding. We recognize that sideways weather does not always mean an emergency. For example, bad weather could prevent paddling across a lake. We commonly refer to “Basterdly Brule” in the BWCA. If the wind is coming from the wrong direction, it can make crossing that lake impossible. Rather than risk it, sit it out and wait if you need to. Be smart about it.
We give each other a minimum of two days to show up before either of us sends out search and rescue. That logic does not work for everyone, but it works for us. We would rather be two days late for dinner than risk our lives over a burnt pot roast. It is not worth it.
A Book Every Hiker Should Read
There is an excellent book I highly recommend called Lost in the Wild by Cary J. Griffith. The book is unique in that it simultaneously follows two real-life wilderness emergencies in Minnesota. The stories unfold independently yet highlight the same truth: how quickly mistakes can cascade into life-threatening situations. The book tells the story of Dan Stephens, who vanished in 1998 while searching for a portage in Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park, and Jason Rasmussen, who became lost while backpacking Minnesota’s Pow-Wow Trail in the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area. This is an excellent read for any hiker, backpacker, canoeist, or outdoor enthusiast.
What I really appreciated about the book was how it walked the reader through each mistake and its consequence. At one point I literally found myself talking to Dan and Jason out loud, saying things like, “Oh no! No…don’t do that.” I learned so much from them and their experiences. It is a great read.
Bright Colors, Smart Choices, and the People You Trust
I mentioned my glow-in-the-dark fingernails earlier. They are also usually bright orange. Muted colors, while stylish, are hard to see from a boat, helicopter, or anywhere else in the event of a rescue. If there is ever a choice in colors, I will always pick the brighter, more obnoxious option. They save lives. My puffy coat is bright orange. My pack is a shade of red. The one exception is my tent, which is leafy lime green and will blend in from overhead in a dense forest. To counter that, both my sleeping pad and my sleeping quilt are bright orange. If needed, I can drape them over my tent for additional visibility. You will find examples of this concept in the book mentioned above.
There were so many takeaways from Lost in the Wild, but one stood above all others: mindset, hope, problem-solving, and sheer will are what determine who survives out there. As I said before, there is no crying in backpacking.
Know Who You’re With
This leads me to my final point. I know this is going to sound harsh, but I mean it with love. Know who you are going into the wilderness with. I do not just go with anybody. I have a short list of girlfriends I will go backpacking and into the BWCA with. When things go sideways, we must be able to rely on each other. Everyone must remain calm and stay mentally tough. Before going on anything longer than a weekend trip, Melissa and I did quite a few overnights together first. We needed to test the waters and get our systems dialed in. Let me clarify, I am not talking about experience level. Experience can be taught. What I am talking about is compatibility and reliability. Those things matter when it counts.
The Trail Will Tackle You. Here Is How to Be Ready.
Hiking in northern Minnesota will tackle you eventually. The question is whether you are ready when it does. The trail has tackled me more than once, and I am sure it will not be the last time. The good news is that every stumble, every face plant, and every popped ankle become a story worth telling. Moreover, they become lessons worth learning. Prepare yourself the best you can. Know your gear, know your people, and know your plan. Because at the end of the day, it really is all about the miles and the smiles.
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