Superior Hiking Trail Day 7: Monday, August 31

Tenting at the South Sonju Lake campsite (SHT mile 170.5), walked 19.9 miles today

The trail had an extreme case of the Mondays this morning, by which I mean it absolutely bucketed down 52-degree rain until about noon. This dictated my movements, i.e. it was so thoroughly wet and so chilly that I didn’t stop moving until I had hiked 12 miles and the weather had finished; stuffed food in my side pockets and ate while I walked. Felt very fortunate to have just bought a brand-new rain jacket (I haven’t owned one for years because Arizona), and to have opted for one that is a little sturdier than the most minimalist rain shells on the market. Every extra half-ounce came in handy. Also felt fortunate that the trail was not nearly as strenuous as yesterday, because that would have really blown chunks, trying to do so much steep up-and-down in the rain. As it stood, I could and did cruise through many easy miles.

Unsurprisingly, I ran into only two people until the afternoon and neither had much to say. “Wet one today, huh?” There were a lot of tents still standing at the Kennedy campsites after a few miles, presumably with people hiding in them, playing cards, having Swedish worm fights in their sleeping bags, making shadow puppets, Lady-and-the-Tramping fruit rollups and then passionately making out—whatever you do when you’re stuck in your tent for a rainy morning. I was a little jealous of these people and their dryness but also proud to be zany enough to be out walking. Passed the much-ballyhooed Section 13 viewpoint soon after this and could see nothing but the inside of a cloud and some driven rain flying into my face.

Once the rain stopped, it stopped for good and the sun came out not too long after. The trail continued to be a not-terribly-challenging stroll through the trees—this is where I wish I knew more about forests so I could describe the situation with names of species, but the best I can say is that it was “distinctly more northern-feeling” than previous days. I’d say that today was the closest to what I pictured the SHT being in my head before coming out here: a mostly mellow trail, “northern-feeling,” brooks, lakes, rain, etc. The day concluded at this løveli lake, Sonju, which has a couple of huge campsites around it. I’m at the southern one, studiously ignoring the one other group here. If my legs and feet continue to hold up—every morning I’m shocked that I can walk, given how gelatinous my legs felt the evening prior—it’ll be another 20 or 23 tomorrow.

The clear solution to this problem is not to hang a bear bag in the first place. Keep it near you and/or in a bear-proof container all night and everyone wins. Photo taken aT the Leskinen Creek campsite.

After a lackluster start, a lacustrine conclusion to the day.