Date: 2017-07-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We seem to be in a pattern. Thunderstorms overnight with dense fog in the morning. Last night's storms were a little closer than the previous night and the rain was a little more intense. Had I been asleep I probably wouldn't have heard the thunder over the crashing of the waves. However, that close to the shore the surf was loud and wasn't the white noise you would expect if you were set up farther inland. Occasionally waves would hit with more intensity or at a different angle to the shore and suddenly be quite loud. Not a good look for a light sleeper like myself. Also I've learned that the roof of my ZPacks tent is made of material that is REALLY LOUD when rained on. Finding out these things is why I'm doing this hike. I will definitely be packing ear plugs next year on the AT. Another pattern we are in is starting to hike after 10 am. Maybe the lack of good sleep during the night is causing me to sleep in, or it really is hard to get motivated on gloomy, foggy mornings. Once we were on our way, we crossed the bridge over the Big Carp River and headed northeast on the Lake Superior trail, which runs along you guessed it, Lake Superior. We were warned that the LST had lots of mud. No problem, right? We've seen lots of mud in two days in the park. How bad could it be?  The answer is, much worse. Occasionally the trail hugged the shoreline and we walked on loose softball sized boulders. When the trail made its way inland a little, the fun began. Gone were the quaint little 20 foot diameter mud pits. Now we were faced with quagmires 50 to 100 yards long with standing water throughout most of their length. Weirdly, these wet areas had virtually no mosquitoes. We didn't need bug spray, and I didn't need to pull my buff over my head like Cornholio to keep the bugs from trying to fly into one ear, though the empty space in my head and out the other ear. These mud pits did a number on my already sore feet. I was left with a choice of rock and root hopping to stay less muddy - ouch. Or slog down the middle and run the risk of bashing into or tripping on said rocks and roots - ouch. I opted for selective hopping using my hiking stick for balance and to find stepping stones and roots. Along the way I started noticing that my two original blisters had successfully recruited friends. My big toes definitely had joined the party and a couple of others on each foot had developed hot spots. When we came to an open campsite about 5 miles from where we started, we jumped on it. This is actually a double site, with the other side being occupied by a group of teenagers from Midland Michigan. They could have easily taken both sites, so we were very grateful they squeezed into one and left the other for us. This site is set back about 40 to 50 feet from the shore and separated from the water by a natural berm that acts as both a wind break and sound break. The sea is a little angrier here. The surf is more active and the walk to the water is down a treacherous slope of loose rocks. Since Peter is using a hand pump water filter, I became the designated water gatherer since it was easier for me to wait for a wave and scoop water into my platypus bag than it would be for him to try to filter at the shoreline. Then, since my Sawyer mini filter wasn't sealing well on the bag we used his pump filter to purify the water. Dinner was the best yet - AlpineAire Thai Chicken with Noodles. Delicious!  This is the second AlpineAire meal I've had. They are tasty and tend to be a little cheaper than Mountain House. Last night I did freezer bag cooking to make sour cream and chive mashed potatoes, to which I added chicken breast. Also very tasty. A front came through late this afternoon clearing away the clouds and dropping the temperature. Looking forward to a great night's sleep in the cool air with the waves providing background noise.