NCT: Day 12

We awoke and started hiking around 9am. The forest was beautiful, but the bugs were bad. We hiked about ten miles and decided we were done hiking. We hitched to Au Train, and from there we caught another hitch to Marquette. We hit the brewery first think. Met a few girls who invited us to jump off Blacks Rock, into cold as hell Lake Superior. So, we did. It was awesome. 

I got a reply text from my friend Alex, who was kind enough to let Krusty and I crash at his place. It was great hiking this part of the NCT. Hopefully someday soon I can do the porcupine mountains, and Superior trail. All total Krusty and I hiked around 200 miles.

NCT: Day 11

We woke up to discover how exposed our not so stealth camping spot was. We ate at Sydneys again, and hit the laundromat. This was our first, and only, opportunity to use a real washing machine of the trip. I managed to take a bandana bath in a large sink in the bathroom. It was nice to be clean.

We bought some steaks, and beer, and headed for the trail. We were intent to not do any miles. That is exactly what we didn't do. We fashioned a grill out of some logs, with fresh stripped branches to act as the grill. The steaks turned out pretty tasty. After we hiked a mile or two and found a nice place to camp within the Hiawatha National Forest.

NCT: Day 10

We slept a good while. We broke camp around 10:30 am. I started hiking leaving Krusty behind to tackle a few last minute issues. I would later discover that Krusty got lost and hiked the wrong way. I didn't feel bad leaving him since he had the water filter.

This by far, was the most amazing section of trail of the trip, and possibly ever. The tread was fantastic, and very well maintained. I was able to really jam the miles out. I decided early on I was going to hike all the way to Munising. I kept getting slowed down taking pictures, and eating blueberries. A few times I stopped to try and wait for Krusty.

Around ten miles from Munising I caught my toes on a small stump. I was pretty sure I broke my toes. I love hiking in vibram five fingers, but they do present the real risk of breaking those little guys. I managed to not break any toes on the PCT.This time was different. I was in pain. After a few minutes I was able to pick up my pace again.

I made it to Munising around 9:30pm, having hiked 33ish miles. I later heard from Krusty, who also made it to Munising, having hiked 42ish miles. We had some beers and food at Sydney's. Again, there was not lodging available in Munising. A drunk man told us a great place to camp was this abandoned railroad grade near the paper mill. We took his horrible advice, and camped in a pretty shady spot. It all worked out though.

NCT: Day 9

We had a leisurely day in Grand Marais. We hiked to the welcome center to get our permits. We did not have reservations, and as such, available camp sites were sparse. We starting hiking around 5:30 pm. We had about 14 miles to do to reach our campsite at sevenmile creek. We made it to sevenmile around 9:30. The trail was fantastic. We were really able to fly.

NCT: Day 8

I was hoping to make it to the post office in Grand Marais to pick up my resupply package. The rain from the night prior did not let up until around 9am, which negated any ideas of an early start. It was obvious from the poorly trod trail that most hikers stick with the hiking the beach, which is what we did. After hitting a stretch of rocks and soft sand I bailed for a nearby truck trail in order to reach the post office in time.

I ended up doing 23 miles in 6.5 hours, only to realize the post office closed a half hour earlier than I had anticipated. The post office clerk was still there and was nice enough to tell me my package had not yet arrived. I grabbed a six pack of two hearted ale, after earlier crossing the two hearted river, and drank several while watching the bay.

Having a few electronic devices I cannot be separate from I am always on the lookout for electrical outlets while hiking. A park overlooking the bay had a nice outdoor outlet under a pine tree. I love these little electrical finds.

There was some blues festival going on in Grand Marais. As a result there was no lodging. We found a super sweet spot to stealth camp on the beach, right on the border of what appeared to be city, and federal land.

NCT: Day 7

We awoke with the intention of getting to Lake Superior as quickly as possible. We then promptly got lost. I got less lost than Krusty, and he ended up several miles behind me. The trail between Tahquamenon falls and Lake Superior was poorly maintained. The bugs were the worst yet. I was forced to wear my rain gear, which means no bug bites, but did entail sweating like a dope fiend in D-bo's pigeon coup.

Finally we arrived at Lake Superior, and the bugs vanished. The blueberries were everywhere, and I took full advantage. We hiked along the shore for several hours until dusk was upon us. We setup camp on the beach moments before a severe rain-storm struck. The next day we pushed on to Grand Marais.

NCT: Day 6

We left the campground after rocking another hot shower. These would be the only showers till the very end of the trip. I don't mind hiking dirty, but sleeping dirty is not much fun. Luckily there are plenty of lakes and streams to jump in.

Krusty and I didn't want to deal with the bugs. We skipped a large section of trail to Tahquamenon falls, after catching a hitch. Again, as I always am, I was amazed how easy catching a hitch was. I hate hitching by the way, but it comes in pretty handy.

Anyways, Krustivich and myself got dropped at Tahquamenon. We enjoyed hiking the falls, and eating/drinking at the Tahquamenon brewery. We continued north towards Lake Superior. The bugs got real bad. 

NCT: Day 5

We awoke at our stealth campsite to find our tents dry. This was a pleasant surprise. We charged some more at the abandoned store. I decided to search the campground for a hot shower, to no avail. I had taken my clothes to wash in the shower and ended up losing several pairs of socks. I backtracked and found a few pair and decided the others were not worth the trouble. I was not looking where I was going and I ran right into a downed tree branch. It was pretty terrible, but I was mostly unharmed.
We washed our clothes and selves in the the lake and headed out.

We hiked about ten miles planning to be near a local restaurant. Google Maps lied and the restaurant was actually 7 more miles out of the way. The bugs were bad so we decided to hike into the town of Trout Lake. After hiking a few miles we got tired and got a hitch after trying for around five minutes.
We were given a tour of the town by our impromptu trail angel Mark. We had some awesome food and Bell's Two Hearted Ale at the local saloon. The prices were great, especially when compared to my recent experiences in SoCal.


Krusty and I hiked a mile to the local town campground. We had hot showers and charged our electronics. I had enough service to download my map/gps app with NCT waypoints. It was a good night.

NCT: Day 4

We rarely started hiking before eight. Actually, I think we never started hiking before eight. Today was no exception. The bugs were bad again today. We made it to Brevort Lake, and decided to do a roadwalk to a nearby restaurant. The restaurant provided pasties, not pastries, and pie. We then took a very poorly maintained side trail back to the Brevort Lake campground where we initially departed the trail. We found an abandoned campground store with an open outlet and charged our devices. We ended up stealth(illegal) camping next to Brevort Lake, not far from the abandoned store.

Prior to Brevort Lake we took the opportunity, during a non-buggy stretch, to bathe for the first time and pick copious amounts of wild blueberries.

Wild Blueberries abound!! I can taste them now. Many were small due to lack of rain. However, the small guys were super tasty. Seriously, give me more now! Often times it was worth stopping, even while being eaten alive by mosquitoes, just to gorge on these things. 

We hiked to Wildwood Pasties and ate some pasties and pie. There are so many food options on this section of the trail one need only carry a day or two of food. 

NCT: Day 3

Upon awaking we again packed up wet, this time it was strictly condensation. This is mostly a new experience. Instead of taking mid-day siestas to beat the heat on the PCT, we are taking mid-day siestas to dry out all of our gear. We adapt quickly, though.

Krusty, and I, hiked the 8 miles into Mackinac City. We had lunch, espresso, and fudge. Again, we charged our respective electronic devices. We reached the bridge and phoned the bridge authority. For a mere $3.50 each, we were over the bridge in no time. We hiked to St. Ignance, charged some more, and ate ice cream for dinner.

After leaving St. Ignace, the trail got buggy. We got eaten up by mosquitoes. We setup camp early to escape the bugs.

NCT: Day 2

We departed at a leisurely 8am. This was a newer experience, having come off the southern section of the PCT, in packing up wet. Passing through Mackinac State Forest, and Wilderness State Park. We stopped for a few hours at a campground to charge our phones. We had the opportunity for a free hot shower, but it did not seem worth the time so early in the trip. The trail was very well maintained and graded, and there were few bugs. We setup camp about 8 miles from Mackinac City after hiking around 20 miles.

NCT: Day 1

After being dropped off at Leavering road around 7:30pm, Krusty and I, departed. We hiked a mile before an imminent thunderstorm forced us to setup camp. We were in our tents just before the shit hit the fan. This would prove to be a regular, and fortunate, occurrence.