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.