In the aftermath of the Krueger-Waddell Challenge, I made a pretty easy recovery. My body and mind bounced back almost immediately except my hands. On the final day, easily the hardest day while slowly trudging down the Pigeon River, I told myself that the trip was stupid and not fun. Even later that day, I […]
GPS Data: I woke up to rain on my last day. I closed my eyes for just a minute more. Couple minutes. 10 minutes and I jolted awake, not fully understanding how I could take my needed next steps while I could hear the rain. First step, unplug the air mattress, I told myself. Then, […]
After a very bright moon glared directly into my tent all night, my phone alarm went off at 5:15 and I immediately checked the weather. On my phone app, meteorologist Hunter said a storm was rolling in and it’d be rain on Friday into Saturday. Then he wished the viewers a happy Friday. Happy Friday […]
GPS Data: My watch’s alarm went off early – 5am. The moon was bright all night. My sleeping bag was pretty moist. I could tell it was a little wet towards my feet. Ahhhh crap. Not good. I laid back down and shut my eyes just for a moment. I checked my phone – yep, […]
GPS Data: I woke up to the sound of wind on the lake and my watch’s alarm beeping. I could tell it was pitch dark out so slept in a little more. I was mad when I roused a bit later – I gotta get my ass in gear here!! I figured that I could […]
Garmin Data: I had set my alarm for an early time for day 2 at 5:15am or so. When my watch started beeping, I realized immediately that I made a big mistake waking up that early because it was completely dark out. Without a rain fly on my tent, I could tell I was in […]
Garmin Data: We woke up early at the Rainy Lake RV Park outside of Ranier/International Falls, MN in dewey conditions. Me, Em and the dogs roused awake to the 5am alarm and started slowly packing up our sleeping bags, tent, random junk and hit the road. Every surface was covered in a light dew. It […]
I don’t know why paddleboard travel stood out to me, but after years of a growing desire and formulation of the plan, I set it in action and secured a permit for Little Vermilion River- the western entry point of the BWCAW – for September 5th, 2022. The Krueger-Waddell Challenge was allegedly spurred initially from […]
Date: Friday-Saturday July 22-23, 2022 Area: Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Trip Plan: Launch at Fall Lake near Ely, head through a couple lakes to Basswood Lake and follow the US/Canada border west for 35-50 miles, turn around and go back the same way. Day 1 – Get past Curtain Falls and camp where possible. […]
Date: Friday-Sunday June 24-26, 2022 Area: Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Trip Plan: Launch at the Moose Lake entry point in the BWCA, go straight to the US/Canada border, then travel east along the border to Lake Saganaga. Merge south to Trails End of the Gunflint Trail, then back west to Sea Gull Lake, Kekakabic […]
Trip Plan: Launch paddleboard at Sawbill Lake BWCA Entry, paddle in a loop. The loop looked to be about 27 miles, and I hoped to finish within a full day’s light. Start Time: Monday, September 14, 2020 – 7:11am GPS Data: Stand Up Paddleboard 29.9 miles Total Time: 11:55:40 As most cool adventures go, I […]
Trip Plan: Bike the Grandma’s Marathon course in reverse, from the finish line to the start line. Drop the bike, change to running gear and run the Grandma’s Marathon course back. Start Time: Saturday, April 11, 2020 – 6:09am GPS Data: Bike 26.4 miles Run 26.6 miles Time: Bike: 1:12:55 Transition: 0:03:00 Run: 3:29:46 Total […]
Trip Plan: Ski pulk to Buzz Ryan Campsites in the Boulder Lake Management Area. Winter camp two nights in the hot tent and explore the area on fat skis. Date: December 20-22, 2019 GPS Data: Ski pulk 2 miles Ski 14.5 miles Ski pulk 1.8 miles Day 1 – Friday, December 20, 2019 My dream […]
Trip Plan: Drive to Superior Hiking Trail Rossini Road Trailhead, run ~38 miles back to my house (.3 miles off the SHT), grab my bike and take a road/gravel route ~36 miles back to my car. Start Time: Thursday, September 26, 2019 – 7:55am GPS Data: Run 38.5 miles Bike 34.5 miles Time: Run 7:52:08 […]
Trip Plan: Drive to Chamber’s Grove Park, paddle on St. Louis River out the Aerial Lift Bridge to Leif Erickson Park via Lake Superior. Portage my paddleboard up 7 blocks to the shed at my house. Bike from my house back to my minivan via Skyline Parkway and Mission Creek Boulevard. Start Time: Friday, August […]
Hike Date: February 16-17, 2019 Trail: Superior Hiking Trail, Duluth Traverse Mountain Bike Trail Trip Plan: Simulate a supported thru-hike effort but solo, by operating out of my house. Hike and run 65 miles over two days at 4 miles per hour. Day 1: Run 40 miles with several stops at home by utilizing local […]
Hike Date: November 24-25, 2018 Trail: Superior Hiking Trail Trip Plan: Travel 50 miles at goal pace of 4 miles per hour. Go out and back two days in a row on the trail section from Duluth to Two Harbors. Day 1 – Park at Fox Farm Road campsite, go out northbound for 3 hours […]
I think it’s safe to say that winter is here in Duluth, MN and there is no turning back until the very beginning of spring. So, mid- to late-April. There are a few overnight backpacking trips that stick out to me as some of the most enjoyable times spent in the woods, period. It’s so […]
Hike Date: October 27-29, 2018 Trail: Superior Hiking Trail Trip Plan: Backpack in to Fault Line Creek campsite, set up for two nights. Then trail run/hike 45 miles at 4 miles per hour. Day 1 – Backpack in ~4 miles from County Road 4/Beaver Bay trailhead to Fault Line Creek campsite. Set up my tent, […]
As I walked away from the future southern terminus of the Superior Hiking Trail, the Wisconsin border, finally done with the entire trail, I felt like the walking dead. My feet hurt bad, really bad. My shoes felt so uncomfortable, like walking on concrete slabs. My backpack was drenched in sweat and grime, and I […]
Garmin Data: When my alarm went off at 3am, I hit the snooze button. Onto my very last day, but yet I still wanted to eek out that last little bit of sleep. I may have slipped back into REM sleep. Upon the next alarm, though, I started getting my things together. Pants on, […]
Water is coming in. Not good, not good, not good. Oh, no!!! It was around midnight on my seventh night, and I hadn’t slept much. For three hours, I closed my eyes, drifting in and out of light sleep, nervous of the impending thunderstorm. In a half hour, it went from light rain, to thunder, […]
Garmin Data: I woke up to my alarm early in the morning, but snoozed for an additional 10 minutes. I seemed to drift off again, even in the short period of time. Tim, the guy two feet away from me, was snoring still, sleeping flat on the ground, sleeping pad twisted beneath him and his sleeping […]
Garmin Data: In between swatting mosquitoes, I drifted off to sleep in the early morning hours of my fifth night camping. An infuriating buzz in my ear canal would cause me to stir, but what completely woke me up was another round of thunder. The only precipitation I heard was left-over rain falling from the […]
Garmin data: I woke up to rain in the middle of the night. By this fourth night, I found that an unobstructed night of sleep is not really realistic out in the woods. Each night, something stirring or a wind gust through the trees or a rock or root in my back would wake me up. […]
Garmin Data: My alarm went off early, and I was on the trail in no time. With rain coming on the crux day, I wanted to get out early, and I was the first camper of perhaps 10 at the Springdale Creek campsite to depart. It was barely light out. I ate my four breakfast […]
Garmin Data: I woke up from my second night to sprinkles. I looked from under my tarp and saw sun, so was confused. It was a damp morning, and I truly noticed that when I arose and saw dew literally dripping off of the leaves and branches above me. There were clouds of morning mist! […]
Garmin Data: I woke up from the first night on the trail feeling refreshed and ready to rock. My tarp was unfortunately sopping wet with dew, but I tried to shake it all off and stuffed it away wet. I was dawdling around trying to depart, even booted up my phone, 95% battery, and took […]
Garmin Data: The big trip started with an early wakeup call before 6am. I was sleeping in my dad’s travel trailer at Cascade River State Park. We both got up quickly and were on the road within minutes. We drove north to Grand Marais and I ate as much food as I could at a […]
One task. It’s simple: walk on the Superior Hiking Trail from end to end. North to South. Walk, eat and sleep. Simple! The ultimate challenge is completing this task as fast as possible. My life focus in 2016 is to train my body, accumulate gear and experience, and execute a fast through-hike of the entire Superior Hiking […]
Hike Date: August 12-15, 2016 Trail: Superior Hiking Trail Trip Plan: 4 days, 3 nights, and to hit goal pace of 35 miles per day, 140 miles total Day 1 – Hike north from the side of Gunflint Trail to Hazel Campsite (34.5 miles) Day 2 – Hike north from Hazel to Arrowhead Trail parking […]
Hike Date: July 22-24, 2016 Trail: Superior Hiking Trail Trip Plan: Big miles over a weekend–from Gooseberry State Park south to home. Day 1 – Hike south from Gooseberry State Park to Crow Creek Valley Campsite (~8 miles) Day 2 – Hike south from Crow Creek Valley Campsite to Fox Farm Pond Campsite (~38 miles) Day […]
Hike Date: June 25-26, 2016 Trail: Superior Hiking Trail Trip Plan: Hike long on Sunday with my friend Dave Schuneman Day 1 – Two hours out north, two back from Lismore Road Trailhead Day 2 – Hike from Normanna Road north to ?? Stats: Total Miles: 45.8 Total Time: 13:56 Time at Camp: 0 Weather: […]
Hike Date: July 8-10, 2016 Trail: Superior Hiking Trail Trip Plan: One weekend (after work Friday until Sunday), Temperance River Wayside to County Road 4 in Beaver Bay Day 1 – Hike south from Temperance to Fredenburg Creek Campsite (6.2 miles) Day 2 – Hike south from Fredenburg to Section 13 Campsite (~34 miles) Day […]
Hike Date: June 4-5, 2016 Trail: Superior Hiking Trail Trip Plan: 2 days, 50 miles, park at Ely’s Peak, hike home and then back the next day. Day 1 – Drive south to Ely’s Peak/123rd Avenue trailhead, hike home (near Bagley Nature Center)(27 miles) Day 2 – From home, run to Enger Tower and hike […]
Hike Date: May 28-30, 2016 Trail: Superior Hiking Trail Trip Plan: 2 nights, not well planned at all. Park at Sugar Loaf Road lot and yo-yo with a long middle day Sunday. Day 1 – Hike north from Sugar Loaf (~10 miles) Day 2 – Hike south from a campsite, past the car, and continue south (~30 miles) Day […]
Hike Date: April 29-30, 2016 Trail: Superior Hiking Trail Trip Plan: 2 nights, 40 miles. Park at Rossini Road and hike home. Day 1 – Hike south from Rossini Road to Big Bend Campsite (3 miles) Day 2 – Hike south from Big Bend Campsite to Bald Eagle Campsite (24 miles) Day 3 – Hike […]
Hike Date: January 22 – 24, 2016 Trail: Superior Hiking Trail Trip Plan: 2 nights, 17 miles, park at Cook County Road 1 Day 1 – Hike South to Dyer’s Creek Campsite (1 mile) Day 2- Hike North to North Cross River Campsite (6.5 miles), then day hike to Temperance River and back (4 miles) Day […]
Hike Date: January 1st – 3rd, 2016 Trail: Superior Hiking Trail Trip Plan: 3 nights, ~50 miles, park at Lake County Demonstration Forest Day 1 – Hike North to Silver Creek campsite (15 miles) Day 2 – Hike South past Demo Forest parking lot spur to Big Bend Campsite (25 miles) Day 3 – Hike […]
Hike date: Thursday, January 15 – Friday, January 16, 2015 Location: Superior Hiking Trail (Lismore Road Parking lot to White Pine Campsite) Distance: ~1 mile out and back I am very happy and pleased to go out into the winter for another winter overnight camping trip. I wanted to venture out last year, but didn’t have […]
Hike date: Saturday, December 6 – Sunday, December 7, 2014 Location: Superior Hiking Trail (Normanna Road Parking Lot to Fox Farm Pond Campsite) Distance: 8.5 miles out and back “As I sit in my sleeping bag with 5 shirts on, Diamond shivers behind me where my head will ultimately lay for the night.” – trail […]
For those who are not familiar with Duluth, or for those who are familiar with Duluth but have been deprived, I will enlighten you about Park Point. This long and beautiful beach is said to be the world’s largest natural sandbar. In the summer, it is the perfect place to lounge and relax and catch […]