August 16, 2018
Jay Cooke Rd to Spirit Mountain
Superior Hiking Trail Thru-Hike: Day 2
Hearing things on Break
Almost to Spirit Mountain. Literally at the foot of the first spur trail (or two miles from the second).
I'm taking a break and hearing things snap and thinking about the adage that when you're alone every noise sounds 10x louder and 100x closer. I wonder if part of that is that, if there's a bear in a campground, two things are more likely to happen than they are when you're alone:
1. Someone else will see/hear it and scream first to alert you
2. You can scream for help/someone else will scream for help and a more experienced or brave person will come along
When you're alone though, you have to be all three to survive. You have to be the person who hears the bear, the person who alerts 'everyone', and the person who fights the bear off. You have to react to yourself.
Spirit Mountain
Done for the day, had a shower, made Gumbo, called alex, found a campsite at Spirit after making an extra (I think) two miles. FOund an electric campsite by mine that's currently vacant so I'm hoping to charge the Anker overnight. I split my meal into two and it still feels like about a pound too much food.
Of course as soon as I start exercising my body I get my period. Every. Fucking. Time. I don't know if it's that or the DEET or hiking 18 miles or sweating a shit ton but I feel like I just drank way too much coffee. Like heart palpitatey and stomach weird.
My icebreakers are 100% holes in the butt and crotch, but luckily my lucy shirt is super long and just covers the holes up. It's perfect!
I took a beautiful early evening break before my last two miles and it was everything. Sitting at an overlook, splayed out, just enjoying the pine needle smell, the shade, the breeze, the view, the occassional trail runner.
Saw Nails and Dirt Dog twice, they've done the AT and about a million other trails, and it was super cool to chat with them. They're section hiking the newest part of the SHT right now. They live in Florida and told me to do the Florida trail this winter (or the Long Trail in Vermont) instead of the Colorado trail. Both trails sound cool, but the one thing they're missing is beautiful, giant mountains.
I'm getting really full and I better not stuff myself lest I feel like barfing later. Going to lay in the tent and force myself to do nothing—no phone, just quiet brain time.