Happy Birthday to me - 1st solo backpacking trip on Superior Hiking Trail Sept 10-12 2016

My birthday is September 11 - and after the 9/11/2001 attacks I got used to celebrating my birthday on my own, taking a day off from work and riding my motorcycle, or hiking in a park.  And I would have dinner with my kids.

This year I was looking for an outdoor experience on the North Shore of Lake Superior, but didn't have a specific plan.  My partner had cleared her schedule for the weekend, and I was trying to find a place to stay near Tofte / Lutsen, and then camp in Tettegouche. But I was just returning from a work trip to a factory, and didn't get a reservation done in time.  The more I tried to figure out what I wanted to do, the more it came clear I wanted to be in the wild by myself - no one to worry about or take care of, not my daughter, and not my partner.  So Diane graciously agreed to hang with my daughter for the weekend and I decided I would keep the Tettegouche reservation for the 11th, drive up the 10th and camp on the trail on the 10th.  It was kind of last minute, and I wasn't as prepared as I would have liked, but I made my plans.

Decided to go to park at trailhead on MN state highway 1 and hike east.

I saw the sign and shouldered my pack and headed off on the trail.  

The pack was way heavy - almost 50 lbs.  I didn't know what I would find for water, and had a gallon jug of water along with two 1-litre bottles.  Too much weight.  The trail was somewhat muddy to start with, but wound through a beautiful birch forest.

Then it started to go uphill and I felt the weight of the pack and started to pant a little.  But when it leveled out again I recovered pretty quickly, so I figured I would be OK.  

I had started pretty late - it was almost 6 PM by the time I got out on the trail, so I was worried I wouldn't get to a campsite before dark.  The goal was Kennedy Creek campsites.  They were 2.5 miles away, so shouldn't be a problem.  Below is a link to the map.

http://shta.org/trail-section/silver-bay-to-caribou-river-wayside/

There is a sharp uphill section right before the Fantasia overlook side trail.  The topo map shows it as about 600 foot climb. The uphill was pretty challenging with the pack - had a couple of brief stops - but made it to the top and saw the Fantasia overlook path.  Thought it best to do that when there was more day light - wanted to get to the camp and set up. 

At the top started to pick up some nice views of the lake.

After bypassing the Fantasia overlook the next big thing to see was Wolf Lake.  The trail goes past the Wolf ELC, and the view was inspiring.

On top of the ridge I had service for my T-Mobile phone, so I made a couple of Facebook posts.  My family was glad I wasn't dead yet.

There were some cool rocky overlook sections, but then the trail started to go down again, and I found the first campsite - Kennedy Creek West before dark.  I went in, saw the sign for the latrine, and realized this was going to be luxurious compared to my previous experience camping in National Forest wilderness areas around Yosemite.  Someone had already set up to camp there, and she had a dog that was barking continuously at me, so I decided to try Kennedy Creek East.  Crossed the creek and saw the sign, and went in.  There were two guys camping there, but there was a decent tent pad still available, so I went for that.  

Having done most of my backpacking in wilderness areas where there weren't many other people it was odd to share a site.  But the two guys camped at the same site were nice, and we had a good conversation about their jobs at UMN Duluth - working on medical research for preeclampsia and heart disease.  We shared a fire - I helped them get it going at least a little in spite of the wet wood, and it was pleasant.  I hung my gallon water bag, and the next morning I used my jetboil minimo to boil coffee water for them when their MSR white gas stove was balky lighting.

I like that the SHT camp sites have a latrine - nice to not have to dig a hole.  Feel weird having to walk by someone else's tent to use it when I have my inevitable 2 AM pee trip.  Just walked quietly by their tent with my little head lamp.  Cold at night in September!

The next day after a nice breakfast that I saved 1/2 for lunch, and coffee, I hiked further to the top of the next hill (sans pack).  Then I went back to the Fantasia trail without the pack and went to the end.  It was just a magnificent experience, beautiful and solitary.

The overlook trail wound around the south east side of a ridge, and offered many interesting views of the lake.

Looking south from the Fantasia overlook point.

Looking North.

The overlook is on a cliff and is a little exposed.

Got my Corvair Airplane Engine cap in the picture - advertising for William Wynne.  

The secluded nature of the overlook, the rocks in the warm sun, and the stunning views were a real birthday treat for me.  The pressures of work (had to travel on Labor Day), being a single parent, and all the efforts to try and expand my social circle disappeared as my inner introverted child just drank in the solitude.  It was the perfect birthday present for me.

Eventually, I went back to the campsite, packed up my gear, loaded up the pack, and hiked back to the parking spot.  Was thinking it went well for my first night on the SHT, but started thinking about ways to use the shuttle service to allow me to cover more distance.

When I got back to the car, there was still some afternoon left, and I decided to drive north to Tofte with the T-Tops off on my 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo, and listen to the Packer / Jaguar game.  The Packers won - another birthday present!  

Then I headed to Tettegouche SP and my reserved "cart-in" campsite.

I even went crazy and bought firewood!

Tettegouche State Park features the Baptism River, which has several waterfalls and a dramatic gorge entrance to Lake Superior

I spent the night comfortably in campsite "N".  The campsites that were directly on or overlooking the Lake were all reserved, but very few of them were actually occupied.  Wish I had known - I could have camped right on the lake.  

I had my little fire, and it was a nice way to celebrate my birthday.

The next day there was a little path down to the lake.  I made myself a cup of coffee and scrambled down to the beach and enjoyed listening to the waves and being on the shore.

The rocks were interesting and rough here.

This last picture of the driftwood inspired the question:  Snake?  or Walrus?

I packed up and went back to the car, but loaded my pack and decided to walk up the gorge along the Baptism River to the various falls, and then meet up with the SHT and take it west for a while.  Kind of for exercise, and to see more of the trail.

Cool waterfalls on the Baptism River.

 Twin Falls

 High Falls

And just past the High Falls is the SHT and this cute bridge.

I walked with the pack (minus the gallon of water) for about 8 miles, then went back to the car and explored the lake shore without the pack.  Saw some rock climbers - got me excited because I do a little of that.  Good rock climbing at Tettegouche!

And after the long drive home, that was my birthday trip.  Felt really good to take time for me, and I appreciate the family members and friends that freed up time for me to check this out.  Then there was the next trip.......