SHT: Day 0
Superior Hiking Trail: Day 0
8/15/2023
Ham Lake
No actual miles hiked.
I’m not sure this would actually count as a true day zero since we didn’t really travel anywhere, but what the hell, let’s roll with it.
Busy. That would be the best summary for our day, busy. We had rolled back into Minnesota after a long drive from Memphis yesterday and we were still up at 6:30am. My only excuse is that Jake is a hardcore coffee and morning fan and that I have absorbed some of that via osmosis or something. While an early start, it was a slow start. Habits are hard to break from van living and mornings are slow.
We had a few days off from training while we were in Memphis but the trail is coming so we did our daily morning warm-up walk with Leinie and Jake’s niece in tow on her bike. A few miles down for the day and we enjoyed a hearty breakfast before the final preparations for the hike.
One would think that with a month to prepare for a hike, the day prior would be quiet. Hah! We had to run to the bank to get cash (mostly for laundromats, but you never know in small towns who doesn’t take cards), mail out resupply boxes, call resupply spots to double check the address, mail out those resupply boxes, email those resupply stops that the boxes are in the mail, last minute gear purchases.
All that had to fit into our packs
I believe we forgot to eat lunch with how busy we were running around. We finally made it back to the house in the afternoon. To make up for missing lunch, we started on pre-trail beverages a bit early as we loaded packs. We forgot to do pre-trail weigh-ins before cracking the cans, oops. Then there was unpacking and repacking, and for good measure unpacking and repacking again. For those curious, Yoda weighed in at a hefty 36.8lbs with water. Jake is carrying the majority of the food since the bear keg and Yoda have compatibility issues. That leaves me with the jetboil, fuel and tent. Somehow, Jake’s pack weighed 37.8lbs even after his last minute add on gear. Due to how long we will be on trail and needed resupplies it means our packs will remain roughly the same weight the whole time, shudder. Leinie’s pack is at 1.4lbs which will fluctuate with his…er, elimination habits.
Not pictured: open can of Hamm’s
After loading the truck, we enjoyed some burgers and more beer. Jake wants to be on the road at 5am(!) tomorrow heading north. I understand the logic, I just question our ability to be on time.
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Our band of heroes is drying out from the sogginess that was the SHT. They ponder their experience on trail, the people the met, what their hiking future looks like…