SHT: Day 27

Superior Hiking Trail: Day 27

9/11/2023

Jackson Creek Camp - 270 Degree Overlook - Otter Lake Road Trailhead

SHT miles: 8.0 mi

Spur miles: 1.0 mi

Total miles hiked: 9.0 mi

Elevation gained: 1,004 ft

Animals seen: civilization

Elevation chart created on AllTrails.com

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I slept in until 6:45am. I desperately wanted to press snooze. I was warm, dry and very cozy in my sleeping cocoon and the thought of pulling on damp socks and putting them in soaking boots sounded down right horrible. Spoiler, it was not ideal.

Deb was meeting us at the trailhead at 9am. We had absolutely no hope of making there by then. Let’s be honest, we have coffee, we start chatting and our timeline goes to shit. Well sure enough, we were drinking coffee, and then we got to chatting.

I preface this with the fact that trail brings all together. Doesn’t matter your background, polictical views, religion or race. We are all in the same struggle and that makes us tramily, trail family, get it? Because of this you meet a very wide variety of people on trail. Toolshed 2.0 is hands down one of the most bizarre individuals Jake and I have ever met. The trailname Toolshed had already been bestood so our hammock neighbor was dubbed (under my breath) Toolshed 2.0 for spreading his gear all over camp. That’s very poor etiquette for anyone wondering.

Then he leaves his hammock setup in boxer briefs and nothing else. I am absolutely not being dramatic. No shoes, no shirt, no socks. Mind you it’s probably low-60’s at best and overcast, with the ground being mud from all the rain. His reasoning, he has no dry clothes. So there he is walking around camp a loincloth from being buck naked and he looks like Liev Schreiber’s doppelganger. Again, I shit you not. It was so uncanny, the first thing out of my mouth was “Holy ish, has anyone told you that you look like Liev Schreiber?!” His response, “I get mistaken for celebrities all the time.” Also humble, noted.

Anywho, Toolshed 2.0 is meandering around in the muck and he busts out an axe, like Paul Bunyan, and starts chopping away at a standing tree. Jake’s mouth is hanging open at this point. It is very, very, very against the principles of Leave No Trace and the SHT rules to take wood from standing trees for firewood. He is going on about how his pack weighs 70 pounds when he pulls out a honest-to-god french press coffee maker and grounds. I can’t even make this up.

Toolshed 2.0 is regaling us with how he regularly hikes barefoot and has done some of the AT when Don’t Panic wanders into camp after hitting the northern terminus this morning. Don’t Panic embodies the traditional thru hiker persona and the Leave No Trace principles. Basically the polar opposite end of the spectrum from Toolshed 2.0. Don’t Panic, seeing Toolshed 2.0 attempting to light a fire with wet wood (because at this point why not?) and calmly asks, “What is your goal with this fire?” O-M-G! I died laughing inside. 

On that note, Jake and I head on trail to continue our day around 9am when Deb was due to be arriving at the trailhead. We had a good pace and made it to the area of the highest point on trail but didn’t see a sign. Once we started downhill, it was massively overgrown. There were parts where we couldn’t see the trail. Not that navigating was difficult but once in the brush you needed to keep your hands in front of your face or get slapped by ent soldiers. (10 points to Ravenclaw if you get the reference)

After a quick latrine break at Andy Creek, the last campsite on the SHT, a fresh level of hell presented itself in a basically sideways bridge.

Jake had to carry Leinie since he was slipping off the bridge

Followed quickly, by the freshest level of hell to date, a mud creek instead of trail.

Using my trekking pole to test how deep, it was deep

My take was the trail was trying very hard to ensure we would miss it. Finally, on semi-solid trail again, guess what….it rains, again. So we are finishing this hike as we started, damp.

We made it to the trailhead and dropped our packs with Deb at the truck and continue on to the 270 Degree Overlook, the northern terminus of the Superior Hiking Trail.

270 Degree Overlook

The view was the best on trail, but maybe it just felt that way because it was the end. It also felt surreal, as if tomorrow we would still be putting on our packs and hiking double digits. I expected the wave of emotions that hit with the summit of Whitney, but instead it was just calm. I was happy, sure. Satisfied, definitely. Also a bit disappointed that I wouldn’t be continuing on the Border Route. We filled out the trail log and looked back at entries from friends we made on trail before heading back the mile to the trailhead.

Once at the truck, we were all set to head back to civilization when we found out the truck was dead. Man, this trail keeps on giving. Thankfully, a car rolled up at that time with two sobo thru’s we had met yesterday who were shuttling cars. They helped jump the truck and we were off. A quick stop in Grand Marais for showers and food before making our way back to Ham Lake. I updated socials and triaged emails, but right now sleep on the ride back sounds amazing.

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