Natalie on the IAT: Day 14 - 167 miles (and so much to catch you all up on!)

Well, it has been over a week since my last post... And here's the quick rundown as to why... The first few days it was too soon to repost and I was tired then no connectivity, then went in to a friend's, then bad mood, and then another VFW visit. All this walking makes a person busy!

Prepare yourself, this is going to be a long blog.... Aaaaaaand, GO!

First of all, we had our best wildlife day eva! Here is the story on how a sandhill crane saved my life: so no sh&t there I was, walking down a mucky path after we got a very late start one rainy morning (we are talking 1230 here folks) and a sandhill crane sqwaks and flies away about 20 feet in front of me... And I'm all - coooool and grab for my camera... But its of course gone way too fast. As it flies away I saw something run up a tree. At first I thought it was a raccoon, which I haven't seen yet, but upon further inspection I notice TWO small faces looking at me. One on each side of a tree about midway up. It takes me a second to think and I come to the realization its bear cubs. At that moment I begin to wonder "where's momma??" while simultaneously backing up. Momma was on the other side of the trail. If that sandhill crane would not have flushed I would have been between momma bear and her two cubs. Now I like adventure, but not when it can eat me. Jenni was behind getting water and although I had my camera out, she came down the path and I had to warn her... The picture I didn't even realize I took is below BUT IT PROVES I DIDN'T MAKE THIS UP. I also saw a 30+ point buck and when singing Disney tunes, birds landed on me. Totally happened I swear.

That same day we saw a fox, and although I didn't see any beaver, there may have been some in the area.

Chomp chomp chomp

(confession!: I earlier said I saw a beaver... I was most likely wrong as I learned today talking with nature interpretive center guy... it was more likely an otter - just as awesome!)

That day we ended in tiny town Haugen where we signed the guest book at the general store that Jim the owner is very proud of. It goes back a long way and is an interesting read. The store has been there forever and was so nice to have on the route. We bought a pizza to split and then Jenni dropped in face down when cutting it. Ha! So we ended up at the bar next door where they cut the pizza for us.

Wah wah wahhhh

Next day comes around

and we are all jazzed up because its the day we hit out 100 mile mark!
We also got interviewed by the Rice Lake newspaper. We were on the Tuscobia Trail the whole day, an old railroad path.

This guy just did not care we were near him

Was pretty uneventful except for seeing the porcupine!!! I've never seen one before in the wild.

That night it was supposed to get cold so my long time friend Aaron came to pick us up and whisk us away to shelter. I haven't seen him in a few years and he and his wife Virna showed us a great time. First we went to Walmart WHILE HUNGRY. I bought a ton of food. Then Aaron took us to an artesian well outside of Spooner. You just go up to this ever-flowing spicket of pure, fresh delicious water. Yum!

So much better than the brown tannin-rich stuff we have been filtering... which doesn't filter the taste all that well. Anyway, then Aaron grilled us some mean bacon cheeseburgers, and we topped the night off with a pontoon ride.

Burger master

The next morning I picked up my food bag, its ridiculously heavy so I had to leave a bunch behind... (Don't shop hungry!) But I did keep the oberto bacon jerky! I can eat bacon any ol' time now! Can life be sweeter?! Aaron weighed our bags with a luggage scale... I've been dropping stuff out of my bag since starting this... It came in just under 32 pounds with three liters of water and three days worth of food... But since starting I have probably tossed or sent home about five pounds worth of stuff. Widdling that weight down!

Funny faces!

He cooked up some bacon and french toast and then Jenni and I were off to the races. Of course we did make Aaron drop our bags about five miles further than us where a nice guy let us put them on his porch so we could dooooooo... Slack packing!

After that wonderful night Jenni and I were jabbering away because I also learned I have my board to become an officer scheduled for the 25th of this month. That's new info, good, but new, so I will be off the trail for a about five days at the end of the month between that and drill. Oh National Guard, why must you make me have responsibilities? With all the jibber jabber we missed a turn AGAIN and ended up at the fish outside of Birchwood. Well we take the obligatory funny pose pictures with big fish and then start down a BLUE blaze trail.

This kiss was NOT worth 1.8 miles

In all we tacked on 1.8 miles just for some fish pictures. I didn't realize this until after the fish or instead of me kissing that fish, my picture would have been me throat-punching it. Fish have throats. So I'm fuming my way down the blue blaze trail (white are loop trails, blue are alternate additional routes.. Like this one went into town because the yellow trail didn't.) We did make a tongue twister after seeing a bench... Try it out: blue blaze bench. Say that one three times fast ;)

BLUE BLAZE!!! I'll get you someday!

That night we keep walking until we hit our goal... A shelter and we camp inside it. We wake up with dry, dewless tents for once and got to dump our trash and use the outhouse... Which was awesome because I had chilimac for supper. The bugs were crazy-thick but only annoying.

That's a lot of bugs

There was however zero phone connectivity for me. I know I said that it was a good dewless morning, but here is what happened.... I set my backpack on the picnic table seat... The bag was empty except for my side pocket where my can of bug spray is and my flag. My bag tipped over, the flag fell out, I went to pick it up, and the bug spray slipped out.... On. My. Toe. I cry a few times a year at least. I am emotional and movies get to me, frustration gets to me, heck sometimes its just tears of joy or laughing really hard... But I have not cried from physical pain in a very very long time. If I had been able to walk over to my phone to take a selfie, you would have seen my cry face. Jenni later said she just thought I was hyperventilating... But I was crying. I then proceeded to stub my toe about 10 times that day. Its was the first time in about three days where puss started to ooze out of it again and my sock was plastered to it. Thought it was going to get infected. I also got lost three times that day and Jenni reaaaally got lost in a clear cutting area so I went back to try and find her adding on at least 1.5 miles. Then because the day had been so amazing up to that point, it downpoured on us before we got to camp so we had to set up in the rain under some conifers. My clothes, my tent, my hair, just everything was soaked. Worst day on the trail yet. Although I had connectivity to blog, I didn't have to humor. That night I almost cried again, this time from emotional turmoil, but dad always seems to call at the right time.

The next morning we packed up our sopping wet gear, put on our sopping wet and cold clothes, and got the hell out of dodge via more mucky trail and one very large and fully stocked cow pasture. The cows were all heifers and young-ish bulls who obviously wanted some food from us. They followed us all over and one of the young bulls I had to be all assertive with. He was trying to be manly and kept charging, probably in a playful manner... My walking poles help me walk, act like machetes through thick pokey briars, and also stop young bulls in there tracks ;)

Curious cows... And bulls

With my boots totally soaked I walked I my sandals the three road miles into Weyerhauser... i.e. the town with the nicest people ever!

Wet shoes...

We get to town hungry, wet, and smelly. Go to a bar and eat a yummy lunch then head across the street to a small park area and proceed to do our best to make it look trashy by spreading and hanging our soaking wet gear out all over.

Looking like bums who feel off the train

It was not sunny, so its taking a long time to dry and after about an hour or two a guy pulls up across the street at the fire dept on a lawn mower and says we can use the local ball park pavilion to camp at and he will open the bathrooms for us (which had real toilets and a sink with hot water- score!). About a half hour later a girl comes out of another bar with a big pizza and says the owner had it made for us! Yum!!! We looked like complete bums I guess. Getting stuff like this is also called 'trail magic.' Its very common on bigger trails like the Appalachian Trail. People will leave food, water, soda, or set up a grill and cook for people hiking just because. Its a part of the hiker community's way, and its accurately named, because its magical.

Thanks Porky's Pub for the free pizza!

After such a horrible day on the trail, Weyerhauser really cheered us up. We ate some pizza, put some in zip lock bags for later and packed our mostly dry gear up. That night we drank a few and talk with the locals while our phones charged at the bar. I kept switching out paper towels in my boots to try and get them dry. Then we headed to the pavilion and go to sleep. In the morning, a curious neighbor lady came over with the tiniest dog in the world. I'll miss you Weyerhauser, and I will always love you.

Love this town!

The next morning Jenni and I were up at 6am and she went to get us coffee at the gas station. We were on the road by 8 and it was all road connecting paths... Very tough my my feet. We walked about 15 miles that day total before getting picked up. We took a break around mile 12 because we walked into a 5k fundraiser for an adorable little girl. I had seen the sign for it in Weyerhauser but didn't think we would walk into it. People were running and we stopped at the bar where it was held, bought some yummies from the bake sale, got a soda and were on our way.

Jenni bought sugar cookies shaped like fish with pretty frosting and one was missing an eye... we both blurt out at the same time "must be a cave fish!" (Cuz fish in caves normally have little to no eyesight) its nice hiking with someone who gets each others corny jokes.

We got picked up by two guys named Jim from the Bloomer VFW. Then we went to the VFW and met a third Jim. Next we went to the park where the high school wresting team was having a pig roast and I kid you not met three more Jims. We met all kinds of people but only had to remember three guys' names. After pig roast it was laundry time and then we went to general dollar to get food for the trail. I haven't been in a dollar store in a long time, not because I'm 'too good for it' but because I didn't know they were kind of awesome! It had groceries and my beloved epson salt. (I think I need to bring epson salt back - Calgon, take me away), this stuff is a miracle to my feet. Might be a door to door salesman i believe in it so much. My feet were so swollen last night and today my toe felt a million tines better and my feet slid into my shoe like the first day of the hike.) After shopping we went to Main Street Cafe for pie - best pie ever!! I love pie. Ended our night at the Twi-light motel in Bloomer and slept like a clean rock.

Arguably the best pie place in WI

We were finally out of Rusk county... The wettest, not very well marked trail county and into Chippewa. Its rained off and on but at the camp site tonight there was a fire pit.

I couldn't resist, had to build a fire. The trails were beautiful today and it was so unbelievably green it was like looking at a photograph that the green had been enhanced on.

No filter or photo adjustment, just intensely green

The rain and heat is turning up the chlorophyll. We putzed around at the interpretive center for an hour or so, played with snakes and saw all sorts of live and stuffed animals.

It rained, the frogs are very loud outside and I swear I heard animals near my tent, but nothing has attacked.... yet.

"I don't know what lies ahead, but I want to keep going forever..." - Fuyuni Soryo