The Glitter Blog: SHT Day 17 (10/5)

My last day!

I woke up this morning at the Otter Lake Road trailhead, the end of the line. While I didn't have rain on my last two days of hiking, it had rained all night and was still raining when I woke up. I slept in until 10:30, then reluctantly got out of bed to pack my things for the final time this trip.

I decided that, since I had 2 hours before the shuttle would arrive to pick me up, I would walk the extra mile to the new trail terminus. This section isn't technically part of the SHT, but it offers a view in to Canada that feels much more appropriate for the end of the trail than just a gravel parking lot. It's technically the first mile of the Border Route Trail, which follows the Canadian border through the Boundary Waters canoe area.

As I had learned on my last hike, the only way to get more wet than standing naked in the rain is to walk fully clothed through wet, chest height brush. The Border Route Trail isn't very well maintained and within that mile I was completely drenched from head to toe.

It was also too cloudy to see Canada, but that didn't stop me from waving to all those crazy Canadians. Hellooooo Canada!

I still had an hour before the shuttle would arrive to pick me up once I got back to the parking lot. It started raining pretty hard and the thermometer on my compass said that it was 42 degrees outside. Soaking wet and freezing, I put on all of the layers I had and started walking in circles to keep myself warm. By the time the shuttle arrived, I was shivering so hard that the driver had to help me take off my pack. It took me over an hour in the car to feel like I could use my fingers normally again. Maybe the morning soak on the Border Route Trail wasn't the best idea?

My driver, Winn, was a sweet WW2 vet who shuttles hikers to different trailheads once a week. He was very chatty and pointed out every waterfall we passed. As I warmed up, he talked about the war, his late wife's cancer, his diabetes, the history of the area, and the idiocy of the Republican Party. I love this surprisingly liberal state!

Winn's shuttle service has scheduled stops at almost every section of the SHT, so driving from the end of the trail down was really interesting. It was like pressing rewind on my trip and seeing many of the places I had stopped before- Grabd Marais, the lakewalk on Lake Superior, Our Place in Finland, the Mountain Inn in Lutsen, Jimmy's Pizza in Silver Bay, and all of the state parks. I even convinced Winn to stop at the Java Moose for a coffee. What a great way to end my journey up the North Shore.

When I first got to the Otter Lake Road trailhead yesterday, I had met another shuttle driver named Bob. I told him that I couldn't afford to take the shuttle I had booked all the way back to Duluth and I was planning on hitching the last 50 miles. Honestly, I could afford it, it was just way overpriced and I wouldn't pay that much out of principle. Very generously, he offered to pick me up where the shuttle ended and take me to my hotel for half the price. Awesome!

Bob dropped me off at my motel and within 10 minutes I was soaking in the tub.

The last chore of the night was to clean the clothes I'd be wearing on the plane (you're welcome in advance, future flying neighbors) and set out my tent to dry.