, ,

Finding My Tough - Prepping for the Superior Hiking Trail Thru Hike

, ,

Finding My Tough - Prepping for the Superior Hiking Trail Thru Hike


IRONBULL’s motto is “Find Your Tough”, so it’s appropriate that I live out this motto as a leader of the organization.  Through my preparation for the Barkley Marathons, I grew immensely, pushing both my mental and physical limits.  After initially struggling with a handful of repeats up the biggest hill I could find, I kept coming back and eventually achieved my goal of 71 consecutive repeats, accumulating 29,029 feet of elevation, the height of Mount Everest.  Not only did I finish, but I conquered, setting an American women’s Everseting record along the way.

First scouting trip

I had a flashback of Barkley after discovering a book in the middle of the woods inside a dilapidated ziplock bag.  I resisted the urge to tear a page from the trail registry.

Ever since, I have been focused on establishing a Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT).  To meet that end, I made four scouting trips to cover as many sections of the trail as possible.  My goal was to make several scouting trips before the bugs took over then return at the end of summer for my final preparations.  I had met my goal on this trip…I laughed to myself when a single fly buzzed by my ear, the only bug I experienced on this run! Altogether I picked a single tick crawling on my pants over the four scouting trips.

Our first backpacking trip as a family was at Section 13, with the hope the bugs wouldn’t be as bad at a high spot.

From the moment I stepped on the trail, I felt a wave of emotions that I was where I should be.  The bluejay that greeted me after passing my first of thousands of blue blazes of the SHT over the coming months proved to be a good omen.  This was my first run since my Everesting attempt and I felt home in the woods even though I didn’t see a single person until I got picked up a couple hours later.   The cacophony of frogs and songs of birds filled my ears and frequent ruffled grouse taking off kept me on my toes.  I could hear the activity of ponds before I saw them, and then like a switch was flipped the frogs would go silent as I grew near.  The vibrant blue of Bear Lake looked more like an alpine lake than one I’ve ever seen in the Midwest.

It was a tough winter on the trails.  Even though it was mid-May, the trails were matted down and I felt like I was the first person on the trails since the snow melted.  I bounded over piles of moose scat. The handfuls of snow were handy to cool off!  The aroma of pine needles filled my nostrils and carpeted my feet as I frolicked down the trail. My excitement grew as I made plans for my FKT attempt back at home and devised a way for a return trip.

Second scouting trip

Filtering water along one of the beautiful streams on the SHT.

I was blessed with the company of my family on my second scouting trip where we backpacked for the first time. We picked up the kids from their last day of school and transformed their school backpacks into hiking packs.  I was thankful my kids could maintain a hiking pace so we weren’t swarmed by mosquitos.  We checked out several of the state parks and eventually all the beautiful waterfalls started blurring together.  I enjoyed seeing all the things I’d be missing during the FKT attempt in these parks.  To no surprise, the kids loved playing on the beach of Lake Superior while I was out running on the SHT and my husband was the best shuttle service I could ask for.  In just the 3 ½ weeks from my prior visit and despite being farther north, everything had greened out, requiring me to juke side-to-side like a NFL running back dodging linebackers to avoid getting whipped with hazel brush branches. Who said trail runners don’t need agility?

Third scouting trip

It was surreal being at the Southern Terminus with a current FKT holder, Michael Koppy!

My goal of my third scouting trip would to cover the entire Duluth section (the trail is divided into six sections), the southernmost 50 miles of the SHT (which I did plus some thanks to unexpected shuttling from a current FKT holder).  Realistically, I gave myself a 50/50 shot to get this far on the route.  My furthest race was 163 miles, only 39 hours, where I received aid every hour, at the WausaUltra Backyard Ultra.  I’ve never slept in a race.  Although I was familiar with self-support through adventure racing, I always had teammates within 100 feet (a rule in adventure racing) and volunteers at transition areas to have my back.   For this endeavor, I’d spend my first night sleeping on the clock, then repeat that for an entire week.

I was surprised that despite most of this section going through the largest city on Lake Superior, I often felt like I was in the wilderness (except the tameness of the deer kept reminding me that apparently there are a lot of people hiking this section).  I enjoyed several beautiful waterfalls, rock escarpments with breathtaking views of Lake Superior, and challenging terrain. 

The biggest benefit of this visit was the knowledge from FKT holder, Michael Koppy.  Michael not only answered every question, but offered to shuttle me to trailheads during my visit and support my FKT attempt.  When I met up with another Duluth runner, a former Minnesota Trail Runner of the Year, she commented that Michael was prolific.  Despite Michael being almost twice my age, Michael scampered down the trails with ease, training for two fall 200 milers. Michael advised that I make a trip to trial out my sleep plan, which I did.

Fourth scouting trip

Signing in at the Northern Terminus during my final scouting trip.

I enjoyed great company and sights on my scouting trips.

My final scouting trip would be a test run for sleeping in the woods, gear, and fueling strategy.  Additionally I visited the Northern Terminus and scouted several sections on the northern-most portion of the SHT, discovering that it wasn’t as remote as I had expected.  What I also hadn’t planned on my final scouting trip, was the benefits of tapping into the knowledge of a fellow adventure racer that had recently completed her first expedition race.  Not only was her company for hours on the trail enjoyable, but companionship for my first ever trailside nap allowed me to relax and fall asleep instantly.  Despite only a single three hour nap since Friday morning and covering 45 miles over challenging terrain on foot and biking another 40 miles to shuttle back to the car, I was awake and alive as ever chatting non-stop on the six hour drive home and continuing with the same enthusiasm with my husband until turning in for bed at my normal time…all without a single dose of caffeine!   I left the SHT for the final time with more confidence than I imagined and began making my final preparations.

Trailwork

I was relieved to know that there was be some trail work days immediately before my attempt.  After counting 13 trees across the trail in the first 1/10 of a mile in the spring, I decided to stop counting downed trees and rule out an early spring SHT attempt.  Michael shared that he and a team of three swampers had taken five hours to clear a single mile of trail this spring.  When we visited the Southern Terminus, Michael stayed to clear brush from the trail.  On my final scouting trip, my pants were still getting soaked in areas of thick vegetation from rain that had stopped ten hours earlier.  On a section of elevated boardwalk, I stopped several times to make sure I wouldn’t step off and fall two feet down since I couldn’t see my feet through the thick, tall grass.

 Making the SHT

The number of volunteer hours that go into the trail are staggering to remove trees.  I often wondered the number of trees that were cleared this spring and how many trail blazes marked the 310 mile trail.  I do know there are 94 campsites and trailhead parking lots every few miles.  Even with hundreds of volunteer hours each year, things don’t happen without funds for equipment and gas to clear and maintain the trails.  So I’m asking that we all pitch in so the SHT can be continued to be used by all ages to cultivate a love for the outdoors. Therefore, I’ll be raising funds and splitting them equally for the SHTA and IRONBULL to help promote healthy lifestyles for all ages and ability levels to also “Find Their Tough.” You can follow along my FKT journey and donate towards the cause here.

Related: