Day 4: The Mother of All Hikes  − 6 September, 2005

Choosing a Backpacking Trail

Without planning to, I hiked the mother of all hikes today. A trail that brought me to my knees in defeat last year became a success story.  This was my first full day in Lake Superior Provincial Park after yesterday's arrival.

I awoke well-prepared, having slept wonderfully to the sounds of Lake Superior lapping nearby shores. Despite planning to hike today I got off to a very slow start. Pancakes, while delicious, can only be cooked one at a time. A hungry camper can eat, well, at least four!

Still focused on planning for a backpacking trip, I examined my park map very carefully for possible routes. I focused on the Coastal Trail, which had many campsites and could be entered from two different trailheads. It was difficult to gauge how strenuous the walk into a tent site might be. Although I could approximate the miles, I could not gauge with much accuracy the hiking difficulty.

I remembered the Coastal Trail as being quite challenging — very rocky, slow going. I had many options, however. If I hoped to reach one campsite, but the trail turned out to be too demanding, there was likely to be a campsite some distance before that one. My desire was to hike in, set up camp, and then hike on a bit farther without the pack. I had not yet solved the problem of how to carry daypack items, short of emptying most of the pack and carrying only the food.

Choosing a Day Trail

I turned my attention to where I might hike today as a warm-up. My husband and I had hiked most of the shorter trails worth hiking. I had a thirst for the novel. I have always wanted to try the Agawa Falls Trail trail again because it had defeated me so miserably last year. This hike is 24 km round trip, which works out to almost 15 miles. This is an extremely long hike for me, given my relative lack of training throughout a normal year.

About 40% of the Agawa Falls Trail is quite gentle. The rest is a mix of moderate-to-extremely rugged. Last year I had done many things wrong. My husband is extremely athletic and does not have bad knees. Although we did not hike at his pace, we hiked at a brisker pace than I was able to handle. I lacked the proper amount of rest and nourishment during the hike, and had not brought my trekking poles, an essential tool for people with bad knees.

As I thought more about my backpacking trip, I thought about what a triumph it would be to backpack Agawa Falls. Today I could do a day hike to scope out how my body would handle this trail under more favorable conditions. In addition to proper pacing, nourishment, and use of trekking poles, I had the use of a 100 oz Camelbak for water and 48 oz of high-performance sport drink.

Beginning the Hike

I hit the trail at the very late hour of 1:45 p.m. Even for me this was pretty bad! I had grabbed my headlamp at the last minute, just in case it should be dark when I got off the trail. Pure prescience! My subconscious knew what I did not.

The first five km were quite easy. I avoided cobblestones to save my feet for the rest of the trail, which got much rockier. The first natural stopping point is a large smooth rock jutting out into the narrow, slow-moving Agawa River. I took my boots and socks off to let my feet breath.

A couple and their dog were resting too. I recognized them from my campground. I realized that since I had not checked in at the ranger station, they were my only hope for letting the outside world that I was on the trail alone. I asked them to alert the ranger if I wasn't back at camp by morning.

They were from around Toronto and came up here every year to hike this trail. Their German shepherd hiked the trail with them, even on the most rugged parts. I had a hard time imagining this, since I had memories of rock faces that were almost vertical. My husband and I had mused, last year, about how we could get our dog Lily up and down these steep faces.

The man was friendly and helpful, but the woman projected a disinterested, ho-hum attitude. I had the feeling that she was humoring me. She had a weathered face and an earthy appearance. But I was able to get her to talk for a little while about how two weeks of hiking affected their dog. She had noticed that the two weeks seemed to take a toll on the dog, which was used to sleeping all day while they were away at work.

The man pointed me in the direction of two nearby campsites. I'd known that there were sites in the area, but I had somehow missed the signs. I felt like a dummy. How was I going to backpack if I couldn't even find campsites? Later, however, I learned from a ranger that sites are discreetly marked to keep out the riff raff. Too many campers can lead to overburdened, trashy sites.

I poked around the campsites long enough to see that they were very nice. The man and woman had said that they considered it perfectly reasonable to hike in to these sites, set up camp, and then hike the rest of the trail. I considered that for my own backpacking trip.

But somehow it seemed like cheating. The trail in had been totally lacking in challenge. I'd been hoping for a little more challenge on my first overnight excursion. On the other hand, why put myself through an unnecessary beating just to prove a point when no one but me really cared? I continued to weigh these thoughts as I hiked on.

The Challenge Grows

My goal now was to reach and surpass the point at which I collapsed last year. If I could do that, I would be very happy. There was a waterfall at the end of the trail, but I had no idea how far past my goal this waterfall was. By the time I left the area of the campsites it was 3 p.m.

The terrain immediately became more rugged. I had not yet reached the most rugged parts of the trail, but I wanted to pace myself very carefully. I continued to adhere to a schedule of drinking a few swallows of power drink every 15 minutes and eating as soon as I felt hungry. I also rested as needed rather than pushing on endlessly. The trekking poles were obviously helping my knees tremendously. I made very heavy use of them on all climbs and descents.

At the first hint of muscle fatigue I worried a little bit, but took the cue and rested immediately. As the hike progressed, I saw that my knees, feet, and legs were doing well. This was already better than last year's hike. The closer I got to my nemesis, the steep rock face which had brought me to my knees, the more confidant and excited I became to meet it and defeat it.

When it finally arrived I felt exuberant. Here I was, but this time around I felt strong and my knees were solid!

A Nemesis Defeated

I climbed down the rock face backwards, as I had last year. This technique worked well for bad knees and seemed safer for staying balanced. I think it is also much faster than descending face-first. I have used this technique while hiking ahead of my husband, and then waited while he picked his way, very slowly, foothold by foothold, down the same rocks.

I began the ascent back into the upland wondering what lay ahead. We had not gotten very far beyond this point last year, so the rest of the trail would be novel. I had noticed on the map that there were four campsites around this area. I saw one, and then no more although I hiked for a long time.

I wondered how I could have missed the other three sites. However, on the way back I saw one I had missed, and the next day I noticed on the map that the other two sites were both across the river.

The trail continued to wind its way up and down along the river. As the hour grew later, I began to calculate periodically when I'd reach the car if I were to turn around right then. I wanted to make informed choices about continuing so late in the day. But as I progressed my desire to complete the trail intensified. I became increasingly willing to get back quite late, if necessary. After all, I had my headlamp.

A Decision

However, after awhile I heard the first rumble of thunder. I began to question the wisdom of continuing. Should it rain, the steep rocky trail behind me would become more treacherous. I continued on, hoping that the end of the trail was at hand. But the thunder continued to rumble ominously. I began to wonder if I were crazy not to turn back.

I ascended a few more hills with no difficulty. But after there had been thunder for about 15 minutes, I came face to face with a steep descent. The descent is the curse of the weak-kneed. I no longer felt any urge to reach the end of the trail, so at 5:30 p.m., I turned around. My knees did not hurt, but they knew what still lay ahead just to return to the trailhead.

The Return

Moments later, rain began to fall. As the intensity increased I donned my new (very expensive) rain gear, transferring some of the contents of my now-much-lighter pack into my pockets. Luckily the climb up my nemesis went without incident despite more slippery conditions. I had to rest several times because of muscle fatigue. I noticed that my cardio vascular system could have handled a more rapid ascent. Clearly my muscles lagged behind!

I was very careful for the entire return trip. I did not want to be stranded due to injury. I rested and ate when necessary and stopped once to dress a heel which felt close to blistering. I kept thinking that I was getting close to that first stopping point because the trail would come close to the river. But in reality I had much farther to go before I reached that point. I had not remembered the terrain being so rugged! I must have been feeling the strain of the long hike.

When I finally reached the point at which I'd spoken to the couple, I felt triumphant. I had effectively completed the Agawa Falls Trail. Although there were still 5 km to go, the difficult and dangerous parts were behind me. Now all there was to do was slog it through on tired muscles and slightly aching feet.

Night Falls

The light gradually faded. As it became darker and darker, my eyes adjusted. I never reached a point at which I felt the head lantern was necessary. As I knew it probably would, the 5 km seemed endless. Since I had no sense of how far I was at any given time, I was surprised when my car came into view at 9:15 p.m.

I was thrilled to have made it! I had taken risks, and it was dark, but I had done much more than I had planned to do today, and I did not feel as bad as I'd felt the year before after hiking a shorter distance. My first thoughts were to call my husband to brag. I knew he'd be proud of me.

I realized that no one would ever be as patient with my physical limitations as I would. By myself I had hiked a trail that I had been unable to hike with my husband. I had a few bits of technology on my side this time around, but I think it was my careful pacing and self-care that saw me through. In this respect I was truly my own best hiking companion.

Return to Camp

Back at the campground I waited in line for the phone. A man was explaining to someone that he and a woman companion had abandoned their canoe due to choppy water and hiked for nine hours to get back to civilization. He made arrangements to get a ride up to a hotel in the nearest town (about 20 or 30 minutes away).

I knew that the terrain along the coast could be beastly; suddenly my accomplishment felt small. Nevertheless, when my turn at the phone came, I bragged shamelessly to my husband about my triumph, and he was pleased.

Back at my campsite I moved around slowly, aching with every step. I made a fire over which I roasted sausage until it grew crispy and sizzled. I picked through my fading produce, eating what I could. When I'd had my fill, sometime after midnight, I doused the fire and crept into my tent to let my body begin repairing itself.

I had expected to be up many times during the night to pass the not-quite 148 ounces of water I had drunk, but it seems that my body had used most of that liquid.