AFTER THE STORM 7/8

After the sunrise; Lake Superior from Oberg Mountain

Well before dawn it started with a gentle intermittent sprinkle tapping on the roof of my tent, then within 20 minutes the rain poured and the thunder rolled. The temps dropped and I figured crawling back into my warm bag was my best and only bet. It kept up for a good long while. I tried to sleep but I was on high alert. The rain battered my tent and lightening constantly flickered and flashed lighting it up like an orange globe. As cool as it was, I wanted this storm to move over the lake as quickly as it had moved over me. I prayed for an end to it then almost instantly fell sound asleep. When the end of it came, I crawled out to see a fresh new morning and the tent of a fellow backpacker who'd come in late. I wasn’t alone. I didn’t eat or drink but got my bear bag, closed down my tent and was off hiking. I had a new plan in mind.

After the storm; Springdale Creek Campsite

I’d decided to go off trail and follow a different trail down into Tofte. This area’s trail system is like a bowl of spaghetti and one can easily get turned around in its dense woods, so I used the AllTrails app to get me to where I wanted to be which was the Coho Cafe.  I ate a huge breakfast there. I always want to order food like this but never do. Today I just decided to get on with it and give it a whirl.

With pure satisfaction firmly set, I took off feeling a bit like Toad and/or Frog from the children’s easy reader series by Arnold Lobel, and headed back to the trail. 

I’d hoped to have an easier day but as it turned out it was just as intense as most of the others had been with hot humid and sweaty climbing and wrestling with overgrown vegetation, mosquitoes and changing trail conditions.

When I got to my campsite I was spent, but a happy. I’d had my eye on the Onion River campsite since the beginning and I was finally. It’s a large campsite with two fire rings, a 12’ bear bag pole, soft ground and a small picnic table to boot. 

I choose a tent pad site that was out of the way, set up, didn’t eat, but read and reread my SHT trail book waiting for a reasonable time to call it a day. A couple of guys slipped in, sat down, drank water and left in less than 5 minutes time. I was a little disappointed because I like a little company. I figured I’d be alone again throughout the night. 

I started waking up at 12:00, then 2:20 then 3:40, I wanted to beat the sunrise; I wanted to wait until 5:30. My plan was to reach the  the top of Oberg Mountain to catch the sunrise over Superior. Each time I awoke I heard pure silence, nothing like the night before.  It was as still as stone. Not a sound of any kind was in the forest. I can say I’ve not experienced that kind of deep silence very often in my life. It was pretty awesome.

With the morning light I saw I had the company of another orange REI 1/2 Dome and quietly left, slack packing and getting to the top of the mountain by 6:00. I missed the sunrise but caught the early morning light over the lake I love. It was just us.