Day 1
Location: Little Brule River
Distance: 12 miles
Weather: Overcast and warm
Mood: Grateful for a good start to the trip
Some late season bunchberry hiding
Today marked a change in the terrain we've been hiking. We passed through Magney State Park and immediately the mosquitos decreased and the forest became a close community of pines and ferns. I was really excited to find a patch of wintergreen and took a few leaves for good luck. Bunchberry is one of my favorite northwoods plants and it's everywhere but most have already dropped their berries. Here and there we are finding them though! Another berry I was hoping to find is wild blueberries. Well we're camping among a huge field of blueberry bushes but it seems the season is long over here. Maybe we'll find a stray one as we head further south.
So far we've met some great people. We made some friends in the parking lot of the state park as we filled up water (hi if you're reading this!) and another man told us about the trail magic he does for hikers near his home on the Colorado Trail. We've shared our campsites for a couple nights with another southbound hiker, out here crushing miles after a several year hiatus from backpacking, and it's fun to have some company. Maybe some rain in the future and I know the days are going to get harder now that we're ramping up miles, but so far the start to our trip has been a real joy.
