We're doing a combo blog post today, written by both of us, to celebrate the end of our journey.
Vic
After 44 days and 592 total miles (576 trail miles), WE FINISHED!!! The last 16 miles completed today led us to the picturesque Lake of the Clouds in the Porkies. The terrain was again challenging but we had more vigor in our steps knowing it was our last day. Our wives met us shortly after we got to the lake's overlook and brought fresh-made cannoli to celebrate! Afterwards we started the several hour car trip back to Anthony's house in Madison.
This has been an amazing and incredible journey. I am so glad and grateful that my son asked me to take on this adventure with him. I would never have thought of doing anything like this. Anthony is the hiker, not me. I agreed to do this, first and foremost, to spend six weeks with my adult son doing something he loves to do and secondly, to see if I could actually complete the trip. This has been the hardest physical endurance activity that I have ever taken on in my life and I truly wasn't sure that I could complete it until we got through the first three weeks which was almost at the end of the SHT and about 260 miles through the hike. Now it is time to recuperate, reminisce and figure out the next journey of my retirement.
Presque Isle River flowing into Lake Superior
Anthony immersed in the Fall foliage
Is that Anthony or is that Big Foot with a backpack on? ...hmmm
Lake of the Clouds (overlook in upper left)
Anthony
What an incredible day to end our trek. We began the day with the threat of rain that soon dissolved into clear blue skies and wind that whipped up waves on Lake Superior as we walked near the shore. As the crashing waves faded into the distance and we moved inland, we passed the location due south of our starting point, the northern terminus of the SHT at the Canadian border, nearly 90 miles North across the lake. We stood there gazing North into the woods feeling the moment: we truly walked from one side of the lake to the other.
88.2 miles due South of the 270 Overlook at the SHT Northern Terminus
The whole hike, a different color for each day and the North/South line from our starting point
As we continued, we reached the first sign for our destination, Lake of the Clouds, which we'd reach by traversing a long ridge to the overlook point where Jen and Mom would meet us. We saw a few other backpackers as we ascended up the ridge, and they seemed happy. I didn't know what to expect from this section of the trail, but as we reached the peak the trees thinned and suddenly we were standing above a cliff with a valley of fall colors between us and the next mountain. It was a stunning reveal!
We hiked on, forgoing our scheduled afternoon snack in the excitement of
the moment and suddenly, Lake of the Clouds appeared in the distance. I almost didn't want to let it out of my sight, but the trail weaved in and out of the forest along the ridge and soon I checked the map; we were in the final mile of our hike. No time to process that moment, we began to encounter day hikers and ran, packs bouncing, down a hill. There waiting was a boardwalk and stairs that would take us to our final summit at the overlook. We stopped on a landing to admire the view and some visitors about Dad's age asked us how far we had hiked. 576 trail miles, and only a few hundred feet left to go. They congratulated us and shook our hands, again more excited to see Dad completing this journey than me. We chatted for a few minutes, then figured we had better get to the end! As we neared the top, Jen and Mom emerged from the path to the parking lot, cannoli and homemade signs in hand. Perfect timing. We raced to the end and the journey was over.
Our first view of Lake of the Clouds
This entire experience has really been a dream come true. The amount of planning it took was enormous, years in the making, and that was before we even reached the physical effort. I'm awed that my dad agreed to do it with me and took up this challenge. And that he loves me enough to walk from one side of Lake Superior to the other just to hang out with me. I'm so grateful to everyone who helped make this possible for me, and all the people who went out of their way to support us on the trail, whether with a packet of fruit snacks, or a roof over our heads and good company. I'm especially thankful for the support and encouragement of my wife, Jen, and my mom who kept things going at home. Finally, thanks to everyone who followed along on our journey on this blog or on Instagram and shared their excitement with us, it helped brighten our days when the hiking got tough!
A few people have asked me what's next. I don't know yet, but a shower, a rest, and reentering normal life seems like a good first step! After that I'll just have to see where the trail goes next.
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