Day 16, 15 miles, Jerry Lake tent site

We had thunderstorms overnight again but our soft pine needle spot kept us safe.

I however still wake up with a big case of the “I don’t wanna’s”. While it stopped raining overnight and the tent dried out nicely, it is now raining again and therefor the tent is wet again. Packing up a wet tent and starting the day off hiking in the rain just isn’t very appealing. So we wait a bit. Maybe it’ll stop again. And it does. Just long enough for us to pack up. Then it starts again. And it doesn’t stop for several hours.

I thought it would be colder so left a long sleeve layer on but soon I’m uncomfortably warm. I can’t really take the rain jacket off since it’s still raining and I don’t really want to take the long sleeve off since I have nothing underneath. Also, wet rain jacket sleeves on bare arms is a particularly unpleasant feeling. So I just put up with being too warm. Unzipping the jacket helps somewhat. And every time  there is a breeze I soak it up.

Another fun factor this morning is the increased mosquito activity. Not bad enough for the head net so I pull my buff over my ears to drown them out. Again the occasional breeze is my friend.

Unfortunately the breeze does not help with the amount of mud we have to deal with. We balance on logs, roots, and rocks as much as we can but there is no way to avoid getting wet and mucky feet. Little Bird has a nice dip all the way above her ankle. One particular section has orange mud and it’s deep! It looks so nasty we do our best to not step in. Yuck!

Wet grass, more mud, beaver dams it’s all part of the game. And when there are board walks they are slick. We both have experienced wiping out on a boardwalk on the Superior hiking trail last year and I am very fearful of that happening again. We move grandma speed and make it safely past.

Around noon the weather finally clears somewhat and we head for a lunch spot. The shore line of Eleventh lake has a nice spot and we welcome the breeze. Maybe we can even dry out the rainfly! As soon as we have it all set up and I sit down for a bite to eat, it starts sprinkling again. Noooo!! Thank goodness it stops.

 

We peel off our wet shoes and socks and let our toes dry some. The tent is drying nicely and there is even a glimpse of sunshine!

After the break the weather turns much nicer and we only have mosquitos and mud left to deal with. I eventually put a head net on and wear my rain skirt as a cape to keep the mosquitos from biting my arms (through my sleeves!). I look like an idiot with my green cape but I don’t care.

Well, that is until there are two other backpackers passing us going the other direction. I explain that I have very low tolerance for bugs trying to feel less embarrassed about my outfit.

We eventually make it to a lovely campsite at the shore of Jerry Lake which we keep calling Jerry Springer lake because it entertains us. It is sunny now and we can dry out our socks and shoes/sandals.

A couple with a dog is camped on the upper site and the dog keeps checking us out. Little Bird loves the bench and I love laying down in the tent and not moving anymore.

Peepers and an owl sing us to sleep.