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Good Enough
As I drove east, heading off the North Country Trail, I thought of all the things in my life that hadn’t gone the way I wanted them to. Even the most difficult of these opened new doors to me. I am grateful I had found the courage to let go of the old and walk…
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Slack-packing Wisconsin: part two
I first met Marty when I thru hiked the Ice Age Trail. He and his sister graciously welcomed me into their home where I was fed well before taking a luxurious bath. Marty then slack-packed me along part of the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin. We’ve stayed in touch over the years and when Marty…
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Slack Packing Wisconsin: Part One
I began my hike of the North Country Trail in Wisconsin at Big Manitou Falls. This is the highest waterfall in Wisconsin. I was surprised to learn it’s longer than the highest waterfall in Vermont, even though Vermont’s mountains are much taller than anything found in Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s highest point is only 1951 feet above…
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Interim
After a few days with the Kosher’s, I headed off to visit my friend Susan in Minneapolis. As I drove, I became aware that not knowing about my future was opening up all sorts of thought trains for me. One of these was wondering what I would do as I aged. The house I live…
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Into the Unknown
After the horrible blowdowns, which caused yet more foot and hip pain, April and Rodger drove me five hours to Cornell, Wisconsin, where my car was being held by Julie and Pat Kosher, trail angels I first met when hiking the Ice Age Trail. As I hobbled into the Kosher’s house, I felt blessed to…
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More Amazing Magic
Aaron carried my pack to the road and waited with me until Roger arrived. I had connected with Roger through the North Country trail angel page and was looking forward to meeting him in person. When Roger and his wife, April, arrived, he loaded my pack into his truck and handed me some cold orange…
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Magic on the North Country Trail
By the time I reached the two campsites at Hernando De Soto Lake in Itasca State Park, I was limping, but I still didn’t know how badly I was hurting. After pushing through some of the worst blow downs I’ve ever done, I came to a few miles of better trail, There were still some…
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Blowdowns!
Not long after leaving the lake, I entered Lake Itasca State Park. This is known as a beautiful park, hosting the headwaters of the Mississippi River. I had been told the trail had been cleared and was looking forward to hiking there. Even though my foot was hurting, I still had hopes of making it…
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Decision Time
After I left Jan and Jim, I was happy to see that my body felt better. My foot wasn’t screaming in pain and hiking was finally feeling pleasurable. Unfortunately that only lasted a day and a half. By the middle of my second day out, my foot was again starting to hurt. I remembered my…
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Check Facts and Don’t Make Assumptions
I learned a long time ago that making assumptions can cause a lot of erroneous thinking. I also knew the importance of checking my facts, yet as I was walking in an area with quite a few blow downs, I was thinking this trail is too long for the number of people they have to…
The Mary Badass
A Ruminating Blog About Personal Healing, Adventure and Day to Day Life
