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 sea level requiring only a 98 foot gain in altitude to reach the top, while Vermont’s highest mountain is 4393 feet above sea level requiring as much as a 3000 foot gain in altitude to reach the top. This is why I was surprised to learn that Big Manitou Falls in Wisconsin drops 165 feet while Vermont tallest waterfall only has a 125 foot drop.

My hip had improved since injuring it while going through some tough blow downs, but I was still noticing pain in both it and my foot. I wasn’t sure how either would hold up, but I was hoping by doing short days without carrying much weight I could get through Wisconsin before calling it quits on the North Country Trail for this year.

I began by doing some loop trails through Patterson State Park in Wisconsin, taking time to enjoy the waterfalls. This was followed by more than 30 miles of road walk which I was able to break into a few days. I was especially relieved when the paved road turned to dirt and became a much more enjoyable walk. I was thrilled when I found a great spot to camp off one of these roads.

I was also thrilled that I was able to meet up with Mike Butterbrodt, who was instrumental in helping me buy the mini iPad I use to blog with when I’m on trail. I had met him before, but we had never spent time hiking together. We soon discovered we have a very similar hiking pace and I really enjoyed my time hiking with him. I got to watch him in action as he staged shots for his online vlog @turtle’severydayadventures (sorry I wasn’t able to make this a link and WordPress really sucks as far as giving me help when I need it. You can copy and paste it.)

We hiked together just under 13 miles the first day, leaving his car at one end and mine on the other so we could do it without carrying full packs. We hiked through a wide variety of vegetation, from newly logged areas and small pole timber, to swampy meadows and more mature forest.

I often don’t like walking through logged areas on a trail, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the views which were opened up as a result of logging. I was even more surprised to realize I preferred these logged over views over the more expansive prairie views in North Dakota. When I tried to figure out why, I realized it was the variety of heights in the vegetation, some varying geological features, and a clear boundary around the open area. In North Dakota, the views are so flat and open that the locals joke around saying “you can watch your dog run away for three weeks.” In a way, it was like looking over the ocean and seeing the same thing for miles in all directions. In Wisconsin, the views included a variety of different heights of vegetation as well as small bumps in the land. I could also see the boundaries of these views where the logged area met the unlogged forest. Somehow those edges felt comforting to me.

It got me thinking about boundaries in general and how important it is, especially for kids, to have boundaries set. While I don’t like feeling constrained and believe in pushing boundaries, I also recognize the comfort in sometimes knowing where the edges are, especially for folks who grew up with dissociation from trauma and often feel out of control inside their own bodies. Knowing that you can push to some extent, but will be caught if you go too far can be a comforting feeling.

On my second day of hiking with Mike, the North County Trail utilized the Brule Portage Trail, which is a two mile trail connecting the St Croix watershed with the Lake Superior watershed. Native Americans used this trail for hundreds of years before early fur trappers gave it its current name. Native Americans and trappers lugged their boats along this trail, gaining and then losing 337 feet of altitude. This allowed them to paddle from the Mississippi and St Croix Rivers to the Brule River, out into Lake Superior and beyond.

We took time to enjoy the views and side trails both in the woods and along the rivers. And when we emerged from the woods at the end of our hike we investigated a humongous ball of twine. This ten foot high, twenty-two foot wide ball of twine weighing in at over 24,000 pounds was once believed to be the heaviest ball of twine ever made. James Frank Kotera also known as JFK, claims God told him to stop drinking and create this ball as a way to stay sober and become famous. Many people thought he was nuts but working with twine worked to keep JFK sober. I could identify with him because while I don’t hike for sobriety, I do hike for my emotional and physical wellbeing and people often tell me I’m crazy.

After a few days, I bid farewell to Mike and headed west to meet up with Marty, who had agreed to slack pack me the rest of the way through Wisconsin.

To see more photos, you can always go to my Instagram @theMarybadass

#nationalscenictrail #nct #ncnst #northcountrytrail #thruhike #thruhiking #themarybadass #meetingmarybadass #posttraumaticstress #ptsd #did #dissociativeidentities