The long goodbye

Duluth to Eveleth, Minnesota. Monday, June 7, 2021

Didn’t I say goodbye to Lake Superior on Saturday and Sunday? I’m like the guest who wouldn’t leave.

I felt fine this AM, yesterday’s drama was clearly a combination of heat exhaustion and separation anxiety. It’s funny, this fancy hotel has no breakfast or even coffee, so I had to go over to Starbucks, felt like a real urban commuter.

The route to Hibbing took me right back over that steep hill I had just come down, the hill that Harrison was trying to help me avoid when he gave me directions from his house yesterday. It was so crazy steep I had to walk half of it, it took me half an hour to do one mile. But I was happy to do it, it was still in the mid 70s, and I figured it would give the old pump one last test before I left the security of a nearby medical facility. It was all good. The old-timers among you will remember that Timex ad by John Cameron Swayze: takes a licking, keeps on ticking.

After the climb, it was fairly flat. My navigator kept trying to put me on dirt roads, so I finally went over to US 53. The first 15 miles of that seemed to have a good shoulder, but there was a seam every 20 feet, and going ker-CHUNK, ker-CHUNK every ten seconds got old real fast, was giving me a headache, and I despaired something would rattle loose.

It turned to blessed smooth pavement after that, and life was sweet. Ruler straight, nothing but featureless forest, fairly minimal traffic on the highway. A perfect time for phone calls, but no one was answering. A mild tailwind made it sweeter, but when it’s in the high 80s you want little wind. I pulled into Eveleth (not quite the Levon Helm lyrics), not feeling ’bout half past dead. Lovely campsite over a lake, with a power hookup. Massive thunderstorm at 3AM, was gratified that my tent kept me dry.

Well, almost dry. The floor was wet when I awoke, and had to hang around while my stuff dried out. The tent is super high-tech, made of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE, “Dyneema”, formerly called Cuben fiber), weighs less than a pound, although your use your hiking sticks for poles. It says you don’t need a “footprint” but I’ve been using a sheet of Tyvek under it; this is what funneled the water under the tent. Maybe time to go commando. UHMWPE is supposed to be indestructible.

Another Easter egg: Eveleth is a starting point for the Mesabi Trail, a 65 mile rail trail that will take me to Hibbing and all the way to Grand Rapids. Weird feature: you’re supposed to pay a trail fee, which I did online, though I suspect nobody checks.

Not getting going until 3PM today. I’m worse than Yogi Bear (he only slept till noon).

Distance 65 miles, 2,332 total. Time 8 hours with stops. Elevation gain 1,498 feet.

©️ 2021 Scott Luria