LostandFound - Other Trail Journal - 2009

Arrived at Ely Minnesota

June 29, 2009

I was awakened by the conductor at 3:30 AM this morning because the empty seat I was stretched out on was going to be taken by the woman across the aisle. Her two seats were for a couple who had just gotten on the train. I dozed off and on till 6, and then got up to get my coffee.

Came back to my seat and made another pepperoni sandwich with mustard and olive oil. Started packing up and took off my water/train shoes and put my hiking boots on. Even though at 6 AM the train was running an hour late, it made up 30 minutes before reaching Minneapolis.

I checked with a cabbie on how long it would take to get to REI (15 minutes) and how much ($ 25 one way), took his card and decided it wasn't worth it. I went online to research Deuter and Granite Gear packs and then emailed Mother Goose about whether they carried the SL Deuter packs, which are women's.

Then I set about recharging the phone from a wall outlet and staying awake reading about how to use my compass. Mother Goose emailed back that the one store only had men's, but they were adjustable. She is going to check with some of the other outfitters.

The bus to Duluth was a few minutes late and about half full. We rode for about 2 hours and then stopped at a service center for a 10 minute break. It is very overcast and looks colder than it is. The hot food looked gross, the coffee machines were broken, and so I opted for a cappuccino - that's probably not how you spell it. Across the way was a closed Dodge/GM dealer. However the lot was ringed with American flags and a larger flag in front. There was one lone car in the back parking lot. Imagine the number of jobs lost and the effects on the surrounding communities.

The bus ride was a milk run. We stopped at designated stops every 20 minutes or so. We pulled into Duluth 12 minutes early. Kevin, the taxi driver, came about 15 minutes later and we set off for Ely.

Just outside of Duluth we stopped at McDonald's for a happy meal for me and a cheeseburger for him. Then back on the road. Ely is a good 2 hour drive on mostly a divided highway. It was quite flat in Minneapolis, Duluth is hillier and there are 'mountains' and lots of lakes in Ely. He deposited me at #25 at the Canoe on In.

It was good to see Mother Goose. We decided to go see about the pack. It was a size down from MG's and when we packed it up with all my gear, it was about the same as my pack. Mother Goose was able to compress and condense my gear. The pack fit OK, but I'm used to the Osprey packs that fit away from your back. In the end, I decided to go with my pack and not buy a new one.

So back to the motel to drop the pack and go to the grocery store for me as we're packing out 6 days of food, instead of the 4 in my book. Then we stopped for dinner at the Ely Steakhouse where we each ordered the 8 ounce sirloin tip, medium rare. Although the steak was good, it wasn't outstanding. On the way back to the motel, we stopped at Piragis Northwoods Company so MG could look for long underwear top. She sent hers home last week when it was hot. That isn't the problem now. However, the only things she could find were $ 55 - more then what she was willing to pay

So back to the motel for me to pack up my food. I'll take a picture at our next stop so you can see the mess. I'll be eating summer sausage and cheese for lunch this week, oatmeal for breakfast, potatoes and sausage for dinner. I have trail bars for snacks and grape Kool-aid to disguise the color of our water that we will be filtering.

I packed my pack and everything fits with room to spare. Yes! Time for bed. We hope to hike at least 10 miles tomorrow. It's a road walk
Lost and found

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