Home Improvement:
Sometime in Spring I finished a slew of outdoor projects around the house, the largest of which were installation of a slate patio and a privacy fence complete with single as well as double gates. Smaller efforts included wheelbarrow restoration, rain barrel installation, compost barrel manufacture, and garden construction (see Wife's last post for the latter).
Boundary Waters/"Paddlapalooza":
I've wanted to take a trip to the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota for a long time, and last May we finally made it up there along with my friend Sharon (Vida days), her husband Miguel, and their friend Andy. Sharon and Miguel live in St Paul. We flew into the Twin Cities and then proceeded to load Sharon's sister's canoe onto their tiny car like true Minnesotans and drive our happy little party three hours north to Duluth. There, we picked up Andy with his truck, another canoe, and a kayak, and drove the additional three hours into THE BOONIES along a two lane road called the Gunflint Trail. The Boundary Waters is one of the few remaining areas of true Wilderness left in the lower 48 States. No one lives within the borders of this vast wilderness area, and approximately 70% of lakes its lakes are accessible by canoe/portage only. One can literally go days without seeing another canoe party, and trips can range from one or two days to weeks depending on how much time/energy/stamina one has. In any case, we chose to spend four days and three nights paddling around in this enchanted landscape (waterscape?). The fishing was excellent - as one would expect in an area only accessible by canoe. We spent the majority of our time camping on Ogishkemunchie Lake ("Ogish" to us Boundary Water vets), about four lakes and a full day's paddle/portage in from Seagull Lake where we put in. We got caught in a deluge on the way back and had significant percentages of our canoes fill with water, but made it back safe and soggy.
Travel MN-style!
The prerequisite trip to the Walmart rental center (a classic Vida tradition)
Whole areas around the first few lakes were burned in a 2004 fire
By the time we got to our own private island, we had crossed the fire line
Yup, that's how we roll
We put in at the top right end of Seagull, main campsite is bottom left
On the way back we took a detour and instead of doing a poorly maintained portage, the Wife and I ran the rapids between lakes!
Sunset
Fish-fry!
The rainy last day on the paddle back
Back soaked but safe!
Appalachian Trail:
Fast forward to Autumn, when I had a few days off in a row which we spent hiking a 30-mile segment of the Appalachian Trail near Asheville, NC. We brought the dog and he promptly fell in love with the backpacking experience. Blisters and IT-band issues notwithstanding, we had an awesome time hiking/camping for little more than the cost of gas/food.
On of the ubiquitous white trail markers along the AT
A well-deserved rest for man and beast atop Bluff Mountain
No pain no gain
Arrival in Hot Springs, NC - the end of our three-day journey
Battleship Half-Marathon:
I started running with the dog this past year, and over the course of a few months worked my way up to half-marathon distance. Three weeks before the Battleship Half Marathon - a yearly race here in Wilmington where you start and end at a WWII battleship/museum and run over three bridges along the route, I injured my left IT band hiking on the AT (see above). Come race day it was still hurting but I applied some topical diclofenac, popped a few ibuprofen/tylenol, wrapped the knee, and hope for the best. It hurt for the first few miles then settled down, and the remainder of the race went well (if rather slow - I only just got under my 2 hour goal). My friend Rick did it with me - it was also his first Half, so we were both rather pleased that we even finished. Good times, large medals!
That concludes the 2013 highlight reel. Bring on 2014!
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