My party at the terminus!

Mission accomplished. :)

Katie and Katie made it!

Wooooohooooo

More sweet rockwork!

Nice rockwork Ben B and other volunteers!

Thank you volunteers!

Overlook

Great name!

Last morning

Morning on the river is pretty nice. The wind died down last night and I was warm and cozy... In 3 layers... But still warm and cozy. It sprinkled a little but just enough to wake me up briefly.

This morning is bittersweet... Under 8 miles to the end of this journey. As I sat at the picnic table by the lake feeling blue a swan swam by on the banks of Minnesota.

MN

That is Minnesota. Ha.

The last segment of the IAT. I will finish tomorrow because why finish today?

Gandy Dancer

Gee thanks Phil for getting "Hold Me Closer, Gandy Dancer" stuck in my head.

Sold out

The saddest vending machine ever... Poor thing. Luckily I raided Gray Ghost's collection of ClifBars this morning. :)

2nd breakfast

Map 1 deserves hot chocolate.

Oh... Okay!

Along the Gandy Dancer

Okay, I can't zoom in so you will have to trust me: this is a hearse for sale outside of Centuria. I thought my dad would want to know. He used to have a hearse.

Cafe Wren

Had a great lunch at Cafe Wren! Dean came over and we visited. There was some map geekery involved. Charles and Fritzie and I camped on Dean's beach in 2011 and he gave me an IAT sticker that found its way to my car and has taunted me ever since. So it is kind of Dean's fault that I am here right now. :)

We also visited with the Westigards who live on-trail. So many IAT supporters around here! thanks everyone for all your efforts to improve and promote this great trail! And for your kindness to hikers!

Gray Ghost

I had such a fun day hiking with Gray Ghost! It turned an otherwise blustery and cold day into a day of good trail stories and fantastic detours. I hope I have a trail resume as good as his someday. Huge thanks for the hike and for letting me crash at your place tonight! It would be pretty cold and yucky in a tent.

Katie Fritz by the BIG ROCK!

Straight Lake

And the sky is a hazy shade of winter.

Map 3 of 105

You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again, so why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen... When one can no longer see, one can at least still know. -R. Daumal

Snacks

My snacks for tonight and tomorrow - Fritzie Fresh Taffy and Bovee's Fresh Girl Scout Cookies. :)

I remember this place!

It is amazing how much I remember from my trip with Fritz and Charles in 2011. :)

This section! Phenomenal!

Dinger

Ugh, this picture didn't turn out at all. I would have gotten a lot farther today if I hadn't stopped for a 3 hour break at Dinger Lake to read a book. It was so sunny and beautiful and those perfect moments are little remaining now that I am nearly done. Today was the nicest weather forecast for the next week - upcoming days don't look bad but perfect indian summer days to sunbathe may be done for the year. So I can't regret a few perfect hours.

I can smell how new this is!

Polk County

Someone poked Polk. Can't believe I'm here.

Supper

Supper last night was greatly enhanced by pomegranate #2. Thanks Hungry Creepster!

Sunny. Warm. Beautiful.

Close up

Uh huh. Interesting.

KB KB KF

Bovee with her Lego-her and Fritz

Phil

Phil is cooking supper for me. Life is good. Thanks Phil!!

KBB

Katie B and me! So glad she could come hike for the day!

Pie

Then we ate peach pie with our fingers. They are the best forks.

Pomegranate

Phil brought me a pomegranate aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!

Here are my lovely friends sitting on a gate. They are wonderful.

Breakfast! and friends too.

Awesome breakfast at the Red Brick Cafe with 2 of my most favorite people! Thanks Bovee and Phil for joining me on my hike!

Mahna mahna

Do doo do do do
do doo do do
do doo do do do
do doo do
do doo do
do do
do do do
do do dooo do do

Tuscobia

Rough terrain today :)

Foggy

A little foggy . . . the trail and my brain! something about civilization made me think it was okay to be on the phone til 2AM with my former hiking buddy Hillbilly Bart. At least I didn't have to get up at 5 like he did. Heh.

Today is super exciting because I am meeting up with my first long distance hiking buddy Phil/Hungry Creepster. So nice to have company coming!

Almost there.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssss.

OR

...or I could hang out in Birchwood with a giant fish and avoid the forecasted all-night rain. Yeah. That sounds good.

2 more to color in

Jeepers.

Meadow

I came to this beautiful meadow (cough, full of milkweed) and I so wanted to spend the night here but I wasn't sure where I was on the map so I pushed on. Just 5 minutes later I popped out at the edge of the segment (my end point for the day). I have never been so happy to backtrack 5 minutes. It's an early day but it sets me up perfect for lunch in Brill tomorrow. Hikers...we plan ahead for important things like lunch! :)

Here's the full sign but the sunlight makes it hard to read.

Milkweed

I have been greatly slowed down this past week due to this.

109

Totally did not cry when I saw this. But I came close.

Lunch stop

Rusk County rocks. Water, bathrooms, shelter, and outlets!!! I took a looong lunch break - until I started shivering. It's a lovely day but not the kind where you want to be outside sitting still! I so appreciated this stop.