My goal today was to reach Fredenberg Creek Camp.
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Well, last night got pretty cold. I had my hammock again and put on every item of clothing I had, but it wasn’t quite enough. I must check the new underquilt I got when I get back home. I’m not sure if I didn’t get a warm enough one (it’s rated to 40 degrees F. [4.4 C.], but it wasn’t quite that cold out) or if you’re also supposed to have a down blanket as well. Luckily, Brian had a down jacket he didn’t need, so I used it to cover my legs and then I was fine.
This morning we had a nice breakfast, broke camp and headed our separate ways. The hike out of Crosby Manitou takes you down to the creek, and then steeply uphill. Really steeply uphill. I have the stats somewhere, but it’s a several-hundred-foot rise over just a few hundred feet.
When I caught my breath and started going down the other side, I came upon another thru-hiker and his dog, George. The guy was heading southbound and had never done anything like this before. He was so excited to be bathing in waterfalls at night, camping, etc. It was fun to see his enthusiasm and excitement for doing something new to him.
Powering Toward Fredenberg Creek Camp
BlueBerry caught up to me partway through the afternoon and we hiked together for several hours, then enjoyed a snack break at a pond. He got off the trail at his campsite for the night – I’m blanking on the name, but it was the one before Fredenberg Creek, where I was headed. Green Tortuga was somewhere behind us. He takes a lot of pictures for his website, Hike4Fun, which lets you log your steps on one of several trails, then shows you how far you’d be if you were actually hiking that trail.
I popped out on a road and had two miles (3.2 km) left to get to my camp. I’d cheated and had Brian drop a gallon of water for me since today was a long day and I didn’t want to have to filter a lot of water among the mosquitoes. Well, it took me a while to find it because there were two parking lots – which I didn’t realize at first – so I kept wandering around the first one. But I found it and hiked two miles (3.2 km) with that gallon. It was heavy!
The camp was cute and quiet. Fredenberg Creek wasn’t that deep, but I was able to wash up fine.
Snowshoe
MN NCT miles today: =17.5 (28.2 km)
MN NCT miles to date: 211.9 (341 km)
SHT miles to date: 211.9 (341 km)
Total NCT miles to date: 498.3 (801.9 km)
Total NCT miles to go: 4,101.7 (6,601.1 km)
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Want to pick up some of my favorite gear? I love this Sawyer Squeeze water filter and my Eno hammock.
