It wasn’t cold last night but it got cold just before daylight. I didn’t have cell service so I couldn’t check the forecast to see what the temperature was but I’m pretty sure it was in the ’40s.

The cold weather makes me get up more slowly than normal. And today similar to yesterday. I was up and moving at about 6:45 which isn’t too bad. I wasn’t really rushing.

The first place I hiked through is Susan Lake area. As soon as I get to the gate I see a sign that says that the entire facility is rented out for a private group with no trespassing signs. The guidebook says that we have access even if it says exactly that. So I might try to run through like I own the place.

Everyone there is still sleeping. No one is camped out but they all seem to be in some sort of a large building up on the hill.

Someone commented in the guidebook that there’s a good campsite overlooking the lake. I find the spot and it is really close to the group building so it would not have been a good place to try and camp last night.

I keep on moving until I get lake access. This is where I will fill up water for the day. The lake water is warm but it filters clear and has no taste.

The entire morning is a mix of dirt roads and purpose trails for the first hour. But then it turns to road walking for about 2 hours. The first road that takes about an hour has maybe two cars that pass me. The second road about the same distance has only one car pass me. These kinds of road walks I don’t mind. They are both heavily wooded and heavily shaded.

It’s still a bit chilly so I hike with my gloves on. The rest of the entire day is a mixed bag of double track dirt roads, small ATV roads, pathways that look like they’re probably snowmobile trails, and some dedicated single track.

I started out wearing my dry socks because I knew about all the road walking early on and I decided I would only stop and switch it became wet grass. Luckily the snowmobile paths have very low grass and they’re already in the sun so my shoes are just barely getting damp.

But I know I have a river crossing coming soon. Some comments in the guidebook say to use the stones, one says cross on a log upstream, and the rest say just wait through it.

When I finally get to it I kind of laugh out loud. It’s barely a stream and more like a creek. I see the rock crossing and the log crossing upstream. Both of them look easy, but the rock crossing is right in front of me so I just walk right across. This is almost not even worth putting in the guide book as a river crossing.

After about another hour, the grass starts getting pretty wet, so I stop and switch to my wet socks. My timing was perfect because within 10 minutes my shoes and socks are soaking wet. I end up having to wear these for about 4 hours until later on when my shoes are dry enough to switch socks.

The trails of also become a little steeper and slow me down a bit. My energy is decent because I’m trying a new coffee strategy today. I make coffee at 9:00 a.m. and only drink half of it. I then drink the other half at 11:00 or 11:30. Then I make coffee again at 1:30 or 2:00 but only drink half. And then drink the other half at 3:30 or 4:00.

I think the strategy works because I have good energy all day and don’t really get tired until after 6:00. I will try this again tomorrow to see if I get the same results.

Late in the afternoon, there is a second river crossing. For this one, no one mentions a way to get across without wading. I reached it about 4:00 p.m. and it is indeed a wide enough river that there’s no other options. It’s about 30 or 40 yards across but less than a foot deep. I could use my flip flops but the banks are muddy so I decide just to use bare feet.

I grab a stick that someone has left on the bank to steady myself and make my way across the river. By the fourth step I regret not wearing my flip-flops. The rocks on the bottom are very jagged and pointed and very painful under your feet. There is grass in the middle that I step on and it does soften the rocks below. I was expecting smooth the river rocks but this is more like lava rock.

As I approach the other side I can see there’s a stream leading into the river. As I approach the bank the water turns ice cold and very painful on your feet. Now I have to deal with sharp rocks and frozen feet.

I make it up onto the shore and just keep walking up the grassy hill because I can see there is an opening. I’m glad I did because there are big concrete blocks to sit on to dry your feet and put your shoes back on. It would have been a royal pain to try and do that in the grass by the bank.

I take a little break, check my maps, drink my coffee, have a little snack. The cold water rejuvenates you but it’s now 4:00 and time for my last half of coffee.

The trail wanders out through a neighborhood onto a small street for about a half a mile. The trail crosses a highway and I can see a bar and grill about a 10th of a mile north. I remember reading a comment in The guidebook about the bar and grill north of the trail being closed. There are two cars in the parking lot but it doesn’t look active like it should at 4:30, so I keep crossing the highway and moving on down the trail.

About a mile from the highway as I am checking my map, I don’t see that same comment about the bar and grill. I have a little bit of internet access so I check Google maps and it says the bar was indeed open.

Now I regret not going to check to see if it was open while I was still there. And there’s no point in backtracking a mile just to go now so I guess it’s one that got away. But a cheeseburger does sound pretty good right now. At least better than mashed potatoes.

The trail now starts doing weird things like going straight up steep banks and then down the other side. This is not the kind of trail I wanted at 5:00 p.m. in the evening. It does start to sap my energy a little bit.

There are two campsites that I will reach about 6:30. There’s a tower on top of the hill that I would reach at 7:30. And two more campsites that I would reach at 8:30. I would doubt I will find camping at the top of the hill so that one is out. And I don’t really feel like hiking all the way until dark so the second set of campsites is out. It looks like the first two campsites are going to be my best bet.

I get to the second campsite right on time and poke around to see where would be a good place to pitch my tent. The official campsite is not bad but it’s a little dirty. But up closer to the trail there are thick blankets of pine needles and flat areas that look even better. I find one the size of my tent and this will be my home for tonight.

I set the tent up and then roll a cut section of log 20 yards from my tent so I can cook dinner. Mashed potatoes and tuna fish, yum.

Emotion of the day, I’m not sure

The morning was nice. The road walks were not hazardous. The early grass trails were not wet. The first river crossing was not existent, and the second one was exactly what I expected.

The afternoon trails were a little annoying. And missing the opportunity for a good dinner was a let down.

But at least the campsite is good, and it wasn’t a too difficult day today. The weather was nice and cool.

So what kind of emotion do you tag to a day that’s just like any other day? It was just the normal routine of hiking. So I guess the emotion would have to be – routine.