Backpacking the Great Lakes, 06-24-21 - 07-01-21

06-24-21

Lightning tip: Black face mask over the eyes works wonders.

06-25

Homewood, IL. 70+ F, Flash Flood Watch. Woke up w the sun at 5. Even though didn't get much sleep, worth it. Needed time to move gear around, journal, and take it slow. Arms hurt so much from kayaking. My breathing meditation is "accept healing". Lightning storm sucked. Face mask over eyes helped. 15-20 mins sleep at a time. Worried about splitting shoe and tear in sheer tent netting. Also, Leon is trying to escape back home. Took ibuprofen and antacid. The oil on my face could fuel the US.

6-26

Having a really hard time sleeping. 2-4 hrs/n + car sleep. So humid and buggy. But, tent stays dry. I'm going to convert to being a 24/7 bug repellent user. Wish tent was bigger so I could starfish and roll around. But cozy 1p tent it is.

6-27

Indiana Dunes NP. 5-something AM (watch somewhere lost in tent). Mid 60s, p-cloudy, humid, sun, breeze. Physical: Slept better last night! It was dry and the gang helped me patch my tent up. Really bad reflux from hunger. Most people took showers yesterday, but trans + public shower = no way. I'm so hungry it hurts but I don't want to accidentally trigger a car alarm. Note: as if car is unlocked in morning so I can eat as soon as I get up. Also, buy a crap ton of antacids. Yesterday: Cowle's bog, pinhook bog.

Holy crap. Flash flood + tornado warning. Hid out in stinky bathroom.

6-28

Physical: Sleep will be so much easier in the fixed tent. I'm so sore and dehydrated but this will be on eless thing to worry about. Emotional: Vernal pools. I'm in love. I don't know why the pannes at Diana's Dune struck me so strongly, but I had that "I could sit here for the rest of my life" feeling. Took a boat across Lake Mich. today.

6-29

Sleeping Bear Dunes NP. Alright. Great Lakes not so bad. Physical: Scoped out the shower situation and I think I'll go for it once I have a clean towel. DID LAUNDRY. Very confident about sleeping now that my tent is patched. Emotional: No phone paradise. Took me a minute to adjust but now I'm just in the luxury of nobody reaching out to me.

Medical: 3 bug bites ruptured (more than one by scratching abrasion) today. Pus crusting and seepage. One did not crust after some time. Treated open bite with antibac and occlusive. Plan to shower and change, then wash and change qed. Left other two open. All three warm.

I guess I only saw dunes as sand until now.

7-01

With the bug bites finally under control (all 100+ of them, I counted), it's time for blisters. Caught em all before they became too bad... but my breaking shoes are really hurting me. I'm sitting out from the manual work right now to let my feet breathe. The likelihood of my trail name being First Aid Kit is huge. My competency in wilderness medicine is reassuring... but I'm scared I don't have the physical capacity to last more than a week. A part of me says, "Ugh, who was I kidding?". Many of my friends responded immediately to my announcement of the trip was that I'd probably die and shouldn't go. I dunno. I want to prove I can hike and camp like them too.

Having some quiet time watching a wetland swale. I understand some of what Van Gogh saw, how differently each species sways. The cattails bob back and forth but the lighter grasses tremble in the breeze and maintain their heading dutifully. Little trees that are probably pines pivot around their bases.

And the river - persistent, ancient and birthing-fresh at the same time - at last in its old current, makes a shhhhhhh sound.