Sadly the NCT trip did not go as expected. A number of things culminated in what turned into a 21 mile, 1 day endurance march.
After a near 4 hour drive, we arrived to Mackinaw around 8 am, spirits high, but with the weather anything but delightful. It was dreary 52°f with a light rain that was suppose to clear up by 9 am. So we do some quick last minute pack adjustments and set out on what was to be a 60 mile, 4 day hike to Petosky. The first hour in, I am noticing my pack might be a touch on the heavy side, amd the rain hasn't let up. But we persist. By mile 2.5 we have reached French Lake. This is where the trail goes from flat, crushed limestone, to a proper game trail sized hiking trail. The terrain also gets very hilly with lots of elevation change. It's also at this point that I really begin to feel the weight of my pack.we progress for the next couple miles and get past the lake. We get to mile 8 and hit Cecil Bay rd. Here we rest for a bit. I drop my pack amd noticed that the hip belt is starting to tear where the mounting straps on the back attach it to the frame of the ruck. A sure sign that my pack is way over weight. My body now is really feeling the strain, my right leg is near cramping, and I am starting to feel a cold sweat coming on. We decide to push on. We march out another 2 miles and hit a camp site right off the trail. 10 miles in, we decide we might try to set up camp.
At this point, the rain has not stopped, but seems to fluctuate between a sprinkle and a down pour. This is when my buddy noticed his cheap Amazon Camelback knockoff has leaked all over his gear, soaking his cloths and sleeping bag. While setting up my hammock (I took you advise btw W3HS, and got one of those emergency blankets, just never got to try it out properly) the rain really started coming down. My tarps were to far to one side, and my bed and sleeping bag got fairly wet as well. By 2 we had camp set and were taking a good long break. We had some discussion in that time, and reviewed our plans as well as the weather's. The rain wasn't to let up, amd high winds, heavier rains and nightly temps were predicted to be in the mid to low 30s. By 3, we had decided that it was probably best to walk out of this one and head back to the car. I had been shaking and unable to warm myself in that hour. Our gear was soaked, and didnt want to push on and put ourselves in a situation that forced some sort of rescue. So we broke camp and trudged the 2 miles back to the road. At this point, my gear must have gained another 5-7 pounds in rain water and by time we got to the road, my shoulder was wrenched and my legs shaking and nearly spent.
We decided to drop our packs off here, hidden just off the road in the woods amd walk the flat, smooth road back to Mackinaw. The route added an extra mile, but avoided the very hilly and rough terrain around d the lake, so that's the way we decided to go. After a near 4 hour, 9 mile walk back we finally made it to the car, completely drained, worn, cold and wet. But alive. We drove back, grabbed the packs and made it home by 11:30 PM.
Damage report, my right shoulder has a torn muscle, my hips are bruised and blistered from where the frame rubbed through spaces in the padding of the hip belt. The mounts seem to line up right were spaces are to allow for the belt to fold around the body. And ultimately, I have either started out sick, or caused myself to get sick. Running a bit of a fever and a touch queasy.
All told, while I am disappointed we didnt end up making the whole trip, indont regret the choice to pull out. I think had we tried making it through the night and persisting on, I would have exacerbated my illness worse than it is now and with the weather staying wet and cold through the rest of the weekend, I would have quickly been in dire straits.
We both had a lot of lessons learned. I personally will be investing in some proper, lightweight camping gear, shifting from my hammock to a tent, and working to restrict my pack weight as much as possible. We will also be working our way up, the ol crawl, walk, run methodology, to longer trips next year. We are planning to don NMI in May next year, and doing a lot of day trips along the southern portions of the NCT. We also plan to cut the season in September rather than trying to push on into October. At least until.we have more experience and endurance. All in all, this was both the worst and yet most informative trip I have been on yet. It hurt, it sucked, it left my disappointed. But I am glad to have had the humbling experience, and had it in a manner that didnt leave us stranded miles and miles out in the middle of the woods.
Oh, through all the agony, I did manage to take some pictures. I am fascinated by fungus, so most of my pictures are of the mushrooms found along the way. There were some really great shots I did miss out on though because I just wasn't in the mental state to take a moment and capture them. Enjoy.
The beginning of our journey. Looks like its gonna be an easy hike here.
Then we get to the trail proper. This was as we were getting to and walking around French Lake.
And here are all those funguys!
And finally, this is Cecil Bay in Lake Michigan.
