On Our Way

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What a week! The UPACK container with all of our worldly possessions is on its way to Boston, we've checked out of our apartment, and we've been rolling along in Coco, our comically stuffed little car.

The day we headed out was not as chaotic as I had anticipated. We discovered a lot of things that should have been sent with our furniture--it's surprisingly hard to efficiently pack a wire dishrack in a small car--but we managed to pile it all in. We also had to stop at Target, and run and get Coco's tires rotated before we checked out of our apartment, but that was more amusing than stressful. The mechanic did a distinctive double take when he noticed my tray of houseplants sitting on mounds of bags in the backseat. Check out went very smoothly, and then it was off to pick up some backpacking supplies and then lunch with our parents.

Ben and I are people who anticipate change, but don't necessarily feel it until it is fully upon us. So when we visited Target that morning and the cashier asked us, "Do you have any big plans for today?" we couldn't help but laugh, because he unknowingly called us out on our denial. This sort of thing has happened a couple of times since, and each time is a sharp reminder that this vacation is the edge of our mental maps, and that we honestly can't envision what the next leg of our journey is going to look like.

You'll notice that our geographic route (see "Week One to Boston" map) is far from direct. We decided early on that we wanted to really take our time getting out east, so we're visiting family, seeing some sites, and backpacking along the way. Our first night was in Madison with my sister and her fiancé, where there was generally lots of wedding talk, a new dice game called Chupacabra, and wonderful food at a potential rehearsal dinner location called Bluephies (pron. "Blue-fees" or "Blue-fyes"?). Then it was off to Saukville to visit my cousin and her boyfriend. Due to scheduling, illness, etc., my cousin and I hadn't seen each other for probably at least six years, and it was wonderful to spend time with her again. After a scrumptious dinner, they brought us to the little Sir James Pub in Port Washington--a great local dive with a friendly bartender--and in the morning we drove to the port in Port Washington on Lake Michigan. We ended this string of family visits with a relaxing evening with my aunt and grandmother in Indiana.

If you're wondering where the backpacking comes in, have no fear! Our next destination was Shawnee State Forest in southern Ohio, where I would get my first taste of backpacking. We will eventually head to steeper slopes in the Adirondacks, and the description made Shawnee sound like a perfect, hilly training course for me. But, sure, while I was working my 8-4 desk job, it felt good to say it would whip me into shape. Then I got out there, and it started really kicking me in the butt, and I would have done just about anything to escape. I suppose that one of the merits of backpacking, though, is that once you're going, there's no turning back. And Ben was really patient and understanding as I huffed along. There was a lot that caught him by surprise, too--he's used to mountain backpacking, where there's long, steep inclines, but after all of that hard work you're normally greeted by great vistas and water sources and a flat ridge or meadow to march along. Shawnee proved to be a series of large, heavily forested hills, with few vistas and even less water. Lots of stream beds with nothing but mud. Luckily, most of the campsites had a drinking water pump within walking distance. Ben and I agree that the intended audience for this loop is probably those who do backpacking for fitness or those who really like forests.

We didn't meet a lot of animals except Veruca, a snoring pitbull whose owner camped next to us the first night. There were a lot of insects, though. like a giant luna moth resting at our first campsite. And the spiders in the latrine as big as the palm of my hand. But, to our great relief, there were basically no mosquitoes. Ben's face seemed to attract spider webs hanging over the path, so we were always keeping an eye out for them and ended up seeing some really beautiful spider-masterpieces. We also discovered that ticks can be as small as a pin-point, and could therefore get through socks in droves. That realization gives a whole new meaning to tick-search.

Our original plan was to take the whole 40-mile loop, but we quickly changed our plans after a couple of hours of ups and downs. Instead, we decided to do only the first half, and we ended up completing all 20 miles in three days. Nearly half of that was on the final day, though, in order to beat the rain. By that time, I was feeling pretty confident in my physical ability, and the first half was unusually flat so we decided to pass the final campsite and press on. Unfortunately, that was also an oppressively muggy day with no air movement, and I quickly started getting symptoms of heat exhaustion. But Ben acted quickly, made me eat and drink, took on more pack weight, and we slowly made it to the end without any further issue.

I suppose I'm making it sound like we didn't have any fun, which isn't true. It was just a grueling experience, and we learned a lot about what we prefer when we travel. Now we can plan for the next attempt, and hopefully make it more suited to our skills and interests.

In any case, we've made it safely to Pittsburgh, PA where Ben's uncle, aunt, and little cousin have graciously accepted us into their home. Last night we played an intense game of Settlers of Cataan where I actually accomplished the household prime directive: beat Ben's uncle. I can't take all the credit, though; everyone helped me out quite a bit. Next, Ben's aunt and uncle have referred us to a friend in Buffalo, NY, so I'll get to see Niagara Falls before heading off to the Adirondacks!

Much love from Pittsburgh!

Lynn

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Photos

Shawnee State Forest
Lots and lots of trees. This was one of the few vistas we ended up seeing over 20+ miles or hiking.

Comments

[Susan Mullin]

Thanks for blogging
It is fun to follow your progress and hear more of the details of your trip. I'll make sure to cross Shawnee State Forest off of my bucket list!