Saturday, September 08, 2018, 7:30 p.m.
Bingshick East site, Kekekabic Trail, 9.5 miles (48.8 miles total)

I anticipated that today would be hard, but not the hardest hiking I’ve ever done. The brush really closed in as soon as we left Agamok. We had short, steep, brushy climbs to start.

We took a break at the site on Gabichigami, then lunch at Howard Lake where the water is fine, delicious, unlike it says in the guide.

From Howard Lake to Bingshick offered the hardest, most treacherous hiking I’ve ever done. We lost and found the trail dozens of times. The stretch from Howard to the crossing at the Seahorse Lake narrows was especially harrowing. Exhaustion set in completely, and my poor battered and bruised body suddenly lost its ability to tolerate pain. After stabbing myself on yet another blow down, I let out a shriek of frustration, and scared Colin. There was a slight improvement in the tread and brush after the Chub River, but barely. It took us 8 1/2 hours to hike 9 1/2 miles.

We’re 3 miles from the end of the trail and 2 1/2 miles of road walking away from the Gunflint Lodge where we plan to eat our body weight in pizza, fries, root beer, and ice cream. I’m so proud of us for doing this! Despite the pain and frustration today, the trail offered it’s best views of the whole trip and the coolest forest features, including granite cliffs, stream crossings, a marsh walk, and a boulder field that looked like an ancient glacial riverbed.

Brush obscures the trail on the Kekekabic Trail. This section of trail hadn't been cleared for two years when we hiked through. My bruised and battered legs after six days on trail. Worth it!

Sunset on Bingshick Lake