Freewheelin': Lake Itasca (Day 3/4)

I awoke the third day feeling refreshed and I proceeded to just lay in my tent and read a book for a little while. I eventually got up and made myself some breakfast and sat with my coffee reading some more. After my breakfast had settled I got dressed for a bike ride and took off on my fat bike. Fall was now in full swing by this time. Reds and yellows poked out everywhere between the greens, it was truly amazing.

I rode down the bike path some and it was fine, but the fat bike was not the appropriate bike for the job. I thought I might get to do some off road stuff but the park ranger I asked said I couldn't bike on the snowmobile trails that were not being used by anyone else. Well crud. I threw down about 8 miles of riding around lakes and such and started heading back to the camp site. I hit the registration office to register for one more night, I just couldn't leave. On the way back towards the camp area, I saw this random unmarked trail.

I shrugged unknowingly and proceeded up the steep rocky hill. I rode around a bend and found the poo lagoon, I wondered if the salamander I was holding the night previous came from here. I continued to ride, taking in all the colors, sights, and sounds. As I rode through the forest I saw an owl of some sort, it was far enough away that I really couldn't get a clear shot of it with my camera. It was also far enough away that I couldn't identify it. Along this unmarked trail I saw a lot of signs that bears were in the area. A lot of missing bark from trees, some smaller stumps or sign posts that had arrows on them, were all scratched up, there was overturned logs all over the place, and there were a few holes dug near big fallen trees. Upon further investigation of one I saw what looked like bear scat and there was some black fur wedged between the bark of one of the trees. I became slightly more alert, but mostly excited. I really wanted to see a bear.

Just as quickly as the path had come out of no where, it had ended and spit me out right into the campsite. Looking back at the trail head, there was a sign of a bike with a circle and a line through it. Woopsy.

I went back to the campsite, locked up my bike, and then headed to the showers. They had hot water at this place, I thought that was weird but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. After my shower I headed back to camp and fixed up some lunch. I sat and read my book for a bit while the food settled. I was out in the woods near my tent looking for some dry twigs for kindling for later when I saw a little sapling that had been felled by someone and then just left to sit on the ground. I took it back to camp and carved it up and turned it into a nice hiking stick.

I then drove to preachers grove and went for a nice long hike. I was breaking in the new walking stick and it came in handy more than once, the trail was on the side of a cliff and was fairly narrow and I am a clumsy jerk so it worked out really well. As I was walking around not paying attention to anything except the sounds and colors, I stepped on a rotten log and my foot went right through it. As I withdrew it something bolted out of the other end of the log and into some tall grass. I got a little apprehensive because I was worried it might be a skunk at first so I started backing up and then the culprit came out of the grasses, it was a porcupine. That made me even more apprehensive. I kept backing up and so did he, butt first, with his bacteria ridden quills pointing right at me. He had a pretty good top speed while going in reverse and I kept bumping into things and almost falling, I was running out of useful ground really fast. I didn't want to turn and run because I didn't know how it would react. I used my walking stick and flipped the little guy over and immediately tried to pass him but he flipped over pretty quick and started trying to back into me again. I backed up a good distanced, put the point of the stick on the ground and waited, when he was next to my stick I scooped him off the ground and flung him down into the ravine, I heard him moving around so he was okay, I proceeded to bolt out of there. I finished the hike and headed back to the campsite laughing at the experience with the porcupine.

I did the usually nightly ritual. I got the fire going, cracked open a beer and made some dinner. I was glowing with positive energy. I was thinking about all the stuff I saw that day and I may have gotten myself a little paranoid because of the porcupine and all the bear sign I saw on the trail that was very close to the campsite. It was windy that night and there were noises all around me. I kept turning on my headlamp and staring into the woods. There was never anything there, so eventually I stopped. About an hour later I had heard a bunch of noise just off in the tree line and I ignored it because I thought it was just the wind. The wind died down for a moment and the close noise continued, I flipped on my head lamp and there was the biggest raccoon ever. This thing was well fed. I stared and him and he stared at me. Then he just started entering my camp site like he owned the joint. I tossed a little stick at him and he took off. I got up to get another beer and when I sat back down I heard a noise in the woods, this time in front of me, and this time much faster. I turned on my head lamp and it was the same raccoon! He thought he would be slick by running off and then double backing for my cooler. I got a picture of the bugger then chased him off with the walking stick.

It started to sprinkle a while later so I pretty much packed everything up except my tent and then called it a night. I was laying in my tent with my headlamp on and reading my book when I heard some very slow foot steps. I turned my light off and just listened. I heard slow, dragging steps, walking around by the fire and picnic table. I heard the table move a little bit and then the foot steps were coming toward me, as they were I started to hear a weird sound almost like gravel under a tire. As the steps got closer I identified the strange sound as sniffing. Even though my light was off and I could not see outside the tent, I could tell there was something very large outside the tent. I don't think I've ever stayed so still in my entire life. Eventually the foot steps departed and I just closed my eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep.

The next morning I awoke and examined the area, sure enough there was big pad prints with little claw indentations all over the ground. I had been visited by a bear, I was bummed that I didn't actually get to see it. I fixed up some breakfast and coffee then proceeded to sit and read some more while just basking in the warmth of the sun peeking out through some scattered clouds. Fall was in full swing now. Leaves were all over the ground and the colors were just crazy. After a bit more reading I packed up my campsite and headed for the hills.

I stopped on the way out at one last hiking trail, it was getting a little late in the day and I still have a few hours to get back home, but I did have a deadline, I had to be in class by 6. I couldn't resist though. The last trail I took was another interpretive hiking trail and it was amazing. There were giant pines that were rotten at the base and leaning over the path. I pondered my own mortality for an instant before I realized I needed to get away from that tree as it was still really damn windy. As I made my way down the path my thoughts got weirder and weirder, I started thinking about how noisy it was from the wind and how it might mask the sound of my approach to a bear. I would not want to accidentally sneak up on a bear. I grabbed a stick and started to hit trees on my way out and I began to whistle "The Entertainer" from the movie The Sting. I was in the throws of full blown bearanoia.

I eventually made my way back to the trail head and couldn't help but laugh at myself for how redicilous I had been. I got in my car and drove off into the sun set. During my time at Itasca I watched fall go full bore, I had crazy animal encounters, I got some good exercise, and I had a lot of time for reflection. My experience was amazing and I would recommend it to anyone.