Days 1 and 2: Sutton’s Bay to Traverse City

My first night camping! My tent is pitched (hung) and my little stove is fired up, cooking a meal of ramen noodles and sardines. I am proud and happy.

firstday-departureYesterday I was “in training,” hiking the 20-some miles from Sutton’s Bay to Traverse City. The first casualty of procrastination is sleep and I lost almost all of it the night before last as I tried lamely to prepare for whatever it is I am now attempting to do. I sat in the middle of a room with my gear all around me and tried to make sense of it. There was packaging everywhere since pretty much everything was brand-new. Yesterday morning, I woke up ready to go and utterly fearless. I think it was a mix of excitement, shock, determination and sleep deprivation but my brain was laser-focused on “this is it!” I thought of leaving directly from the rental house that my family was staying at, even though there isn’t a trail for 10 miles, but that extra distance would have made it too hard for me to get to Traverse City in one day and it would also have meant that the family would drive by me on the road once they took off, and the start absurdity would definitely have killed mom. So, we ended up all leaving together- me, Mom, Dad, Nikki, and Sarah. They drove me to my trailhead at Sutton’s Bay, pulled over on the side of the road at my trailhead, and, after some surreal goodbyes, I started walking and they drove away. Continue reading “Days 1 and 2: Sutton’s Bay to Traverse City”