Border Route Trail Thru-Hike with Alex, Eric & Jonah...Part 1

**Shug** · 07-05-2017, 20:17

The Border Route Trail http://borderroutetrail.org in Northern Minnesota proved to be tougher than I thought it would be. Rained a lot. Trail wet and flooded. Slippery. Fell twice. No harm done to Shug of the Third Person.
Used my ULA Circuit backpack. Hammock was the Dutchware Chameleon. My DIY Blackcrow tarp. Frankenquilt UQ. Hammockgear 30º TQ.
I would like to thank my Black Diamond hiking poles. They saved me several times.
Took us 5 1/2 days and we added miles by taking the Daniels Lake Trail to re-supply. Wanted to see the Daniels Lake Trail as it is a 4 mile spur to the BRT.
Luck gave us cool weather and the bugs were not too bad. The lake views were stunning but most of the time you walk in brush between ridges on this trial. It is VERY OVERGROWN in many places and for long stretches.
We did a total of 73 miles.
Wet feet the whole way. Never dry. Boots swelled and caused some now blackened big toe nails.
The boys were troupers through and through.
We agreed on 90% Challenge and 10% fun.
It feels good to have done it.
All secure in sector seven,
Shug

**Andy "Bull" Bullock** · 07-05-2017, 20:46

sounds tough! Congrats on completing it!

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**alifeoutdoors** · 07-05-2017, 20:51

Nice. Was looking forward to this one, been wondering how the thru hike went with the boys. Amazing views and at least it started off dry for you. Be Free is nice isn't it, looks good on ya.

**Shug** · 07-05-2017, 21:03

Originally Posted by Andy "Bull" Bullock

sounds tough! Congrats on completing it!

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It was a bit. All the wet made it so slippery!

Originally Posted by alifeoutdoors

Nice. Was looking forward to this one, been wondering how the thru hike went with the boys. Amazing views and at least it started off dry for you. Be Free is nice isn't it, looks good on ya.

The Be Free was so nice to water up quickly. I used it as my filter the entire trip. Glad you recommended it.

**ps22285** · 07-05-2017, 21:06

Sometimes a challenge is just what a fella needs! Great Part 1, looking forward to more. That new water filter looks like its worth checking out. 👌

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**guitstik** · 07-05-2017, 21:08

Sounds like fun and looked even funner.

**JSH** · 07-05-2017, 21:27

Great intro to your hike. Glad there was no permanent damage from the falls. Looking forward to the rest of the story. Thanks for taking us along. I noticed the Ribz front packs the guys were wearing. Look pretty useful.

**TrailSlug** · 07-05-2017, 22:04

Good job on that distance and keeping up with the youngins. Those trail conditions looked brutal. I just hate hiking on over grown trails but sometimes you have no choice if you want to go in the summer months. Thanks for sharing your trip with us and looking forward to the next installment.