Days 6 & 7 of Wisconsin-Minnesota Hike

Sun., June 6 - Ken and Jim were up early this morning and they went to church together at 7:30 - always a treat for Jim when he can make that work location-wise. After church, Ken drove Jim back to where he picked him up yesterday afternoon and sent him on his way (thank you so much, Ken!!). The first hour of hiking was a steady up hill climb - good that it was early while he is still energetic. He walked about 7 miles into Plainview, MN and had lunch and a big glass of milk in a nice cafe. He had nice conversations with people there, including 4 cyclists. They asked him if they could follow his trip so Jim said there was a blog but he didn't know the link! (I will have him write it down tonight when he is camped). He gave them my e-mail address so we'll see if they send me an e-mail for the blog link! When we talked around 2pm, the sky was beautiful - sunny with fluffy clouds and a nice breeze - temp was low 70's - great day for hiking. He was walking in sandals today as he did most of yesterday. He re-bandaged his pinkie toe this morning and all seems well with his feet. Today he is walking past huge farms - acres and acres of corn, now about 6-12 inches high. At one point, he walked by a house and a guy called out to him "Wanna take a break and come inside" (why do people invite perfect strangers into their homes - never ceases to amaze me). Jim said no thanks and the dog comes over - when Jim reached down to pet him, the dog gave him a kiss - sure nicer than that one the other day! His feet are really tired and he figures he has 8-9 miles to go - no clear plan on tonight's camping plans, but hopefully by a stream that he identified. Later in the afternoon, Jim was really tired, so he sat down by the side of the road for a quick rest on a grassy area. He then decided to take off his pack and lay down for a quick nap. Several cars stopped so people could check to make sure that he hadn't been hit by a car! He ended up resting for 1/2 an hour and it was just what he needed. A little while later he found a campground that he wasn't expecting. There was no one around to register him so he set up his tent by a picnic table and finally a woman came by to collect his money - she said $22. He told her that was more than he had paid anywhere. He then told her his story and she wrinked her nose and said "what - where are you headed?" I think she thought he was a bit daft. She didn't take his money and said she wanted to talk to her sister and she'd come back later. She comes back and asks to see his driver's license - she wanted to write down his info so she would have a record but then didn't charge him anything - good deal! Just before getting to the campground, the skies opened up but Jim could see blue skies ahead so he decided not to cover anything and sure enought it only lasted 5 minutes. Everything just dried off quickly. It was divine providence that he found this campground because there really was not a good place to camp with accessible water.
Miles Today - 16.5 Total Miles to Date - 115

Mon., June 7 - We talked about 10am today and Jim woke up feeling really refreshed today. When he woke there was a thick fog everywhere - he was concerned about getting on the road in the fog - not a good idea. Fortunately it cleared fairly quickly and he was on the road a little after 7am. Hiking conditions were close to ideal for the time of year - temp in the low 60's and nice & sunny. As we talked he was walking by a field of cows just staring at him! Up ahead he was seeing detour signs for road construction - he was hoping that only cars couldn't use the road. I checked the map for him and the detour would take him much out of his way - he plans to keep walking and hope for the best. We talked again around 12:45pm while he was at lunch in beautiful Lake City, MN. The road construction was quite an obstacle, at times forcing him into farm fields, so his hiking boots are quite muddy - he'll need to clean them tonight. He was really enjoying this town - a nice harbor and marina right on the Mississippi River - it actually looked more like a lake to him. It was a very picturesque walk even through town. We talked again briefly (cell phone battery low) about 5pm and he had just checked into Frontenac State Park. The campsites are a mile up hill from where he registered. Fortunately another camper was at the register office buying something and she offered him a ride to his site. He was looking forward to a nice warm shower and resting his tired feet. We talked a few times tonight after Jim got his cell phone charge at the campground - he is still doing well. He told me about his constant companions in this area - red wing blackbirds. He says they are beautiful creatures. They sit on the phone wires until he walks by and then they circle over his head and chatter to him - he says they are quite social - I just think he's been alone too much! The forecast for tomorrow is rainy, so it may be a soggy day for Jim. He hopes to stay with a classmate in Red Wing, MN tomorrow night so that will be better than a campsite if he does have a day of rain to deal with. I leave for Minneapolis tomorrow and will have the laptop with me for blog updates.
Miles Today - 22.5 Total Miles to Date - 137.5