Your House Is a Mess

(and other signs of a great summer)

I’m writing this on a Monday. I’m on my third cup of coffee and it’s past noon but I’m dragging out the morning, wearing sweats and a sweat shirt, hair unbrushed. My lips are sun-chapped and I’m sore, just a little.

Right now, I’m between trips. From back-to-back backpacking trips, I spent the next week guiding day trips at Lost Creek Adventures and now I have a brief few days of off time to catch up on work before I head out on another big trip, then end August with my last women’s trip of the summer.

the day trip grind

Other signs of a good summer + field notes from Lake Superior:

• I spent the past week out on the water guiding day trips to the Meyers Beach Sea Caves with Lost Creek Adventures! It’s been since like, 2020 since I’ve truly been on the Day Trip grind, having mostly done overnights in my busiest years of guiding (2023 & 2024). In the past few years, I had kind of burnt out on day trips. There’s a lot of expectations to manage and even this week I had someone disappointed in the caves and confused that they weren’t going out to an island. I worry for our countries literacy rates. Overall though, it was super fun to be back out on the water, especially on the days that were a little bumpier and more exciting!

• A group of women in their 70s on my bumpiest trip of the week (waves around 2 feet) said after that waves ruined any future trip for them — the Lake felt so alive and they felt like the waves were the truest Lake Superior experience. Also, they’d started the trip a little nervous and were really proud that they’d done it. I always love trips like that where people surprise themselves.

• My house is a mess, and I haven’t meaningfully been home since the start of August. Guiding takes up most of the day, from 8 am till 9 pm usually, and when I get home I shower, then pretty much fall into bed tired. On one hand, the house hasn’t had a chance to get all that messy. On the other hand, there’s a sleeping pad that’s been on my drying rack for over a week now. Ah well. The Fall reset will come soon enough.

• For now though, I’m enjoying summer. Between guiding and work in writing, it’s been a really long time since I’ve got to, like, have a summer with any semblance of free time. In a way, this summer is still like that — a lot of the trips I’ve taken are related to work, and I’m still guiding. But there have been breaks between, and it’s been a lot of variety and most importantly I’m having fun with the busyness of it all, which is something I couldn’t have said this time last year.

READ: Best Things to do in the Apostle Islands

Great Lakes Adventures for you to Discover:

• Take a sauna trip to the Keweenaw and find other Romantic Getaways in Michigan.

• Plan a cabin and hiking trip to Minnesota’s rugged North Shore

• Kayak a teal blue river and explore Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes

• Explore the hidden waterfalls of the Porcupine Mountains and throughout the Upper Peninsula

This is a photo (above) of the last trip I guided on my day trip stretch. I so often take photos from inside the caves that I sometimes miss how pretty the cliffs themselves are from the outside. In four days of day trips, I had a reroute day, a normal average day trip, a bumpy day (no pictures from this but this was the most fun) and then this last day.

On the 4pm trip the lake was absolute glass and the light was hitting the cliffs just right. Real winner.

Reading + Outdoor Resources:

• Check out the Best Backpacking Meals out there, plus one I highly recommend avoiding

• You don’t need to spend several hundred dollars to find a good backpacking tent. Check out this guide to finding the best backpacking tent for your next adventure!

• Blister problem? I’ve got some ideas for you! Blister prevention often begins with the right socks. Check out what I’ve learned about blister management!