There’s a moment, hours north of the Twin Cities, where the last car vanishes from my rearview mirror, and I’m alone with the woods. That’s when I feel it—the shift. Sunday afternoon, I leave the bustle behind, driving against the current as weekenders stream south, their cars stuffed with fishing poles, coolers, and sunburned kids dozing in back seats, boats rattling behind them. I’m headed the other way, chasing something quieter.
The landscape changes fast. Gas stations turn to bait shops, then nothing. Towns shrink to clusters of houses, then fade entirely. Cell bars drop one by one. By the last stretch, I haven’t seen another vehicle in miles. I know I’m close. One final stop beckons before I vanish into the trees—a roadside bar you’d miss if you didn’t know to look.
Most nights, a few pickups dot the gravel lot. Inside, a couple of locals lean on the bar, swapping stories with a guy who looks like he just stumbled out of the pines. The bartender slides me a cold beer before I order. Talk drifts lazily—who’s seen what in the woods, how the fish are biting, when the frost will hit. No one’s glued to a phone or rushing to speak. These folks have never left this corner of the world, but their eyes hold a lifetime of seasons. I linger, savoring the tales, then head deeper into the wild.
The Deer Shack
The cabin’s nothing fancy—one room, a bunk divider, no running water—but it’s steeped in history. Deer mounts line the walls, relics of old hunts, alongside pelt displays from a fur-trapping past. A narrow deck out front offers just enough space to sip coffee and soak in the stillness. It’s cozy in a way that defies words, maybe because it holds so many stories—mine included.
A Life Few Know
By 5:30 a.m., I’m laced up and moving, cutting through northern Minnesota’s backcountry. For three days, I cover ten to fifteen miles each, moving through the heart of remote wilderness foraging territory—towering pines, moss-covered ridges, and glacial lakes so hidden they feel like secrets. Wildlife keeps me company—moose (usually a cow and calf), bear, bobcat, wolves. But one encounter still lingers.
Land Otters?
One crisp fall morning, deep in a hardwood forest—no water in sight for half a mile—I heard it: a rustling, familiar but out of place. Over a small rise, two massive otters tumbled into view. They froze, staring at me, as baffled as I was. Then, with a clumsy, playful lurch, they romped off down the hill, bound for some unseen stream. Land otters. I still grin thinking about it.
The Stranger on the Road
Another time, after a day without a soul in sight, a vehicle rolled up on a dusty back road—government plates. A forest ranger, maybe? Rare out here; I’ve seen them maybe twice in all these years. He stopped, rolled down his window, and grinned. “What brings you way out here?” I mentioned foraging mushrooms, and we fell into easy chatter about chanterelles. He even unfolded a map to point out a good spot. Then his tone shifted. “Hey, serious note—if you see a wolf on the ground back there, don’t mess with it. Like, don’t pet it or anything.” I laughed. “Not planning on it.” He chuckled, too, explaining he’d just tranquilized one for DNR research. Clarity hit us both in about three seconds.
The Long Drive Home
Wednesday arrives too soon. I pack up, sit on the deck, and stare at the tree line. Everything in me resists leaving. I tell myself it’s impractical—there’s a job waiting, a house to check on, a life I can’t just abandon. But reason’s a weak voice against the ache in my chest. It grows as civilization creeps closer: the first sleepy town, the first gas pump, the first roar of cars at seventy miles an hour. By the time I’m home, I’ve buried the urge to turn back. Yet I know Sunday will come, and I’ll point north again, the pull flipping the other way.
A road to nowhere that feels more like home than anywhere else---It’s a cycle I can’t shake. What’s yours?
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