Day 10 of a thru-hike on Minnesota's Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) turned into a gear-test day, and the results were honest: wire-coil ice cleats don't cut it on rain-slicked bog boards.

The hiker behind the trail journal had a specific problem to solve. The SHT crosses long stretches of wooden bog boards, which turn treacherously slippery when wet — and a bad slip on one of those boards a year ago may have been what started ongoing knee trouble. The fix this time was a pair of Yaktrax, the lightweight rubber-and-wire cleats usually sold for winter walking. The logic: if they grip ice, they should grip wet, icy-feeling wood.

The morning was spent walking in them, and the verdict came at lunch — they barely helped. Careful baby steps were still the order of the day on the boards. The wrapped-wire design just doesn't bite the way true spikes would, the hiker noted, and at one point a root snagged a cleat and yanked it clean off a shoe. They came off for good when the afternoon rain rolled in. The silver lining: at a few ounces they barely cost anything to carry.

It was a soggy, blustery day overall. Overnight rain and wind made it the warmest night of the trip so far — warm enough to vent the quilt — and gusts persisted through much of the hiking. To take the edge off, the hiker tried something new: playing phone music out loud from a fanny pack instead of through headphones. It worked, calming nerves despite the wind. The trail itself cooperated, meandering through woods with gentle climbs and dips, with a lunch stop at Big Bend Campsite and a 30-minute downpour that re-soaked everything.

One comedy moment: the trailside viewpoint called 12 Mile View delivered, in the hiker's words, more like a 12-foot view. Thick, tall tree growth has swallowed whatever panorama once existed there.

The day ended at McCarthy Creek, the first planned campsite, where a trail register got a fresh signature. With nobody else camped, there was full choice of spots — useful, since most were slanted. Dinner and a dessert of Nerds gummy clusters came next, followed by thorough stretching, down booties, and an early night ahead of a clear, chilly sky.

Why does this matter beyond one hiker's diary? Because it's a genuinely useful gear lesson for anyone eyeing the SHT or similar bog-board trails. Don't assume ice cleats translate to wet wood — if you want real traction, spiked options are the likelier bet. Beyond that, the day sketches a realistic picture of trail life: rain management, nerve-jangling wind, knowing when to take an easy camp, and the small comforts (down booties, gummy candy, a flat tent spot) that keep a long hike going. It's a good read for anyone weighing whether the SHT's famously muddy, boardwalk-heavy terrain suits their knees and their kit.