That Time I...
Hiked South to North Across the Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness




I've always had a love for the Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness Area in the Ottawa National Forest. I've explored quite a bit of it over the years, including much of the "west" side of the river where most people don't go. I had a long-standing goal to hike from one side to the other and bike back to my truck to take in the vast middle that is otherwise challenging to get to.
Finally, in the fall of 2024, my chance came. I rallied adventure regulars Ben and Kurt for a big ol' hike on a perfect fall day. The goal: 13+ miles of bushwhacking followed by about the same amount of gravel riding on the return. With plenty of daylight (headlamps just in case!) and excellent weather, we headed out from the Sidnaw Creek trailhead on the south side of the wilderness and trekked north.
The hiking was beautiful! The old growth was amazing! Discoveries were made, including an extensive cedar stump forest with hundreds of century-old preserved specimens. I also managed to catch a sinuous ridgeline on the gorge rim that led for over half a mile from the plateau to the final eroding edge.
Then, disaster struck. Just after lunch, Ben came down with a bad case of food poisoning. Not just the queasy get it out of your system kind, but the kind that can kill you if you're not careful. Turns out he came down with norovirus, along with nearly two-dozen other people who'd been to an event with him the day prior.
He couldn't have chosen a worse place to start puking and pooping his guts out: we were at the exact middle point of the wilderness, about 6 miles in all directions from rescue. Not good.
And so we marched! Kurt and I patiently waited while Ben left a trail of his remaining energy (and all of our toilet paper) across several miles of the wilderness. Navigation resorted to the speediest way out along disused logging roads and straight down steep gullies to save time. By the end, Ben was in bad shape, having not been able to hold down any food or water for hours on challenging terrain. We were plodding at about one mile an hour and it was getting dark and cold.
Finally, the end was in sight! We'd managed to get a message out for a rescue pick-up, which arrived moments after we reached our bikes (in the dark, no less). Just in time too, because Ben was seriously getting hypothermic. Kurt and I had still had to get back to my truck, so we hopped on our bikes in 45°F weather and got after it.
Moral of the story: it is possible to hike across the Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness, but I advise you to not to get norovirus at the halfway point. Otherwise it was a success and everyone survived!