There is no doubt, we had underestimated the cold of Duluth in January. Crawling through the knee-deep snow that surrounded No Pain came at a price, a price we were willing to pay for a while. Nevertheless, the warmth of Rin’s car was a relief. Soon enough, we were back on the road towards the wonderful city, with a lot to think about. Nopeming hadn’t been a complete success, but it was no failure in our book. The place had a charm that intrigued us, and we certainly hoped we would visit it another day.

Ore Dock #1 was next on the docket, but we had bigger problems. So, once again, food and warmth was our respite of the day. We grabbed some fast-food and headed back to the hotel to dry our socks, charge up batteries, and all around get as warm as we could. We were chilled to the core by this weather. Snow, wind and ice swirled around in twisted, evil swirls outside, and the clouds seemed to have run off in fear leaving a sky so empty it seemed as endless as the white ground beneath it. We didn’t even want to imagine what night would feel like, let alone be in it, so we tried our best to make our recuperation quick, so as we could get back from the Ore Dock before nightfall.

Once our socks were dry enough and we were fed, we geared up again, and got ready to move out. Rin was stocked with hand-warmers, the kind that never seem to work for him when he needs them most. Averna had her mittens. And my batteries were charged and ready. We headed back out into the bitter cold and found our way to the lake entrance where snowmobile and ATV tracks ran parallel to the dock. We used them as cover for our tracks a while so we could get a look at everything. Our entrances were limited, and we had no idea how busy the place was. There was a building built underneath the dock, with smoke coming out the chimney, which didn’t give us any help. Eventually, I moved towards the building using the customary stupid-kid approach. After all, it’s a well known fact that curious kids who wander too close to something don’t get arrested. Though today, it wouldn’t matter, Sunday evening no one was around. When I figured out we were clear, I motioned for Rin and Averna to follow suit.

We wanted to get to the top if we could, but the first few stair-cases were either fallen apart, or too close to the building that was clearly inhabited. Our only other option was the staircase down at the end of the corridor. It would be a long walk, but we were up to it, and the road gave us plenty to enjoy along the way.

Our first encounters were with large vehicles and other things lined up along the sides. These objects seemed to defy our logic at the time. Were the occupied? Was this storage? Did they work? Too many questions, and too few answers. We decided it’d be best not to touch them, and so we moved on to the next discovery, a boat.

Once again we were fascinated, yet dumb-struck. The boat seemed somehow intact, yet it’s condition said it hadn’t been used in a while. But everything was there; the motor, the fridge. We stuck around inside, since it did provide us some protection from the wind, which, need I remind you, was just as brutally cold and unforgiving as it had been the day we arrived in Duluth. We explored as much of the boat as we could find, but when it came to explore the underbelly, we decided against it. It was a small risk to give up, and we had bigger ones ahead of us.

After the boat, there weren’t very many interesting artifacts left. But we weren’t done, I wanted to get to the top of this thing. I had seen the pictures, and I wanted the view for myself, that is, until I saw what it would take to get it. The staircase was missing more than just a couple treads, and the railings were dangling unattached to anything at some points. The first section looked doable, but I wasn’t so sure about the other two.

Eventually, after some debate, and knowing how far we had come we reached the point that we like to call the Fuck-It moment. Rin took charge and climbed on ahead without looking back. I seized the opportunity to get control of my gut and take a few shots of them ascending the stairs, and the look of the golden sun shining through the snow that was rushing across the lake. And when Averna was a third of the way up, it was time to decide, was I going to do it? And the answer was without a doubt, yes. For my fear wasn’t of the stairs, it was of myself and my abilities or the potential lack thereof. I started behind Averna, making my way slowly but certainly towards the top, realizing every step of the way how goddam tall this thing was.

When I arrived at the top I was startled. Here we were. We made it to the top. And I knew there was nothing that could stop us. I knew, we are the Municipal Heroes. This is what we do.

I turned and saw the yellow orb of the sun right on the horizon, shading the life-less trees that lined the shores a mix of orange and pink. Further exploration of the Dock was clearly out of the question, however. We didn’t even want to hazard a guess at the condition of wooden planks. So we took in our success as we saw the sun touch the horizon, and we turned our attention to making it back down the stairs. This time, I was in the lead, and I was up for the challenge. Focusing my mind on every single movement, step after incredible step, I made it, along with my colleagues, to the bottom. And we were ready to get to the warm hotel room. Frost Bite was a lingering thought in our mind that we wanted to eliminate as quick as we could.

We got to the car and drove in silence, too cold to speak. Rin’s icy hands gripped the steering wheel like a life-preserver, his face almost as life-less as the air that surrounded the car. We arrived back at the hotel not a moment too soon, and laid in for a night of Destroyed In Seconds, amongst other things. It was a satisfying trip, but we knew the city had so much more to offer. In time, we demanded, we would return to discover another adventure somewhere in the great lands of Duluth, MN.