submitted by Dale Painter
Kathy and I wanted all of our new NCT "friends" to know that we completed our 321 mile hike across the UP (note: we skipped over the Pictured Rocks because of 5 days lost because of a funeral we had to return to...and we'd done that section several times previously; plus we did not do all the connector segments or long roadwalks.)
What an amazing hike we had and we are deeply indebted to all of you who helped us along the way. You are an incredible and kind bunch of special people and we thank each of you for the part you played in making it so easy for us at critical junctures and with important information.
We received valuable insight to the many hours of work that is invested behind the scenes in keeping the NCT open to hikers like us...and the uphill effort it is to promote the trail and encourage others to take advantage of this national treasure. Several of you noted how few hikers actually get out on many sections of the trail and we ourselves were a bit flabbergasted when we during 24 days of hiking that we met NO other backpackers the whole length of the trail (with the exception of one day in the Porkies) and encountered only a handful of day hikers, all within 3 miles of a trailhead.
Though we have never previously posted a trail journal on-line for others to share, we decided that the very least we could do in support of the NCT (and all the work that all of you perform) would be to write up the account of our hike and include a bunch of pictures that others can read to become better educated about the NCT in the Upper Peninsula and in Michigan. If you would like to read our journal, you can access it and the pictures at the web site called "trailjournals.com" (see link below).
Again, thanks for your hospitality and hopefully our paths will cross again somewhere out there on the NCT!
This segment is on NCTA maps MI-9-14
See Dale & Kathy's 2010 NCT Trail Journal
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