Trailspotters Offers Discounted Tickets for NCT Members

received from Tom Funke

Trailspotters is a Michigan corporation that owns and operates shuttle and carspotting services for quiet sports enthusiasts. We operate in the eastern Upper Peninsula serving the North Country Trail between Munising and Lower Tahquamenon Falls.

The walk-up rate for a shuttle between Munising and Grand Marais is $20. A NCT chapter member covered under this agreement would be $7.50.

I would like to offer an opportunity for your chapter, for an exchange of advertising services in your newsletter and/or website, to secure a discount for your members. I'm offering 50% off for any chapter member using our services on the North Country Trail during our 2011 season, which runs from mid-June through Labor Day. Â I will also donate $100 to the chapter that has the most members using our service in 2011 (Minimum 20 total users from all chapters combined).

I am a long time member of the North Country Trail and author of 50 Hikes in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This business opportunity presented itself because of my love of the trail.

If you are interested in taking advantage of this offer, all I need is a simple agreement, given below, to be signed and mailed or scanned/emailed back to me no later than May 15, 2011. When I receive the agreement, I'll email the Trailspotter logo and some example text, along with a code to be used when registering online

See Trailspotters of Michigan

Sam Gardner Leaves Trail with Hip Problem

compiled from Sam Gardner's journal

On January 1, Sam Gardner left Crown Point, New York on what he hoped would be a 12,500-mile trek. He planned to hike the North Country, Pacific Crest, Continental Divide, and Appalachian National Scenic Trails in one huge walk.

However, tendonitis in a hip has forced him to take a break. Sam reached Portageville, in western NY, and has returned home, to Houghton, Michigan, for medical treatment and therapy.

The pain in his hip had reduced him to completing only about six miles a day- not nearly enough to stay on a resupply schedule for his long trek.

He writes on March 6, "Today I made a very hard decision. I have chosen to leave the trail to seek medical care. The tendentious in my hip has only gotten worse in the past month. Every day i cover less and less miles before the inflammation triggers enough pain to stop me in my tracks. I was hoping to take care of this on the trail but I believe it’s well beyond that point."

This morning, he posted from home, "[The chiropractor says] my pelvis is out of alignment big time. The bad news is that it could take 6 months of physical therapy. I sincerely hope that his estimate is wrong by a long shot. I am super bummed. There is no doubt about it. However I’m doing my best to work around it. I’ve been scheming all night. So I’m coming up with a plan."

We'll have to stay tuned to see what Sam decides to do.

You can follow his journey at The Initiative