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Nature had started to nudge me again. In Sept. I decided to visit the NCT’s website & found the hike 100 challenge. My life was twisting & turning ferociously at this point. So many tides of change crashing together in my mind with no outward release. Marriage suffering, stressful situations & a yearning to rediscover who I was once before & unbottle that girl from within, her fires ready to roar. I knew deep in my heart the only way to retrieve her was to settle to the woods & find her & what better way than to work it all off by hiking 100 miles. I’d disappear alone as much as I could to work through my mind, while inhaling the calmness of the woods. The creek washing away my would-of-been tears. The leaves brushing my shoulders & clearing away my fears. I made some life-altering decisions out there on the trail. But nature, she shoulders all of that for us. She provides. The trail listens with an open heart, she doesn’t judge. It has been 100 miles of faithfulness from the NCT.
I belong to a group called I Run 4 Michael. Its a non-profit. We can run, hike, walk, swim whatever we want to do, but we are assigned a special child. Most often these children have a reason they can no longer walk, or like my little one she walks with braces from a connective tissue disease but she'll never be able to do the things like I can, so therefore I do them for her with her on my mind and her being there with me in spirit. We update the child through a Facebook group on what we have done for her each day. She's what ultimately got me through the 100 miles.
Deere Asylum, VA / USA - November 2020: A seclusion room in the long term patient housing on an abandoned mental hospital campus.
Deere Asylum, VA / USA - November 2020: Looking across from the long term dormitory towards other dormitories on the campus of an abandoned mental hospital.
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Last Christmas my daughter Hannah and I gave the gift of a commitment to meet the Challenge 100 goal of 100 miles on the NCT. We started in February of 2016, and just kept going. We had a blast hiking the various trails around our Walker, MN home, taking with us Clover, Hannah's dog, every time, and my wife Genell and grandchild Keeda sometimes. The blow-down of trees was striking, and created many obstacles. Fortunately we live almost on top of the trail, and access was easy. We are a 2 Subaru family ('95 Forrester and '13 Forrester) which we used to get further out and back on the trail. We were glad to see Subaru as a sponsor. We found two spots we will visit frequently, they are so beautiful. We are so thankful for this trail, and the opportunity it provides to walk these north woods off the vehicle path.
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It was an awesome experience doing the 100 mile challenge! I got in the bulk of my miles on monthly hikes with our hiking group that meets on Sundays and is led by Mark Roberts. In the winter months this involved snowshoeing. In the late spring and early summer it meant dealing from time to time with lots of mosquitoes and black flies. The fall was an absolutely glorious time to be out given the lack of pests and the presence of spectacular colors (although low on reds this year). I had to jam in a lot of miles late, but it was a great opportunity to see parts of the trail I hadn't seen before. There is so much beauty in Peter Wolfe Chapter, particularly in the Trap Hills. The trail is a hidden gem that I have tried to capture on my Tumblr blog called "Life in the North Country" at NorthCountryLiving. Check it out to enjoy highlights from my 100 miles!
My 100 miles began in July when we celebrated my niece's 40th birthday by walking the 40 miles along the Pictured Rocks National Forest shoreline. My niece, her 14 year old daughter, and I actually completed 60 miles in those three days, the rest of our family joining us for the final 15. It was truly one of the best experiences of my lifetime, the scenery along the trail rendering us completely speechless at times. My husband and our 12 pound shih tzu joined me for most of the rest of the 100 over the next months, the miles completed mostly on weekend camping trips at or near Soldier Lake, Michigan. The last 15, we completed back at Pictured Rocks earlier this month.
An amazing adventure...we had talked of hiking sections of the NCT system in Alger County, MI for years. We had done a few miles here and there, but this challenge was the impetus to get us out there! We formed a four some with another couple; and hiked many new sections. We plan to continue this journey, and to do new sections in Alger County to finish it…then venture into Marquette and Schoolcraft Counties! We hope this challenge is extended for 2017!! - Debra
Being invited to work on the 100 Mile Challenge by two close friends was just the encouragement my wife and I needed to finally make serious progress on hiking all of the North Country Trail that is within our County. It was a great experience, and allowed us to view many beautiful areas that we would have otherwise never seen. Thanks so much for creating this challenge. It was just the boost we needed. - Scott
When the four of us heard of the “Hike 100 Challenge” in late April, we didn’t waste any time getting started since the North Country Trail runs through our county here in the U.P., as does Pictured Rocks and the Hiawatha National Forest. We worked in sections of 26 hikes in all, adding to 101.5 miles. All in all, we agree that it was great fun and a learning experience—the beautiful forests around us; animals, trees, ferns, flowers. Etc. - Betty
226,000 steps! That’s what I estimate my wife Betty fulfilled to complete our 100 miles. We started back in April with our good friends Debbie and Scott and finished in October during peak fall color season. All of our miles were performed in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula among some of the most magnificent scenery anywhere including places like Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Rock River Canyon Wilderness Area, McCormick Tract Wilderness Area, Laughing Whitefish Falls Scenic Area and Hiawatha National Forest. Thank you so much for creating this Challenge as it has incentivized us to explore so much more of the beautiful place where we live than if we had not had the challenge to motivate us. So what challenge do you have for us next year? Photo attached was taken after completion of our 100 miles. - Michael
From left, Mike Snable, Betty Rainwater, Debbie Laurie and Scott Hickman.
My wife & I maintain approximately 3.5 miles of the NCST from Croton Dam to Oak Avenue in Newaygo County. The most difficult 2 miles of the challenge were hiked to remove a large tree from the trail near Brohman, MI in February (I am a certified sawyer with the USFS). Trudged through 10" of snow, hauling a toboggan with my equipment to accomplish this task. Most of my miles were from the month of April and included treadmill miles and hikes in local county parks.
Deere Asylum, VA / USA - November 2020: Screen covering the windows from the inside to prevent patients from accessing windows in their housing on an abandoned mental hospital campus.
I hiked 258.2 miles on the Superior Hiking trail – from the 270 degree overlook near the Canadian border to Hartley Nature Center in Duluth in 14 days. The scenery was more beautiful than I could have imagined – the raging rivers, meandering streams, foggy lakes, swimming moose, startled grouse and even the slippery mud pits make this trail special. Days were spent solo hiking, but I loved it when I arrived at camp to at least one other person – so many stories and trail tales!
I began my challenge on January 5th (my 65th birthday) retracing part of the Shoe Year's Day Hike in the Yankee Springs Recreation Area close to our home in Holland, Michigan. In July my hiking buddy and I did the Jordan River Pathway. Two hikes in August coincided with my dog Maddy's rehab appointments in Rockford, MI. Milo (Maddy's brother) and I hiked the White Pine Trail and the Rogue River State Game Area section (too much gun fire!), I decided to finish the 100 mile challenge by completing the 42.4 mile Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore trail to challenge my hiking legs and my backcountry camping abilities. Trying to stay local, the gap was filled with the Battle Creek section and the Paul Henry trail in Middleville. 1 day - hiking in the rain, 1/2 day at the Munising Urgent Care Center for a hatchet accident to my thumb, 2 days of cloudless skies, and the last day of muddy trail near Munising Falls and I was done!!! Great goal, great memories, great challenge. Thank you!
Last Christmas my daughter Hannah and I gave the gift of a commitment to meet the Challenge 100 goal of 100 miles on the NCT. We started in February of 2016, and just kept going. We had a blast hiking the various trails around our Walker, MN home, taking with us Clover, Hannah's dog, every time, and my wife Genell and grandchild Keeda sometimes. The blow-down of trees was striking, and created many obstacles. Fortunately we live almost on top of the trail, and access was easy. We are a 2 Subaru family ('95 Forrester and '13 Forrester) which we used to get further out and back on the trail. We were glad to see Subaru as a sponsor. We found two spots we will visit frequently, they are so beautiful. We are so thankful for this trail, and the opportunity it provides to walk these north woods off the vehicle path.
A summer project of hiking the NCT from the East boundary of the Chippewa National Forest in Minnesota, heading West to Itasca State Park, and the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River started with spring (in May) and finished with fall (in early November). The NCT was in excellent condition and ran through an outstandingly beautiful section of northern Minnesota.