Greetings from Dreamer
As always, I find my mind returning to hiking and
backpacking in almost every other thought!
It is almost as if I am crazed, near to obsessed with: hiking, gear,
maps, guides, food, spreadsheets, books and videos about backpacking. Charlie and I cover about 5 miles, most days
of the week. But in the evening when all
the work is done, dinner is cleaned up, I like to sit back and watch a DVD on
the Appalachian Trail. And my favorite
is TREK! I have watched it (seriously)
many many times. I’ll watch it with
anyone that is willing to sit through it.
Check it out on Amazon.
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| 1st picture of Charlie when we rescued him. |
My purpose in writing today is discussing our (Our being,
Charlie & I) newest adventure. We
have been planning and preparing since our last adventure to the Jordan River
Valley to cover another 100+ miles of the North Country Trail. This time, we will be hiking the section of
trail maintained by the (GTHC) Grand
Traverse Hiking Club. Even though I have
been a member for quite some time, I have never hiked the portion of trail that
the club over see’s. If you are
interested in more information on the North Country Trail, go to
NorthCountryTrail.org and check it out.
I can personally say the folks at GTHC are amazing! A few weeks ago, I wrote to Sara Cockrell,
the Program Chairperson for information and within a few hours I had all my
questions answered and more. If you
would like to join their hiking clubs group, you can go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GrandTraverseHikingClub/.
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| Dreamer is about to take his first steps on the AT |
Here is
our proposed schedule for the trip:
June 23
– From: Udel Trailhead to Sawdust Hole – 11 miles
June 24
– From: Sawdust Hole to Campsite #6 – 12 miles
June 25
– Campsite #6 to Mesick – 11 miles
June 26
– Mesick to Anderson Creek – 11 miles
June 27
– Anderson Creek to Baxter Bridge – 8 miles
June 28
– Baxter Bridge to Fife Lake – 16 miles
June 29
– Fife Lake to Sheck’s Place – 14 miles
June 30
– Sheck’s Place to Guernsey Lake – 10 miles
July
1 -
Guernsey Lake to Kalkaska – 10 miles
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| Terri & Dreamer hiking in Shenandoah National Park |
Obviously,
this is only our “proposed” stops and approximate mileages. Depending on how Charlie and I are feeling,
weather conditions, and a host of other variables, this could all change. We could very well go beyond Kalkaska, and we
could very well not even make it that far!
We’ll see…
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| Dreamer on McPhee's Knob in Virginia |
If
there needs to be a purpose for this hike other than simply getting out there,
it is to: give Charlie an extended hike
to check out his abilities, test some new gear (more to follow on that) as well
as test Blogging from my cell phone, and uploading pictures etc. So, stay tuned between June 23 and July 1st. I’ll be Blogging about our journey, testing
to see how this will all work when we take off next March on the Appalachian
Trail.
~Dreamer
I assumed you were planning to hike the 100 miles maintained by GTHC. Your schedule indicates you are starting nearly three days south of GTHC maintainance area and ending at Kalkaska, about 3 days south of our end at Starvation Lake Road.
ReplyDeleteI also note that you are doing the Manistee River Trail rather than stay on the NCT.
Hope you enjoy it all.
Ed M
Ed,
DeleteSorry if I have left you with the wrong impression. When considering my hike, club boundaries were never a consideration. Kalkaska began as my end point because that is where my ride was scheduled to pick me up. It could have been somewhere else, it just started out there and never changed. I really did not realize until a few days ago where the boundaries even were. After that the mileage simply was what it was. Since then,a few from the GTHC recommended the MRT and Campsite #6 in particular. Thanks for your encouragement and well wishes. ~Dreamer