North Country Trail 2012 - "It's a wrap"

Greetings from Dreamer!

PLEASE NOTE:  I have added quite a few pictures to earlier posts.  I was unable to add pictures from my cell phone while in the trail.

Charlie & I back home!

Well, this will be my last and wrap-up post from our North County Trail hike.  First of all, I want to recognize those who have worked so hard to build and maintain the trail.  It was spectacular!  I hiked 126 miles and only found one blow-down.  Amazing!!  Second, those of you at the Grand Traverse Hiking Club, are quite simply the best!!  You are welcoming, friendly, informative, caring and dedicated!  Well done!!!

Other than to simply enjoy a 9-day backpacking experience, my goals were few.  I wanted to test a few new pieces of gear & clothing, and I wanted to get Charlie out for a multiple day, medium distance hike to see if there may be any glaring problems with taking him out on the Appalachian Trail next year.  Specifically, I wanted to see if he would eat normally and rest normally.  (Recent short term camp outs and backpacking trips left Terri & I wondering.)  Well, he passed those tests with flying colors for sure.  He only lost one pound!  And he was sleeping so well, he didn’t even alert me to a raccoon ripping open our food bag 12 feet from the tent!  As far as gear goes, I’ll update my gear list with comments and post that as soon as possible.

Statistics and final thoughts:

• ·      9 hiking days (June 23^rd – July 1^st)
• ·      2 food drops (Mesick & Fife Lake)
• ·      126 miles overall
• ·      Start: Udel Trail head.  End: Kalkaska
• ·      I saw only 2 other backpackers (not counting Ed Morse)
• ·      Burned almost 30,000 calories
• ·      Lost 8 pounds of body weight (fat mostly)
• ·      Charlie lost only 1 pound  (Start: 40.9 #'s. End 39.9#'s.)
• ·      Received 1 ride: from the Fife Lake Inn to the M186 trailhead (Warners)
• ·      Drank approx. 50 liters of water
• ·      Made 5 “Rookie Mistake #99’s”
• ·      Had most everything eaten by raccoons one night
• ·      Took 155 pictures
• ·      Took almost 3 hours of video
• ·      Rained one time on Sunday June 24^th for approx. 3 hours (no other rain)
• ·      Virtually no mosquitos.  (I may have seen 20 or 30 total)
• ·      Received 3 instances of trail magic

Now, days after finishing and sitting at home, I find myself with one compelling thought; I have never helped in any way to build or assist in maintaining a trail anywhere.  All I have done is enjoy them, for years.  I need to get out there and make a contribution so that others can experience the same kind of wonderful time on the trail that Charlie and I had.

Warmest Regards,

~Charlie & Dreamer