You may have heard the maxim-
Courage is knowing that something is going to hurt and doing it anyway.
Stupidity is the same.
This is why life is hard.
So, um... I am embarking on a thru hike of the North Country Trail on December 1, 2021. This is going to be what has come to be known as an NCT flip-flop. I'm walking south from Timber Creek, the closest the trail comes to my house. I'll walk through Ohio in the winter where there is less concern with heavy snow. I'll reach Vermont in the summer and then get to North Dakota and head east again, arriving back home around December 1, 2022.
This will be a mostly supported hike This is my concession to my age. I'll be trying to average 15 miles a day, which I've proven to myself I can still do, but I'll have to do it day after day.
Stay tuned for full-bore preparations as soon as I get home from this current hike.
Just for memory's sake, here I am at the western terminus of the trail in 1995, with Marie Altenau, David Castro, Mathilda Nance (Blackburn), and Chips.
And here are Marie and me at Maine Junction, Vermont, the eastern terminus in 2014.
This hike will be a bit more philosophical than the section hike E2E completion I did before. That's all I'll say for now, except tell you the wonderful people who have signed on to support me on this crazy venture. Ester Lamb- Dec-Feb. Sue Crawford- March. Marie Altenau and Mary Coffin- April-May. Loretta Young- June. Annie Nelson- part of July/Aug. Omer Young- Sept. Sue Crawford-Oct. Unknown yet for Nov. Support team that have been helping me prepare: Loren Bach, Cathy Laman, Monica Hatch.
I'm not going to bog this post down in explanations. You'll see the plan unfold as I get closer. Only 10 weeks left after I return home!
 | See The Party's Over But It's OK |
10 comments:
Wow, how exciting. If anyone can do this, you can.
All righty, Joan! I'm so excited for you. You're writing about it of course.....
Wow, you're incredible, Joan.
WOW! I am so excited for you! What an incredible adventure this will be. Let me know how I can support you.
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! THAT's AMAZING! Talk about taking on a new year-long challenge. I've been watching videos of end-to-end hikers on the AT, the CDT, and the PCT, all of course by young people. So I'll be there in spirit helping you along. Good luck.
Thanks, ALL of you! We'll see how things go.
Joan, you are my hero!
Contact me when you are getting to the Peter Wolfe Chapter of course!
Congratulations. I'm constantly inspired by your posts and activities.
Lulu: "Wow, what a walk that will be! That's like an Incredible Journey level walk!"
Charlee: "It's sure to be a memorable trip!"
Chaplin: "And also we'd like to express our appreciation for your not saying 'let the cat out of the bag' as we are not fans of that particular idiom!"
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