Man standing on North Country Trail near Pine River holding blue paint near a blue blaze.
Today, heading out from Pine River Campground, started out great. The morning was cool and sunny. Ed and I headed north along the trail, and we were an hour or two in when we met Bill Courtois, a trail angel who was freshening up blazes. We chatted for a while, then pushed on.

After meeting Bill, the trail got lumpy and bumpy – sort of like a farm field. This really bothered the bottoms of our feet. The scenery was beautiful, though. The forecast was for a sunny, warm day, but by late morning the clouds moved in and the wind picked up. It began sprinkling on and off.

For the next few hours I kept putting on and off my rain pants and backpack cover. It was really annoying. Every time it seemed like it was ready to really dump on us and I suited up, the weather would change within the next 5-10 minutes. Oh, well.

Leaving Pine River in the DustView of expansive field with trail heading toward trees in the distance.

We did get to tape a Beer Mile video for Tim’s Hash House Harriers Facebook group, so that was fun.

Around the time we hit H-28 in the mid-afternoon, Ed was hurting. Both of his feet were quite sore from our high mileage. Then he twisted his ankle. That did him in. I had him wait with our packs where the trail crossed Salt Point Road, and then I jogged the last 5.2 miles (8.4 km) to our car, parked at Naomikong Overlook.

Luckily the trail was pretty runnable, so I made good time – just over an hour. I picked up Ed, who decided he probably couldn’t finish the next/last two days of hiking. So we grabbed my car, parked at Pine River Campground, and took both cars to our motel in St. Ignace, the lovely Baymont Inn & Suites.

It was totally a bummer that Ed was injured. And also that we found a few ticks on us and in the car. UGH.

Snowshoe and Ed

MI NCT miles today: 25.6 (41.2 km)
MI NCT miles to date: 139.6 (224.7 km)
Total NCT miles to date: 139.6 (224.7 km)
Total NCT miles to go: 4,460.4 (7,178.3 km)

Disclosure: This entry contains affiliate links (among regular links) to products I own and like, or which I think you might like. This means that, at no extra cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

 

 

©2018 Melanie McManus – All Rights Reserved

Show Buttons
Hide Buttons