I was hoping today’s hike from the Hwy. 27 Trailhead to the bridge south of Lisbon would be healing. My Dad’s funeral was very nice, yet very emotional, especially the military honor guard portions.
Trail angel Maria met me at Sandager City Park, where I’ll be camping tonight, and drove me to the trailhead. Then I was off.
Heading Out from the Hwy. 27 Trailhead
Last night there was a heavy thunderstorm for about an hour. I was worried the trails would be soaked. But they weren’t. The soil here is quite sandy and loamy. The first stretch of trail wound through pastureland where cattle were grazing. I was trekking through the final portion of the Sheyenne National Grassland, I believe.
After the grassland, the trail got a tiny bit tough. It was winding up and down scruffy hills, passing a gravel pit at one point. 
The difficulty was that the path here hadn’t been mowed yet for the season, so the grass was past my knees in many spots, which slowed me down.
It was also sometimes hard to follow the path. That’s because the markers are on posts, which can look like fence posts from a distance. But I never got too off track, thanks to the FarOut app.
Winding Down for the Day
Toward the end of this section, the trail passes some kind of car junkyard, which was a little sad to see. But I’ve seen a lot of garbage/junkyards in various stretches of other National Scenic Trails, so I guess it’s not uncommon.
The end of the day was a road walk (and farm field walk) to the bridge. It was nice, and not too hilly, but my Kuru shoes were giving me problems today, even though they’d been fine last Thursday. I can tell I have abrasions. Rats.
Finished the day with Maria and her high school friend, Don, shuttling me back to Sandager City Park. Park personnel mowed the grass while I was gone, so I have a velvety lawn for my tent. The shower has hot water and super strong water pressure, so I had an incredible shower. Yes!
Tomorrow rain is in the forecast. Boo.
Snowshoe
ND NCT miles today: 21.4 (34.4 km)
ND NCT miles to date: 80.2 (129.1 km)
Total NCT miles to date: 2,982.2 (4,799.4 km)
Total NCT miles to go: 1,617.8 (2,603.6 km)
