| Northern Exposure: Hiking the North Country Trail |
[May. 15th, 2009|05:20 pm]
The Long Distance Hiking Community
|
[ From The New York Times ]
By STEPHEN REGENOLD
Published: April 24, 2009
LACE up your boots, shoulder a pack, and head out on the North Country Trail this month from its origin in Crown Point, N.Y., and you could journey westward straight through the summer, past autumn’s falling leaves, and hike miles nonstop every day until snow blocks the path.
Just ask Andrew Skurka, a legend of long-distance backpacking who did exactly that in 2004, spending six months walking west from New York thousands of miles to the trail’s terminus in North Dakota. “It just went on and on and on,” he said.
At 4,600 miles in length, the North Country National Scenic Trail bisects a large part of the continent, slicing through seven states — from glacier-scoured landscapes in Adirondack Park to prairies on the Great Plains — and snaking a distance twice as long as the Appalachian Trail.
“If you want to see a huge cross-section of the U.S.A., the North Country is it,” said Mr. Skurka, a 27-year-old who has hiked the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails, as well as a transcontinental trek he completed in 2005 that included the entire North Country Trail.
( Read more...Collapse ) |
|
curious
annoyed