NCT50 2018

After completing the Hike 100 Challenge (NCT100) in both of the first two years it was offered (2016 and 2017), I automatically enrolled when it was announced that the challenge would be offered again in 2018.  Of course I wanted to keep exploring this awesome trail!  In honor of the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System, a companion Hike 50 Miles Challenge (NCT50) was also offered in 2018, allowing participants to earn a special smaller patch for completing 50 miles on the North County National Scenic Trail (NCT).  I fully intended to complete the full NCT100, but thought the NCT50 might be a good fit for Frankie -- it might let him earn a patch without the pressure to go a full 100 miles.

via North Country Trail Association

It was a nice idea, right?  However, things didn't work out quite as I had planned.  Even though I hiked further overall (340 miles in 2018 vs. 295 miles in 2017), I ended 2018 with fewer miles on the NCT than in the previous two years: just 86.3 miles.  There were many reasons for this failure... we traveled more in 2018 than 2017 or 2016, to different destinations where we did hike, but not on the NCT; various illnesses, appointments, snow days, and unreasonable work deadlines caused me to miss many of my treasured solo hikes; I introduced Frankie to cross-country skiing, which he loved, but it wasn't on the NCT because we needed to rent equipment; I explored some new local trails that aren't part of the NCT (e.g., South Trail); and Frankie enrolled in two 6-week sessions of Saturday art classes, which took away from time on the trail.

In addition, I elected to make loops on several hikes that combined the NCT with other nearby trails, instead of always doing out-and-backs, and only counted the actual distance on the NCT toward the challenge.  For example, the 2.1 miles listed below on 2/28/18 at Highland Forest was part of a longer 8.3 miles hike and the 5.4 miles listed on 5/9/18 at Kennedy State Forest was part of a 7.8 mile hike; there were three other similar situations in 2018 where the total NCT miles were less than the total miles hiked.  If I counted all those distances, I might have reached the 100 miles, but that is entirely beside the point.  The NCT100 isn't simply about distance hiked, it is about hiking the North Country Trail.  So here are the trip reports from my 2018 NCT hikes: 

Date	Miles	Description
01/10/18	3.7	Tinker Falls to Jones Hill + new section east to creek (Labrador Hollow Unique Area)
01/24/18	2.5	Tinker Falls to Jones Hill (Labrador Hollow Unique Area)
01/28/18	4.8	Mount Pleasant Cemetery to Nelson Road (Lehigh Valley Railroad)
02/14/18	5.3	Carson Road to Cortland 9 Road (Tuller Hill State Forest)
02/28/18	2.1	Main Trail (Highland Forest)
04/08/18	5.1	Nelson Road to RR sign (Lehigh Valley Railroad)
05/09/18	5.4	Virgil Mountain Loop from Tone Road (Kennedy State Forest)
05/16/18	7.5	Bleck Road out-and-backs: to Virgil Mt. Loop junction & to Hilsinger Rd. (Kennedy State Forest)
07/15/18	4.7	Mill Street to Stone Quarry Art Park (private land & art park)
07/28/18	6.0	East Lake Road to Armstrong Pond (DeRuyter State Forest)
08/19/18	2.3	Route 13 to Townline Road (Sweedler Nature Preserve)
09/09/18	6.0	Cowles Settlement Road to Skyline Lodge (Highland Forest)
09/12/18	7.1	Daisy Hollow Road to Bell-Hilsinger Road (Kennedy State Forest)
09/19/18	8.2	Willow Crossing Road to Daisy Hollow Road (Jim Schug Trail & private land)
10/24/18	6.0	Star Stanton Road to Harford Slaterville Road (Hammond Hill State Forest)
10/28/18	1.1	Mill Street to Route 20 (Cazenovia)*
11/07/18	7.2	Harford-Slaterville Road to Robinson Hill Road (Robinson Hollow State Forest)
11/11/18	1.3	Clark Street to Route 20/Mill Street intersection (Cazenovia)*
Total	86.3

* These "hikes" consisted of parking at the Mill Street and Clark Street trailheads, respectively, and walking into town for dinner with Erwin and Frankie.  Only the distance walked on the marked NCT is included herein. 

The 86.3 miles were covered over 18 separate outings, 16 hikes and two dinner walks.  Frankie accompanied me for 31.3 miles; not enough to earn any patches, but I was pleased to have him back out on the trail after he didn't spend much time there in 2017.  Erwin was along for 4.7 miles, at Lick Brook and the two dinner walks, but we had no "date" hikes in 2018.  The remaining 10 hikes, totaling 55.0 miles, were solo hikes.  Because I did most hikes as out-and-backs with just one vehicle, I covered only 45.3 unique miles of the NCT.  There were some hikes repeated from previous year, but, many of these miles were new miles, new to me not just in 2018, but just plain new.  It is exciting to continue my explorations, going further and further afield.  I have now hiked a contiguous section of NCT from Rome to Dryden, with the exception of just a few short roadwalks, which I meant to pick up during hunting season, but could not.  Next year! 

Anyway, it worked out well for me that the North Country Trail Association offered the 50-mile patch.  I was a little disappointed not to have completed the full 100 miles, but this is nice, too.  And I'll keep going in 2019!  I truly love exploring this trail.