Help the North Country Trail Association

[Sam Haraldson]

The North Country Trail Association is soliciting for votes at http://smallaa.com. If they have the most votes by December 10th they win a $1000 grant. It only takes a minute to register and vote so please consider helping. The links below will open in a new window or tab in your browser.

Register to vote: smallaa.com/register

Then vote for the NCT: smallaa.com/post/1885

[christopher shive]

I'm not sure I understand that website, but I voted….I think.

We actually did our 50 mile backpacking trek with the scouts on the North Country Trail this past June. We hiked a section in the Allegheny National Forest in northwest PA. The trail itself was not as well maintained as many trails in PA. It was also disappointing to hike past numerous oil wells and constantly smell crude oil in the air, while trying to get away from civilization and enjoy nature.

I've been doing these 50 mile, 5 or 6 day hikes with our troop for about 6 years now. We got far more rain on this trip than any of our previous trips, and by the third and fourth days, it was impossible to keep our gear dry. Even us veteran hiking leaders had wet sleeping bags. We all (scouts and leaders) learned some valuable lessons on this hike. I know I will keep my spare clothes and sleeping gear much more water-proof in future hikes. We also learned that things are not always as bad as they first appear and that with a great enough team effort, great things can be accomplished. We arrived at our next to last campsite soaking wet due to heavy rain all afternoon. It had stopped raining just as we arrived at the campsite. It took a massive group effort to start and sustain a fire and then piece by piece, we dried out all of our wet gear than night and the next morning. I know myself and the two other leaders were up to about midnight drying our gear after we had taken care of the scouts and put them to bed. This was a trip where bad weather almost ruined the whole thing, but we pulled through it and ended up with a mostly positive experience.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. I just thought I'd share my lone experience on the NCT.

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