 Nick Ballard (photo by JHY) |
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by JHY
As we were resting at a picnic table on a hike through Marquette in May imagine my surprise when Marie said, "There's a backpacker." Sure enough there was a young fellow heading across the other side of the park we were in. I ran to catch up with him. I introduced myself and asked, "Are you hiking the North Country Trail?" Imagine my surprise when he said, "Yes."
In all the miles Marie and I have hiked we've never bumped into another long-distance hiker on the NCT. Yet, here was Nick, in the early stages of a hike of nearly half of the trail. He had begun at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and his plan was to make it to North Dakota before August.
He was hiking with Wes Boyd's old guide. We all met later to eat dinner together, where I gave him a few updates that are pretty critical and wished him well. Nick is a student at Michigan State.
Hopefully, he'll give us an update on his adventures.
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