Getting Started with the NCT Hike 100 Challenge for 2025
This past Saturday morning Julie and I set off with our friends Jennifer and Sue to get started on the North Country Trail Hike 100 Challenge for 2025 with a snowshoe hike out south of Alston. On our way there we stopped in for brunch at Bosio Biscuit in Tapiola. I had the brisket biscuit with a side of home fries. It turned out to be an outstanding choice!
The road was generally snow-packed down to M-38 and then again on South Laird Road as we headed down to where we would pick up the trail.
We would start out heading eastward past the large beaver pond toward Boulder Creek. There is a tall beaver dam that holds back the large impoundment and a boardwalk crossing a smaller beaver pond below that is pictured below.
The weather was mild with the temperature in the mid-20s with no wind. The recent snow coated the forest’s fir trees quite beautifully. We found no sign of recent human activity, but the trail is clearly preferred by the area’s deer and small game.
The trail descends down a slope to Boulder Creek that in summer is an awesome place to find thimbleberries.
The recent warm conditions must have increased the flow in the stream as we were surprised to find some open water and ice not firm enough to support our weight. We spent some time enjoying the view of the water coursing beneath the ice:
Rather than taking a chance getting wet, we elected to make a U-turn and hike westward instead. This meant climbing back up the slope we had just come down.
As we came back alongside the beaver dam, I snapped these shots of the snow-covered dam and the impoundment behind it.
Once we returned to South Laird Road we headed westward toward a location where a Willys Jeep has been abandoned along the trail. The first part of this segment follows South Laird Road before cutting northward and then parallel to the road through a hardwood forest. There isn’t anything particularly remarkable about this portion of the hike, but it is reasonably flat and hikes quickly in snowshoes. After hiking a little over a mile in this forest we would reach the jeep.
We made another U-turn here heading back to where we parked (and adding a short distance back into the woods and back) to complete our first four miles on the NCT in 2025.
On our way homeward we would make a short detour on M-38 to Nisula to make a stop at the Red Hen in Nisula where Alison had fresh cinnamon rolls just coming out of the oven. We were not about to take a pass on these!
Sunday morning I would get out to groom the Chassell Classic Ski Trail on my own. This involved one past with the Gator pulling the five-foot Ginzu and then making a follow-up pass with the Polaris pulling the three-foot Ginzu and tracksetter.
I finished up just in time so Julie and I could drive up to Calumet to meet up with our hiking/skiing group to ski the Swedetown Ski Trails. You can catch this 7.3-mile cross country skiing adventure on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at the link below.
Do you embrace winter and have the ability to work remotely? Consider locating in the Keweenaw where you will find ubiquitous natural beauty, no congestion, and lower crime! Not sure? Come UP for a workcation to check it out! Learn how Visit Keweenaw at https://www.visitkeweenaw.com/plan/trip-ideas-itineraries/workcations/ Visit Remote Workforce Keweenaw at https://remoteworkforcekeweenaw.com.