Itâs been my good fortune to meet some amazing people since becoming involved with the North Country Trail community. My love of hiking is what drew me to the NCT and the social aspect is one of the unexpected benefits. Today Iâd like to talk about a couple long-distance hikers that Iâve spent time with and one that I expected to meet last March before the pandemic changed those plans. Joe, in his early 60s, from Rochester New York, came through our area in October 2019. I met him at Maplewood State Park and we hiked together for a bit. I offered to host him at our home that night so we made arrangements to meet later that evening. Joe started hiking several years ago after his wife passed away and credits the trail with bringing him out of the depression caused by that loss. In July 2018, Joe headed to the western terminus of the NCT at Lake Sakakawea to begin his long hike. He is a school administrator and his long-term plan is to hike whenever he can get 5-6 days off from his job with longer periods in the summer. He starts where he left off the previous trip and hopes to arrive at the Mackinac Bridge in time for the 2022 Labor Day bridge walk.Â