At the 50-mile mark of last year’s 165 Mile Challenge from the North Country Trail Association, Steph Hogan made her decision.
“It was at that point I decided I was going to finish the challenge,” said Hogan, 73, who was in Vergas in Ottertail County, Minnesota. “I really wasn’t sure before that.”
In 25 intervals beginning in April and ending in October, she and a small group of other outdoor enthusiasts hiked from Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge northeast of Detroit Lakes to Hwy. 6 near Remer, Minn.
Every step came on the North Country Trail (NCT), a wilderness route of major miles (2,880 and counting) and volunteers (thousands) that appears to be taking its place among national trails. That would achieve the mission of the trail association, the NCT’s biggest cheerleader.
Hogan is one of 400 Minnesota members of the association who act as trail stewards. The association is a nonprofit partner of the National Park Service in building, maintaining, and promoting the NCT.
Though technically still in development, the planned 4,600-mile NCT (many sections have already been completed and are readily used) will eventually stretch from North Dakota to New York state. That’s twice the distance of the Appalachian Trail.
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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