Trails > North Country Trail > Planned Hikes
During 2009 Randy and I will be working toward hiking the Manistee National Forest segment of the NCT trail, with a goal of completing the approximate 130 miles by the end of 2010.
This section of the trail, which is almost entirely off-road, woodland hiking with several highly scenic areas, was selected as my first comprehensive goal for several reasons… I am very familiar with the general area it covers, much of the area is close enough to home for day-hikes and weekend camping trips and Randy’s parents have a cottage up in the Freesoil/Bass Lake area which will serve as a nice base for the areas further north. As part of the plan we will also hike the Manistee River Trail, the Birch Grove Trail and the Loda Lake Nature Trail. In total, taking into consideration the non-NCT miles and a couple of in-and-back segments, it will include approximately 150-160 miles of hiking over 22 days. The majority of this will be done on spring and fall weekends since my work schedule does not give much leeway during the summer months and I am not too keen on hiking in the heat of high summer anyway.
The table below shows the planned trail break-out, which includes several single-day outings and a few weekend trips. We will average between 6-9 miles a day, which may be a little on the light side, but I tend to take a lot of photos and don’t want to feel rushed. Since the NCT is a linear trail, our plan to avoid double-hiking and double-driving is to drop off our vehicle at the end point and bike to the start point, returning to pick up the bikes once we’ve completed the day’s hike. We’re trying to keep the schedule very flexible but in general we will be working our way from the northern end of the segment toward the south, although it will be largely dependent on availability for weekend trips. An exception to this strategy is that we will wait until Fall 2009 with the Manistee River Trail loop even though it is on the north end.
| TRAIL | BEGIN | END | DIR | TYPE | MLS | NCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manistee River Trail | Upper River TH | Seaton Creek CG | North - EB | P-P | 11.4 | WKD | |
| NCT | Upper River TH | Seaton Creek CG | North - WB | P-P | 9.9 | 9.1 | WKD |
| NCT | Dilling Road TH | Upper River TH | North | P-P | 5.8 | 5.8 | DAY |
| NCT | Highbridge TH | Dilling Road TH | North | P-P | 5.2 | 5.2 | DAY |
| NCT | Udell TH (M-55) | Highbridge TH | North | P-P | 5.9 | 5.9 | DAY |
| NCT | Nine-Mile Bridge | Udell TH (M-55) | North | P-P | 6.9 | 6.9 | DAY |
| NCT | Freesoil TH | Nine-Mile Bridge | North | P-P | 7.3 | 7.3 | DAY |
| NCT | Bass Lake Rd. | Freesoil TH | North | P-P | 6.3 | 5.8 | DAY |
| NCT | McCarthy Lake CG | Bass Lake Rd. | North | P-P | 5.8 | 5.3 | DAY |
| NCT | Timber Creek TH (US-10) | McCarthy Lake CG | North | P-P | 8.6 | 8.6 | DAY |
| NCT | Timber Creek TH (US-10) | 56th St. TH | North | P-P | 8.5 | 8.5 | WKD |
| NCT | 56th St. TH | 76th St. TH | South | P-P | 6.1 | 6.1 | WKD |
| NCT | 76th St. TH | Highbank Lake CG | South | P-P | 8.7 | 8.5 | WKD |
| NCT | Highbank Lake CG | Nichols Lake North TH | South | P-P | 5.2 | 5.0 | WKD |
| NCT | Pierce Drive (FR 3508) | Nichols Lake North TH | North | P-P | 6.8 | 6.8 | DAY |
| NCT | Pierce Drive (FR 3508) | Birch Grove Trail Junction | South | I-B | 7.8 | 3.9 | DAY |
| Loda Lake Nature Trail | Loda Lake Sanctuary | Loda Lake Sanctuary | LP | 1.5 | WKD | ||
| NCT; Birch Grove Trail | NCTA Schoolhouse | NCTA Schoolhouse | LP | 9.0 | 3.0 | WKD | |
| NCT | M-20 Trailhead | NCTA Schoolhouse | North | P-P | 8.3 | 6.6 | WKD |
| NCT | M-20 Trailhead | Echo Dr., White Cloud | South | I-B | 7.8 | 3.9 | DAY |
| NCT | Echo Dr., White Cloud | Twinwood Lake CG | South | P-P | 8.2 | 8.2 | WKD |
| NCT | Twinwood Lake CG | Croton Dam TH | South | P-P | 8.9 | 8.9 | WKD |