Michigan Family 18 Miler

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Trail log at one of the North Country Trail trailheads 
My step brother Noel and I flew to Michigan this weekend to visit my dad, Gretchen and step mom Stephanee. Since we are a family of runners, I said I would come up for the weekend if they would run 18 miles with me, as part of my training for circumnavigating Mt. Hood. Of course without hesitation Dad and Noel agreed.

Noel and Me

Noel ready to leave the road for the trails

It had been a few years since I had seen Noel and since then he has become a pretty accomplished trail runner. I had a great time discussing running, races, gear and nutrition, we even talked about doing a fast packing trip in a few years.
Chasing dad down the boardwalk
self portrait 
Dad and Stephanee live on Gun Lake in Michigan which is surround by Yankee Springs Recreation Area, which has a lot of running and biking trails and also hooks up with the larger North Country Trail system. Dad had several ideas on routes but in the end we just went out and ran and played it by ear. All but about 2 miles of the trails were pretty runnable, we were fortunate that it rained the night before which caused a lot of the sandy trails to be a little less so. Neither Noel or Dad have been running the long distances that I have been running, but they still made it through the run and didn't hate me at the end of it. The things you do for family!

Gun Lake area

North Country Trail
                              

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