Our Stories

Lou Ann Fellows Johnson: NCT Long Distance Hiker

Lou Ann Fellows Johnson

Buena Vista, CO
Central patch + North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, 1,000-Mile, 2,000-Mile, and 3,000-Mile rockers
Compiled by Joan Young

I started out to hike the NCT in March 1978 because I was one of the original five recruited to hike the proposed route. If you are familiar with the history of the NCT you are aware the three men soon dropped out, and Carolyn Hoffman and I finished the trail in October 1978. We decided to ride bikes in Ohio because the proposed route was mostly paved roads in that state.  

Unfortunately, I missed a third of Ohio and all of Lower Michigan recovering after a bike accident. My injuries were serious. I fractured three lumbar vertebrae and crushed a kidney. I rejoined Carolyn and the NCT in Upper Michigan and backpacked the rest of the way.

We started out on snowshoes in New York and hiked several weeks before we camped on bare ground. The lowest temperature we experienced was -17° F the night we camped on a frozen lake. We had icy sleet in Pennsylvania that froze on our parkas, and heat, humidity and mosquitoes in Minnesota. By the time we got to the North Dakota badlands we were being snowed on again. It was quite an adventure and I’m proud of my role in helping get the NCT declared a National Scenic Trail.

I have continued to be an active long distance backpacker hiking thousands more miles on the Continental Divide Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and the Arizona Trail.

An excerpt from this essay ran in the Spring 2021 issue (40.2) of our quarterly membership magazine, the North Star.

In 2012, a program was developed to provide a modest award and incentive to people who hike a large number of unique miles on the North Country Trail. Many hikers love patches, so a central patch and rockers were designed to give to those people who hike either [at least] one complete NCT state or 1,000 unique miles. In addition, those who complete the entire NCT under muscle power are given a certificate, and an outer rocker. Those who hike (including snowshoeing or skiing) the entire Trail are said to complete an end-to-end (E2E) hike. If some portions are bicycled, an end-to-end trip rocker is awarded.

To date (Spring 2021) 53 people have been recognized as NCT Long Distance Hikers. We know there are other people who qualify for these patches, but have not applied for them. There are currently 19 known E2E hikers. Two people have completed E2E trips.

To see the complete list of NCT Long Distance Hikers and find out how to apply for recognition, visit explorenct.info/NoCoLo. There are also links to known essays, journals, and more by these hikers.