Josh Guerrero “Hiking his Hike”

By Beth Keloneva

Marine veteran Josh Guerrero is hiking all of the North Country Trail in Michigan (1,200 Miles) for Operation Wolverine Walk, raising funds for Veterans. He started August 22, 2021 in the Western UP, and after hiking for three months and 900 miles he passed through Newaygo County. 

I served as one of his trail “trail angels” as he passed through our county. Trail angels are people who assist hikers with transportation and supplies as they pass through an area and, on occasion, provide room and board.

Josh usually hikes for three days then takes  a day off, averaging 10-15 miles a day. He hikes at his own pace and tells everyone to “hike their own hike”. Raising funds for his fellow veterans was his first motivation, and secondly he wanted to inspire people to reach their goals “one step at a time”.

Spending time in nature and walking alone for many miles, yet being assisted by many trail angels, has given Josh a new perspective on life. He realized how fortunate he is to be the recipient of goodwill from total strangers along the trail. Not only providing transportation, food and shelter at times, but also for the donations to Operation Wolverine Walk on his gofundme page. He has had 71 donors contribute $4675 toward his $10,000 goal thus far.
When asked what he has enjoyed most on his journey Josh said, “All the people I have met and supported me along the trail.”

 I dropped Josh off on a chilly Saturday morning heading down Elm Road at M-82. This is a long road walk (about 19 miles) until he enters the Rogue River State Game Area. Thoughts of being picked up by his family for Thanksgiving danced in his head, so I think his motivation was good!

Josh will hit the trail again after a brief reprieve with family and being refueled by Thanksgiving dinner. He is 2/3 done with Michigan, and hopes to finish mid-December. He has a new extra warm liner for his hammock and more trail angels anticipating his arrival. Soon he’ll be back on the trail to “hike his hike” feeling strong and refreshed.

Josh can be followed on Facebook @ Josh Guerrero.

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