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EDITOR'S ~®l:J@:
WERNER VEIT
How about a new Categoryfor our NCTA trail maps? A t the end of six miles you can end (or .li.interrupt) your hike in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, suggests Tom Learmont (Page 9) at the Tahquamenon Falls Brewery and Pub at Camp 33, virtually right on the North Country Trail. Such revelations virtually demand further research, of course, and I write here to tell you that brewmaster Lark Ludlow has mastered his art with such offerings as Lumberjack Lager, Northwoods Amber, Porcupine Pale Ale and, of course, Black Bear Stout, the color of Guinness and the stamina of an end-to-ender. (If there are any hikers who eschew such heavenly fare at the end of a dusry walk-there must be some, although I must say I haven't met any-I add quickly that Lark also brews root beer. Inexplicable, but there it is). Are we remiss, I wonder, to omit such oases from the splendid North Country maps created in our office by our resident cartographer and GIS specialist, Tiffany Stram (nee Halfmann) who carefully notes the watering holes on or near the trail? Perhaps. If so, I would add at least two I'm particularly keen on: the Lake Superior Brewing Company on Lake Street in Grand Marais, within shuffling distance of the trail, and the basement pub of the Brae Loch Inn in Cazenovia, NY. Neither require hitchhiking from the trailhead. I know I have only scratched the surface of the foamy possibilities. We could even issue a Pint Hoisters Guide to the North Country National Scenic Trail. How about sending me your nominations of equally humanitarian enterprises catering to thirsty North Country hikers? Just remember, the pubs should 2
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The Pub at the End of the Rainbow
be within easy reach of the trail after a tiring day.
Glaciation from 10,000 to 75,000 years ago. Bob helps me read proof and he changed "Wisconsin Glaciation," to Wisconsinin. That's almost right. The ice sheet is actually called the Wisconsinan (an, not in). By 18,000 years ago it had spread as far south as northern Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The Wisconsinan was actually comprised of two independent sheets, the Laurentide in the east and the Cordilleran in the West. There, I'm sure you wanted to know that.
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Joyce Appel, who took the dramatic photographs on pages 20 and 22, is a stalwart of Butler, one of our most creative chapters. It even held a Cinco de Mayo event this year. The chapter was formed by hiking trail enthusiasts of the venerable Butler Outdoor Club who helped spearhead the large expansion in Pennsylvania which has been pushed and prodded by state coordinator Bob Tait, for whom a day not spent extolling Pennsylvania is a day wasted.
It cost me $20 bucks this Summer to park at a trailhead so I could volunteer to give blood to the mosquitoes in the Huron-Manistee National Forest while reblazing a section of the North Country trail. Daily, or weekend passes are available for volunteers working on a specific, scheduled project approved by the forest service. But for trail adopters, like me, who come up whenever they happen to have time to keep the trail in good shape, we still need to buy parking stickers. That cost continues as a constant irritant to volunteers who labor diligently to create an outstanding experience for all hikers, whether Association members or not, and then pay through the nose to park after already spending money for gas and other expenses. Certainly, the badly under funded U.S. Forest Service needs to find more income to pay for some of its recreational responsibilities, but there ought to be a way to exempt our volunteers from the fee when they're actually working, whether on a scheduled, pre-approved session or note. Members of the Forest Service don't necessarily disagree but have not come up with a workable system. Because our trail managers have such a good working relationship with forest service personnel, I wish we could be trusted not to abuse a system that would provide a pass for a whole season. The issue really struck home while pasting the "Trail Maintained by" stickers on the Carsonite posts on our trailhead. The stickers say: u ••• This segment of the North Country Trail is maintained by volunteers of our XXXX Chapter ... " The stickers were sent out by headquarters to the chapters. Get some, please and attach them to appropriate places. We need to spread the word about our good deeds.
• The Peter Wolfe Chapter, headed by Doug Welker who authorized this issue's article in our Trail Profile series, has only 23 members but it's among our hardest working. Not an issue of The Doug at Work North Star seems to appear without a report on Peter Wolfe's latest trail building or improvement venture. The chapter gets its name from the North Country Trail's first end-to-ender.
• The Valley City Fire Department hoisted Roger Meyer skyward on their aerial ladder to enable him to get the picture of the Medicine Wheel on Page 18. Firemen also stood by in case our bonfire that night got out of control. It didn't.
• No botany lesson courtesy Joan Young in this issue's Editor's Note; instead your editor has the benefit of a glaciation lesson from Bob Papp, our executive director, a geology major at Carrolton College in this student days. Our article on the Ice Age Trail in the last issue said the state of Wisconsin was named after the Wisconsin
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A Glance Inside
~~ •ASSOCIATION• 229 East Main Street, Lowell Mi 49331 Ph. (888) 454-NCTA, Fx. (616) 897-6605 hq@northcountrytrail.org www.northcountrytrail.org
NCTA Staff: Bob Papp, Executive Director Tiffany Stram, GIS Coordinator Bonnie Wayman, Office Manager Biii Menke, Trail Foreman Glory Meyer, Public Services Coordinator Allison Barr, Bookkeeper Sherry Staal, Office Assistant
North Country Tran Association National Board of Directors Tenns Expiring2003 Werner Veit, at Large · 229 E. Main St., Lowell, MI 49331 · (888) 454-6282 · wv12@aol.com Joan Young,Secretary, at Large· 861 W. USlO, Scottville, MI 49454 · (231) 757-2205 · jhy@t-one.net RichardHanis, VP East, at Large· 974 SOM Center Rd., Mayfield, OH 44143 · (440) 4497467 · richhohi@concentric.net Daryl Wllllamson,Minnesota· 5901 Timberglade Dr., Bloomington, MN 55438 · (952) 835-2186
Tenns Expiring2004 John Leinen, Jr., at Large . Vice President, Finance· 14205 St. Croix Trail, Stillwater, MN 55082 (651) 433-4456 · patleinen@msn.com Irene Szabo, at Large · 6939 Creek Rd., Mt. Morris, NY 14510-9638 · (716) 658-4321 · treeweenie@aol.com GaylordYost, President, at Large · 2925 W. Bradley Rd., River Hills, WI 53201-1013 · (414) 354-8987 · gaylyost@aol.com Bob Norlln,Great Lakes· PO Box 718, Iron River, WI 54847 · (715) 372-5229 · rnorlin@ir onriver.baysat.net GarryS. Diii Jr., Ohio· 4070 TraitorsvilleBrighton Rd., London, OH 43140 · (937) 834-2891 · vetfarm@starband.net Bob Tait Pennsylvania· Box 2968 Butler, PA 16001-2968 · (724) 287-3382 · Bobtait@zbzoom.net
Departments Heart and Sole Hiking Calendar Hiking Shorts Milestones Portrait of the Trail... Public Affairs Trail Craft Trail Councils Trail Log Trail Shop Trail Supporters Who's New
Also Page 38 Page 27 Page 25 Page 16 Page 8 Page 4 Page 15 Page 36 Page 28 Page 30 Page 35 Page 37
Page 5 Page 6
Next Year-Page 25 Columns Editor's Note Trail Head View from Madison View from Lowell
Page 3 Page 17 Page 26 Page 27
Tenns Expiring2005 Derek Blount,at Large· 906 N. Alexander, Royal Oak, MI 48607 · (248) 548-1737 · djblount@aol.com Helen Coyne, at Large· 212 Willow Circle, Cranberry Township, PA 16066 · (724) 776-0678 · hcoyne@zbzoom.net Mary Lucas, at Large · 753 Davenporr St., Rhinelander, WI 54501 · (715) 362-0616 · myridgemary@netscape.net HowardBeye, New York· 202 Colebourne Rd., Rochester, NY 14609 · (716) 288-7191 · fltc@frontiernet.com Jon G. Undgren,North Dakota · Vice President, West· 2001 N. Seventh St., Fargo, ND 58102 · (701) 232-7868 · jon_ lindgren@ndsu.nodak.edu
Permission from Owners Web Site Comes of Age
The beautiful cascades on the Little Garlic River will be in easy range of members attending the 2003 conference of the North Country National Scenic Trail at "Trailtown USA," Marquette, MI.
About the Cover Rod MacRae, recipient of the North Country Trail Association's 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award, was photographed by the North Star's Art Director, Aaron Phipps. The North Star Staff: Werner Veit, Editor Biii Menke, Contributing Editor Roger Meyer, Contributing Editor Joan Young, Contributing Editor Aaron Phipps, Art Director Jennifer Tripp, Production Manager
The Norrh Star, Fall Issue, Vol. XXI, Issue 4, is published quarterlyby the Norrh Country TrailAssociation, a private, notfur-profit 50 lc(3) organization,229 East Main Street, Lowell, MI 49331. The Norrh Star is published fur promotional and educational purposes and as a benefit of membership in the Association. All rights reserved. No pan of this publicationmay be reproducedin any form without written permissionof the North Country Trail Association.
Willing Seller Update: We Still Have Hope, But Your Help Needed s many of our members know, when Congress authorized the North Country Trail back in 1980, the federal government was prohibited from acquiring any land or interests in land to protect the trail corridor. Unfortunately, this makes the challenge of completing . a 4000plus mile long trail very difficult. Of the 22 trails in the National Trails System, nine were so restricted. For all eight of the trails established since 1986, the federal government was given the authority to acquire land from "willing sellers." In other words, the government can buy land (or easements) from people who want to sell, but cannot condemn or "take" any land. We've been working for many years with a number of other organizations to pass legislation that would give this "willing seller acquisition authority" to those trails that lack it, including the North Country Trail. Now for that update. In March of last year, a Bill passed the House of Representatives to give Willing Seller authority to all nine of the trails for which all federal acquisition is currently prohibited. The Bill became stuck in the Senate subcommittee responsible for reviewing it, until this past March when a hearing was held. There was some concern in the subcommittee about the lack of limits on how much land could be acquired, so, throughout the spring and summer we worked to try to negotiate changes to the Bill that would be acceptable to all sides. Unfortunately, it turned out that the only change acceptable to those with concerns was to drop the six "western" trails from the Bill. So, a new Bill providing Willing Seller authority to only three of the nine trails that need it was taken up by the committee. Those trails are the Ice Age, Potomac Heritage and North Country National Scenic Trails. The Bill went through "mark-up" in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in July, and was reported favorable to the Senate floor on September 12. By the time you read this, we expect that the Bill will have passed the Senate by what's called "unanimous consent." So, what does all this mean? Well, it means that the Senate has passed a
A
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.PUBIJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . v. t
Bill providing Willing Seller acquisition authority to the North Country Trail and two other trails, and that the House of Representatives has passed a Bill providing the exact same authority to the North Country Trail and eight other trails. So, you'd think that we're home free, since both the House and Senate have agreed that the NCT should have this authority, right? Sadly, it's not that easy, since both the House and Senate must pass identical versions of a Bill before it can go to the President to be signed. We still have hope. We'll be working in the next few months with friends in the House to try to get their support to pass the Senate Bill, as is. This will be the simplest way for us to ensure that the NCT receives Willing Seller acquisition authority. There are a number of other scenarios too that could get more complicated. In any case, if we don't succeed by January, when the new
Congress takes over, we'll need to start all over from scratch! You can help by calling or sending an e-mail or fax to the leaders of the House Committee and Subcommittee that need to move this bill. (It must start in the Subcommittee, then move up to the main Committee before it can go to the House floor for a vote.) Your comments can be brief but should include at least these points: • We need their help to pass S.1069, which would provide the authority to acquire land from willing sellers for three National Scenic Trails. • S.1069 is essentially identical to HR834, which was passed by the House by unanimous consent in March 2001, except that the authority has been limited to only three of the nine trails covered in the House Bill. • Include a brief personal comment or two about why the North Country Trail is important to you, or why you think it's important for the federal government to be able to buy land for the trail. Please contact the Members of the House listed below. -Bob Papp
use Resources Com ton, DC 20515 all@mail.house.~~r,
ember reatlon and Public Lands , . DC 20515 ';'donoa.christensen@mail.house.gov
Going over the route are {left to right) Mike Herrel, Southdown Environmental Engineer; Carl Petras, plant superintendent; Lou Alaksin, who led the effort for the Wampum chapter; Charles Shearer, of the chapter and Richard Lutz, the then Wampum President.
Wampum Persisted to Overcome Difficulties
T
he North Country Trail will soon be crossinglands owned by two large corporations near the town of Wampum, Pa. The principals, Cemex Corp., previously known as Southdown Corp., and Gateway Commerce Center, a division of Meritex Corp. were both initially contacted by this writer in 1999. The first of many meetings was presided over by Lou Alaksin who convinced corporate officials that the trail would be beneficial to all concerned. Management liked the idea of good public relations at no cost to them. Negotiations progressed slowly for three years due to numerous liability and safety issues. Wampum Chapter remained optimistic for neither corporation was actually saying "no" to the trail concept. This interim gave Richard Lutz, Denny Shepard, Bill Majernic and others time to map out and flag the proposed trail routes. Final agreements were reached with both corporations in April of 2002. Lying between Cemex and Gateway lands is Wampum Borough. At first perrnission to mark the NCT through the town was denied by borough council. Following this denial, I began to give informational NCT talks to local organizations. The Wampum Business Association and Wampum Historical Society soon realized that the NCT would bring revenue to the area. With growing local
Ron Rice {left), Joe Smith {center) from the Butler chapter meet with a representative from Waste Management Inc., which granted passage.
support for the trail, the borough council then granted permission. This makes Wampum the first town in Pennsylvania to have the NCT pass through it. Thanks to the diligence of the Wampum Chapter members and the cooperation ofCemex, Gateway, and Wampum Borough more than seven miles are being added to the N CT.
-Gail Blakely
NY Bridge key to moving trail off-road.
New Pennsylvania Stretch Creates Long Segment
Property Owners, State Big Help in Central NY
A new, 1.8-mile segment in Cherry Township, Butler County, PA, connecting to a 9.3-mile segment in Pennsylvania's Gamelands #95, has produced a continuous 11.1-mile stretch of the North Country National Scenic Trail, made possible by Waste Management Inc., agreement to cross its Northwest Landfill property. The Butler Chapter celebrated the new section with a ribbon cutting on Sept. 18, the climax of a busy few months of negotiations and trail building. Joe Smith and Ron Rice first met with Waste Management in February and received agreements for the trail installations in May. In just six months, the whole stretch of 11.1 miles of new trail was completed even though seven bridges, ranging in length from five to 16 feet, had to be installed. The primary trail builders besides Joe and Ron were Bob Tait, Bill Stegman, John Herchock and Bill Purto, -Ron Rice
Completion of a 23-foot long bridge and its approaches marked an outstanding partnership between the North Country Trail Association's Central New York chapter, private property owners and the New York State Department of Environmental Quality. Spanning a deep ravine that is a roaring stream at times, the structure eliminates four miles of road travel and results in an attractive foot trail between NY State Route 80 and Dugway Road to the north within the Tioughnioga Wild Life Management Area administered by the DEC. The chapter worked with the state and four private landowners to develop the new trail segment. Vic Nelson, owner of the property spanned by the bridge, not only permitted use of his land but also worked constantly as a valued volunteer. Joe Schelah, the adjacent landowner at the west end of the bridge, also contributed valued help. ......................................
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-Al Larrnann
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Hiking the North Country Trail with your trusty mouse By Joan Young Contributing Editor
T
hanks to several individuals, the North Country Trail Association has had a presence on the World Wide Web since the very earliest days when that was even an option. A name familiar to many, Wes Boyd, the former North Star editor, made that first web site possible. Wes had space to spare on his own server, and he created a site for the NCTA that included lots of facts about the trail. I remember Wes reporting joyfully that our site was getting 10 hits a day! One of Wes' big accomplishments was to create the bulletin board for the posting of messages by interested individuals. This site was operational from about 1995 through 1998. At that time, Bob Papp, our Executive Director, registered our own domain name: northcountrytrail.org. Bob had experience coding HTML and he also liked dabbling in graphic design. Soon the web site under the new name appeared= sprouting logos, consistent menu designs and lots more pages. It wasn't too long before Bob realized that he was not going to be able to keep up with the need to update what had become a huge website. Local chapters maintain their own sub sites, but the number of pages supporting the national association had grown to several hun dred. "I really enjoyed working on the site, but my role as Executive Director had to take priority," Bob recalls. "Weeks would go by without any work being done on the site. At the same time, the ideas for what we could and should do kept growing. So, we finally agreed that we needed a much better solution to managing our web presence." Thus the organization posted an opening for a paid web site manager position, and in June of2000 I was hired to take over the maintenance and development of the national web pages. There were several immediate priorities. We wanted to get the Trail Shop on-line. This had to be built from
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Some 800 Enthusiasts Now Visit the Associations Web Site Daily ... Long Steps from the 10 Hits a Day We Started With ... scratch, but the task was completed by September and orders immediately began to come in at the rate of about one per business day. The next priority was to make the site more dynamic- to give people reason to come back often. In October of 2000 the (almost) daily news item was added to the site. This idea was an instant success- the news item file is the second most popular group of pages on the site. The next big project was to tap into the popular idea of giving people a chance to support the trail financially through purchasing items on line from various merchants who participated in a program to donate a percentage of those purchases to the NCTA. We gave this idea a trial run of a year. Our Business and Partner Organizations pay $150/ year for their memberships, and one of the benefits we provided them was a link from our website. At the end of the trial year for the shop-to-donate program it was obvious that this idea was not going to raise anywhere close to $150/year per merchant. In fact, the NCTA made a grand total of about $36 from this experiment, and it took a lot of web management time. With no regrets, the program was dropped. In the early gray months of 2001 a web-based contest was launched with the top prize being free registration at the summer New York conference. Lots of people had fun with this experiment-> 39 people had the courage to enter. Three entrants who could not compete for prizes also tried their luck, and thanks to their good nature provided everyone with even more fun. Bill Menke, at that time NPS Manager of the NCT, and long-distance hiker of the Trail, turned out to be the contestant to catch. Bob Papp cheerfully applied his gray matter to the tasks as well. Anyone who
beat Bill's or Bob's score was awarded the chance to gloat and wear a button saying "I beat Bill," or "I beat Bob." Well, the upshot was that NO ONE beat Bill! A few folks beat Bob, who cheerfully took his knocks, and promptly ordered an extra "I beat Bob" button for Annette, his wife! The overall prize was won by Charles Krammin of the Chief Noonday Chapter with a score of 337 out of a possible 473. (Bill ended with 349 points.) By the end of the contest people were looking forward to National Trails Day and a folder of pages was launched to help people find NTD events along the length of the Trail. In 2002 this group of files was handed over to a volunteer, Gerrie Carmen, who quickly had to get up to speed on our organization. She created new pages for the Chapters and groups sponsoring events, using their local logos. While we are on the subject of volunteers, several sections of the web site are maintained by volunteer help. In the summer of 2001, Dave Adams of Pennsylvania offered to build a file of pages promoting the Annual Conference. He's continued this responsibility in 2002 and collected the links and set up the pages to entice you to visit North Dakota. The Links page is maintained by Richard Lutz, also of Pennsylvania. He redesigned this section to make the spa ghetti list oflinks easier to use. In addition to these people, individual chapter web sites are designed and maintained by local volunteers. If no chapter member can accomplish this, we do provide a template of basic information to make sure each Chapter has a web presence. We've now chronologically reached autumn of 2001. The number of hits on the website has increased to 500 per day. Other priorities accomplished were correcting the many internal errors
which had crept in over time as the site continued to grow somewhat like Topsy, aiding chapter web managers, and correcting outdated links on external web sites which still pointed to our ancient address. Also during the first year of having a paid manager, we added the "Heart & Sole" feature from The North Star
to the web site, a guide to finding maps for hiking the trail, an improved Trail Conditions page, and an internal search engme. One of the first goals Wes Boyd had articulated was that of providing an all-trail calendar of events. In fact, this was tried several times in The North Star. However, the project is so huge and unwieldy that it never had a chance to leap into reality. It always took a few weak, staggering hops and collapsed under its own weight. This spring, Wes' dream became reality. The web site now offers a trailwide calendar. It's not searchable yet, but color coding and consistent organization can help people find events which may be near their homes, or on routes they may be travelling. Of course, such a calendar is only as good as the information received, so we still need to educate all of YOU to let us know about your local events. Most recently, Bob decided, and I concurred, that the web site needed a facelift. Therefore, on any visits you've made to our site since August 1 you've encountered a different look. New banners and pull-down menus are the biggest changes. We sure hope you'll find it easy to use. Some internal pages have been organized better. The home page will now contain some features, which will be updated from time to time. I'd like to promise every month, but that's probably optimistic. These will include a featured location, chapter or affiliate, business partner, and link. Featured Location: The North Country Trail is so huge that it's difficult to become familiar with sights beyond our own backyards. We hope to familiarize you with some well and lesser known spots along the trail. I'd welcome pictures and information about your favorite spot. I don't need to pick all of these myself! Featured Chapter or Affiliate: We now have 24 Chapters and 6 Affiliates! Who can keep them all straight? The
first Chapter to be featured is Western Michigan ... the charter chapter, and largest of the organization! We have to start somewhere, and with the first one to be formed seems to make sense to me. Featured Business Partner: One of the benefits of being a Business Member is that a link is provided from our website to theirs. But since those links are buried rather deeply in our site we wonder how much of a benefit this really is. So we'll rotate through those groups, Partners and Trail Champions, who support the NCT. Featured Link: This will be a rather arbitrary selection of a link to an outstanding external site of special relevance to the North Country Trail. I've selected Chet Fromm's journal of his End-toEnd hike on the NCT to be featured first. We still have some big goals on our desks. The entire National Park Service Trail Building and Maintenance
Handbook will be on line in pdf format eventually. The current bulletin board is cumbersome and outdated. We'll find a better one and hopefully stimulate some great discussions. The Trail Shop also needs upgrading so that you don't have to wait for one long page to load, which contains all the items, and also to improve security. We want to update the old slide show... we truly believe that people have hiked the NCT since those pictures were taken! And the popular "Explore the Trail" section needs to be revitalized. Stay tuned! Finally, we welcome and need your feedback and input. Send news items, locations to feature, and events for the calendar. Currently, over 800 people visit the site every day. Help keep the site dynamic and up to date. Have you checked www.northcountry trail.org recently? October-December
2002
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North Country Trail Portrait Continued: Michigan's Upper Peninsula North Country Trail •
Come see da great trail in da U.P., ·eh!
Existing Trail •
• Future Trail
(Editor: Yooperspeak Provided by the Author)
• 350 Sparse Miles Spreading Between 3 Great Lakes By Doug Welker President, Peter Wolfe Chapter
T
o many Midwesterners, Michigan's Upper Peninsula is the end of the world. Hundreds of miles from all major metropolitan areas, the U.P. is a favorite destination for travelers seeking something wilder than closer areas in northern Lower Michigan and much of northern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota. Spread east-west across 350 miles, between Wisconsin and Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron, its 300,000 residents share 17,000 square miles of mostly forests, lakes, rivers, and wetlands, with a scattering of towns, small cities, and farmlands. Its relative isolation has fostered a "Yooper" culture, centered on the Upper Great Lakes with their logging, mining, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, other outdoor recreation, struggling farm homesteads, insect pests, long winters with heavy snow, natural beauty, and isolation. Long the home of several Native American tribes (most recently the Ojibwa), the U.P. was later settled by the French, Finns, Cornish, Italians, eastern Europeans, arid various other nationalities. The earliest settlers came to trade with the natives, but most were drawn by jobs in the iron and copper mines. Finns, a majority in some areas,
a· . ·N~rth ·5i~·; ..•.. ·0·~~~b~~~·6~~~~b~~· i:
seem to dominate the U.P. culture. Most came to the U.P. in the late 1800's and early 1900's to work in the mines, but Finns are more at home in Visitors Monica, Kathy and Steve Biii on the trall at the woods and fields, so they the Craig Lake outlet. usually saved up their money so they could buy previously homesteaded land and return to farming. its approaches total about five miles in Some "Yoopers" have advocated length, and you'll be about 200 feet above the water at the highest point. separation from the Lower Peninsula to form a new state called "Superior," citing Better plan ahead, though, as the what they consider neglect by the powers bridge is only open to pedestrians on in the state capital and basic differences Labor Day. Be prepared to share the bridge with at least 50,000 others, as the between Yoopers and residents of the Lower Peninsula, "affectionately" known annual Bridge Walk is a very .popular as "Trolls" because they live "below the event, and, depressingly, you'll .have to bridge" (the Mackinac Bridge, that is, hike it from north to south (I promise which separates the two peninsulas). this is my last L.P. dig!). The U.P. has the greatest percentAt the north side of the Bridge is the age of completed North Country Trail· town of St. Ignace, a popular summer of any "state." There are 364 miles of tourist destination and departure point for ferries to Mackinac Island, a few certified trail, and 17 miles of signed connectors. Another 45 miles or so are miles offshore in Lake Huron. The first leg of the trail leaves the completed but not certified. Only about Michigan Tourist Information Center on 50 miles of trail remain to be built, the north side of the bridge, on a journey mainly in three areas. So, a hike across the U.P. involves about 410 miles of trail which begins with a view of two Great Lakes and ends at the greatest of them and signed connectors, and 50 miles of all, Lake Superior. (See the April-June road walking or bushwhacking. Your hike across the U.P., from east 2002 North Star for a recent description of this hike). to west, would begin at the spectacular Heading first into Straits State Park, Mackinac Bridge, spanning the Straits the trail eventually reaches a trailhead of Mackinac, which connect Lakes (Continued on Page 10) Michigan and Huron. The bridge and
North Country Trail Portrait Continued: Michigan's Upper Peninsula
UR. SAMPLER:
5 Great Day Hikes (See Map, Previous Page)
1 - East to Tahquamenon The six-mile hike to Upper Tahquamenon Falls from Luce County Road 500 brings a special reward besides the meandering through great country. As you leave CR 500 you follow an old two track road though a mixed hardwood forest with beautiful colors in the fall. Aft~t ~bout 1/2 mile, the trail turns no+t}i)eavlng the two track and enters xed forest with hardwoods, hem ock' ~nd pine. After a short distance you.will cross a small stream, and ascend a long high ridge with very ' large virgin hemlock trees. Continuing east you pass pines, birch and open areas while ascending and descending rolling hills. Along the way you will skirt several lakes before entering Tahquamenon Falls State Park where you will pass some of the tallest white pines in Michigan before ending your hike at the Falls. Your reward beckons: The Falls Brewer/Dining Room located in the upper falls parking lot. Great food there and handcrafted beers. -Tom Learmont
Go as far as you wish before turn ing around, but better yet hike six miles to the Red and Green bridge over the Two-Hearted River and return to the mouth by canoe. Rainbow Lodge, at the mouth of the river, rents canoes ana spots them for your return trip. To reach the trail at the mouth, head north on H-37 from M-123, then pick up County Road 412 at Pine Stump Junction, turn west and north to County 423 and follow 423 to the two campgrounds at the mouth. The NCT passes through t~(f campground on the
left; Rainbow Lodge is just outside. --Tom Learmont
3 - Wildflowers & Strawberries ' ;fhefive-mile segment of North Country Trail westward from the Grand Sable Visitor Center in Pictured •Rocks National Lakeshore to "Log Slide," provides not only spectacular views of Lake Superior but a magnificent show of Spring wildflowers. A great time to visit is around the second week of May when Spring beauties proliferate and Dutchman Breeches and Squirrel Corn carpet the countryside. A week or so later, trillium burst on the scene. But even if you hike ip July, there is a special treat: wild strawberries growing on the dunes. ' There are other highlights in this remote section of Alger County. Among them: Grand Sable Lake with its high sand dunes and the "Penny Tree," where multitudes of pennies have been squirreled into the trunk by passing hikers. . Detailed information may be Obtained from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (906 387-3700) www7nps.gov.piro -Ayleen VanBeynen
and in Spring, violets, lady slippers, Jack-in-the-pulpit, columbine and trillium make their appearance. The trail crosses a gravel road at about the 3-milepointand continues on for another · · · a 'lovely cascade ime for grateful .efreshirtg snack in this peaceful setting. The return trip over the same trail always seems to provide new views and fresh insights.
-Denise Herron
5 - Norwich Mine Area Loop
A loop in the Norwich Mine area makes great day hike in the western U.P. From the north, go west from downtown Ontonagon for about 1.5 miles on M-64. Turn left (south) on Norwich Road (NOT Norwich Trail) and go about 12 3/4 miles to the trailhead, which is on the right between Victoria Road and Forest Road 630. From the south, begin at the junction of Norwich Road and M~28, nine miles east of Bergland and 5.7 miles west of Ewen. Head north on Norwich Road for 9.6 mites 'a:n(l parkat the NCT parking foi oitJh:e left side of Norwich Road, j~st past Forest Road 630, and 2.4 miles past the obvious bridge over the West Branch of the 4 - Little Garlic River Ontonagon River. The parking lot is Intriguing hikes abound north of not well-signed, but look for NCT trail signs along the road near the trailhead, Marquette: Up Sugarloaf or Hogback Mountain; around the Wetmore Pond; It's best to hike clockwise. Walk north for a few hundred feet on along the Lake Superior shore with Norwich Road, then east on pleasant, its granite rocks, sandstone cliffs, and ' little-used Victoria Road for 1.6 miles pristine beaches. All are eitllefa part to an NCT parking lot on the right. of or connect with the North Country National Scenic Trail. . Follow the white-blazed trail from 1 the lot about 0.9 miles to the NCT. One of my favorites is iheLitrle Garlic River Trail, a four-mile segment There's a fairly easy creek crossing on the way. As of 7102, there's no sign . which is not yet attached to the others but is a certified section of the NCT. at the NCT junction, but blue NCT The trailhead is a small parking lot on blazes are a dead giveaway. Turn rigHt County Road 550, 12 miles north of (uphill), and follow the NGTfor 3.8 miles back to your car; Along the way Marquette. The River is dedicated to trout are many spectaculardifftop overlooks, with 40 mile views; fishermen, but the trail attracts hikers of ~all'ages and abilities. It winds through The trail pottion ,of this. hike is a typical northern forest of mixed hardvery hilly, so plan on taking your time. The road portion can be avoided with woods and coniferswith a gentle but a car shuttle, but Victoria Road is not persistentclimb as it followsthe river always in good condition. The entire upstream. Much of the trail is high route is shown on the online map at above the river on the edge of the ravine. The sound of water tumbling over rocks http: //www.northcountrytrail.org/pwf/ puts a bit of music into the silence. images/ segment7map.jpg. -Doug Welker In the Fall, the colors are glorious
0~~~b·~~~·D~~~~·b~; · -~~~~· ·
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·5i~~·· ·9
North Country Trail Portrait Continued: Michigan's Upper Peninsula (Continued from Page 8)
that signals the start of a long section of basically continuous trail across the eastern part of the Hiawatha National Forest. Here the land is flat to rolling, with numerous lakes, streams, marshes, sand dunes and beach ridges, and miles of forest. Look for blueberries in the sandy areas, and listen for the noisy call of sandhill cranes in the wetlands. Brevoort Lake, about a quarter of the way to Lake Superior, is several miles long and has a pleasant, convenient A bluff campground at its west end. When the trail emerges at the Lake Superior shoreline, a hiker is greeted by a view of miles of sandy beach in either direction. Check the water temperature, though, before wading in; the "Big Lake" can be 50 degrees or less at times along the shore, even in mid-summer, depending upon the wind direction (north winds are best; they blow warm water into shore). Continuing west, the trail soon crosses Naomikong Creek on the "MiniMac," a suspension bridge somewhat reminiscent of the Mackinac Bridge. This bridge is a popular day hike destination for hikers coming from a paved road not far to the west. As the trail continues west, it follows shoreline, an inland route, and some roads until reaching the Rivermouth Campground ofTahquamenon Falls State Park. Tahquamenon, one of Michigan's largest state parks, is home to over 20 miles of the NCT, many other trails, two campgrounds, a long segment of the Tahquamenon River, numerous lakes and marshes, and, of course, the falls themselves. The Upper Falls, which the NCT passes, is one of the largest east of the Mississippi River. It's 50 feet high, 200 feet across, and flows of 50,000 cubic feet of water per second have been recorded there. Past Tahquamenon Falls, the trail enters Lake Superior State Forest, and wanders west and north, past a number of small lakes, to once again emerge on Lake Superior. From here the trail stays on or near the shoreline for over 20 miles, often along pine-capped sand
10
North Star
*
October-December 2002
top overlook in the Trap Hills
bluffs (more blueberries!). Much of this is public land, so remote camping opportunities are plentiful, and there's also a drive-in campground at Muskellunge Lake State Park. The shoreline walk ends, temporarily, at Grand Marais, a scenic lakeside town with many of the comforts of home. Just past Grand Marais, though, the trail enters Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, one of the most popular outdoor recreation destinations in the Upper Midwest. Famed for its spectacular vertical sandstone cliffs, which drop as much as 200 feet vertically to Lake Superior, Pictured Rocks also has numerous campgrounds, waterfalls, small lakes, and sand dunes rising up to 300 feet directly from the lakeshore. While the NCT often runs on top of the Pictured Rocks cliffs, they are seldom in view because of the convex curve of the shoreline. The best views are seen from a kayak or tour boat. Tour boats leave regularly from Munising. Munising marks the western end Pictured Rocks, and from there west the trail first follows highway M-94 and then enters the western portion of the Hiawatha National Forest, through which it rambles 16 miles to the east boundary of Rock River Canyon Wilderness. Circling the wilderness on the north side, the trail continues west through rolling country, with some small cliffs and waterfalls, to the Marquette County line. One particularly noteworthy feature of this area are the endless wooden steps the NCT Hikers Club put in so the trail could descend to the
Laughing Whitefish River. In Marquette County, the NCT primarily uses a variety of two tracks and old railroad grades as it crosses the sandy lake plains to Marquette. Marquette is the U.P.'s largest city, boasting a population of nearly 20,000. The city has been a great host for the trail (it won a Trail Town award a number of years back), and for most of the way through the city the NCT follows a bike path along or near the Lake Superior shore. It's a good place to buy a pasty or two (a pasty is a Cornish dish, basically meat and vegetables baked in a crust, which the miners traditionally took into the mines for lunch. When you ask for it, remember that in rhymes with "nasty"! Just north of Marquette is some of the nicest trail in the central U.P. It's close to town so it receives lots of use, but the views from Sugarloaf and Hogsback Mountains are great, and you'll love the rocks and sand beaches of Wetmore Landing and Little Presque Isle. The Harlow Lake area offers Michigan DNR rental cabins. The next major landmark west of Little Presque Isle is the falls of the Little Garlic River, where the trail temporarily ends westbound. The next trail west is in the Coles Creek Canyon area on the north shore of Silver Lake Basin. The North Country Trail Hikers chapter is making progress on this connection, which will involve 15 to 20 miles of trail in rough terrain. Leaving the shore of Silver Lake Basin, the trail heads west through very rugged terrain to the Ottawa National Forest's McCormick Wilderness, 17,000 acres of rocky knobs, lakes, swamps, and streams, with many areas of old growth forest. Hikers here have to watch the trail carefully, as no trail blazes are present. Not far west of McCormick is Craig Lake State Park, with 7.5 miles of NCT and several beautiful lakes along or near the trail. Plan WELL ahead, and you can reserve one of two DNR cabins on the west shore of Craig Lake. Moose are occasionally spotted in
North Country Trail Portrait Continued: Michigan's the high country, known as the Peshekee Uplands or Michigamme Highlands, of Marquette and Baraga Counties. Previously extirpated from Michigan, they were reintroduced in the mid 1980's, with modest success. Just west of the park, at the outlet of Long Lake, begins the next big gap in the trail, 15 miles or so to existing trail on Baraga Plains. On Baraga Plains begins a continuous section of over 140 路 miles of trail. The Plains, flat to gently rolling with jack pine, wetlands, and wildlife openings, are a world apart from the highlands to the east. They owe their origin to sands deposited by the last glacier. Watch for raptors and waterfowl in the openings, and listen for sandhill cranes and wolves. Several hikers have seen or heard these canines here, and with over 200 wolves in the U.P. now, you might have a chance, too. Before leaving the Plains, the NCT passes Tibbets Falls and the Oren Krumm Shelter on the Sturgeon River. Built in the memory of a Michigan Tech student who died an untimely death, the shelter is one of two on the NCT in the western U.P. Others are planned. As it leaves the Plains, the NCT enters the Ottawa National Forest, and parallels Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness; there's a short trail leading from the NCT to Sturgeon Falls. West of the Sturgeon River, the country becomes rolling and heavily wooded. The trail runs past or near Bob Lake Campground, two long suspension bridge, 0-Kun-De-Kun Falls, and a rather interesting but little known spot called the Rousseau Loop. Here the NCT climbs, at a 20% grade, from the valley of the East Branch of the Ontonagon River on the route of an old logging railroad. One railroading magazine once claimed this was the steepest adhesion (friction) railroad in the world. The trains full of logs could only climb this grade by rocking back and forth out of the valley! After crossing the West Branch of the Ontonagon, the NCT enters the copper-bearing ridges of the western U.P.; parts of this high, rugged country, with many sheer south-facing cliffs, are known as the Trap Hills. There's a lot to see in the next 45 miles, from a partially restored mining village (and another
NCT shelter) at Old Victoria, Lookout Mountain with it's view of Victoria Dam and Reservoir, old copper mining excavations, dozens of bluff top overlooks, Gleason Gorge and Falls, and more suspension bridges. 路 Next it's on to the Porkies (Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park), another of the Upper Midwest's famous tourist destinations. Here there are miles of trail (including 22 miles of NCT), tens of thousands of acres of virgin forest, miles of Lake Superior shoreline, remote DNR rental cabins, several drive-in campgrounds, beautiful lakes and streams, and still more waterfalls. The NCT passes five of the cabins, the drive-in campPotawatoml ground at Presque Isle, several named waterfalls, and one inland lake, and follows the Lake Superior shore for six miles (as you reach the mouth of the Little Carp River, you'll have your first view of Lake Superior since leaving Little Presque Isle near Marquette). West of the Porkies, and seven miles from the current western end of the NCT in the U.P., you find Rainbow Falls, one of five spectacular named falls on the Black River. If the light's wrong for your picture of the falls, don't despair. You'll soon be seeing it from the other side, as the NCT loops down to a suspension bridge at Black River Harbor, and back up the river on the other side. While at the Harbor, you might want to lounge a while on the sand beach just east of the river's mouth. Spend some time there, as it will be your last view of Lake Superior until reaching Duluth, over 200 miles to the west by trail. Ascending the Black River, there are more falls to see: Sandstone, Gorge, Potawatomi, and Conglomerate, before you must end your hike at a trailhead north of Copper Peak. Within the next year, the trail will likely go to the base of Copper Peak, site of the highest ski flying hill in the western hemisphere; jumps of well over 500 feet have been made here, and you may ascend the ski jump to where the jumpers start. It's
Upper Peninsula
Falls on the Black River
not for acrophobes, but expect a view of three states on a clear day. From Copper Peak west and south, toward Ironwood and the Wisconsin line, is the last big gap in the trail, another 15 to 20 miles, most of which must currently be traversed on roads. Three chapters cover most of the U.P., Peter Wolfe in the west, NCT Hikers in the center, and Hiawatha Shore to Shore in the east. The chapters and the various state and federal agen-_ cies who manage and maintain the NCT invite you to check out our trail. Contact info is found in the North Star, and links to our chapter websites are found at http: I/www.northcountrytrail.org/ ncta/ chapters.htm. The following Upper Peninsula maps are now available in the Trail Shop:
1. M10-From Grand Marais to Au Train Lake (Mostly in the Pictured Rocks). 2. M1~rom Alberta to Cascade Falls. 3. M14-From Cascade Falls to Ironwood. (2 and 3 cover most of the Ottawa NF) October-December
2002
*
North Star
11
Our Sister National Scenic Trails: The Continential
By the Year 2008, It Should Stretch From Canadian to Mexican Border
Divide
CDTA Mission Statement "To construct, manage and preserve a public back country trail
By Bruce Ward
along the full length of
Executive Director, COTA
the Continental Divide
S
ome day, perhaps by 2008, the Continental National Scenic Trail will stretch 3,100 beautiful miles from the Canadian border to Mexico over some of the most challenging country in the world. It will thread together 25 National Forests, 13 Wilderness Areas, three National Parks, one National Monument and eight Bureau of Land Management resource areas. Like the North Country Trail, the Continental Divide Trail is promoted, guarded, mostly maintained and frequently built by an association of volunteers, in this case the Continental Divide Trail Alliance (CDTA). Its vision is to create a primitive and challenging backcountry trail on or near the Continental Divide to provide an opportunity to experience the unique and incredibly scenic qualities of this spine of the country. The CDT will serve hundreds of thousands each year and provides a resource for many recreation activities, including hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, wildlife viewing, fishing, hunting and sight-seeing. Because of its remoteness, the CDT provides a unique experience that is more and more difficult to find and increasingly sought. The goal is to complete the CDT by the year 2008, or the Trail's 3ot.h Anniversary. In 1999 CDTA developed a Ten-Year Strategic Plan that identifies the specific needs and costs for the Trail and contemplates using volunteers, youth groups, civic organizations, corporate support, private donations and federal dollars to meet this ambitious goal. In Colorado alone, the cost to complete the CDT is today estimated at $7.3 million. Overall, the plan estimates $26 million
ii·N~·rth.st~~····0~~~b~;~r;~·~~~b~·;·~~~
from Canada to Mexico and to link its significant resources with the assistance of volunteers and public and private partnerships. To develop an appreciation of and enjoyment in Americas natural lands through education and the opportunity to experience the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. " to complete the CDT border to border. As with the North Country Trail, the help of private citizens is required because the U.S. Forest Service, which was given overall management of the trail, has not been able to allocate sufficient funding and resources to complete the Trail. Approximately 62% of the total 3,100 miles are complete, but unfortunately, much of the existing trail is in very poor condition and not up to National Scenic Trail standards. The CDTA has identified 526 of the nearly 800 miles of the CDT in Colorado that needs either planning, new construction, reconstruction, relocation out of sensitive areas and off roads, and/ or sufficient marking. In addition, the CDTA is targeting areas along the CDT that may experi-
ence heavy use and would benefit from interpretive signing. Based on the Ten-Year Strategic Plan developed by the CDTA and the federal land managers in 1999, the CDT needs: · 1,200 miles of new trail construction. · 800 miles of reconstruction or major repair to the existing trail due to very poor conditions. · More than 100 miles of rights-of-ways or easements through nonfederal lands.: · 1,500 miles of planning, design, survey or land acquisition work before construction can begin. · Many, many trailheads, bridges and campgrounds to be constructed to serve the thousands of hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers and nature lovers who use the Trail.
Our Sister National Scenic Trails: The Continential Divide The CDTA, which is central to this effort, was formed in 1995 to work for the trail in the face of increasing pressures from development, rising land costs, popularization of the West, and decreases in federal funding. Its more than 1,000 members have been successful in coordinating more than $-I million in路 volunteer labor, improving and cornplet- . ing hundreds of miles of the CDT, building positive relationships with the federal路 land managers and local clubs, organizing the first border-to-border survey of the Trail, implementing an Adopt-ATrail program and convincing Congress to appropriate nearly $2 million for the CDT in the Forest Service budget.
Current Programs Current CDTA programs and activities include: Implernentation and Maintenance of the CDT Ten-Year Strategic Plan - The CDTA joins with federal land managers to implement and update the Ten-Year Strategic Plan.The CDTA meets annually with the land managers along the Trail, raises funds for trail work and tracks progress. Trail Construction and Maintenance - The CDTA works with the land managers to identify and rank CDT needs each year. Needs range from building new trail to purchasing rightsof-ways. The CDTA raises money, recruits volunteers and works on issues to
Trall winds through Rocky Mountain National Park.
benefit the Trail. CDT Public Outreach Tour CDTA staff will again be traveling along the CDT throughout the year meeting with local residents, community leaders, land managers and a variety of organizations to talk about the purpose of and the future vision for the Trail and to listen to learn from their views. CDT Master Plan - The GDTA is working closely with the federal land
CDT volunteers at work at Morgan Peak In the Arapaho National Forest.
managers and the public over the next few years to develop a CDT Master Plan. This plan will provide a comprehensive and consistent approach to the completion, management and protection of the CDT and its surrounding environments. The plan will include the identification of a CDT corridor that will appropriately represent and preserve the vision for the CDT. CDT Land Acquisition Plan - The
Llama trekking on the CDT In the Wemlnuche Wiiderness In Colorado.
Our Sister National Scenic Trails: The Continential CDTA in cooperation with the federal land managers will be developing a CDT land acquisition plan to develop a plan to secure needed rights-of-ways and conservation easements. CDTA Adopt-A-Trail Program - Key to long-term protection of the CDT is a fully developed maintenance and reporting program. The CDTA is recruiting and coordinating volunteers to maintain segments of the CDT. Volunteerism - The CDTA coordinates up to 30 volunteer projects each year. In addition, we work with many clubs along the Trail to perform trail work. The CDTA expects volunteer labor to exceed $350,000 in 2000. Advocacy Work- The CDTA travels to Washington DC at least twice a year to meet with national-level land managers and to increase Congressional support and funding for the CDT. Public Education and Awareness - The CDTA educates the public about the CDT by mailing thousands of public information packets, producing and reprinting brochures and newsletters, placing stories and advertisements in magazines and newspapers, and making presentations to civic groups, schools, clubs, etc. Membership Campaigns - The CDTA conducts two membership campaigns each year to increase public support and funding for the Trail.
Major Accomplishments Accomplishments include: CDT Ten-Year Strategic Plan - This first CDT action plan was developed by the CDTA in cooperation with the Forest Service, National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. The plan outlines all of the needs and costs to complete the CDT by the year 2008, the Trail's 30th anniversary. TrailFest 1999 - TrailFest 1999 was the third national CDT conference hosted by the CDTA. Held every two years to bring many divergent interests together, this important gathering focuses on current and future CDT and public lands issues. Volunteer Projects - Volunteers are an invaluable resource for the CDT. The CDTA has dedicated many resources to recruit and coordinate volunteers on CDT projects. To date, the CDTA has coordinated over 76,000 volunteer hours
i4··N·~-rth.st~~----o~~~b~;~r;~-~~~b~·;·~~~~
Divide
. Besides the Continental Divide Trail Alliance, the trail is also supportedby ~e C()flWienta!;;J=l,.ivi rail ~;~:;:iety.~he S~~~ry.(<i~TS) "is dedicated to:fl1e planning, developme , d maintenance of the Continental Divide Trail as a silent trail. The Society str h sponsibility to be a good st~ard with respect for fellow travel f thesland, and for the creatures of the earth." Formed in 1978 ?MJ~ thorization of the Continental Divide National Scenicffrai TS publishes a semiannulll newsletter, DIVIDEnds a o the existing trail, and suggested Jeasible routes to foll h c rrai] is not.yet esta~lished. . Since leaditlg th ort at res in a orizaaon of the Continental ~ivide ~ational Scen!~;:-rrail ?~Congress, the Socie has ~?.nitor~~Jand ~~tions Qfthe rnrfi.~'ntal agencies that manage l cross~~ by th~,....,,.,,.,.,,,"' sss ,p'an:icipates in inistrative review procedures. · ·· commented on national {9rest ll};lfag ic river studies, and proposals to constru through scenic areas along the route of so serves as a clearinghouse for suggestio improvements. or more information about the Continental Divide Wdlf!;at 37l!iNortfi Charles Street, Apt. 601, Baltinibf~~;t cdtsodety@aol.com or www.cdtsociety.org.
valued at over $900,000 in labor impacting 844 miles of the CDT.
Advocacy and Fund Raising Secured almost $4 million in CDT add-on earmarks to the Forest Service budget for the CDT. Instrumental in the creation of a House Trails Caucus. Responsible for initiating legislation in the House of Representatives that would
allow "willing sellers" to sell their lands for the purposes of the CDT and other National Scenic Trails. CDT Long Distance Planning Guide - To better serve CDT users, the CDTA wrote and published a planning guide booklet specifically to educate and inform the public about the CDT. This publication will help to ensure safe and enjoyable experiences.
Trail Craft with Bill Menke Ferns are attractive but take care that they don't overgrow the trail.
The Goal: Create a Joy and not an Annoyance A
s I begin to collect my thoughts on what should go into this article, I find myself struggling with always trying to segregatethe maintenance of the trail into seasonal activities. Many of the maintenance tasks are actually ongoing throughout the year. As a maintainer or adopter, you should remember at all times that while the North Country National Scenic Trail is considered a footpath, it should remain open and easy to follow. It is not meant to test the hiker's ability to bushwhack along an unkempt, obscure track. It should remain clear and a pleasure to travel. This requires constant attention by an adopter. Last issue, I stressed that by July l st, your section of the trail should have probably been mowed. Just to demonstrate how a trail requires constant attention, I mowed a section of trail and removed all fallen limbs on June 8. Returning on July 18, I led the Wisconsin DNR Trails Coordinator along this same section of trail thinking that I would be showing her an outstanding example of a well-built and maintained trail. After the first 200 yards, I was horrified to see that in five short weeks of time, the bracken ferns had regrown to somewhere between waist and shoulder height making the trail tread very difficult to even follow. And along the way, there were several fresh windfalls that were large enough to require returning with a saw to get them off the trail. The horrifying thing about this example is that I don't think it is all that unusual. During the active growing season, the trail requires frequent checking and maintenance in order to keep it in good shape-probably as often as monthly, especially when rainfall is consistent. If you find that your sec-
Photograph by
tion of trail is overgrown every time you maintain it, this means that you should maintain it more frequently. Thinking back to this series of articles on spring, summer, and now fall maintenance, I still hold that spring and summer maintenance is the most difficult. In the spring, there are all the things to get back in shape following winter's assault and to prepare for the hiking season. Throughout the summer, there is the constant ongoing maintenance. But when fall rolls around, you should find that your task is easier. Now all you have to do is finalize any unfinished tasks and get the trail ready to rest for another winter. The cooler weather is also an ideal time to take on some of the heavier periodic tasks such as vista maintenance or trail rehabitation. But before getting into those tasks, take care of another basic need -blazing and signing. While this should be in good shape from your spring and summer efforts, you should again inspect the condition of the blazing and correct anything that is fading or missing. Signs have a way of disappearing and now is
a good time to replace them. Many varieties can be requested from the National Park Service. Now we move on to the heavier tasks. Fall is a good time to make next year's work easier by uprooting or cutting any brush or trees that are beginning to encroach on the trail. Often we find that after several years, brushy species begin to lean toward the small amount of additional sunlight along the trail. This leaning eventually narrows the trail below the desired 4-foot clearing width and the culprits are not easy to stop as their base is beyond the reach of a normal mowmg. Bill Menke The solution is to use a brush saw, mower or in extreme cases even arrange for a brush hog to concentrate on clearing further to the side of the trail to eliminate the leaners. This work should only have to be done every several years. Watch for anything that will lean further under a snow load, or that will leaf out and grow next spring and remove it. Vistas are among the most appreciated features along the trail. But many of them will not remain open without periodic maintenance. If your section of trail has a vista, you should clear it at the same time that you clear the trail-that is at any time of the year but fall is a good time to catch up. Cut only selected trees, retaining large shade trees to retard the growth of sun-loving plants. If possible, clear vistas with the help of a second person who can stand on the trail and tell you what to cut. Try to leave few traces of your work and make the opening appear as natural as possible. Always remember: A well-maintained trail is a joy to hike on but a poorly maintained trail is merely an annoyance.
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Along the way to building the longest continuous hiking trail in the country, we pass many milestones. This page marks some that show our progress.
Trail Building Progress on the North Country Trail The National Park Service certifies those completed miles that satisfy its standards. In addition there are many more completed miles that may be enjoyable to hike but cannot be certified for a variety of reasons.
Minnesota
Totals
Percent Done and Certified
Miles Certified
24.8%
93.0
0.0
53.8%
619.4
40.7%
1,697.6
Increase Other Since Last Off-Road Issue Miles
Total Off Road Miles
Marked Road Miles
4.7
97.7
0.0
0.0
64.7
684.1
104.2
0.0
29.9
159.8
5.8
14.8
191.2
1,888.8
192.1
s
fl«:
BIGOOO[Q)~
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- ..- . - . - - ...- - ..--~-
- - . - - .........
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State by State Membership Membership in the NCTA demonstrates public support for the trail. Membership dues help fund activities that benefit the trail. Here's how each state stacks up at the end of our 2nd Quarter. State
Current Members
Change Since Last Quarter
North Dakota Minnesota Wisconsin Michigan
172 188 1,209
+6
+4%
+32
+3%
Ohio Pennsylvania New York Other Totals
241 232 89 2,376
-8 -6 +35
-3% +1% +6% +1%
-s
As of this Summer, 112 members of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, the North Country Trail Association's first affiliate, were also members of the NCTA, double the number a year ago. With the approval of Lonetree' s charter by the Board of Directors at their August meeting, Lonetree became the second chapter in North Dakota and the 24th of the Association. Our association had four chapters six years ago!
• Forty percent of the potential North Country National Trail in North Dakota was completed with certification of a new stretch of the North Country Trail in Valley City, ND.
Recruiting Members ds are given for recruiting 10, 100 and 250 new members. Our top recruiters during the second quarter of 202 were: Richar Saur 9 John Pat Leinen 6 Bill an onna Menke . Bob Tait .................• ; . Jerry Allen J!L 2 Don Beattie 2 Neil Juhl . Arlen and Arlene Ma
Fastest Growin
haptel'S
The highest percentage gro among our 24 chapters during second quarter of as enjo rail-Sandy Beaver Hiawatha Shore to Shore Peter Wolfe S e River Valley
40% 25% 21 o/oslf 19%
Threats to the Trail: Report them to the NCTA Office E ;MIL
very so often, someone calls in or sends a report about a threat to the North Country Trail's well being. It may be a housing development, a timber sale, road construction, or any other of a host of possibilities. The threats are brought to our Executive Director Bob Papp's attention or to others on the Board of Directors. The questioners want to know what to do about it. The latest such threats came from one of the eastern states where a "nontoxic" waste landfill is proposed for a tract ofland adjacent to a state park parcel in which the trail is located. A second threat appeared to come from a proposal to lease state park and forestlands for oil exploration and probably eventual extraction. It goes without saying that either one of these activities could pose some serious threats. Exploratory activity and extraction could have serious impacts to scenery along the trail, pollute water supplies used by trail users, and/or disrupt the trail corridor and tread by the placement of roads, drilling rigs, and other development. In a country where population growth continues unabated, more of these threats are just around the corner. We hope that the North Country Trail Association's Trail Councils can liaison with Federal, state, and local governmental agencies to develop an early warnings system on possible projects that may pose a threat. Once a good relationship is established between the Trail Councils and agencies, it should be just a matter of routinely meeting or calling the officials for an update on work or projects under consideration. Members also can keep their eyes wide open as they hike or work on the trail and report any unusual projects or disturbances. A project can easily slip through the warning system or not even come from an agency. Additional threat sources are the
'@~[[) "I.ORD
YOST President
plans most government agencies develop to carry out their missions. Monitoring and analyzing these plans can easily be done and information in them can indicate where potential future projects and/ or threats may occur. If Trail Councils and members can provide input to the agencies involved early enough, it may help to deflect or modify such proposals before they even get to the ground disturbing stage. Other threats may appear from activities on private land. These may be tougher to deal with but where they may be a major impact, it still pays to make known what is happening and the possible effects it may have on the Trail. If such activities are carried out under a permit from a state or local governmental agencies, even if they are on private land, they are usually done under some sort of a authorization. These permits can be issued so that provisions for going ahead with a project require minimizing or eliminating an impact. But once a threat is apparent, what to do? The state trail coordinator for the two threats mentioned 'above reported them to our national office. And 'that's what we hope you will do once a threat is recognized that may definitely impact the trail. The report, to be analyzed by our Executive Director, isn't much good unless it contains enough information to determine where the threat is coming from, what it is, if it is a formalized project, who's responsible for it, and what the details actually are. This type of information should be obtained first hand from the project proponent. Second hand information in newspapers or flyers
'... We have a specific charter and mission. It includes protecting the North Country Trail and its scenic and historic features and environment ... '
isn't a firm basis for any kind of formal letter or action by our Association. The NCTA is not a general environmental organization as are the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Audubon Society, and others. We have a specific charter and mission. It includes protecting the North Country Trail and its scenic and historic features and environment. Only in the context of the trail should we make official comments on projects or threats that appear to impact the trail environment. In that sense, we ARE an environmental organization - in direct support of the North Country National Scenic Trail. And we very definitely need to make our thoughts known on projects that may be a threat. So keep your eyes open as you work on the Trail or are out hiking and enjoying it. You are the eyes and ears of our organization and, without you, anything can happen. Get together with state and local officials and get involved enough so you know what they are doing in the areas around our Trail. We can help them develop the Trail as a premier scenic recre- . ational resource that benefits all the recreationists who use it and both our organization and their unit of government.
â&#x20AC;˘ Another great membership conference has come and gone. What a great time we had in Valley City and the weather couldn't have been better or more cooperative. Our thanks goes to the association staff who worked tirelessly to complete arrangements with the help of highly enthusiastic North Dakota members. We particularly appreciate the efforts of Board member Jon Lindgren, North Dakota state coordinator; Sheyenne Valley Chapter President Lisa Engel, Lonetree Chapter President Elden Ehrman; Alicia Hoffarth of the Valley City Chamber of Commerce, Maria Effertz-Hanson, communications director of the Garrison Diversion Conservancy; Bryan Stotts, District Ranger of the Sheyenne Ranger District, Lisbon; Scott Tichy, US Army Corps of Engineers; and Scott Peterson, North Dakota Fish and Game assigned to the Lonetree Wildlife Management Area for helping to make this trip so interesting and educational. October-December
2002
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North Country Trail Assocation â&#x20AC;˘ 2002 Annual Conference â&#x20AC;˘ Valley City, ND
Of Sunflowers, Old Symbols, Grasslands By Werner Veit Editor, The North Star
VALLEY CITY, ND-Acres of sunflowers, stretching eastward to a distant horizon, steadfast winds whipping up whitecaps on prairie potholes dotted with waterfowl, a gently undulating, grassy North Country trail and above all the cheerful hospitality of our Sheyenne Valley and Lonetree chapters remained in the memories of more than 100 members who attended Association members gather around a rock sculpture celebrating the calendar discovery process by the North Country Trail ancient civilizations. The medicine wheel bullt by Professor Joe Stickler and his astronomy students Association's annual conferat Valley City State University, measures 213 feet around. The 28 spokes represent the days In the ence in August. lunar cycle. Their extensions beyond the wheel are aligned to the horizon positions of sunrises and The chapters, the Valley sunsets on the first day of the four seasons. City Chamber of Commerce and staffers from the Garrison Diversion stay behind to attend a one-day semiat an award ceremony and held a quarDistrict outdid themselves to welcome nar, mostly teaching leadership skills, at terly meeting of the Board of Directors. the Association, starting right from Valley City State University which pro(Details appear on subsequent pages). a greeting on the Valley City State vided the accommodations and splendid All seven of our trail states had University marquee when members hit meals for the conference. representatives at the conference but the town. With Rep. Earl Pomeroy, one of our largest of the visiting contingents came Thanks to their arrangements, we trail's stalwart Congressional supportfrom Pennsylvania where the Buder experienced an opening picnic with ers, in attendance the conference opened Chapter, led by Joyce Appel, organized a bison burgers, climbed Valley City's with the dedication of a new Valley City two-van load contingent. They came to steepest hill to share the passion of an segment of the trail. Thanks to its comValley City, 16 strong, after days of hikastronomy professor for ancient calen pletion, 40 percent of the potential trail ing, touring and canoeing on the way. dars, rock structures and astronomical in North Dakota. After Sunday morning's adjournproperties; laughed with a cowboy poet, The conference closed with a hilariment (or before the Thursday opening) toured the key sites of the Garrison ous presentation by Ryan Taylor, the large numbers of members visited the district, stretched our legs on hikes in author of "Cowboy Logic," a column western terminus of the North Country Fort Ransom State Park, the Sheyenne that appears in area publications, and, Trail in Lake Sakakawea State Park, a National Grasslands, Lake Ashtabula, of course, the traditional silent auction site too distant to make a conferencethe Lonetree Wildlife Area and comfollowed by the live auction, as usual feawide visit practical. But, those who went pleted a circuit of seven bridges crossing turing the tactics of our executive direcwere impressed with the site including the Sheyenne River, the aorta of central tor, Bob Papp, skilled in wringing the the recently completed visitor center. North Dakota, which creates most of the last penny from unsuspecting guests. Others made a post-conference meaningful geographic features along In between, the Association held its inspection of the trail in the Sheyenne the North Country Trail. annual meeting with state of the trail National Grasslands. Their report starts All the activities made it difficult to reports, honored its busiest volunteers on Page 22.
North Country Trail Assocation • 2002 Annual Conference • Valley City, ND
Minnesota'sRod Mac Rae, Other DistinguishedMembers Honored D od MacRae, who served for years as 1'Minnesota State Coordinator, and President of its Headwaters Chapter, is the recipient of the 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award of the North Country Trail Association. The award ceremony was a highlight of the Friday banquet at the annual conference in Valley City, ND. Other members honored for their work and achievement were: Werner Veit, board member, President of the Western Michigan chapter and editor of The North Star, who received the Association's 2002 Distinguished ServiceAward. Ron Rice of the Butler Chapter, named the Association's Trail Builder of the Year. Al Mitton, of the ItascaMoraine Chapter, named Trail Maintainer of the Year. Angie Addington, of the Spirit of the Woods chapter, named Communicator of the Year and Len and JoAnne Baron of the Western Michigan chapter who received the Association's Sweep Award. They were chosen by a committee consisting of national board members Helen Coyne (chair), Derek Blount, Mary Lucas and Joan Young. Rod's plaque reads: "In recognition of more than a decade of extraordinary dedication, exceptional service and outstanding contributions toward our shared dream for Western the North Country National Scenic Trail." On Werner Veit' s plaque: "In recognition of exceptional service in furthering the goals of the NCTA, and outstanding contributions toward the dream of the North Country National Scenic Trail." '· On Ron Rice's plaque: " ... in recognition of his tireless work
Spirit of Woods' Angie Addington
Butler's Ron Rice
Michigan's JoAnne and Len Baron
and exemplary dedication to expanding ... the trail through the planning and construction of new trail segments." On Al Mitton' s plaque: " ... in recognition of his initiative, hard work and outstanding dedication to improving the quality of the ... trail and the experiences of trail users." On Angie's plaque:
" ... in recognition of her devoted volunteerism, outstanding skills and exemplary achievements in promoting the Association and the .... trail." The Barons' plaque reads: "In deep appreciation of their persistent and caring work behind the scenes, ensuring that everything goes off without a hitch and no one is overlooked on the North Country National Scenic Trail." Seventeen members and two others who worked on the North Country Trail even though they are not members were awarded shirts for having volunteered more than 400 hours. The non-members are William Schultz and Adrian Vanko. The members are: Garret Dill and James Runk, at large; Mike Burbank and Terry Ladd, Baw Beese; Peter Nordgren, Robert Norlin and Bill Menke, Brule-St. Croix; John Rudnicki, Chief Noonday; Rick Halbert and Richard Naperala, Grand Traverse Hiking Club; Dana Zintek, Great Trail-Sandy Beaver; Janice Wester, North Country Trail Hikers; Rolf Swanson, Peter Wolfe; Jerry Allen and Vern Killinger, Tittibawassee and , ,: Joanne Baron and Paul Haan, Western·~.r . . ' .:; ' ';'l Michigan. · · • '·· October-December
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-Werner Veit North Star
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North Country Trail Assocation
â&#x20AC;˘ 2002 Annual Conference â&#x20AC;˘ Valley City, ND
A Members' Photo Album
Some of the 16 Pennsylvania members who came together in two vans hiked the North Country Trail in Fort Ransom State. Park. (left)
Lisa Engel, President of the Sheyenne River Valley Chapter, and Jon Lindgren, the Association's North Dakota state coordinator, were on hand to greet members.
Excuse me? If you were not at the conference's concluding banquet you missed our executive director, Bob Papp, winning a rope-spinning contest. Honest. Photograph by Joyce Appel
Rep. Earl Pomeroy helped to celebrate the opening of the newest stretch of certified trail in Valley City. He showed his approval to Jan Stowman of the Valley City Chamber, the mistress of ceremonies at the opening picnic where members were treated to buffalo burgers and homespun entertainment.
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Lake Sakakawea is visible beyond the new visitor center at Sakakawea State Park, the western terminus of the North Country Trall.
Members enjoy a pleasant, guided hike in the Hannaford Wlldllfe Management Area along Lake Ashtabula.
Hikers stepped carefully around this nest filled with blue-winged teal eggs In the Lonetree Wildllfe Area. October-December
2002
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North Country Trail Assocation â&#x20AC;˘ 2002 Annual Conference â&#x20AC;˘ Valley City, ND
Charting a Course Through Sheyenne Grasses By Bob Papp Executive
Director, NCTA
Members of the Butler County (Pennsylvania) Chapter discover the rare beauty of these National Grasslands during their visit to the conference.
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he Sheyenne National Grassland is unique among the ten National Forests crossed by the North Country Trail. One of only 20 National Grasslands in the U.S., the Sheyenne offers a "western" experience to our hikers, with a mix of flat and rolling prairies, grazing cattle, and its own distinctive management issues. Our annual conference in August created the opportunity for many NCTA members to explore the Grasslands through hikes and tours. This is what we found. Back in the lace 1980's, the USDA Forest Service embraced the idea of routing the North Country Trail through the Sheyenne National Grasslands. Though well intentioned, the people involved in chis initial process didn't have a lot of experience with trail design. Pouring over maps and aerial photos, they selected what seemed to be a good route, and sent a seasonal employee out co mark the new
"trail" with flags. Lacer, the flags were replaced with posts and, in July of 1990, 25 miles of new NCT were certified. Unfortunately, the lace 1980's were very dry years in chis region of North Dakota, and they were followed by some very wee years in the early to mid 1990' s. The water cable rose dramatically, and the Sheyenne suddenly looked more like the Everglades than a Grassland. Much of the new North Country Trail disappeared completely under water - in some areas it was chest deep. Clearly, the route for the trail had not been chosen to accommodate such fluctuations in rainfall, and something had to be done. As the 1990' s wore on and the waters receded, the trail took a beating from another source - erosion. In the eastern region of the Grasslands, which are closer to Fargo, intensive use by equestrians, hikers, and illicit motorized traffic ended up
What they said about the Grasslands: Dick Lightcap, Member At~Large: I never knew what a prairie really was or how vast the wide-open spaces were. Now I do after visiting the Sheyenne National Grassland. Our Forest Service guide knew his grasses, plants, birds, mammals, soil and water resources; he was very impressive with his knowledge.
Steep slope and heavy use eroded this older section.
cutting through the chin sod and exposing the sand beneath. In the Sheyenne, the NCT was initially designed without a tread, so that hikers could meander along their own routes through the grass from one marker to the next. However, we trail users are trained to "stay on the trail," so once a tread was established the tendency was to use it. Unfortunately, much of the trail in this area was improperly routed straight up and down slopes. With the protective sod lost, water started eroding the underlying sand and, in some areas, cut severe gullies along the trail route. Eventually, staff at the Grasslands came up with a creative solution to these problems by applying for a grant for flood damage reparations. With $200,000 in hand from a federal flood mitigation grant, they set about the task of rerouting, redesigning, and stabilizing the North Country Trail through the Grasslands.
Flo Hedeen, Itasca ~ Moraine Chapter: Sheyenne National Grassland was home for me during much of my growing up years! Walking the prairie, reveling in the sights, sounds and smells was a very nostalgic experience... Hiking the grassway through fences, past artesian wells, sidestepping cow pies with only the clouds and blue sky over-head gave me a whole new appreciation for the place where I was born and raised.
Joan Young, Spirit of the Woods Chapter: The gravel path is too soft for some hikers, and in places the cows have made a clam shelled mess of it and have dug holes- maybe they're lying down in the cool dirt? On the other hand, there aren't very many places where the North Country Trail feels like "cowboy" country-- it really adds to the diversity of experiences along the trail. The cattle were "wild" yet curious and the windmills were working - pumping water for the tanks. We even saw the goat herder on horseback with his working dogs and several hundred goats.
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Susan Bond, Chief Noonday Chapter: The guided walk through the "tall grass prairie" flora of eastern North Dakota was a delight. Plants never or seldom seen in Michigan were identified by our guide. While most government lands prohibit collecting, we were free to pick samples of the locally plentiful {and periodically grazed over) plants. Throwing my plant press into the car had proven to be a good move.
North Country Trail Assocation
â&#x20AC;˘ 2002 Annual Conference
Board members, volunteers and staff of the NCTA and NPS tour a newly stablllzed section of the NCT.
To date, most of the work in the flatter, less used western region is complete. First, the trail was rerouted to higher ground, and the old straight runs up and down hill slopes were eliminated. Then, a more stable tread was created by carving a strip two feet wide and four inches deep out of the sod and filling it with a mix of heavy sand, clay and fine gravel. New interpretive signs and trail marker posts were installed to finish the job. The new tread looked very raw a year ago when work was completed, but today encroaching grasses are softening and naturalizing the look considerably, creeping in along the edges and coming up through the new surface itself. One of the nice things about this new tread is that people who are more comfortable following a clear tread will feel at home along it. At the same time, those who prefer the feel of striking out on their
â&#x20AC;˘ Valley City, ND
During the early 90's, the water table rose, dramatlcally changing the nature of the grasslands and flooding much of the trall.
own can step just 50 ft off the tread and it will disappear from view, hidden completely by the surrounding grasses. The only real detraction we found was that the new surface was still a little soft for hiking. Bryan Stotts, District Ranger for the Sheyenne acknowledged that the sand/gravel mix wasn't quite what they'd wanted, but they expect to improve it for the remaining half of the work. Also, it's expected that the surface will become more packed in with time and more stable as plants continue to reclaim it. As with most of the other National Forests crossed by the North Country Trail, we also face the potential challenge in the Sheyenne of conflicting uses on the trail. At present, use of any sort along most of the NCT in the Grasslands is very thin, so encounters with other users, let alone conflicts in experience, are minimal. We do need to ensure, though, that
the Sheyenne National Grassland fully embraces our vision of the NCT being a premier hiking trail. The fact that other non-motorized uses are currently allowed on the trail could conflict with the trail vision, if use starts to pick up. Even so, we were encouraged that management at the Sheyenne is addressing use issues. Much of the intensively used northeastern region of the Grasslands will soon be closed to motorized use. The Grassland also is open to a review of allowableuses on the NCT if the time comes that hiker experiencesare negatively impacted. The chances of this may be lessened now with the new "stabilized"trail tread since the softer surface is more likely to discouragebike use on the trail than encourage it. Ironically, use conflicts now may stem more from cattle who seem to appreciate the chance to nestle down on the cool dirt surface of the new trail tread!
Gaylord Yost, NCTA President:
Biii Menke, NCTA Trall Foreman:
It is really exciting and pleasing that Forest Service Ranger Brian Stotts is so enthused and pro-NCT. The work he is doing out there to relocate the trail and find a suitable surface material to help delineate it may not please everyone, but certainly attests to his aggressive desire to make the trail an asset to the Lisbon Ranger District and to all the public who uses it. My hat is off to him for his attentiveness to the trail.
out of character as some imagine it might be. Grasses and prairie forbs were already growing in and softening the edges.
Kathy Elsele, Central New York Chapter: Fields of sunflowers, waves of prairie grass in the wind, and very friendly people are what I'll remember about North Dakota.
Barbara Hawke, Western Michigan Chapter: Grey skies, muted grasses knee-high, poison ivy eager to kiss our legs. Old and new comrades collected and dispersed among waves of sandhills punctuated by purple Blazing Star explosions.
Ken Howell, NPS Land ProtectionSpecialist The new construction really helps protect the resource from damage by hikers and other trail users.
Marie Altenau, Spirit of the Woods Chapter: The grasslands are another world to hike in ... walking on a green carpet that extends as far as you can see in every direction (the short grass prairie) - the long grass prairie is like hiking in a sea of grass and gives real meaning to the "amber wi:ives of grain" .... the land is so vast and the sky so huge ...thunder and lightening storms are from another dimension ...
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2002
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North Country Trail Assocation
• 2002 Annual Conference • Valley City, ND
Directors Approve Charter for NCTA's 24th Chapter,
in ND
2nd
Pass Geocaching Policy, Remain Cautious on Wilderness Designations
T
he Board of Directors of the North Country Trail Association, meeting during the NCTA's annual conference, approved the charter of the Lonetree Chapter, the newest and 24th of the Association and the second in North Dakota. Elden Ehrman is the new chapter's President. (Contact information can be found on the Trail Council listings on Page 36). The Board received and tabled requests pending more information from the Friends of Allegheny Wilderness and from the Northwood Wilderness Recovery organization for expressions of support in their quests to achieve wilderness designations for portions of the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania and the Ottawa National Forest in the Trap Hills area of Michigan's Upper Peninsula where the North Country National Scenic Trail passes. Mindful of a recent expression by U.S. Forest Service personnel in the Hiawatha National Forest that the NCT trail is incompatible with wilderness in Rock River Canyon, the Board was particularly cautious before making a decision. While a number of directors are generally sympathetic with the notion that a trail in a wilderness is a meaning-
ful experience for hikers, they voted to request more information and to learn whether such designation would impact the trail. The board decided to establish a personnel committee to recommend salaries, benefits and working conditions for the staff and President Gaylord Yost, appointed Dave Cornell and Werner Veit to serve on the committee along with Gaylord, and Vice Presidents John Leinen Jr. (finance) and Richard Harris (East) and Jon Lindgren (West). Because a growing number of members are expressing interest in geocaching, an exploration activity for GPS users, the Board adopted an official statement of policy to help minimize or eliminate potential damage to the trail and surrounding resources. Geocaching usually works as follows: Individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the Internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. Visitors are expected to leave something in exchange for whatever they may take from the cache. All caches also generally contain a logbook. According to the
SPONSORED
MEMBERSHIP
website geocaching.com, "Where you place a cache is up to you." The policy adopted by the Board reads: "The North Country Trail Association recognizes that the sport of geocaching offers a unique and social approach to exploring the outdoors that may appeal to a growing segment of trail users. At the same time, the Association also recognizes the potential drawbacks of practicing this sport, which may include resource degradation, infringement of property rights, and/or conflicts with 'tread lightly' trail use ethics. Therefore, co minimize these concerns, the Association endorses geocaching and similar activities along the North Country National Scenic Trail only under the following conditions: "Where written permission has been obtained in advance from the appropriate land manager or land owner, providing a specific timeframe and location for the activity, and "Where proper care is taken to avoid damage caused by digging or trampling to vegetation, archeological evidence, trail tread or other fragile resources in the area." (To read the full minutes, log on to www.northcountrytrail.org.) -Werner Veit
FORM
Our Sponsored Membership Program allows current members to sign up new members at an introductory rate of just $18.00. To qualify, Sponsor Members must be new to NCTA, or not have been members for at least two years. The $18.00 rate is good only for the first year of membership. To use the program, just fill you name in the "Sponsored by" box. Then, give the form to a friend to finish.
Please choose your Chapter afflllation:
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Chapter:------------
Member of my closest Chapter (If one exists)
To begin your membership, complete this form and send It with your $18 payment to: 229 East Main Street Lowell, Michigan 49331
D At-Large Member {Not affiliated with any Chapter) Sponsored by
I Daytt
Name (Please Print)
l°ne (j: too• lrst) I
Address
24
City
State
Skills to Volunteer
E-mail Address
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October-December
2002
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ZIP
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Earl Shaffer Remembered Earl Shaffer, the first to complete a continuous through-hike of the Appalachian Trail, in 1948, died on May 5, 2002, at a hospital in Lebanon, PA. For many years Earl lived alone in a log cabin with his cats and goats about five miles from the AT on a farm in Idaville, PA. It was only two years ago that Earl got electricity in his cabin, which never had running water or a refrigerator. He never smoked or drank or visited a physician from the time he got out of the army in 1947 until he had a physical exam before he took his 1998 hike at the age of 78. Over the years he worked as a carpenter, beekeeper, auction clerk, and junk and antique dealer. The national media covered his 1998 hike, 59 years after his first in 1948. The second one, going north to south, took 173 days compared with 124 the first time. He explained: "They made the trail harder to hike over the years by going on fewer roads and onto more mountain ridges." - HowardBeye in the Finger Lakes News
Changes at Chief 'Noonday Cascades of the Little Garlic River, One of Our Destinations
We'll Be in Marquette, Ml, July 31-Aug. 3
T
he North Country Trail Hikers, 100 strong, are already planning memorable experiencesfor members of the North Country Trail Association attending the 2003 conference in Marquette, principal city of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where the trail is featured in this issue. The dates are July 31 through Aug. 3, 2003. Denise Herron, President of the chapter who has attended more than once conference and knows the tastes of hikers, promises a great event next summer. Check out the Upper Peninsula pages (8-11) in this issue for a preview of the delights to come. The conference again will be held on the campus of a university, this time Northern Michigan University, which will provide housing and meals. The site was chosen by the Great
Lakes Trail Council, which is made up of representatives of the three Wisconsin and three Upper Peninsula chapters of the NCTA. Each of the association's seven trail councils hosts a conference in turn. In 2004, the conference will be arranged with the Ohio Trail Council. In 2005, it will be the Lower Michigan Trail Council; in 2006 the Pennsylvania Trail Council and in 2007 the New York Trail Council. The North Country Trail follows the Lake Superior shoreline right in the city of Marquette, less than a mile from the Northern Michigan University campus. Complete registration and schedule information will be published in The North Star in the April-May-June, 2003, issue but for now mark your hiking and vacation calendars.
Tom Garnett has been elected President of the Noonday Chapter to succeed Dave Cornell, the chapter's founder. Periodic changes in leadership are mandated by the bylaws. Larry Pio and Steve Hicks were elected to leadership positions replacing Bob Benham and Lynn Waldron. Like Cornell, Benham and Waldron were original members of the Chief Noonday Chapter. -Dave Cornell
Dave Cornell (left) congratulat es Tom Garnett, the new President.
October-December 2002
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Trail Quality Importantto the Hiking Experience n my last column, I described how the essence of hiking is the experience it provides to the participant. There are many things that contribute to or influence that experience, such as the weather, the scenery and the natural and cultural features of interest along the trail, and what the hiker hears and sees, including pleasant sounds (or silence) and breath-taking vistas as well as sights and sounds that may be considered unwelcome intrusions by the hiker. Another very important influence is the quality of the trail itself-the tread and supporting facilities, including trailheads, bridges, etc. The importance of trail quality to the hiking experience was emphasized to me recently by a long-distance hiker who confessed that he had started out on a multi-week hike on a trail, but had aborted his planned hike after only a few days because the trail was in such poor condition that the hike "just wasn't fun." Another long-distance hiker sets out with good maps of the areas along a trail so that he can search out alternative road-walking opportunities whenever he encounters trail in poor conditions. He would rather walk roads through the area than "fight the trail." This situation is articulated well by one of the pillars of the North Country Trail community, Irene Szabo: ''A trail should be a TRAIL, not a TRIAL." There are four principal features of a trail路 that significantly influence the quality bf the hiking experience: 1. Slope-including both slope of the trail and cross-slope (slope across the trail tread). Most hikers do not find a trail with frequent steep slopes (up or down) very enjoyable. Generally accepted standards for trail slope, reflected in North Country National Scenic Trail:A Handbook for Trail Design, Construction, and Maintenance, is that maximum sustained grade or slope over a long distance be no greater than 10%. The maximum slope for a short stretch in the Roaded-Natural recreational setting (most of the trail) is 20% for 100 feet. Equally important is cross-slope. To a hiker who, like myself, has a bad ankle, the cross-slope of a trail can make or break the quality of the experience. A trail laid out across a
I
26 North Star*
October-December 2002
. !~fROM 楼.
he National Park Service
slope (in order to stay within trail slope guidelines, rather than running straight up and down the slope) can provide a miserable experience if it has been merely marked and does not have a tread constructed by "benching." 2. Dryness-Wet, muddy trails can diminish the quality of a hiking experience. Wet feet and footwear can bring discomfort to the hiker, at best, and blisters and other foot problems, at worst. Proper design and maintenance of a trail tread to channel water off the trail, as well as appropriate structures to pass through or over chronically wet areas, is very important to the hiker experience. 3. Brush Clearing and MowingMaintaining the openness of a trail tread after it has been established requires regular attention. A hiker who has to fight his or her way through an overgrown trail will not judge the experience "enjoyable." It is very important that land managers and volunteers make the effort to regularly maintain the trail. If the trail is in areas of forest and woody vegetation, maintainers need to walk the trail in late spring to cut back new growth that has extended into the trail "prism"-a 4' wide by 8' high space around the trail tread. Periodic checks throughout the season to remove any additional growth or vegetation that has fallen over the trail is also important. In many areas, but especially in fields, periodic mowing will keep the trail visible and enjoyable to walk. 4. Signs and Markings-There probably is not a hiker who has not
at some time lost the trail they were attempting to follow because of inadequate marking. Those occasions may be memorable to the hiker, but they are not likely to be among their most pleasant hiking memories. Good marking of a trail is as important as maintaining the hiking tread and keeping the trail clear. The standards for marking the North Country Trail are given in the handbook mentioned earlier. To help facilitate good trail marking, the National Park Service attempts, within its funding limits, to provide all signs and markers for the trail. Managing authorities only need to install and maintain them. The many miles of the North Country Trail that have been completed exist because of the dedication and enthusiasm of many volunteers and agency officials. All of us involved with the trail are extremely thankful for what they have done. Those who have done the work should feel proud of what they have accomplished. Yet, it is also true that many miles of the trail are deficient in one or more of the four areas mentioned above, sometimes seriously so. Improving the quality of these segments is extremely important. A high quality trail is in the best interest, not only of the hiker, but of the manager/maintainer as well, because satisfied users will return again and again, and they will "pass the word" about the positive experience they have had. Why would anyone want to invest time to maintain a low quality trail that people found unpleasant to hike and avoided? Some may see glamour in the work of establishing new sections of the trail, and rightfully so. But I see equal glamour in maintaining and caring for the existing portions of the North Country Trail as showplaces of trail management that win the praises of hikers. A National Scenic Trail should be no less.
Remember the 'Big Four': Slope, Dryness, Brush Clearing and Mowing, and Signs and Markings. They keep hikers off the road and on the best of the North Country National Scenic Trail.
Reunion Time: Time to Take Stock, Time to Evaluate B
ack at the beginning of my career, I worked as a seasonal naturalist at New Glarus Woods State Park in southern Wisconsin. While there, I planned and cleared a nature trail that looped through the wooded park for about 4 miles. I also wrote a "companion booklet" with passages keyed to many stops along the trail. To be honest, I haven't reread the booklet for several years because I'm afraid I might cringe in embarrassment. Even so, building that trail stands out in my memory as one of my most significant accomplishments. With my 20th high school reunion descending this fall, I've naturally started thinking about what I've accomplished in the past two decades. The job at New Glarus only lasted half a year, but that trail is still very important to me today. It's a concrete legacy that I can point to and say, "That's a part of me that I've left behind." More importantly, my work has enabled countless people through the years to more fully explore and enjoy the park, and maybe learn something or be challenged by new ideas along the way. Since then, I'd say my accomplishments have been increasingly less "hands on" and increasingly more abstract. At the same time, more people are involved who share the credit. It's a little more difficult to assure ourselves that we're doing valuable work if most of our personal accomplishments can't be touched or held or seen, yes? Yet, since I starting working for the NCTA some six and a half years ago, the Association and the North Country Trail have grown tremendously. Of course, a great many people have been instrumental in these achievements. That leaves me grasping at the question of where do I and, by extension, the national headquarters of the NCTA, fit in? I'd be the first to point out that the national headquarters of the NCTA doesn't build or maintain a single foot of trail. Our volunteers in the field have that satisfaction to themselves. They are the ones leaving the "concrete legacies" and the parts of themselves behind for others to discover and enjoy. Yet, while we don't build trail at headquarters, we do try to prepare the way for our volunteers and provide support
't'路eoe.i>A.PP Executive Director
when they get there. So, for the past several years, we've been working to build infrastructure and secure the tools our volunteers will need in the coming decades to fully develop and sustain the trail. This work has included establishing chapters and developing and strengthening partnerships to cover the trail from end to end. It's meant building our membership, which provides a significant source of funding for trail work, as well as a pool of potential volunteers. We've built support in Congress to increase funding to a level more realistic for a 4,000 mile long National Park, and we've fought hard to provide the National Park Service the legal authority to acquire land for the trail. We've promoted the trail with new hiking maps, new brochures, large mail campaigns, a deep and rich web site and an outstanding quarterly magazine. And, we've tried to provide leadership and vision to light the way to our future. Recently, a member complained that we aren't doing enough to promote and protect the trail, and also implied that we are too obsessed with funding and membership growth. I think most of our volunteers who are working so hard for the trail will understand the inherent contradiction in these complaints. It's a seductive argument, but it ignores the fact that the North Country Trail will be twice the size of the Appalachian Trail, while the North Country Trail Association is currently just one twelfth the size of the Appalachian Trail Conference. Together, we are striving to build a truly magnificent legacy, but we still have only a small fraction of the resources we will need to succeed. Building an organization is nothing like building a trail. Those of us working behind the scenes don't have ribboncutting ceremonies for our achievements. We don't go home at the end of the day having completed something that
countless nameless friends will enjoy and appreciate. Our legacies are intangible. But, by empowering and encouraging our volunteers and partners, we contribute to such successes. Having built that nature trail at New Glarus Woods State Park, I understand what drives many people to volunteer for the North Country Trail. To some extent, I live vicariously through their achievements. Each person reading this column faces competing demands for time. We all struggle for meaning in our lives and for a sense of accomplishment. Yet, as members of the NCTA, we also share in every achievement along the trail. Maybe you won't brag about how you're supporting the trail at a high school reunion, but you deserve to sit back and smile at your own contribution to this significant achievement.
Oct. 12-Erv Ma'rkert Memorial Hike, Finger Lakes Trail Conference, fltc@frontier.net Oct. 17 -21-Conference on National and Scenic Historic Trails, Fort Smith, AK, National Trail of Tears Association, (501) 666-9032. Oct. 27-Adirondack Mountain Club Trails Day, High Peaks Wilderness Area, Adirondack State Park. ADK Trails Program, (518) 523-3441. Nov. 8-10-Midwest Mountaineering Fall Expo, Minneapolis. John Dreher, (651) 738-2717 Nov. 10-13-National Trails Symposium, Greenways and Trails-Crossing the American Landscape, Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, Orlando, FL. www.AmericanTrails.org Dec. I-Quarterly meeting of Board of Directors, North Country Trail Association, Lowell, MI, (616) 897-5987, or hq@northcountrytrail.org October-December
2002
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North Star
27
Trail Log: Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio
Joint Project with Sierra Club Results in Upgrade路 Near Porkies
F
inishing a day ahead of schedule, an annual Sierra Club/NCTA trail crew effort achieved a major upgrade of more than three miles of hard-to-followtrail in Michigan's Upper Peninsula's Porcupine Mountain State Park, south of South Boundary Road, between Gogebic County Road 519 and the Presque Isle River. The route has received little use since its construction several years ago, for a number of reasons, among them the difficulty in following the route due to infrequent state park blazing and a trail that was initially built so narrow that it
was, in places, indistinguishable from the rest of the woods. Peter Wolfe Chapter stalwarts along with Sierra Club members, widened the trail, laid hundreds of long branches and logs along the sides of the route. to make the route obvious in areas without blazes, and made two passes with the chapter's 15-hp brush mower. The result is a trail that can now be followed by essentially anyone. Hopefully, with increased use, a tread will develop that will eliminate the need to replace the "delineating logs" as they
rot away. The crew also performed basic trail maintenance on the NCT on Ron Lake's property south of the Porkies. In addition, the crew installed seven signs, both at Porkies trailheads and on Forest Service land, toured most of the spectacular waterfalls on the Black River, and took a "break day" to explore the Presque Isle River and Copper Creek, upstream from the park, on newlyobtained state land, where they discovered even more great waterfalls. -Doug Welker
Brule-St. Croix Hosts AHS Volunteer Vacation The Brule-St. Croix chapter hosted a weeklong AHS Volunteer Vacation constructing trail in the Brule River State Forest in northern Wisconsin this Summer. We found this to be an easy thing to pull off, as we were able to blend them in with our Roving Trail Crew led by Bill Menke. The mix of experienced crewmernbers (Bob Gould, Rolf Swanson, and Adey Oswald) and new people proved to be beneficial. AHS participants included Lisa Kokoski from Mechanicsburg, PA; Marie Coffmann from Bloomington, IL: and 17-year old Josh Bailey from Jackson, LA. Chapter member Sue Breskin shuttled two of them from the Duluth, MN airport and also worked with the crew for a couple of days. During the course of the week, some unusually hot weather was experienced prompting a swim in a local lake each evening. Despite the heat, a lot of work was accomplished with the crew completing two miles of new trail including about 1/3 of the distance being significant sidehill benching or leveling of furrows through pine plantations. Completed trail now extends all the way from Upper St. Croix Lake to a point four miles north of Rush Lake Road. On the last work afrernoon, each of the AHS' ers got to install at least one Carsonite post and the appropriate decals to bring the trail to certification standards. While there were a few mentions
28
North Star*
October-December
2002
AHS Volunteers (left to right) Marie Coffman, Josh Balley, Lisa Kokoskl and Sue Breskln take a break while working on the NCT In Wisconsin.
of not usually having to work this hard on other AHS vacations, the two women who have each been on several other vacations said that the food and facilities provided by the Roving Trail Crew was the best they had experienced. Chapter president, Chuck Zosel led the group on a recreational activity-his. famous narrated hike along the historic portage segment of the trail. -Bil/Mmke
R~vers Experiment with Mechanized Trail Building Trail Foreman Bill Menke arranged for the Toro Company to _demonstrate
a walk-behind Dingo TX-425 Compact Utility Loader. This 42-inch wide rubber-tracked unit has a wide variety of attachments including blades, buckets, levelers, brush hogs, backhoes, and augers-all powered by a 25 Horsepower motor. District Sales Manager Pat McNamara arrived with the equipment on a midsummer Friday morning to demonstrate. its capability and he continued to work with the crew throughout the day. He then left the equipment with the crew until Monday morning so 路 we could .refine our operating skills and give it 'a good test. The crew learned a lot from Pat and he says he learned a lot from us regarding our real needs and
Trail Log: Michigan, Wisconsin, the unique requirements of building a narrow foot trail. A few of the tentative conclusions include: • The Dingo w~ very intuitive and easy to operate. In no time at all, several different crewmembers and State forester Dave Schultz had the hang of driving it and operating the hydraulics. • It excelled at leveling the trail across very deep furrows in a pine plantation. In a little over seven hours, two people brought more than 1,380 feet of trail to about 95% completion, much more productive than a hand crew could have done. •We were not satisfied with the results of a test to build benched trail on a steep sidehill, perhaps because other attachments would have worked better than the ones on hand. In general, the machinery moved more soil than we would have by hand, created a trail much wider than necessary and productivity was only about 280 feet in four hours. On a future visit, Toro is going to bring some other attachments to try out. • The brush hog was impressive. This machine pulverized thick 8-10 feet high hazel, logs that were on the ground in its path, and small trees up to a couple inches in diameter. This might be an ideal tool to reopen trail where the brush i~ leaning in from the sides. In places like the Chequamegon or Chippewa National Forests or where multifloral roses are a problem, a pass down each side of the normal trail clearing would probably solve the problem much easier than doing the cask with brush saws. • The trail that was constructed with the Dingo looks more like a construction job than the refined trail we are used to building. It has to be wider to allow passage of the equipment. In summary, while the equipment is imressive, we are not yet ready to switch to mechanized construction. On a future trip, Toro will bring some other attachments and has offered to narrow some of the blades to 36 inches. They are also working to develop a 6-way blade, which may prove to be an ideal attachment for trail building. These machines are sometimes available from rental suppliers. If you have a particularly cough job to do, you might want to consider this option. Thanks to Toro and Pat McNamara for going out of their way to work with us. --Bill Menke
Ohio
Proud builders test their completed project.
Buckeye Trail Crews Finish Unusual Bridge In Ohio's Burr Oak State Park Over a two-week period Jim Runk of the Buckeye Trail Association directed a crew that constructed a bridge at Burr Oak State Park, an unusual project because much of the material was salvaged from a temporary bridge at Hocking Hills. Thirteen Buckeye volunteers were joined by five Civilian Conservation Corps members from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and significant assistance was provided by Craig Downs, a Burr Oak State Park employee. Footers were dug, concrete was poured for the footers and pilings on the first two days. After that, trusses were put together and placed across the creek,
supports, decking, steps and a hand rail added. The bridge length is 55 feet across a 40-foot creek. Although the bridge is not currently on either the Buckeye Trail or the North Country Trail, plans are already underway to complete the trail work necessary to connect with the existing trail. The BTA contingent camped at the Wildcat Hollow Trail head, which was about 400 yards from the bridge site. Workers from BTA included Greg Anikeeff, Garry Dill, Karl Feller, Jay Halwick, Herb Hulls, Russ Johnson, Elmo Laymon, Don Mong, Roger Myers, Jim Runk, Jim Sprague, Dave Sweeney and Jeff Yoest. -Garry Dill
j Turnpike Completed ~ in Huron-ManisteeNF
~ ~ s_
A 12-person work crew from the ~ Western Michigan chapter, laboring under the leadership of Eric Doyle and Paul Haan for three lace Summer and fall weekends, completed severalhundred feet of turnpike over wet ground along Rattlesnake Creek in the southern portion of the Huron Manistee National Forest. The rather extensive construction, involving barrier, gravel, cedar posts and culvert, was the first application of a training session on how to build such structures conducted last Spring by Chad Hudson, the then trail specialist of that section of the national forest. -Werner Veit :::i
Eric Doyle on newly completed section of turnpike.
October-December
2002
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North Star
29
Proceeds benefit the North Country Trail Association O in its efforts to build, maintain and promote the North Country National Scenic Trail.
F. The Aussie Hat (C209) Natural Color, cotton canvas with full brim and rope cord with adjustable slider $24.50
0
"
0
SHIRTS HATS A. Royal Mesh-Back Cap (C201) Mesh back, cotton twill front, royal blue, plastic snap strap $10.95 B. Light Khaki/Navy Cap (C207) Trail emblem design. Low profile washed cotton, unconstructed. Light khaki crown with washed navy bill. Adjustable buckle on fabric strap $14.95 C. Denim Blue Cap (C203) Pro-wash cotton twill with extended bill, deep blue crown and bill (looks like denim), adjustable buckle on a leather strap.$15.95 D. Grey-Moss Green Cap (C206) Low profile distressed washed cotton twill. Adjustable buckle on fabric strap ... $14.95 E. Sun Protection (C210) Wide bill, Supplex® tan nylon, soft and breathable. Adjustable clip back. .... $18.50
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30 North Star*
Occober-Dece~b~~-~;~-~-
G. Trall Crew T-shirt (C102) A trail crew shirt for volunteers! 50/50 blend. Two color design on front with map and a "fired up" volunteer. Color: tan. M, L, XL $8.95, XXL $9.95 H. NCTA T-Shlrt (C101) Pre-shrunk cotton "Beefy-T'. Three-color NCT A logo on front and two-color trail map on back. Slogan on back reads "Going the Distance on the North Country National Scenic Trail" and includes the seven state map of the trail. Color: natural. S, M, L, XL $11.95, XXL $12.95 I. Sweatshirts M, L,XL. $34.95, XXL $37.95 Goldenrod (C107A) Khacki Green (C107B) Denim (C107C) Light Raspberry (C107D) J. Polo Shirt Color: Tan (C106) Embroidered association logo. M, L,XL XXL $31.95 K. Fleece Vest Color: Grey (C108) Embroidered trail logo. M, L,xi, XXL $38.95
ORDER TOLL FREE! 1-888-454- NCTA (628?)
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0
NCT TRAIL MAP SETS 1:10.0,000 SCALE Printed in full color on durable paper, this pocket size map unfolds to a full 11" x 17'', doubleside. These maps do not come in a plastic bag. NEW YORK Rome to Finger Lakes Trail
$3.50
(TNY-04)
1:24,000 SCALE Printed in full color on durable paper these new maps come in a dear plastic bag to assure complete water protection. They have been carefully field checked for accuracy. Each map unfolds to a full n" x 17". PENNSYLVANIA McConnells Mill and Moraine State Parks (T201) (T202)
$3.50
(TMl-02)
Bowne Township to M-37
$6.50
Southern Allegheny National Forest and Cook Forest State Park (T203)
By Byron and Margaret Hutchins Detailed information and maps highlighting the longest and best off-road segments of the Trail. These are accurate route descriptions by experienced guidebook writers who have walked the sections with a measuring wheel. In easy to use looseleaf form.
$5.00
Allegheny National Forest North Section MICHIGAN Marshall to Bowne Township
CERTIFIED SECTIONS OF THE NCT
PENNSYLVANIA NCT in Pennsylvania, 37 pages (M201)
$5. 75
$8.00
$3.50
(TMl-03)
$3.50
MICHIGAN Huron-Manistee N.F.: North Segment
$3.50
Battle Creek to Chief Noonday Road
$3.50
Huron-Manistee N.F.: South Segment
Freesoil Trailhead to Cedar Creek Road (TMl-05)
Grand Marais to Au Train Lake
(T401)
(TMl-10)
Alberta to Cascade Falls
(T402)
(TMl-13)
Cascade Falls to Ironwood
(T403)
$8.00 $6.50 $8.00
$3.50
(TMl-14)
WISCONSIN Together these maps cover the Chequamegon National Forest Ironwood to Long Mile Lookout
Map shown: Grand Marias to Au Train Lake NCT Trail Map Set
$3.50
(TWl-01)
Long Mile Lookout to Solon Spring
$3.50
(TWl-02)
MINNESOTA Chippewa N.F. to Paul Bunyan S.F.
$3.50
(TMN-09)
NORTH DAKOTA Showing four sections of trail
$3.50
(TND-SE)
Legend 000000
Le end
N
North Country Trail (Certified)* North Country Trail (Not Certified) Temporary Selected
Connector
.. A *
Other Trail
G•
Miles Between Points Highway Paved Road Gravel/Dirt
Road UTM Grid eod 2002
Other Road
Magnetic North
Dedination
Two Track
Diagam is approximate
Public Land
1!9
Fishing
(I
Ranger
Station
[Hl
Hospital
•
Potable
Water
October-December 2002
* North.St~~ ..li
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OHIO Wayne National Forest, 14 pages (M301) $3.00 From Burr Oak State Park to Milford on the Buckeye Trail, 38 pages (M3032) $14.00 Milford to Lake Loramie S.P., 42 pages (M304A) $7 .00 Miami & Erie Canal from Lake Loramie S.P. to Napoleon, 30 pages (M305A) $5.00
MICHIGAN NCT in Lower Michigan, 81 pages $12.50
(M401)
:路 NCT in Upper Michigan, 88 pages
STATE PATCHES New York Pennsylvania Ohio Michigan Wisconsin Minnesota North Dakota...
VOWNTEER PATCHES 2.00 ea.
2.00 ea. (P126) (P127) (P128) (P129) (P130) (P131)
路
(P1_<
Volunteer 2000 Volunteer 2001 Volunteer 2002 Trail Crew Hike Leader Trail Mapper Organizer
(P133) (P134) (P135) (P136) (P137) (P138)
..
(P139)
$13.00
(M402)
WISCONSIN Iron County Forests; Chequamegon N.F., Brule River S.F., 27 pages (M501A) $4.50 MINNESOTA Chippewa National Forest, Itasca S.P., 24 pages (M601) $4.00 NORTH DAKOTA NCT in North Dakota 15 pages $5.00
(M701)
NCT PATCH Patch ofTrail Emblem 3l/2" bottom measure North Country Trail emblem triangle design (P125) $3.50
MEDALLIONS AND PINS Add the North Country National Scenic Trail insignia to your hiking stick. A. Painted color (P105) $4.00 B. Brass (P104) $4.00 C. The Trail Emblem cloisonne pin is 'Vs" and features the updated North Country triangle design. (P102) $3.00
MICHIGAN MAP SETS By Arden Johnson An excellent reference for the entire North
Country Trail in Michigan. Includes all offroad segments and suggests on-road routes where the trail is incomplete. Also provides good general information about access points, terrain, markers, camping and water, etc. Ohio State Line at Waldron
Augusta $4.00 Augusta to Rogue River State Game Area (M412A) $4.00 Coates Highway at Manistee River to M115 West of Mesick (M413A) $4.00 M-115 West of Mesick to M-32 West of U.S. 131 (M414A) $4.00 M-32 West of U.S. 131 to Mackinaw City (M,415A) $4.00 St. Ignace to SE Marquette (M416A) $4.00 Marquette to Ironwood (M417 A) $4.00 to
MUG
(M411A)
North Country National Scenic Trail plastic trail mug tapered to fit in cup holder. (P103) $5.00 Back
Fall Scene on denim blue (C-104) S, M, L XL: $12.95, XXL: $13.95
Woodand Scene on pebbletan cc-105) S, M, LXL: $12.95,XXL: $13.95
32
North Star*
October-December
2002
,..,
'-.,-T~,-,.,.\)O'l".~';I_
e-mail: hq@northcountrytrail.org
••
Take a Hike
by Rich and Su« Freeman Explore the Finger Lakes and Genesee Valley with ease and convenience. 51 walks.are completely described. 264 r=s= (L119)
,.,
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50 Hikes In Ohio
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by Tim and Christine Connors Dine on spaghetti, chicken salad, and cheesecake in the backcountry instead of gorp, cereal bars, and jerky. 232 pages (L118) $1S.95 Hiking with Kids
Porcupine Mountains
by Jim DuFresne Describes the Porkies for hikers, campers, skiers, and backpackers. Includes history, cabins, camping areas, day hikes, and waterfalls. 160 pages (L108)
by Dennis R Hansen This third edition has descriptions and maps for over 600 hiking, biking, skiing, and nature trails in Michigan. 789 p~es (L102A)
$34.95
$:16.95
America's National Scenic Tralls
by Kathleen Ann Cordes
(L122)
$19.95
by john G. Hipps M D.
Edible Wiid Plants
His stories will entertain and charm you. Has advice on home remedies and alternative medicine for self-care. 363 pages (L115) $19.95
by James Kavanagh This pocket-size guide is perfect for identifying the various plants you see while out walking. (L127) $5.95
Hiking!
Backpacking Wisconsin
by Philip Farranti and Cecilia Leyva
by jack P. Hai/man & Elizabeth D. Hai/man
A fi:esh look at hiking including its philosophy, health aspects for kids and seniors, and stronger family ties. 245 pages (L106)
The authors provide first-hand information for trails in every corner of the state - from the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore to picturesque Newport State Park. (L129)
$14.95
$11..95 Trall Atlas of Michigan
(L117)
History, the present condition, points of interest, and other details for each of the eight national scenic trails including the North Country National Scenic Trail. 306 pages
The Country Doctor, Allve and Well
The Appalachian Food Planner
$19.95
by Lou Adsmond Proven food tips for a short backpack to a six-month thruhike. Includes recipes for easy trailside cooking. 128 pages (L126)
suPPOli!f' GROUP REFERENCE GUlDE
by Wm. Chad McGrath
by Robin Tawney
$6.95
• PAMJLYS¥PGDfCY
Describes some of the state's most beautiful and interesting paths. Includes walks beside river rapids and scenic overlooks. 168 pages
Introduce your children to the wonders of hiking. This answers any questions and gives valuable tips. 70 pages
by Jim DuFresne
$17.95
New
Great Minnesota Walks
(L123)
(L109)
..........
FIRiAID
$16.95
50 Hikes In Michigan
Describes the best trails in the Lower Peninsula. Includes access, parking, thiking times, contour maps, and explicit trail directions. 252 pages
First Aid and Family Emergency Handbook
This compact book tells you what to do in emergency and then what to do to protect a victim. 252 pages (L125) $6.00
by Ralph Ramey They range over the entire state and includes hikes from easy to vigorous. Some overnight backpacks. 272 pages
www.northcountrytrail.org
Describes some 'of the state's most beautiful and interesting paths. Includes walks in the woods and in the cities. 160 pages (L116)
by Gary Fallesen A guide to the highest points in every New York county. Includes maps, directions to trailheads, and some alternate routes. 288 pages
(6282)
__ ---
Gulde to NCT, Chippewa National Forest, Minnesota
.....
.....
-COUaqlnll'
.,.
by Roderick MacRae
Description and trail log written by an expen. 12 pages (M611) $1.25
$1S.95 October-December 2002
*
North Star
33
ORDER TOLL FREE! 1-88~54-NCTA (6282)
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NCTA Trail Building and Maintenance Manual by Thomas Reimers This provides guidelines for planning, construction, and maintenance of the North Country Trail. 22 pages (L101)
Buck Wilder's Hiking & Camping Gulde by Tim Smith and Mark Herrick Great color illustrations filled with humor with tips and trivia. Appears to be a book for kids, but adults find it's lots of fun and informative. 64 pages (L103)
---
T.. 1t 8utldi.1 ud MalalleHMuW
,_
•
-t>rl-W..~<f••
-.
$2.00
$12.95
MEMBERSHIP
& TRAIL
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Following the NCT by Wes Boyd This is the third edition of a classic. It describes the trail and efforts to build it in each of the seven states. It includes details of through-hiking and a history of the Trail and Association. 96 pages (L112) $4.95
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$250to $999 Econo-Foods Marquette Ml 49855 (906)226-9969 Exxonmobil Volunteer Involvement Program
Mead Corporation Dayton, OH 45463 Striders, Inc. Grandville, Ml 49418
Tac Markets, Inc. Marquette, Ml 49855 $150 to $249 Biii Prall Touring Gear
Midwest Mountaineering
108 E. Third Sr. Harbor Springs, MI 49740 (231) 526-2594
309 S. Cedar Minneapolis,MN 55454 Northern Michigan University
Marquette, MI 49855
Dental Associates of Marquette
708 Chippewa Square Marquette, MI 49855
Orthopaedic Surgery
Assoc. of Marquette 1414 West Fair Avenue Marquette, MI 49855
Down Wind Sports South, Inc.
514 N. Third St. Marquette, MI 49855 (906) 226-7112
Sandhill Marketing Communications
1715 Glendale Blvd Kalamazoo,Ml49004 (616) 382-2561
Exkurslori Outfitters
4037 William Penn Highway Monroeville, PA 15146 (412) 372-7030
Trail Atlas of Michigan
Lee's Sports and Sportswear
1801 Birchwood Dr., Okemos, MI 48864 (517) 349-4683
311 Kilgore Portage, MI 49002 (616) 381-7700
101 W. Washington, Greenville,MI 49855
Wells Fargo Bank
Marquette General Hospital
420 West Magnetic Street Marquette, MI 49855
Western Pennsylvania Outside Adventure
101 Canterbury Drive Pittsburgh PA 15238 (412) 968-0310
*Includes cumulative gifts, membership contributions and grants received between July l , 2001 and June 30, 2002 October-December
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North Country Trail Association
Trail Councils
Chapters of the North Country Trail Association are like local trail clubs. They build and maintain trail, host hikes and other events, and work to promote the trail and the Association in their areas. For information about local activities and volunteering, contact Chapter representatives. Partner organizations are independent nonprofit organizations that are working to build and maintain certain sections of the trail.
NORTH DAKOTA TRAIL COUNCIL Chair and Tran Coordinator:Jon G. Lindgren· 2001 N. Seventh, Fargo, ND 58102 · (701) 2327868 · jon_lindgren@ndsu.nodak.edu 1. Lone Tree Chapter Eldon Ehrman· 2940 15th Avenue, NE Anamoose, ND 58710 · (701) 465-3387 · ejje@ndak.net 2. Sheyenne River Valley Chapter Lisa Engel· P.O. Box 100 Cooperstown, ND 58245 · (701) 797-3530 · lisarnengel@invisimax.com
MINNESOTA TRAIL COUNCIL Chair: John Leinen, Jr.· 14205 St. Croix Trail, Stillwater, MN 55082-9587 · (651) 433-4456 · patleinen@msn.com Trail Coordinator:Daryl Williamson· 5901 Timberglade Dr., Bloomington, MN 55438 · (952) 835-2186 · putswilli@earthlink.net 3. Star of the North Chapter John Dreher· 7641 10th St. N, Oakdale, MN 55128 · (651) 738-3717 · jjdreher@msn.com 4. Itasca Moraine Jerry Trout· 4379 Maple Lane NW, Hackensack, MN 56452 · (218) 675-5448 · jbtrout@tds.net 5. Kekekablc Tran Club Peter Sparks· (651) 739-0378 · pjsparks@isd.net 6. Rovers Outing Club Pat Ryan· 2021 James Ave., St. Paul, MN 55105 · (651) 699-9800 · pryannp@msn.com 7. Superior Hiking Trall Association Gayle Coyer· (218) 834-2700 · suphike@mr.net
GREAT LAKES TRAIL COUNCIL Chalr:BobNorlin ·PO Box718,IronRiver, WI54847 · (715) 372-5229 · rnorlin@ironriver.baysat.net Wisconsin Coordinator:Brad Gingras · PO Box 416, Cable, WI 54821-0416 · (715) 7983890 · nctrail@cablemuseum.org Upper Michigan Coordinator:Doug Welker · 26344 T auriainen Road, Pelkie, MI 49958 · (906) 338-2680 · dwelker@up.net 8. Brule-St. Croix Chapter Charles (Chuck) Zosel · 6697 S. Degerman Rd., Lake Nebagamon, WI 54849 · (715) 374-3489 · ezosel@presscenter.com
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LEGEND Chapters .......... Partners =
Not Yet Adopted
9. ChequamegonChapter Tana Turonie ·P.O. Box 475, Mellen, WI 54546 · (715) 274-2521 · tjt@wageswebworks.com 10. Heritage Chapter Jim Burow · 7067 Oakwood Circle, Neskoro, WI 53496 · (920) 293-8023 · glorim@wirural.net U. Peter Wolfe Chapter Doug Welker· 26344 Tauriainen Rd., Pelki, MI 49958 · (906) 338-2680 · dwelker@up.net 12. North Count,Y Trall Hikers (Chapter) Jan Wester· 352 E. Hewitt Ave., Marquette, MI 49855. (906) 225-1295 Berrie Daly· 126 HC 1, Marquette, MI 49855 · (906) 228-9018 Denise Herron · 423 W. Park St. · Marquette, MI 49855 · (906) 225-1030 · dherron906@aol.com 12. Hiawatha Shore to Shore Kirt Stage-Harvey· 950 Huron Street, St. Ignace, MI 49781 · .(906) 643-6379 · Stahar950@lighthouse.net
LOWER MICHIGAN TRAIL COUNCIL Chair: Arlen Matson · 49684 Dracka Road Traverse City, MI 49684-8837 · .(231) 941-4152 · as319@tcnet.org 14. Harbor Springs Chapter Jerry Keeney· 2385 Manitou Trail, Harbor Springs, MI 49740 · (231) 526-9597 · Keeney@freeway.net 15. Tittabawassee Chapter Jerry Allen· 1561 Bomanville Rd., Gladwin, MI 48624 · (517) 345-2677 · killingc@m33access.com 16. Grand Traverse Hiking Club (Chapter) Rick Halbert· 7385 S. Whispering Hills, Traverse City, MI 49684 · (231) 947-8485 · homes5@chartermi.net
17. Spirit of the Woods Chapter Richard Krieger · 364 First Street #2, Manistee, MI 49660 · (231) 398-9193 18. Western Michigan Chapter Werner Veit· 229 East Main Street, Lowell, MI 49331 · (616) 897-5987 · wv12@aol.com 19. Chief Noonday Chapter Tom Garnett· 1715 Glendale Blvd, Kalamazoo, MI 49004 · (616) 382-2561 · garnettt@rrinity-health.org 20. Baw Beese Chapter Richard Saur· P.O. Box 673, Hillsdale, MI 49242 · (517) 437-5033 · dkstuff.fronrier.net
OHIO TRAIL COUNCIL Chair: Garry S. Dill Jr. · 4070 TradersvilleBrighton Road, London, OH 43140 · (937) 834-2891 vetfarm@starband.net Trail Coordinator: Jim Sprague · 4406 Maplecrest, Parma, OH 44134 · (440) 884-4757 · jimsprague@msn.net 21. Northwestern Ohio Rail-to-TrailsAssoc. Gene Markley · 22266 County Rd. 5, Delta, OH 43615 · (800) 951-4788 · 140years@powersupply.net 22. Buckeye Tran Association Garry Dill· 4070 Tradersville-Brighton Rd., London, OH 43140 · (937) 834-2891 · vetfarm@starband.net 23. Great Trail Sandy Beaver Canal Chapter Brad Bosley · 50900 Pancake-Clarkston Rd., Negley, OH 44441 · (330) 227-2432
PENNSYLVANIA TRAIL COUNCIL Chair and Trail Coordinator:Bob Tait· Box 2968, Butler PA 16001-2968 · (724) 287-3382 · bobtait@zbzboom.net
24. Wampum
Two NCTA staff members greeting incomingmembers, Sherry Staal (left), office assistant, and Bonnie Wayman, office manager, were attending their first North Country Trail Association conference.
Chapter
Paul Henry· 469 Superior St., Hermitage, PA 16148. (724) 347-3281 25. Greater Pittsburgh Chapter Michael Kaizar · 933 Norfolk St., Pittsburgh, PA
15217 · (412) 321-0842 · mike@greenmarketplac e.com 25. Rock Chapter
Frank Cetera· P.O. Box 151, Forestville, PA 16035 · (724) 735-1133 · frcetera@hotmail.com 26. Butler Chapter
Ron Rice· 111 Ash Stop Rd., Evans City, PA 16033 · (724) 538-8475 · Ricel@nauticom.net 27. Clarion Chapter
CarolAtwell · 18141Rt208, P.O. Box 15, Marble, Pa 16334 · (814) 354-2778. atwell@ma il. usachoice.net 28. American Youth Hostels-Pittsburgh Council
Bob Roth· 80 Rose Leaf Rd., Pittsburgh, PA 15220. (412) 279-6219
NEW YORK TRAIL COUNCIL Chair and Trail Coordinator: Howard Beye ·
202 Colebourne Road, Rochester, NY · (585) 288-7191 · fltc@frontiernet.net
You Can Hear New Voices at NCTA's Lowell Headquarters
29. Anger Lakes Trail Conference
Irene Szabo · 6939 Creek Road, Mt. Morris, NY 14510-9638 · (585) 658-4321 · treeweenie@aol.com 30. Onondaga Chapter, ADK
Mary Coffin · 328 Deepsrings Dr., Chittenango, NY 13037 · (315) 687-3589 · Mccoffm72l@worl dner.att.net 31. Central New York Chapter
Al Larmann · 7169 Forbes Road, Canastota, NY 13032-9999 · (315) 697-3387 · larmann@worldnet.att.net
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Tom Gilbert, Superintendent Fred Szarka, Trail Manager National Park Service 700 Rayovac Drive Suite 100 Madison, WI 53711 (608) 441-5610 tom_gilbert@nps.gov Fredrick_Szarka@nps.gov.
area and welcomed an opportunity to quit commuting to their jobs in Grand Rapids and have enjoyed their association with the trail. Sherry says she became smitten with hiking in North Dakota and now hopes to walk some of the areas for which she has been handing out information and maps to visitors. Also new in the office this summer is Joe Kalee, our cartography intern from Grand Valley State University. Like his predecessor, Joe is geography major. Joe started last Summer but stayed to complete three maps of areas in Michigan, one of the area covered by the Chief Noonday Chapter and two started by other interns, Cedar Creek to Charlevoix County in the Lower Peninsula and the Marquette area in the Upper Peninsula. Steve Kushion, also from Grand Valley completed his internship last Spring by producing the Grand Marais to AuTrain Lake map in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Jan vander Woerd, our geography intern from Calvin College, our other partner in the Association's intern program directed by Tiffany Stram, produced a map of the Allegheny National Forest. It hasn't been released pending confirmation information from the forest staff. New this fall are Grand Valley students Matt Rowbotham and Jason Pung. Matt is creating a map in central Pennsylvania from the southern end of the Allegheny National Forest to State Game Lands 95 in Butler County. Paul's project is a map from the Paul Bunyan State Forest (just west of the Chippewa National Forest through the White Earth State Forest in Minnesota.
I
f you've had occasion in the last few months to call the North Country Trail Association's headquarters, you have probably spoken to some relativelynew and friendly voices. Bonnie Wayman, our office manager, actually has been with us ever since just before our move to Lowell, Ml., from downtown Grand Rapids in April of 200 l , but the annual conference in 2002 was her first opportunity to meet a lot of members. Another first time attendee at the conference was Sherry Staal, the Association's part-time office assistant. Sherry joined us after Margie Kindel, our long-time, but part-time project manager left us for a full-time post managing the day-to-day operations in the school of education at Aquinas College. With the departure, staff duties were re-organized and Margie's responsibilities were divided between Bonnie and Glory Meyer, who had been working two days a week running the trail shop. Some of Bonnie's duties then were turned over to Sherry, who filled a new, part-time post. Both Sherry and Bonnie live in the
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ScoutingCommon Theme for 3 Active NCTA Members (1-outing and the outdoors. Those two Uwords just seem to go together. In the case of this months column Boy Scouting is a common theme among the three featured volunteers. Now, as an old Girl Scout, I'd like to hear about more gjrls honing their woodland skills and building puncheon, but I'm also an old Cub Scout leader so I can identifj with these stories too. Young people are the next generation of trail users and trail stewards. Adult leaders have the opportunity to teach youngsters to respect and enjoy nature. But as you'll hear in two of these stories, Scouting also brought other adults into the body of North Country Trail supporters. As a noun, "a scout" is one who is sent out to search for information. Each of these people is actively involved in scouting for environmental causes and worthy projects on many fronts. We are honored that their "scoutcraft" projects include the NCT.
CENTRAL NY CHAPTER KATHY DISQUE has had a longtime interest in hiking. When her son's Boy Scout troop needed a hiking merit badge counselor, Kathy rose to the occasion and soon learned of the Onondaga Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club (now a partner of the NCTA). Kathy enthusiastically led the boys on their hikes but also insisted that they include a work day to give back to the trail before she would sign off on their badges! Since the Finger Lakes Trail and the Onondaga ADK are intertwined, she attended the 1996 Fall FLTC Conference and there learned of the North Country Trail as well. She promptly signed up. So when the CNY Chapter began in her neck of the woods, Kathy's membership was already in place. She served as their Treasurer from 1997- 2000, and is now one of their Directors. She has also maintained her relationship with the Onondaga folks and is currently their Vice-Chair.
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Kathy Disque proud of her award for 100 hours of volunteering.
Kathy actively supports open space and conservation efforts. "But I like to go visit sites that are being discussed," she explained. "I don't just believe what some e-mail message tells me I should think." Once she has an opinion on various issues she follows through, often writing letters to encourage appropriate actions. Kathy's not just a desktop hiker though. Her job as accountant gives her plenty of desk time. Rather, she loves to be outdoors: to listen to the birds; to smell the balsam. "I never wear a watch in the woods," Kathy confided. 'Tm not out there to be constrained by time." Her favorite thing to do for the trail? She likes scouting out routes and actual trail building. She has an adopted piece of trail to maintain that she helped to build. Kathy's miles are just south of Canastota, New York. The soil there is clay... hard to work in when wet, but like concrete when dry. Nevertheless, they often work when it's wet in order to make the treadway what Kathy calls "sneaker friendly." She knows that many people who will use that section are not hard-core hikers. People from town just want to take a recreational stroll, perhaps even on their lunch hours, and she wants all walkers of the NCT to feel welcome there. Kathy's advice? "Don't just think of the trail as a linear experience. Take a
look and see what's all around you."
TITTABAWASEE CHAPTER It's often said that if you want something done you should look for someone who is already busy. That sure seemed to work in the case of JERRY ALLEN. Jerry is a Boy Scout Commissioner, a trail steward for the Midland to Mackinac Trail, a member
Jerry Allen Installing a gate In the Jordan River Valley near O'Brien Road.
HARBOR SPRINGS CHAPTER
constructive way to show people how to enjoy the environment." Keeping people on trails protects the surrounding area. Jerry's says that his greatest accomplishment is the production of a local brochure and trail map. He was inspired for the project by a desire to let people know the trail exists. "So many people didn't know," Jerry sadly echoes the refrain so many of us sing. He believes that the maps, available at trailhead boxes, can help assure people who might be hesitant to go into the woods. He's also currently working on building 800 feet of puncheon through a wetland to improve the trail and protect the environment. Jerry's connection with Scouts? He's working with a local troop to complete trail through Wilderness State Park. Another chapter member says "Jerry's very persistent; he gets things done." Jerry insists "it's great fun. Nobody in the world has enough money to pay me for what I do. I do it because I just love it." He concluded, "You know, I'm approaching my 7Ist birthday. I get anxious about the future of the Trail. I know it won't be completed in my lifetime, but I hope for a clear vision of what the Trail will be."
All three chapters mentioned in this issue are about the same age. Four to five years ago the Association suddenly surged from just a few chapters to about a dozen. Harbor Springs Chapter was formed to maintain the miles just south of the Mackinac Bridge in lower Michigan. JERRY KEENEY has been their President for the past four years. He too is involved in lots of environmental causes including the Michigan Nature Association. Through that organization, he cares for sections of nature sanctuaries throughout the state. When Jerry retired from teaching history in the Grosse Pointe (near Detroit) school system he and his wife moved to northern Michigan to be closer to family. Their new home is actually near the Trail, but they didn't know it at the time. Somehow he got to know Arden Johnson who knew of his work with the Nature Association. Soon Arden had Jerry working on the NCT as well. "Trails are one of the great ways to protect nature," Jerry asserts. "It's a
Scouting for a cause? The North Country Trail can fill as much ofyour life as you want with worthy projects. Kathy reminded me that she needs to balance her opportunities. Scouting for a vision? The NCT hopes to "showcase outstanding environmental, historical and cultural features of the northern United States." Does what you do move us toward this vision? Scouting for a plan? Kathy also said that hiking other trails sometimes encourages her when she can see that the NCT has made good progress, and other times she gets good ideas from other trails. Jerry Allen gets ideas and direction at the National Conferences. Scouting for a scout? Well, we hope so. You might not actually pass on your skills, projects and dreams, like Jerry Keeney, to an organized Scout Troop, but we all should be looking for new and young "scouts"for the Trail. Want to nominate a volunteer for this column? All persons featured here are nominated by local members. Contact Joan Young 231-757-2205,jhy@t-one.net
of the American Legion Post, Music Director at his church, and a mentor with Community Mental Health. Yet, in 1996 when the District Boy Scout Executive asked Jerry about the North Country Trail, he went scouting for some of that information we've mentioned and decided to join the Grand Traverse Hiking Club, the Traverse City Chapter although it was quite far from his home in the eastern part of Michigan. This seemed just to far to travel for meetings so he began to work with Stella Thelen (featured July 2002) to form a new chapter. It turned out that a core of
people existed who might be able to join together and a section of trail north of Traverse City could be theirs for adoption. Jerry agreed to be the President and that's been his role in the Tittabawasee chapter ever since. Jerry is no newcomer to long-distance trails. He hiked for six months on the Appalachian Trail and believes that the "National Trail System is something really great." During his time on the trail he says he re-evaluated his life and knew that he wanted to give back something to trails. He says that trail work also helps to keep him healthy- fighting off the advance of several chronic health problems by staying fit. Jerry is one of the people who can say that they have hiked a little of the NCT in each of its seven states. He's been to all the National Conferences since he became involved. We might also recall that he met his wife, Connie, through the trail, and that they were married on the NCT just a few years ago. Yes, we do mean "on the trail!" Connie adds that he's very conscientious. "He takes great pains to be at all chapter events, and works like a beaver on work days." Jerry is a retired forester, and graduated from Michigan State with the current NCTA President Gaylord Yost. So Gaylord asked Jerry to help the new Hiawatha Shore-to-Shore Chapter, based in St. Ignace, Michigan, get started. This is right in line with Jerry's chosen priority, promotion of the trail. "I seldom meet someone who is a hiker, or who I suspect is a hiker, that I don't tell them about the trail. As long as I'm able,
Jerry Keeney designed and made these boxes to hold trall for brochures.
I'll continue to promote the NCT." Keep up the good work, Jerry!
October-December· · · · · · ·
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Spring through fall, Booth Newspapers' weekly Venture Outdoors section covers the best day hikes and overnight backpacking trips in Michigan. From child-friendly nature walks to the most rugged trails on Isle Royale, Venture Outdoors is your source for information. Your guide is Jim DuFresne, hiking expert for Venture Outdoors since 1989. Jim has spent a lifetime trekking across Michigan and is the author of 1110.re than a dozen guidebooks including 50 Hikes in Michigan and Michigan's Best Hikes with Children. So lace up your boots and explore your adventurous side with Venture Outdoors-every 路 : week in the eight Booth Newspapers.
NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE
PAID North Country Trail Association 229 East Main Street Lowell, Michigan 49331
Grand Rapids, Ml Permit 340