Dave Kunze Photography
St. Ignace’s new Trail Town Center is graced with this winter scene, one of several that make up Four Seasons on the NCT, a mural by local artist Leon Ruder. (Read about this Hiawatha-Shore-to-Shore Chapter project, page 20.)
About the Cover It’s conventional wisdom that an army travels on its stomach. Well, so does a trail crew. Multiple construction projects this season across the breadth of the trail feature crews fueled by fabulous meals made by other volunteers. Here Matt Branneman goofs over a 20-egg Mexican omelet before others can get to it, at a Lions camp housing one of the Finger Lakes Trail “Alley Cat” crews, where they are re-building the old Chestnut lean-to south of Ithaca in center state. Picture and omelet by Jacqui Wensich. (Read Jacqui’s article Confessions of an Alley Cat Cook, Page 30.) In This Issue
Columns
National Park Service VIP Awards..........................................4 2013 NCTA Awards.............................5 Dan Watson Wins Safety Award.............9 NTD: New Trail Section Opens in Tamarac Wildlife Refuge..................10 The Making of Great Trail.................12 NTD: Building Dudeck Bridge............20 Volunteer Vacations.............................21 St. Ignace Trail Town Center.................23 Wildfire Revisited................................24 A Cooperative Trailside Shelter.............28 Confessions of an Alley Cat Cook...............................30
Trailhead.............................................3 Matthews’ Meanders.........................21 NPS Corner......................................26
Departments Who’s Who Along the Trail...............18 Where in the Blue Blazes?..................22 Hiking Shorts....................................13
North Star Staff
Irene Szabo, Volunteer Editor, (585) 658-4321 or treeweenie@aol.com Peggy Falk, Graphic Design The North Star, Fall issue, Vol. 32, Issue 3 is published by the North Country Trail Association, a private, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, 229 East Main Street, Lowell, MI 49331. The North Star is published quarterly for promotional and educational purposes and as a benefit of membership in the Association. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the North Country Trail Association.
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The North Star
July-September 2013
Staff
David Cowles Director of Development dcowles@northcountrytrail.org Jill DeCator Administrative Assistant/Membership Coordinator jdecator@northcountrytrail.org Matt Davis Regional Trail Coordinator Minnesota/North Dakota mdavis@northcountrytrail.org Tarin Hasper Administrative Assistant thasper@northcountrytrail.org Andrea Ketchmark Director of Trail Development aketchmark@northcountrytrail.org Laura Lindstrom Financial Administrator llindstrom@northcountrytrail.org Bruce Matthews Executive Director bmatthews@northcountrytrail.org Bill Menke Regional Trail Coordinator Wisconsin bmenke@northcountrytrail.org Matt Rowbotham GIS Coordinator mrowbotham@northcountrytrail.org
National Board of Directors Terms Expiring 2014
Mary Coffin, VP East, New York Rep. (315) 687-3589 · maryccoffin@gmail.com John Heiam, Secretary, At Large Rep. (231) 938-9655 · johnheiam@charter.net Lorana Jinkerson (906) 226-6210 · ljinkers@nmu.edu Doug Thomas, First VP, At Large Rep. (612) 240-4202 · dthomas7000@gmail.com
Terms Expiring 2015
Joyce Appel, Pennsylvania Rep. (724) 526-5407 · joyceappel@windstream.net Jack Cohen, Pennsylvania Rep. (724) 234-5398 · JCohen@zoominternet.net Tom Moberg, President, North Dakota Rep. (701) 271-6769 · tfmoberg@gmail.com Brian Pavek, Minnesota Rep. (763) 425-4195 · stn@northcountrail.org Gaylord Yost, VP West, Great Lakes Rep. (414) 354-8987 · gaylyost@aol.com
Terms Expiring 2016
Larry Pio, At Large Rep. (269) 327-3589 · nalcoman1@aol.com Debbie Zampini, Ohio Rep. (440) 567-1894 · half-marathoner@hotmail.com Ed Gruchalla, North Dakota Rep. (701) 293-1839 · egruch@aol.com Jaron Nyhof, At Large Rep. (616) 786-3804 · jnyhof@wnj.com Jerry Trout, Minnesota Rep. (218) 831-3965 · jjtrout@tds.net Jim Noble, Wisconsin Rep. (715) 372-5680 · jimnoble@cheqnet.net Lynda Rummel, New York Rep. (315) 536-9484 · ljrassoc@roadrunner.com Larry Hawkins, Immediate Past President, Michigan Rep. (269) 945-5398 · larryhawkins45@wowway.com