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NORTH CCI.JNTRY NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL
Vo1ume
III
Number I
NORTH DAKOTA
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SOUTH DAKOTA
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VOLUME ORGAN
III
Number
JANUARY 1983
1
I ZAT IONAL
NORTH COUNTRY NATIONAL SCENIC
NORTH DAKOTA
TRAIL ASSOCIATION P.0. Box 311
hlhite Cloud, Michigan 49349
President: Lamy Lemanski Vice President: Virginia Wunsch
PRESIDENT EMERITUS
Mr. Feild, Ma.ine ***************************************** : Joyce Harl ukowi cz Treasurer: Kenneth Gack'ler ************************************ NATi0NAL ADVISgRy BSARD Lance
Secretary
Honorable Wm. S.
THE NEWSLETTER
The corrununications median
for the
North Country National Scenic Trail
U.S. Senate
Washington,
Cohen
D.C.
205i0
Association. Mr. Robert E. Dre'is 632 Smith Street Edi tor: John G. Hi pps , M.D. Spooner, l.lisconsin 54301 0rchard Hill Farms Mari envi l'le , PA 16239 Ms . Carolyn Hoffman (814 ) 927-6685 D. 4 B-ox zt7 ************************************ R. Dillsburg, pA LTOtg NATIONAL B0ARD 0F DIRECT0RS (by State) Ur. Robert P. Martin NEt^l YORK
Dr. William Ehling Dr. Robert Hofer PENNSYLVANIA
Dr. John Hipps Dr. James (Bill )
Shiner
Nati onal Park Servi ce 1709 Jackson Street Omaha, Nebraska 68L02
Honorable Gaylord Nelson 1901 Pennsy'lvania Ave. NW l,lashington, D.C. 20006 Honorable G. Wm. Whitehurst House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515
*****************************************
OHIO
Dr. Richard Harvey Mr. Ralph Ramey Mr. Robert Paton MICHIGAN
Mr. Lawrence Lemanski Ms . Vi rgi ni a Wunsch Mr. Kenneth Gackler Ms. Joyce Harlukowicz l^lI SCONS I N
n
NAMES
&
ADDRESSES
OF 1983 OFFICERS
' Mr. Lawrence L. Lemansk'i P.0. Box 10i44 Lans'ing , Mi chigan 48901
. Vi rgi nia Wunsch Route 4 2780 Mundy Ave. White Cloud, Michigan 49349
Ms
Ms. Joyce Har'lukowicz Metro Detroit Council American Youth Hostels 3024 Cool idge Berkley, Michigan 48092
MINNESOTA
Dr. T'imothy Knopp
Mr. Kenneth
Gackl er 418 l^lest Johnson Street Caledonia, Michigan 49316
-1-
THE NEWSLETTER
VOLUME I I
I
JANUARY
i983
EDITORIAL
It is the considered opinion of this
editor at this point in time that the N.C.N.S.T.A. will be off and running very shortly. It 'is the case that we have floundered and bobbled
to participate in a "Name.the-l,lewsletter" contest. Please send your suggestions to me at the address given on bers
the
first
page.
******************************************
and babb'led considerably over the past two years. l,lle of the board are Another discovery"of our recent Board convinced that we have the appropriate meeting was to learn that peop'le who base now to really get th'ings ro1'lrecently joined our organization ing. An immense amount of planning, have have not received membersh'ip cards. This organizing, trail' 1ay-out and mainwill be corrected in the very near f,uture tenance must be accompfished in the when Ken Gackl er obtai ns them to send out very near future. This is a call to you.
for your help to become a member if you are not already and to become involved in the essential job of membership, trail 1ay-out.and trail maintenance. I,Je have an "Adopt-A-Trai I ,, drive going as described in Bill Shiner's news note. Our next drive and it s slogan 'is "Get a New Member". If each one of us wil] obtain just one nevl member we can have several hundred by our next meeting 'in Apri'l , 1983, and by 0ctober.ls membership meeting we can have a member a miie and that means 3,200.
******************
*:k**********************
Very Near Future
It was exciting to receive the little package from Ken Gackler that included our ner membership cardlll Now we rea'l1y are back in businesslll Good job well done, Kenll:
****************************************** ,
************************************
Our Board of Directors meeting, November 13 & i4 , l9BZ was handsomely hosted by Ralph Ramey at the Glen Hel en Centerin YeI l ow Spri ngs , Ohio where Ralph is the d'irector of the Glen Helen Outdoor Education Cen-
ter at Antioch
Co11ege.
, ****************************************** from Yel
This nature preserve that serves as an environmental education center and has a number of deljqhtful hiking trai I s i s assoc'iated wi th Ant'i och College and is in the path of the North Country Tra'il . It is 3,s1 .r-
other of the great many exciting things that is to be experienced along the North Country National Sceni.c Trai l
************************************
It
was discovered during the course Board Meeting that our news'lettq,r name is the same as that for the Buckeye Trai'l . It is therefore necessary for us to come up with a new one. In the meantime, it wil'l be known simply as "THE NEWSLETTER".
of the member
This editor hereby invites
Mr. Chorles Yocoobiqn, President of Trai'l Foods recently offered through Lance Feild to send out our application form with his most recent catalogue. 10,000 cop'ies were provided for this purpose and has gone into the mail in December thanks to Raloh'low Ramey, Buckeye State Board member
aIl
mem-
Spri ngs
Ohi o .
THE NEWSLETTER STATE OH
&
VOLUME I I
&
REGIONAL VIEWS
omembers
The cal I i s out to al'l of the Buckeye Trail Association by way of
their newsletter for volunteers to parti ci pate 'i n the 1983 rvork-days scheduled for the week-end of 0ct-
ober 22 & 23, 1983. They p1 an to complete the North Country Tra'il from South Eastern Ohio to the Pennsy]vani a State l'ine; a di stance of 60 to 70 miles. Th'is is an excelchance
for Trail
members
in
Pennsylvania to add to the interstate hook up of North Country Trail sections and a'id in the future growth of the entire North Country l{at'ional Scenic Trail . It is a good opportunity also to cooperatively work with established and experienced trai I -makers as the Buckeye Trai I can boast from way back. Ed De'laet, State-wi de Trai I Coordi nator for the Buckeye Trail Association extends this call to anyone, anywhere, tra'i'l member or not. There is no'limit to the number of people needed so you can be a volunteer in mission to ai d i n trai 'l 'lay-out and mai ntenance
right
down
to the last minute.
call is for
This
those who may want to
trail sections closer home, n the Buckeye State. The address 'is: Edward l,l. De]aet, work on
el sewhere i
State-wide Trail Coordinator, BuckTrail Association, 138 Bonita
eye
o
, , **********************i************* Dri ve
Dayton
PENNSY LVAN
I
Ohi
45415.
IA
ner i s worki ng on revi s'ions Associ ati on Byl aws . They will be recopied and distributed pri or to our next meeti ng 'i n Apri 1 , 1983, at whi ch time they w'i1i be adBi I
Shi
of the Tra'i I
qpted
after
any
further
changes.
Bi I I Shi ner i s al so work'i ng on obtaining add'itional Board Members for
York, Wisconsin, Michigan, and North Dakota. Any suggestions will be welcomed at Slippery Rock State Co1 lege, Sl ippery Rock, PA.where Bill 'is Head of the Dept. of Parks' and Recreation. New
JANUARY 1983
NEWS
IO
lent
I
The U.S. Forest Service recently cited twelve SRSC students for work on the North Country Trail within the Allegheny
National Forest. A.R. Flechsig, District Ranger at Marienville cited the parks and recreation majors for reconstruct'ion. of a si de hi'll section of the trai'l that was in unsatisfactory conditjon. The students who worked on the project were Chri s Ca1houn , El ai ne Schwartz , Peggy Hill, Nancy Martin, Marie Martin, Sue Layden
, Ti m Nos s , Dar^rn VanDerP'l oi g ,
Linn Wasliewski, Karen Muxfeldt, Sara Coleman and John Thompson. The project was sponsored jointly by Rho Phi Alpha (parks and recreation honorary) and the Parks and Recreation Club. The students ai"e currently looking into the Forest Servi ce's "Adopt-A-Trai I " program which perm'its them to accept "offi ci al " responsi bi I i ti es for ma'i ntaining a part of the traii. Others 'in-
terested in the "Adopt-A-Trail" proQram may contact Mr. Flechs'ig at the Marienvi'lle Ranger Station, Marienville, PA 16239.
*********************************************
MICHIGAN
The f i rst Hostel facl 1 i t.y avai I abl e to the users of the North Country Trai'l has opened'its doors at Wabous Lake near Grand Rapids. Their faci'lity is located right on theNorth Country Trail and is a member of the American Youth Hostels, inc. Reservations can be made from mid May to mid September at L1277 Springhi'11 Drive, Greenv'ille, MI 48838, (616) 0gt7260 and from mi d September through April at Box 1570, Grand Rapids, l4I 49501. The National Headquarters Building wi1'l be open by the time of our next board and membershi p meeti ng i n 0ctober, 1983 'i n what Ginny Wunsch calIs "a primitiVe . s tate " . The bui 'l di ng i s now the prooerty
of the North Country National Scenic Trail Association and r{e owe great gratitude and honest homaqe to Lance Fei'ld and Ginny t,lunsch for obtaining and renovat'ing the building and the
site.
Considerable
yet needs to be done on the bu'i'lding so that contributions are bad'ly needed from those of you willing and ab'le to help
work
).'
.THE
NEWSLETTER
VOLUME
JI I
JAI'iUARY 1983
(
STATE
&
REGIONAL VIEI^IS
&
NEWS
the North Country National Scenjc
Trail Association in a financial way. Your contri but'ions wi I I be tax deductahle since we are about to
receive our tax exempt
number.
Congratulations are for our officers Larry Lemanski, President; Gi nny l^luns ch , Vi ce Pres i dent : Joyce Harlukowicz, Secretary; and Ken Gackler, Treasurer. Joyce Harlukowicz 'is our most recent add'ition to the Member Boards of the North Country Trai I .
for 1983;
The next N.C.N.S.T.A. meeting will be the weekend of April i3 & 14, 1983. It wi I I be 'in the Al l egheny National Fonest Area of Southwestern New York and Northwestern Pennsyl vani a . The A1 1 eghen.v lli ki C1ub, Finger Lakes Trail Council and the Pennsylvania Section of the N.C.N.S.T. wjll host the meeting which will be coordi nated by Bi 1 1 Sh j ner and John H'ipps . Detai 1s regard'ing How To 's (Get There ,
Stay, To Do, etc. ) wi 1 1 be forth comi ng in the March i.ssue of the NEWSLETTER.
*******************************************
Gi nny l,luns ch w'i I I al so serve as Trai I Associ at'ion Hi stori an and Li brari an i n addi t'i on to the off i ce of Vice President.
************************************
HE LP.O TRAILBLAZER NEWS ITEMS
Pleose send ony items you
moy
find
of interest for future issues of The Troilblozer to: Dr. JOHN G. HIPPS, M.D. HILL
FARM
FOREST ROAD MARTENVTLLE,
PA.
ORCHARD
ng
-4.-
16239
IHE
NEh,SLETTER
II
I
I :hrHOoPS :
:
VOLUME
JANUARY
i983
TALL TRAIL TAILS
There'is a growing awareness in the world today that the North Country National Scenic Trail is indeed special and unique. So many things about the trail are the most, or the greatest, or some such superiority. It is the longest and the newest scenic trail. it has the greatest yariety of wild life, fofiage, birds, terrain and seasons. It also has nights that are the darkest and that can mean the toughest and scariest. And the section throuqh the Adirondackis the most of al I that. experienced jt for myself one m'id July night when the moon was new. The stars were there but could not be seen under the canopy of the densely crowned decidious hardwood trees. I tried not to notice the inky blackness as I stomped steadily forward over some wet, spongy ground.
I
I just kept right on walking as I noticed the spongy ground give way to a light, airy sensat'ion, then I realized I was wa1king over a deep, wide chasm from one rocky top to another. The blackness was so dense and thick i could walk on'it w'ithout fall'ing through. It was l'ike walking on a black marble floor. I began
to feel pretty omnipotent and was about to be overcome r;rith a Christ-like complex. And that's when Divine justice caught up with me. A boit of lightening exp'loded out of the black sky above and struck the blackness in front of me. An intensely bright chink cleft open and I plunged down'into the inky abyss on what apoeared to be a 'long, steep, slippey'sliding board
An eternity of split secondS Iater I suddenly stopped with such a jolt that the sparks f'lew up from where I sat like a burst of Roman Cand'les. This underworld around me lit up a near-b'linding brightness and I realized I landed on, of al1 places, the Appalachian Trail. I was so revolted by th4s that I began to jump up and down with righteous indignation shouting non-righteous remarks about the ground I found myself on. The Appalachian Trail soon revolted at this tirade and reacted by bounding me high into the air right back up to where I started from. I was able to grab hold of the top edge of the inky b'lackness, pulled up my boot straps and walked
on
trying to
make
like
nothlng unusual happened.
I didn't fool myself, however, and was qui ck to avoid lightening bolts and clefts. That was one kind of illuminat'ion I could do witho'''
more chinks and
John Hi pps
)
THE NEWSLETTER
JANUARY 1983
SPECIAL FEATURE
This issue's special feature is written by Lance Feild, Expert Backpacker, Author and President Emeritus of the N.C.N.S.T.A. Board of Directors.
It
w'ill be pubf ished You w'ill keep your issues for
in a series of threer'in
successive issues of the NEI^JSLETTER. making so be sure.you
find'it full of useful 'informatibn on trail future reference.
SUGGESTIONS FOR VOLUNIEER.S I,IHO PLAN
TO ESTABLISH A
NEl/l
HIKING TRAIL
Lance
Fe'i I d
There are certa'in steps that help make the process of establishing a new a little more coherent and easier to understand. Th'is is espec'ia1]y important to the volunteer who so nobly gives of h'is time, energy, money and intelligence to make our American trails a worthwhile.natural resource for both the present and posterity.
trail
These nine steps and the b'its of wisdom associated with each should be seriously considered before tackling the long and rewarding (be it ever so tough) joO of starting 'd new hiking trail .
1.
Find a sponsoring organization. Ideally, jt could be the nearest local non-motorized outdoor club. It is best to approach a private land olvner or a public official in the name of a responsible organization. Tra'il maintenance responsibi'lity'is better'lodqed w'ith an organization than with an indiv'idual , who may die, move away, or otherwjse have to terminate his act'ivities. If existing organizat'ions feel they can't take on the sponsorship, form a new group to be respons'ible for the trai'1, composed of those willing to establ'ish and maintain it. Ass'istance. for maintenance might be obta'ined from such bodies as school outing clubs and scout orqanizat'ions, but state parks and forests can seldom provide such assistance, by the nature of their operations.
2.
a preliminary once-over of the area to ascertain where the best route and alternate routes wou'ld 1ie, (not cons'iderations under point 5 below). Do no trai I cutti ng or marki ng now, exceptposs'ib'ly for di screte f l aggi ng (orange surveyor's ribbon). If there'is any question as to whether you are.perm'itted to walk in the area, check with the appropriate land owner(s) or Do
I and manag'i
ng
agenc j es
.
3. Identify the owners of the land along the best route and the'ideal alter-
routes. Consult the loca'l tax assessor's property'line maps and relate them to the proposed routes wh'ich you should draw on the pert'inent U.S. Geo'logical Survey map. 0ther aids are to read the names on "no trespass'ing" s'igns and to consult loca'l surveyors and residents. Consulting deeds and nate
s'imilar land records consumi ng
is tedious, not too rewarding and extremely time-
.
-To Be Continued-
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