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NORTH STAR: TI1e Newsletterof the North Country Trai/Associatfon; 'Apr-May. 1997
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Page 3
NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, Apr-May 1997
NORTH STAR: the newsletter of the
~....J
'~ NORTH
COUNTRY TRAIL ASSOCIATION
North CountryTrail Association
(i)
RPERCIOYNNCTELEDD PAPER
·- .... ·•···-·-·-···-·-·-·-49 Monroe Center, Suite 2008, Grand Rapids, Ml 49546 Phone (616) 454~5506•FAX (616) 454~7139 • Email: NCTAssoc@aol.com WWW Site: http://people.delphi.com/wesboyd/ncnst.htm Editor: Wes Boyd, 14815 Rome Road, Manitou Beach, Ml 49253 STAFF Executive Director: Office Manager: Planning Assistant: NPS Administrator:
Bob Papp Claudia Day Kim Bair Bill Menke
49 Monroe Center, Suite 200B, Grand Rapids Ml 49546 49 Monroe Center, Suite 200B, Grand Rapids Ml 49546 National Park Service, 700 Rayovac Dr., #100, Madison WI 53711 National Park Service, 700 Rayovac Dr., #100, Madison WI 53711
(616) 454-5506 (616) 454-5506 (608) 264-5610 (608) 264-5610
NCTAssoc@aol.com NCTAssoc@aol.com kim_bair@nps.gov bill_menke@nps.gov
(810) 548-1737 (414) 354-8987 (218) 573-3858 (517) 547-7402 (810) 853-0292
djblount@aol.com GaylYost@aol.com
OFFICERS President: Derek Blount 906 N. Alexander, Royal Oak Ml 48067 Vice President(Trails): Gaylord Yost 2925 W. Bradley Rd., River Hills WI 53217-2052 Vice President (Admin): Odell Bjerkness Bad Medicine Lake, R1, Box 221 A, Ponsford, MN 56575 14815 Rome Road, Manitou Beach Ml 49253 Secretary Wes Boyd Treasurer Arden Johnson 600 Tennyson, Rochester Hills, Ml 48307
wesboyd@delphi.com
BOARD OF DIRECTORS TERMS EXPIRING IN 1997 West Region At-Large Rep. BTA Appointed West Region Rep. Gnl. Affiliate Appointee At-Large Rep.
Odell Bjerkness Werner Veit Emily Gregor Pat Miller Glenn Oster, Gaylord Yost
R1, Box 221A, Ponsford, MN 56575 49 Monroe Center, Suite 200B, Grand Rapids, Ml, 49503 6502 Olde York Rd., Parma Hts OH 44130 R1 Box 36A Washburn WI 784 Olive St., Pittsburgh, PA 15237 2925 W. Bradley Rd., River Hills WI 53217-2052
West Central (Ml) Rep. At-Large Rep. At-Large Rep. East Central (OH) Rep. West Central (Ml) Rep. At-Large Rep.
Derek Blount Wes Boyd David Cornell Elwood Ensor Arden Johnson John Leinen, Jr.
906 N. Alexander, Royal Oak Ml 48067 14815 Rome Road, Manitou Beach Ml 49253 514 Cordes Rd., Delton, Ml 49046 1304 Horizon Dr., Fairborn OH 45324-5816 600 Tennyson, Rochester Hills, Ml 48307 111 Quant Ct So, Lakeland MN 55043
FLT Appointee At-Large Rep. At-Large Rep. At-Large Rep. East Region Rep. Honorary Appointment
Howard Beye Bill Herron Susan Nelson Kathy Olstad Harmon Strong Joan H. Young
202 Colebourne Rd., Rochester NY 14609 423 W. Park Street, Marquette Ml 49855 1170 4th Avenue South, Park Falls WI 54552 P.O. Box 1017, Bismarck ND 58502 76 Shellwood Dr., Rochester NY 14618 861 W. US 10, Scottville, Ml 49454
(218) 573-3858 (616) 235-2330 (216) 884-0281 (715) 373-3735 (412) 364-2864 (414) 354-8987
wv12@aol.com
GaylYost@aol.com
TERMS EXPIRING IN 1998 (810) 548-1737 (517) 547-7402 (616) 623-8659 (513) 879-2068 (810) 853-0292 (612) 436-1795
djblount@aol.com wesboyd@delphi.com janc128@aol.com ejensor@prodigy.com jleinen@mtn.org
TERMS EXPIRING IN 1999 (716) 288-7191 (906) 225-1030 (715) 762-2461 (701) 250-4242 ext.3618 (716) 586-3846 (616) 757-2205
fltc@axsnet.com
kolstad@gp.usbr.gov jhy@t-one.net
STATE COORDINATORS New York: Howard Beye (see above); Pennsylvania: Donald Dorn, Star Route, Box 476, Sheffield, PA 16347 ( 814) 968-5759; Ohio: Jim Sprague, 4406 Maplecrest, Parma OH 44129 (216) 884-4757; Michigan (Lower): Arden Johnson (see above); Michigan (U.P.): Gene Elzinga, 12 Middle Island, Marquette Ml 49855 (906) 225-1704; Wisconsin: Gaylord Yost (see above); Minnesota: Rod MacRae, 1210 W. 22nd St., Minneapolis, MN 55405; North Dakota: vacant REGIONAL AFFILIATES New York: Finger Lakes Trail Conference, PO Box 18048, Rochester NY 14618-0048; Ohio: Buckeye Trail Association, PO Box 254, Worthington OH 43085; Pennsylvania: AYH PittsburghCouncil, 5604 Solway, #202, Pittsburgh PA 15217 CHAPTER CHAIRS Headwaters: vacant: Chequarnegon: Kurt Schmitt, R2, Box 326, Butternut, WI 54514; Heritage: Pete Budde, 3803 S. Brook Place, St. Francis, WI 53235 (H) 414-769-0441; NCT Hikers: Gene Elzinga, 12 Middle Island, Marquette Ml 49855 (906) 225-1704; Traverse City: Gregg Law, 1953 Lardie Rd., Traverse City, Ml 49686; Western Michigan: Bill Van Zee 7744 Thornapple Bayou Dr. SE, Grand Rapids Ml, 49512 Central New York, Bill Coffin, 328 Deepspring Drive, Chittenango NY 13037. (315) 687-3589.
Page
NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, Apr-May. 1997
4
Keyboard Trails by the Editor
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Web page gets award The deadline for the June-July issue of the Newsletter is May 26, 1997. Items received after that date cannot be assured of a place in the newsletter. Items received well before that date are much appreciated. The deadline for the August-September issue of the newsletter will be July 24, 1997.
You'll notice that the deadlines for the summer issues of the newsletter have been moved ahead a week. You know how summers are -- busy as all get-out, and this year is no exception. It turns out that the newsletter deadlines happen to fall right at my two busiest times of the summer this year, and something had to give. A deadline, for me, isn't when I start working on the newsletter, it's when I finish it; it will most likely be on the press the same day. The upside of all this is that you'll receive the next two newsletters a little sooner than normal.
*** Once again, I need a photo of Peter Wolf. Does anyone have one I could borrow, even for a day or so?
*** When all the paperwork gets done, the "Arrowhead" relo in Minnesota will include some great trails -- the Superior, Border Route and Kekekabic. I've spent some time recently looking into these, and they are going to make great additions to the North Country Trail. I'm particularly fascinated with the Kekekabic -which everybody calls the "Kek" -- and the Border Route. These penetrate the famed Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which though better known for canoeing, also provide some of the nation's greatest wilderness hiking opportunities. There used to be many miles of hiking trails there, but budget cuts in the mid'80s cause the Forest Service to quit supporting them. By 1990, the Kek was a mess, and the Kekekabic Trail Club was formed to rescue the Kek and other Boundary Waters trails, and they've done a great job. The Kek is only 38 miles long, but there's no easy access for maintainers; most work parties go into it by canoe. Being a "no motors" wilderness, chainsaws are banned, so Kek maintainers get pretty good with old-fashioned crosscut saws, the kind you see hanging on the walls of the sort of restaurants that have a lot of antiques. There's not a lot of end-to-end use; at the end ofthe trail, you're 150 road miles from your car. But wilderness? Wow! When all the paperwork is done, this is going to be the best wilderness experience on the NCT.
LookSmart, the next generation of web directories committed to quality and superior user web experience, is delighted to award you The Editor's ChoiceAward for the following site: http://people.delphi.com/wesboyd/ncnst.htm This award conveys the highest standard for providing a useful and high quality website. You may be unaware that LookSmart, unlike other directories that simply index the web and include anybody that asks, has editorial standards for inclusion in the LookSmart Directory. We have viewed literally over a million websites to select the 11,000+ chosen to meet our standards. Congratulations on your achievement. You are welcome to display the Editor's Choice symbol of excellence. As a subsidiary of The Reader's Digest, editorial standards have been a hallmark of our company for over 75 years. Display the symbol with pride. Best wishes, David Gold Manager, Content Partnerships LookSmart International Thank you. We've tried to make the website a useful information point on the web, and we 're proud that someone has noticed. -- WB
Nominations sought for NCTA service awards Following a change in board policy last fall, the North Country Trail Association will be awarding as many as three Distinguished Service Awards at the Annual Meeting next August. Starting this year, one of the Association's Distinguished Service Awards is reserved for someone who has shown exceptional service to the trail who is not an Association member. This person can be an affiliate member, a member of a managing agency, or other supporter. Nominations for the award for both members and non-members of the Association are now being sought. If you know of someonewho deserves this award, please contact the Awards Committee Chairman, Wes Boyd, 14815Rome Rd., Manitou Beach, MI 49253, or e-mail at "wesboyd@delphi.com". A brief written description of why the nominee deserves the award is requested with the submission. The deadline for nominations is June 15, 1997.
Page 5
NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, Apr-May 1997
HIKING POPULAR in state parks: The Cayuga Trails Newsletter reports the results of a survery of more than 3000 New York Park visitors. Some significant points: 78% enjoy hiking, 43% enjoy swimming, 40% enjoy visiting historic sites, 30% enjoy camping. 92% favor more opportunities for natural outdoor recreation activities rather than facilities such as golf courses, and 75%would like to see a statewide program to assist grassroots trail and greenway development.
*** MORE PROOF that hiking is popular came from an from an annual survey of manufacturers by the World Federation of Sporting Goods International. The survey finds that the fastest growing sports are (1) walking for exercise; (2) in-line skating; (3) snowboarding; (4) football and soccer; (5) golf; (6) basketball; (7) hiking/trekking; (8) exercising with machines. Bicycling did not make the top ten list. "Growing product categories mirrored some of the top sports growth," the report on the survey said. "Equipment leader is golf; footwear leader is non-athletic leisure footwear for walkers, and the apparel leader is outdoor sports clothing reflecting the interest in h\iking/ trekking."
*** THE BUCKEYE TRAILBLAZER has a new editor, following the death on Christmas Eve of Harry Cameron, who took over the Trailblazer after the death of longtime editor O.P. Murphy. The Trailblazer's new editor is Judy Clinebell, and from the first appearance, she's taken the job well in hand. Our sympathies to the family of Harry Cameron.
ADDING TO THEpresence of the North Country Trail on the World Wide Web is the new website the National Park Service has just put up: http:// www.nps.gov/noco/.This site was put together by Bill Menke and Dick Williams, of the Lewis and Clark NHT. The site has been linked to the NCTA web page: http ://people. de lphi. com/ wesboyd/ncnst.htm.
*** SOME NEW CERTIFICATIONS recently announced by the National Park Service help out toward the 2000 by 2000 goal. The new certifications include 0.4 miles in Michigan's Mackinaw State Forest, and three segments totaling 3.3 miles in Michigan's Pere Marquette State Forest. Also certified was a long-awaited 4.2 mile segment in Brule River State Forest in Wisconsin -- Bill Menke is the trail adopter for this segment, so you can be sure it was all the way up to snuff1Against that, 0.2 miles were decertified in the Pere Marquette State Forest due to remeasurement by GPS, and 2.0 miles in Michigan's Ottawa National Forest were decertified followinga relo. The ce~tifications
and decertifications bring the total certified length ofthe trail to 1320.4 miles, and the total signed length to 1332.5 miles.
*** ITWASKINDofalast-minute thing, but the Winter Trails Event held at the NCTA Schoolhouse proved to be successful, with over 100 people showing up for the sixhour program, which was also attended by Sherpa Snoowshoes, Mountian Safety Research and Eastern Mountain Sports. Several new members also resulted from the event.
*** OUT OF THE blue ofthe eastern sky one day, the NCTA office received an application for a new chapter in central New York state, based in Madison County. The group is very interested in the connection between the FLT and the Adirondacks, and had been considering forming as a separate nonprofit organization but decided it was easier to become a chapter instead. For information, contact Bill Coffin, 328 Deepspring Drive, Chittenango, NY 13037.(315) 6873589.
Executive Director's report 6 Trailhead 7 NCT Annual meeting to be in Ohio 8 Adirondack encounter 9 Check out the NCTA trail shop Center Section North Country Trail - Scenic or Historic? 15 News from the N PS 15 Dogsledding with George Tresnak 16 Membershippolicy changes 19-Lots of.coming events 20
Page 6
NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, Apr-May. 1997
Several projects have been keeping us busy here in the office since the first of the year. Some of these are very exciting to me. Although they're still in preliminary stages, I want fill you in on some of the details of two of them. The first is that I've been gathering together the pieces needed to finally begin our commercial mapping program. This is something that's been in the works for a long time. You might think that it would be a fairly simple project. You make some maps, you print them, you sell them. Right?Unfortunately, it's not that easy. Staff and volunteers of the Association have been researching map making for quite some time. A lot of questions needed to be answered. Would we make maps ourselves or find a company to make them for us? What would be used for the base map? How would the trail be applied to the map? How would we print and market the maps? Each of these questions led to more questions and sub-questions, possibilities and dead-ends. Luckily for me, a lot of the groundwork had already been done. To cut to the chase, here's how it will work. The Association will be producing maps internally. Once I've done the first路 few prototypes, I'll be looking for a local volunteer to take over the project. The maps will be full-color, will include topography (contour lines that show the "lay of the land"), and will be printed on "plastic paper" for durability: I'm shooting for about 30 trail miles per map, but I really won't know the distance we can cover until we get down to the nitty gritty of laying the maps out. The base maps we will be using initially are United States Geological Survey topographic maps that have been scanned in to a computer format. Eventually, we will probably shift to a different type of map called a vector-based map. Vector maps provide cleaner details, but they usually don't have labels oflocal features and they are only sporadically available right now. The software we'll be using will allow us to lay data from hand-held GPS units directly onto the map. GPS units use satellite links to figure out the exact location of the trail. We'll then drop the map image into a desktop publishing program to build the text and other graphics around it. Once that's done, we'll give the computer disk to a printer and twiddle our thumbs until we see the finished project. We're hoping to print five maps this year, with more new maps to follow each year. I expect our first maps to be of segments in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan's U.P., and Pennsylvania. Once the maps are done, they will be available for purchase through our Trail Shop,
and we also plan to market them at wholesale prices to other vendors, including outfitters and park or forest concession operations. The second major project involves some significant support we've recently received from Recreational Equipment, Incorporated (REI). In response to an application I sent in, REI has agreed to provide us with $3,725 in funding. This will go to two main activities. The first of these will be the printing of full color posters to promote the North Country National Scenic Trail. Copies of the poster will be shipped to sites along the trail to help alert the public to the presence of trail. As I'm sure you may have noticed, most people have never even heard ofthe NCNST. These posters are one step that we'll be taking to try to improve public awareness. The second part of this initial grant will fund two year subscriptions to the North Star for 150 public land managers and outdoor writers for local newspapers along the length of the trail. This is meant to build support among these key people for the trail, and to encourage them to more actively promote the trail and the efforts of our volunteers to the public. REI has also stated that they are very interested in the concept of helping to build our constituency of trail supporters. For us, this translates into boosting our membership. To accomplish this, we'll be working closely with REI and an organization called the Environmental Supper t Center to develop and implement a plan to increase public awareness and support of the North Country National Scenic Trail. So far, this project is still at the conceptual stage, but REI and ESC are committed to providing assistance and funding as our plans develop. This effort has a lot of exciting potential and we are very grateful to REI for both their interest and support of our cause. If you have a路 store near you, or if you're a member of REI, I encourage you to drop by or send them a note thanking them for their support of the NCTA I'll be sure to keep you updated as both the mapping project and the REI initiatives progress. Now that spring is here, I hope you'll have a chance soon to get out and eajoy the trail. Also, please remember to RECORD YOUR VOLUNTEER HOURS and send in your tallies now and then. Statistics on volunteer hours are critical to us. They allow us to demonstrate to potential funders the strong public support our trail enjoys. Please give us a call (616-454-5506) or drop us an e-mail 'note with your mailing address (NCTAssoc@aol.com)if you'd like us to send you some forms for recording your hours. Thanks for your help!
Page 7
Spring is a time of new growth; It's especially so for the NCTAthisspring. Moremembersarecroppingup. Wehave anew chapter in central New York State. We're getting more inquiries about where to go hilting on the trail. It seems like each month more trail is certified. It's an exciting time. Along with this growth comes a need to better serve our members and serve the needs of the trail. Five years ago the NCTA made some big changes in its structure. We stopped being a small club that built trail and became a major force in the national trail system. We grew in membership and reformed our board to work more efficiently and better serve the membership and trail. We have continued to grow, and the trail along with it. We have grown over 300 certified miles in that period. It's a major accomplishment, thanks to our members, affiliates, trail clubs and especially our local chapters. Along the way I felt we had lost touch with some of our chapters. I felt they had little input to the process. In addition, I saw a need for the board to change its direction. As a result I have proposed a major change in NCTA structure. Therestructuringseparatestwofunctions the board now tries to handle via committees. The work is too big for the board to handle alone. First is financial, legislative, public relations, marketing, corporate policymaking and personnel. These areas will continue to be handled by the Board. Second is trail management. I am proposing a separate Trail Council to handle trail construction and maintenance issues. Until now trail management has been handled by a committee set up by the Board with the VP ofTrail Management as its Chair. Comprised of eight State Trail Coordinators and the VP, it almost never met; it was too difficult and expensive to meet across seven states. Regional meetings worked better, but still did not include some ofour major trail builders, the chapters. I am proposing the new organization be comprised of one representative selected by each affiliate, by each Chapter, and the eight State Trail Coordinators, and selected others. This Council would run trail management and developpolicyrecommendations for board approval. The board would no longer be deeply involved with the details of trail management unless the Trail Council needed a policy decision. Don't panic here! The Board will not lose contact withthetruepurposeoftheNCTA,theNorthCountryTrail. This Trail Council would be divided into four regions and meet regionally. The four regions would be East (New York andPennsylvania),EastCentral(OhioandLower Michigan), West Central (Upper Michigan and Wisconsin), and West North Dakota and Minnesota). This eliminates the need for someone to travel a thousand miles or more to a meeting. Eachregionwouldselectachairforthegroupandthatperson would bea Vice-Presidentforthatregionservingon the Board and the Executive Committee. The purpose would be to keep a strong trail management presence on the Board so as not to lose the focus of our prime responsibilities. The Board would continue with all the other responsibilities noted above. Financing will be a primary function; the
NCTA has received many small grants in the past five years; finding and applying for these grants will continue to be part of the boards responsibility in conjunction with our Executive Director. Helpinghimmanageandexpand the Trail shop will also bring additional revenue into the NCTA I am frequently asked why we need a larger budget. Currently, the NCTA employs an Executive Director, a Recreational Planner and a part-time Office Manager in addition to maintaining an office. With 4,100 miles of trail to manage, it has been almost overwhelming at times. For example, the NCTA and NPS is working toward a major trail reroute in Minnesota that will add several hundred more miles. With this must go a public planning process that includes many interests. Our Planner, Kim Bair, is currently up to her eyeballs in planning in northern Wisconsin after finishing in northeastern Ohio. In addition, in New York we will be meeting with the Adirondack Mountain Club to negotiate a route up to and through the Adirondacks. This, too, will involve a planning process. !know Kimhasagreatreachbywiskingbackonforth to various meetings across the states but this may stretch even that. Beyond that we have counties in all seven states to planfor,withnoviablewaytodothatyet. Wemayhavetohire another planner to handle the increasing load. The mail has increased steadily this past two years since opening our office. As the trail expands in usable miles so do the challenges. More issues arise concerning endangered species, soil conservation, bicycle issues, lumbering, gas and oil drilling, mining, grazing, etc. The demand for trail guides and maps is rising and there is limited selection to chose from. We will need additional staff in the near future. We already use some volunteer help and frequently use college interns to offset this need. In the future it won't be enough. By comparison, the Appalachian trail has multiple offices and numerous paid staff people to handle their 2,200 miles of trail with 3-4 million users every year. We are going to be twice that length and twice the complexity. Half of our trail will be on private lands and will require surveyors, real estate specialists, lawyers and right-<>f-way agents to negotiate passage. This, as you can imagine, is not cheap. We are already in contact with numerous legislative offices regarding legislation on trail and related issues. There are 128counties, fourteen Federal Senators, and 105 Federal Representatives across the seven states. This doesn't even count the seven State Legislatures, DNRs and Departments of Transportation. These contacts will only increase as the trail increses in importance; this will entail trips to Washington and state capitals to meet with Legislators and testify in congressional committees. All of this costs time and money. The board will continue to be deeply involved in this legislative and financial effort to support and protect the trail. What I mention here is only the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot more. We have done exceedingly well to come this far but we still have a lot farther to go. It will take money, time, staff and lots more volunteers to get to the final mile. As we continue to grow we may have to scramble to get things done or find financing to get it done but you can be assured that we can and will do it. It seems, at times, like an overwhelming task. We are now over 1,300 miles into it and it now seems to be less overwhelming. We have built confidence in the fact that the job can be done because we are doing it!
Page
8
NORTH STAR: The Newsletter
of the North Country Trail Association, Apr-May.
1997
Bringing trails to the people ... North Country Trail Association Annual Meeting Co-Sponsored with Buckeye Trail Association
Hike
August 21-241 1 997 Hervida 4-H Camp • Beverly, Ohio
Buckeye Trail Burr Oak State Park
•"Bringing Trails to the people" will be a great---------chance to meet new friends and enjoy old ones, while hearing interesting speakers and learning about techniques for outdoor activities and trail development. • Currently planned for the conference are workshops on working with private landowners and local media, building organization membership, and several backcountry techniques and natural history presentations, plus hikes on the North Country Trail. • Hervida 4-H Camp is in a rustic setting in picturesque southeastern Ohio. It features dormitory rooms, a pool, and group kitchen. • Costsfor the conference will be between $60and $95, depending on the number of nights and meals. This includes dorm rooms (camping permitted, but at no discount), meals, box lunches, and meeting materials.
Come join us and have a great time!
Scenic river towns Historic canals, ferries and rlverboots
Enjoy Great scenery,
• good friends,
•
REGISTRATION FORM I'm interested in attending "Bringing Trails to the People." Send me more information. Name------------------------~ Address Zip
Learn Backcountry techniques
• Trail promotion, development and building
_ State
Visit
good times
Mail to North Country Trail Association, 49 Monroe Center, Suite 20'.JB, Grand Rapids, Ml 49503 or call (676) 454-550'5, or e-mail "NCTAssoc@AOL.com"
City
• Wayne National Forest
_
• Southeast Ohio natural history
NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, Apr-May 1997
Page9
Adirondack Encounter by Joan H. Young For several of us, the route of the North Country Trail through eastern New York includes the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. We are assured of this wonderful privilege because we havâ&#x201A;Ź: hiked these miles early, before the official route is chosen. The Adirondack experience is one which I would wish for every NCT hiker, but only time will tell what course the trail will ultimately take. Three ofus humans, Marie Altenau, Mathilda Nance, and myself, with Chips the hiker dog, followed a northern route through the High Peaks in July, 1996. Since we had seen the western end of the trail in North Dakota the previous year, we opted for the eastern terminus this time. Our route followed roads from the Crown Point bridge, through Port Henry to the trailhead below Noonmark Mountain off NY 73. We entered the woods, passed by Mt. Dix, through the pass between Noonmark and Round, and descended to the AuSable Club. Climbing immediately up the other side of the valley we crossed the shoulder of Hedgehog Mountain, to Lower Wolf Jaw. Descending again to the col between the "jaws" we turned west and headed for John's Brook Loj. From here we made a side trip south to Slant Rock and to the summit of Mount Marcy (Tahawas - the Cloud Splitter), then back to the Loj. The next ridge was crossed by way of Klondike Pass and South Meadow to reach the AdirondackLoj. Afewmore days took us to Scott's Clearing, over Indian Pass beside Wallface, and south to Henderson Lake and the Upper Works Trailhead where we ended this hike twelve days later. The sounds of these names alone, even without the topomap in hand, evoke images of wild and rugged scenes and experiences. Wewerenot
disappointed. We certainly didn't break any speed records. A teenager, looking at my album last month, scoffedwhen he saw the legend "2.3 miles this day." Oh well. Actually we would recommended taking the Adirondacks slowly and savoring them. We altered our original plans from covering more miles, to more sensibly allow for the vagaries of the weather and terrain. We probably could have made our planned-for ten miles per day (our average turned out to be 6.1 mpd), but it would have been at the expense ofhaving the chance to spend a whole day on the top ofMarcywith the wind and shadows playing over our faces. We would not have visited the tiny but excellent museum at Heart Lake. We could not have taken time to read the log books which reside in the leanto's. Those who stop are welcome to add entries, and the reading is often hilarious as well as descriptive of the area in all weather conditions. We spent one morning just playing around our campsite in the dappled sunlight watching a chipmunk, and discovered five new (to us) kinds offungi right there. We scaled Slant Rock and we let the dog fetch sticks in Heart Lake until he was almost tired. These relaxed times are also an essential part of hiking. On a practical note, if you do plan a hike through the High Peaks, there are only a limited number of trailheads for thruhikers which are accessible by vehicle. Once we decided that our original plan was tooambitious, the next choice we could scale back to, in order to be picked up, shortened the trip considerably. We really wished for some place to end the hike midway between Upper Works and our
Page 1 O NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, Apr-May. 1997 original destination of Blue Mountain. Although the guidebooks and maps were good,checking with a ranger in person about the condition of a marked road would be wise. Most people in the area are day-hikers, or onenight campers who park at a known trailhead, enter the woods, and then return to their cars. It is more difficult to find access points for thru-hiking. Several roads shown on the map turned out to be impassable. Also,the trail surfaces, except on the "tourist trails," are rough and uneven with rocks, roots, and mud. Many streams must be forded, and some were swift, knee-deep or deeper, and churning. The Yankees (Eh-up, I c'n say that 'cause I was born one) like it that way! It did provide an element of challenge that was not disagreeable, but it contributed to our slow progress. It's just good to know ahead of time that this is the situation. Junctions are are blue in every shade, and narrow-leaf closed gentian usually well-marked with routed signs, but markers bloomed, gem-bright purple, in damp and hidden coalong some rocky paths are hard to come by. We spent a verts. Sadly, we did not see Champ as we passed fair amount of time searching for the trail in lessBulwagga Bay, although many residents claim to have traveled areas. One of the best trip jokes is courtesy of done so. (He's the resident lake monster.) But we did see a group of Boy Scouts. As they passed us scaling some a bear, a swarm of White Admiral Butterflies, and one rocks one of them said (to us three "old" ladies), "Wow, wet day so many red efts it was hard to keep from I'm really tired. I don't know how you are doing this!" stepping on them. The sounds of water on rocks, frogs Another one followed up with a less ego-shattering singing all night at Round Pond (which Chips did not like comment, ''Yeah, we found a section of marked trail back for some reason, so he barked all night too), a vesper there and we thought we were lost." sparrow's two notes and a details of moss, snails, or None of this is meant to sound negative. On the caterpillars because the battleship-size rocks provoked contrary, these two weeks in the "forever wild" feelings of insignificance. Some days we met groups of Adirondacks are destined to be, for me, some ofmy most hikers or camped at established sites, and at other times memorable ones on the Trail. All my senses can yet we were totally isolated from trail sounds and interacrecall and resonate with the experience. The Adirondack tions by pressing just a short distance into the forest. colorwheel includes red baneberry, orange mycena and Wherever we ventured there was some wonder to be yellow patches or fungi. Grass green snake fern conencountered and sampled. trasted with the deep green of hemlock. The mountains A commonbeliefis that the trails of the Adirondacks are over-used, over-run with hikers. This did seem to be true of some of the more popular routes. And no matter where you go, you are unlikely to spend days without meeting someone else. However, we avoided the hightraffic trails, and fomd it easy to feel the peace, solitude and wildness of the area. Take in the Adirondacks and you may discover instead that they have taken you in. So go east, choose your own route, and make these peaks part of your North Country Trail experience.
Editor's路 Note: The original plan for the NCT called for penetration of the High Peaks. However, for more balanced use of the park, a route to the south is under contemplation.
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Tl'ail Maps Certified Sections of the North Country Trail by Byron and Margaret Hutchins Detailed information and maps covering many of the longest and best off-road segments of the Trail. These are accurate route descriptions by experienced guide-book writers who have walked the sections with a measuring wheel. In easy to use looseleaf form. Whole set w/ binder $26.50 Pennsylvania $ 4.00 Allegheny NF & Cook State Forest Ohio $ 2.50 Wayne National Forest $ 5.50 Burr Oak-Sinking Spring $ 3.00 Little Miami Scenic Park $ 2.50 Miami & Erie Canal Michigan $17.00 NCT in Michigan (153 pages) $ 4.00 Manistee National Forest Ml-37 to Doblesky Rd,Wilderness SP $ 5.50 $ 4.00 Ottawa National Forest W1sc_qnsin $ 3.00 Chequamegon National Forest Minnesota Chippewa National Forest $ 3.50 North Dakota $ :t.50 Sheyenne National Grassland
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Michigan Map Sets by Arden Johnson An excellent reference for the entire North Country Trail in Michigan. $4.00 per set Ml-A) Ml-B) Ml-C) Ml-D) Ml-E) Ml-F) Ml-G)
SE Lenawee Co. to W. Calhoun Co. NE Kalamazoo Co.to SE Newaygo Co SE Newaygo Co. to NW Wexford Co. NW Wexford Co. to SE Charlevoix Co. Charlevoix Co. to Mackinaw City St. Ignace to SE Marquette Co. Marquette area to Ironwood
Finger Lakes Trail (New York) Map Sets These excellent looseleaf maps of the trail in NY are published by the Finger Lakes Trail Conference. $4.00 per set NY-A) Covers PA border to Portageville NY-B) Covers Portageville to Watkins Glen NY-C) Covers Watkins Glen to NW of Cuyler
Buckeye Trail (Ohio) Section Maps These convenient and detailed maps cover the North Country Trail where it overlaps with the Buckeye Trail. They are published by the Buckeye Trail Association. $3.50 per map OH-A) Belle Valley: Morgan, Noble & Guernsey Co's OH-I) Old Man's Cave: Hocking,Ross&Vinton Co's OH-B) Bowerston: Harrison, Carroll & Guernsey Co's OH-J) Scioto Trail: Ross & Pike Counties OH-C) Ceasar Creek: Greene & Warren Counties OH-K) Sinking Spring: Adams,Pike & Highland Co's OH-D) Defiance: Defiance, Paulding, Putnam, Henry OH-L) St. Marys: Auglaize & Shelby Counties & Wood Counties OH-M)Stockport: Morgan, Perry & Athens Counties OH-E) Delphos: Putnam. Allen & Auglaize Counties OH-N) Troy: Greene, Miami & Montgomery Counties OH-F) Loveland: Clermont,Warren & Hamilton Co's OH-0) West Union: Adams & Brown Counties OH-G) Massillon: Stark and Tuscarawas Counties OH-P) Williamsburg: Brown & Clermont Counties OH-H) New Straitsville: Athens, Hocking, Morgan and Perry counties
~BoOks 8hd GuideSJ NSW!:
Hiking! The Ultimate Natural Prescriptionfor Health and Wellness
by Philip Ferranti, M.Ed. and Cecilia Leyva, with Joie Goodkin A fresh new look at hiking and its many benefits. Highlighted chapters include: the philosophy of hiking, stress management, the physical/health benefits, and creativity and hiking. Romance on the trail is also featured. The authors further explore how hiking addresses the issues of today: strengthening family ties, improving communication, offering a healthy lifestyle for children, pursuing an inexpensive passtime and providing seniors with a natural prescription for health. A must read for anyone who currently enjoys hiking and for those who would welcome a new healthenhancing recreational pursuit. $14.95
Guide to the North Country Trail, Manistee National Forest by The M1ch1gan Treutinders Offers a detailed description of the trail from the White Cloud Trail head to Big Star Lake and from US10 to McCarthy Lake. Includes maps. $2.95
Finger Lakes Trail Guidebooks
Go West Old Man, Forty-FiveDays on the FLT by James E. DeWan $6.95 DeWan's rendition of his 45-day end-to-end hike of New York's Finger Lakes Trail. Lovingly written by someone who really knows the trail.
Trails AcrossAmerica by Art & Marge Miller Subtitled "A Traveler's Guide to Our National Scenic and Historic Trails," this new book rs the first to provide engaging descriptions and advice on all 19 trails in our National Trail System. 308 pgs. $19.95
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Published by the Finger Lakes Trail Conf., these helpful books cover various parts of the North Country Trail where it overlaps the FLT n western and central New York. FLT in Cortland County $5.95 FLT End-To-End Guide for Backpacker_$2.50 FLT: Conservation Trail to Hornel1 __ $7.95 FLT in SteubenCo.(Hornell-S.Bradford)_$6.95
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I Followingthe North Country NationalScenic Trail
Guide to the North CountryTrail, Chippewa National Forest by Roderick MacRae Description of the route and trail log, east to west. Wonderfully written by a Chippewa National Forest expert. 12 pgs. $1.25 l
Trail Atlas of Michigan by Dennis R. Hansen $26.95 Michigan trail enthusiasts - don't get caught without this atlas! Includes maps and descriptions for over 500 hiking, biking, skiing, and nature trails in Micrugan. Search by location or types of use!
NCTA Trail Building and Maintenance Manual
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Whole.sale Pl'iee.s (6 t 6)-454-5506 Items must be purchased in quantities of ten or more.
by Thomas J. Reimers This very useful manual for trail volunteers provides: 1) guidelines for planning and
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construction of the North Country l Trail, 2) guidelines for continued ~ maintenance of the NCT, and 3) ~ helpful suggestions regarding ···:,~;.: .. ·~· ... 1, trail construction and rnainten- '··~~··-· I ance. It covers rural and roaded ; ---~:.i:.~ natural, semi-primitive and r pnmitrve trail. 22 pgs. $2.dO .,._j .J
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Guide to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore by Olive Anderson $6.95 Pictured Rocks rs a centerpiece of the North Country Trail - a rugged, beautiful, and unique coast on the Lake Superior shore. Maps are included in this revised Lakeshore Trail Guide. 56pgs.
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NEW NEW NIEW NEW Nl:W NSW NSW NCW
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Dayhiker's Handbook
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A comprehensive guide for hikers designed to inspire and instruct beginning wanderers and those exploring new country. Topics include choosing the proper clothing, selecting footwear and raingear, using a map and compass, predicting the difficulty of a hike, knowing when to turn around, managing food and water, the ten essentials, weather lore, walking techniques, traveling with kids, first aid, and more. Laced with short features and "pithy tips and anecdotes." 216pp. $14. 95
Backpacker's
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Extremelythorough and up-to-date guide covering the basics of backpacking. Includes information on the latest gear, cooking techniques, skills, and environmental hazards all with an emphasis on minimizing impact and enjoyingthe outdoors. This book is highly educational whether you are new to backpacking or an experienced"pro." 340pp. $18.95
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NORTH -tCOUNTRY '(Ill. TRAIL CAPS!
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White cotton preshrunk - 3 color logo on front and 2 color trail map on back! Adult: S,M,L,XL.
Multi-colored embroidered design is based on $ 10.95 the NCTA logo, only it reads "North Country $11.95 for XXL National Scenic Trail" and features a more prominent star. Adjustable sizes. CAP1: Low profile washed cotton, khaki crown, dark green bill, buckle strap $14.95 CAP2: Low profile cotton twill, khaki crown and bill, snap strap $12.95 CAP3: Low profile cotton twill, navy crown and bill, snap strap $12.95 CAP4: Mesh back, cotton twill front, light blue, snap strap $10.95
[ig.T. -VOLUNTE~r Volunteer Patch $ 1.50
NCNST Mug With official trail emblem on both sides.
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Trail Patch $ 3.00 Hike Distance Patches
$1.50
$ 2.00
How far have you hiked in a single day on the NCNST? Available for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 or 35 miles. Please specifymileage when ordering.
Plea•e tul'll the page £0,. the r,.al/ lhop Dl'de,. Fo,.m•••
NCTA memberships climbed about 6% in the past three months! This was especially good, considering we've been in the middle of winter with few hikes or trail work projects scheduled. The formation of the new Central New York Chapter led to the big jump in that state. Also, Michigan is now the first state to pass the halfway point on the goal of one member for every mile of planned trail. Congratulations!
State
Current members North Dakota 11 Minnesota 41 Wisconsin 44 Michigan 454 Ohio 41 Pennsylvania 39 New York 52 Other 70
Change Trail miles since Jan 1 in state 435 + 2 0 375 155 + 3 875 + 23 0 700 180 0 520 + 11 + 4
Our challenge for the year 2000 is to have 2,000 certified miles completed. Since the first of the year, we've added a few more miles in Wisconsin and Michigan, as paperwork caught up with trail work. Thanks to the volunteers involved in those projects!
Members to goal 424 334 111 421 659 141 468
State North Dakota Minnesota Wisconsin Michigan Ohio Pennsylvania New York
Miles certified 60.5 81.0 70.7 571.0 277.4 119.3 140.5
Change since Jan 1 0 0 + 4.2 + 1.5 0 0 0
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Done 13.9 21.6 45.6 65.3 39.6 66.3 27.0
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NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, Apr-May 1997
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North Country Trail - Scenic or Historic? by Bill Menke Does a trail's designation as a national scenic trail mean that it doesn't have historic points of interest? And conversely, does the fact that a trail is designated as a national historic trail mean that it isn't scenic? The answer to both questions is--of course not. In the case of the newly certified segment of trail in northern Wisconsin's Brule River State Forest, the trail is both historic and scenic. Over half of the 4.2 miles of trail that were certified, follows the "Historic Portage" between the headwaters of the Bois Brule River, in the Lake Superior watershed, and the headwaters of the St. Croix River, in the Mississippi River watershed. This historic portage has been used by Native Americans, fur traders, voyageurs, and early explorers for hundreds of years as a route between the two major watersheds. If time allowed and there wasn't a deadline for the newsletter, a little research could undoubtedly discover many interesting facts about the route. As it is, I can only share with you some of the things that I learned and observed while working on the trail last fall to get it ready for certification. Along the trail are seven sizeable stones, with small brass plates that have a name and a date--Dulhut-1680, Lesueur-1693, Carver-1768, Curet1803, Cadotte-1819, Schoolcraft-1820,and Lucius-1886. Colorful names all, but I only recognize two. Henry Rowe Schoolcraft is rather famous as an early explorer, at least in the lake states area. I recognize the name from my days in Minnesota. In his quest to discover the headwaters of the Mississippi River, Schoolcraft passed through Cass Lake and stopped on a large island. While camped on Star Island, he made arrangements with a local chieftan (whose name escapes me right now) to accompany him as he continued upstream toward the headwaters. Eventually Schoolcraft charted Lake Itasca, in today's Itasca State Park, as the headwaters of the Mississippi River. I recognizethe Lucius name because the route of the North Country Trail passes through Lucius Woods County Park in Solon Springs, WI. These "woods" are named after the Lucius family--prominent early settlers in the in the Solon Springs area. When I first saw the stones, I asked the local forest manager if these persons had met their fate along the portage. The answer was no-the stones were placed some years ago by one of the local civic groups to serve as "memory stones" commorating the use of the route by
someone significant to the history of the area. Imagine the many events that have happened along this segment ofthe trail and the colorful campfire stories that could be told by someone familiar with the history. Maybe someday, just such an event can be arranged as Wisconsin members work to complete more of the trail across the state forest. In the meantime, visit the trail and see for yourself. In addition to the historic aspects, the trail is very scenic especially where itis located near the top of some steep hills that provide views for literally miles across the valley of the Brule.
News from the National Park Service by Bill Menke: The official trail emblem has been revised ... We are all familiar with the blue and gold trail emblem that has been the official marker of the trail since the early 1980's. Each of the other national scenic and national historic trails has a similar emblem--all designed along the lines of the familiar "fat" triangle. As the various trails were approved by Congress and as they then developed their own trail emblem, various differences in the shape of the triangle, lettering fonts, width of black borders, and other subtle differences began to appear. During the last several years, NPS Washington Office personnel began an effort to bring about a higher degree of uniformity to the emblems so that they truly looked like a "collection" of emblems. A graphic designer was contracted to analyze all of the emblems and make suggestions for uniformity as well as suggestions to improve the appearance of each emblem. After a series of meetings between the trail administrators and partner groups various refinements to the designer's suggestions were incorporated and a final design for the North Country Trail has been selected. It
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NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, Apr-May. 1997
was one the trails where the overall appearance of the emblem will not change dramatically. Yet, the changes improve the appearance. The primary change is to the star itself. It has been enlarged to better occupy the space within the blue inner triangle and the color has been changed fromyellowand black (which many thought looked more like a "compass" star) to gold and white which, to at least some, looks more like a "north" star. This color change causes the star to pop out rather than break apart as one steps away from it. We are just now starting to work with sign man ufacturers to produce the new version. These will be incorporated along the trail, over time, as the existing signs deteriorate and need to be replaced. We are also working with manufacturers to develop some new usage control (road crossing) and connector decals. You'll see more on this in coming months. North Country Trail brochure revision is progressing ... NPS brochures for the trail were last updated and printed in 1990. At that time, 250,000 copies were prepared. This supply has now been depleted and we are in the process of updating and procuring a new supply. In addition to the update of addresses due to the passage of time several other changes can be expected. The new emblem will be incorporated, additional completed segments will be shown, major route changes will be incorporated, and a revised estimate of the overall trail mileage will be mentioned. Additional trail certified ... On Valentines Day, it did our heart good to certify some additional trail segments. These include 0.4 miles in Mackinaw State Forest (MI), three segments totaling 3.3 miles in Pere Marquette State Forest (MI), and 4.2 miles in Brule River State Forest (WI). The new total of certified mileage is now 1,320.4 miles. Yes, still a long way from 2,000 by 2000 but that goal is not without hope. There are lots of existing trail segments still uncertified for a variety ofreasons. One of these reasons is just that volunteers working to build trail don't followup with the last step of applying to us for certification. See the related article on Brule River S.F. segment. Handbook seems to be well received ... Our recently published North Country National Scenic Trail-A Handbook for Trail Design, Construction, and Maintenance seems to be well received. In various discussions local trail managers, have commented that they thought it was going to be a useful tool. In Beaver Creek State Park (OH), the park manager and his staff are reading one chapter per month and discussing路 at their staff meeting. It is gratifying to hear ofthese kinds ofuse ofthe book. Our intent in publishing it was to increase the degree of uniformity along the trail and bring about a more consistent look ofthe trail. Over time as new segments are constructed or as older segments are improved, we are confident that this will happen.
GEORGE TRESNAK harnesses Bear, one of his dogs.
A dog-sledding weekend with George Tresnak by Byron and Margaret Hutchins George Tresnak is a newspaper feature writer and a member of the newly organized Chequamegon Chapter of the North Country Trail. He also has a hobby of dog-sledding and his cabin is only a mile from the trail near Mellen, Wisconsin. At the 1996 annual meeting in Spooner, Wisconsin, George donated a weekend of dog-sleddingto the highest bidders as a contribution to the trail association. We were two of the highest bidders, along with Martha Jones. Martha had a conflict,so friends from Chicagobought her halfofthe bid and joined us for the weekend of February 22.We spent a fascinating time at George's cabin, learning how to handle a team of 7 frisky dogs by outselves and watching George feed and harness them. We also snowshoed on the wooded terrain. George prepared sourdough pancakes and sausage with homemade maple syrup and jam. He also prepared other high-energy meals. Even though we brought our own sleeping bags and slept on the floor, it was an exciting experience for us. Since George would like to offer this service to others next winter, we suggest you contact him about prices and nail down a date. He can handle two couples or a family of four at a time. You need to be flexible in case your designated weekend has impossible weather conditions and you need an alternate date. Another attraction for us was the variety of songbirds that gathered daily at his feeding platform. We watched evening grosbeaks, nuthatches, chickadees, finches, hairy woodpeckers, and aggressive bluejays. George can be contacted by telephone in the evening at (715) 274-2401. His address is George Tresnak, R.R. #1, Box 175, Mellen, WI 54546. It's a great remedy for the winter doldrums!
NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, Apr-May 1997
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Give now to receive¡ later You may not realize it, but you give to other people every day of your life, whether it's your time, your talents, your encouragement or your material goods. And there are times that when you give, you can also receive. This certianly holds true when it comes to certain charitable contributions. The tax laws allow you to deduct the fair market value of many of your charitable contributions to public charities, as long as you itemize deductions on your tax return. You also should keep in mind that deduction limits will vary depending on the type of asset given.You can think of your actual cost of giving as the value of the property you give, minus your tax savings. If you have been thinking about making a charitable contribution, you should start the process now. Only those charitable contributions completed by Dec. 31 can be claimed as itemized deductions on your 1996 tax bill. When evaluating which financial tax contributions you can make, consider the followingitems as tax-deductible gift possibilities: â&#x20AC;˘ Appreciated stock. By donating appreciated stock, you can obtain a tax deduction for the current fair market value of the stock -- limited to 30% of your adjusted gross income for the year-- if you have held the stock for more than one year and you itemize the deduction. You also avoid paying taxes on the capital gain you would have realized if you had just sold the stock and donated the proceeds. Plus, the tax-exempt charitible orbanization can sell the donated securities without being liable for any tax on the gain. For example, let's say you bought 100 shares ofABC stock five years ago for $20 per share ($2,000 total). Let's also say the stock is now trading at $25 per share ($2,500 total), meaning you have a capital gain (on paper) of $500. If you simply sold the stock, you would have to pay taxes on the $500 gain. However, if you donate the stock to an eligible charity, you may be able to deduct $2,500 from this year's tax bill. This is only an example and does not reflect any specific investment. â&#x20AC;˘ Charitible trusts. If you intend to give a substantial amount, you might consider setting up a charitible trust. Assets can be split into two portions -- the income interest or the remainder interest. The income interest provides the beneficiary (you or the charity, depending on the type of trust you establish) the right to receive income payments earned on the assets during the term of the trust. The remainder interest is the right to the property in the trust when its term is completed. With a charitible trust, you can receive a current tax deduction
by donating either party, while keeping the other part for yourself or your heirs. Keep in mind that the amount you can deduct in any one year depends on several factors, including your income, the type of gift, the receiving charity, and the charity's use of your gift. You should consult with your team of tax and investment professionals to see howyour giving may also result in your receiving. Please give Jim Maher at A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., a call if you have any further questions, at 1-800908-1213.
NCTA Chosen by Harmon Strong to Receive Funds As a long time member of the NCTA Board of Directors, Harmon V. Strong knows well the dreams and limitations of our organization. Like all nonprofits, the North Country Trail Association has set inspiring goals for itself and its members. However, our ability to achieve these goals depends completely on the dedication of our volunteers and the availability of necessary funds. Through his volunteer service with the Association, Mr. Strong has worked diligently to help fill one of these needs. Now, through his further generosity, he is helping us along with the other. In what is expected to result in the largest private donation we've ever received, Harmon Strong has named the North Country Trail Association as one of the benefactors, along with the Finger Lakes Trail Conference and other charities, in a life insurance policy. This fund was established through a local Foundation which will eventually manage the distributions. The use of the funds is undesignated, meaning the Association will be able to apply them to whatever project or use the Board decides is appropriate when they are received. As mentioned in the accompanying article by Jim Maher, planning future donations to the North Country Trail Association is an excellent way to have a lasting impact on the trail. Through our work we are truly building an amazing legacy for future generations. Planned donations help ensure that the resources will be available to continue making our dream a reality. Harmon Strong's ongoingsupport ofthe North Country Trail serves as an inspiration to us. The North Country Trail Association is extremely grateful for both his many years of volunteer service and this generous donation toward our efforts.
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NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association,
Eastern regional coordinatormeeting Last September, the NCTA Board authorized a series of State Trail Coordinator meetings to monitor activities, surface issues, develop priorities, and provide for chapter and affiliates to discuss concerns in each of the North Country Trail states. The Board provided expenses for travel and requested Vice President Gaylord Yost to represent it at the meetings. The first of the series of regional meetings was held 13 November in Allegany State Park, New York. Attendance at the meeting included NCTA Coordinators Howard Beye, New York, and Don Dorn, Pennsylvania, Allegheny Outdoor Club, Warren, Pa. members Breda Dorn and Merle Caldwell, Finger Lakes Trail Conference members Bob Mueller and Gene Cornelius, Mary Hosmer, Recreation Specialist, Allegheny National Forest, Warren, Pa., and Gaylord Yost, NCTA Trail Management VP. The participants discussed a number of topics relevant to their respective states including organizational situation and expansion, trail protection and use, prioritizing their work, computer use, trail development, signing, and National Trails Day. While large segments of the North Country Trail in Pennsylvania are in place. both states current organizational situation needs improvement. Four groups have emerged to work on the NCT and include the Allegheny Outdoor Club, Shenango Trail Club, Butler Outdoor Club, and the Allegheny Valley Trail Association. Identifying and fostering other groups and volunteers is a must if progress is to be made to punch the trail through between the Allegheny National Forest and the Ohio border. New York NCTA organizational structure continues to be vested, mainly, in the Finger Lakes Trail Conference. The North Country Trail is located on the Finger Lakes Trail from the Pennsylvania border to east of the Finger Lakes. The Conference and its member clubs (chapters) and diligent volunteers cover 380 miles of the Finger Lakes Trail and the NCT at the same time. Where the NCT goes after it leaves the Finger Lakes Trail will help to determine what additional organizations will be involved with the trail. Several potential cooperator organizations exist further east with the main one being the Adirondack Mountain Club. NCTA Trail Coordinators in both states will need to maintain contacts with existing organizations and try to identify additional organizations along unbuilt NCT segments. Discussions with the Adirondak Mountain Club might lead to further meetings and some additional trail mileage over most of the rest of the NCT'sjourney to Vermont over trails maintained by the Club. PA Coordinator Dorn discussed his past and current priorities which included; (1) getting a route established in "blank" areas, (2) getting trail on the ground, and (3)
Apr-May.
1997
obtaining information on "blank" area existing or potential organizations, contacting them, and energizing them into action NY Coordinator Beye's priorities are (1) getting an eastern route determined, (2) getting the trail on the ground, and (3) protecting and maintaining the existing trail and its corridor. Three additional trail coordinator meetings may be scheduled before summer. They include one involving the upper penisula Michigan and Wisconsin, one for North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and one for Pennsylvania, Ohio, and lower Michigan. Dale Anderson, the North Dakota Trail Coordinator recently resigned which means a replacement will need to be appointed prior to a meeting. The NCTA Board is looking forward to the results of the rest of the meetings as it believes local energy can be further galvanized within NCT states by focusing on priority work in each state.
Technology as a Tool for NW Wisconsin Planning By Kim Bair, NCTA Recreation Planner The favored North Country National Scenic Trail route, Alternative 2, has been refined with the use of the county plat maps, USGS topographical maps and digitized versions called DRG's, aerial photographs, and state wetland inventory diskettes. Technology provided by the National Park Service and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources allowed the trail route to be digitized upon the DRGs. The Arcview program has provided the opportunity to enlarge the topographical lines to be more exact with the trail layout, and to designate when the trail crosses private holdings, _oublic lands, rivers and creeks, and roads. While initially this whole process may seem more time consuming, the quality of map products has improved and the digitized information will provide a more efficient and malleable trail planning record for years to come. It should also be mentioned that while placing the trail route on the maps, several trail design principles were considered. The planning team's primary concern is to have the least impact on wetlands. Where wet areas could not be entirely avoided, the route crosses at the narrowest location and where the vegetation variations indicated a slight rise in elevation. The proposed route has been designed to achieve long term permanency by utilizing public land and large tracts of private land, remaining off road, utilizing the most scenic route, and adhering to a 10-percent maximum sustained grade. The current status of the planning process is that a draft environmental assessment needs to be written, and the open house presentation maps need to be created. Another set of open houses will be held in the summer of 1997 to record the responses of the affected landowners and public.
NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, Apr-May 1997
Board makes changes in membershippolicy The Board of Directors, at its Winter meeting, approved some subtle but significant changes in the North Country Trail Association membership rules to strengthen the partnership between the Association and its Chapters. The most important of these changes will allow new sponsored members to enroll in Chapters with $5 of their dues going to the selected Chapter. Under the previous rules, this class of membership worked as follows: current members could sponsor new members for an introductory rate of only $15 per year during the first year of membership instead of the usual $25 for a single membership. These "sponsored" members were required to be "at-large" members who did not belong to local chapters. Nor did the chapters, who normally received $5 from regular, full memberships, get any portion of the $15 dues money. After a year of "sponsored membership"these new members were asked to renew at $25. They could then enroll in chapters if they wished and $5 of the new membership dues went to the chapters. Under the new rules, sponsored membersjoining in 1997 or later are enrolled in the chapters immediately, unless they specifically choose to be at-large members or no nearby chapter exists. Further, $5 of their dues payment, is forwarded to the chapter. Thus, only $10 of the dues money nets to the association. The chapters are being asked to enroll existing sponsored members who joined in 1996 into the chapters right away, that is before their anniversary of membership occurs sometime during 1997. For those members, the chapters will not receive $5 until renewal time. These changes were formulated by the membership committee of the association, consisting ofWerner Veit, Joan Young and Susan Nelson, in consultation with the presidents of the local chapters who were enthusiastically in favor of the changes. The Board agreed that these changes would provide sponsored members with a more complete experience in their first year by encouraging them to become involved with local chapters. In turn, the chapters will encourage those new members to stay on with the association by renewing as regular members once their introductory year is over. While the chapter charters require that chapter members also belong to the parent association, this provision has never been enforced and the Board decided that those chapters which have such local-only members, may continue to do so, if they wish. However, the change should make it much easier for chapters to encourage such members to join the national association, since they will have a low introductory rate and will
Page 1,9
not jeopardize their chapter membership. After discussions with the chapter presidents, the membership committee concluded that the chapters would make extra efforts to convert these local members to the association as a quid-pro-quo for another change in the membership rules. This change will result in the automatic enrollment in a local chapter for new members who do not specifically request at-large membership. Previously, new members automatically became atlarge members unless they chose a chapter. Under the new rules, ifno specific request is made, the new members will be enrolled automatically into the nearest local chapter. New members may. of course, make their own choice of chapters, or become at-large members. In addition, current at-large members, will be more strongly encouraged to join a local chapter at renewal time. While these changes, the. membership committee believes, will facilitate enrollments, they are no substitutes for new and ongoing enrollment efforts which are critical to the long term success of the trail. The committee hopes that each member will continue to take the responsibility for recruiting new members. in order for the organization to grow, as it must if it wants to continue to build and maintain trail. "If every current member would bring in just two friends as recruits, we would far exceed our membership goals," President Derek Blount observed.
Finger Lakes Trail Bed and BreakfastPackage Hiking Tour Relax and absorb the beauty of terrain and wildlife along the twenty mile section of FLT which passes through Plum Valley near South Otselic, NY. In Plum Valley, you will pass through spectacular Grouse Gorge, verdant meadows, scenic ponds and beaver dams in the Pharsalia Wildlife Management area, and get a panoramic scenic view of the rolling hills of the New Michigan State Forest. The hike will be conducted rain or shine. A sag wagon is available at all crossroads with extra water and transportation for weary hikers. Overnight accomodations will be provided in historic bed and breakfast inns and homestays built between 1820 and 1890. These include a beautifully restored farmhouse and High Victorian Painted Ladies. Package price is $175.00 per couple based on double occupancy and includes hot breakfasts, boxed lunches, country church supper on Saturday night and a video presentation on the Finger Lakes Trail. A few individual rooms are available for a package price of $95.00. Two weekends are available: May 2 through 4, and June 13 through 15, 1997. Hikes will be taken in ten mile sections on Saturday and Sunday,and are organized and led by Finger Lakes Trail Conference members. To obtain registration packets, contact Clair Ders, Northwest Corners Bed and Breakfast, HCR70, Box 141, South Otselic, NY 13155-9705 (315) 653-7776, oremail czezzaj@mkl.com.
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NORTH ST AR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association,
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NCTA TRIPS AND ACTIVITIE ITEMS FOR THIS COLUMN must be received before the deadline date given on Page 4 of this newsletter. We welcome listing activities of affiliated organizations, but we must be aware of them in sufficient time for publication.
NCTA May 17: Board of Directors meeting, Romulus, Ml. May 28: Newsletter deadline June 1: Ballots due for board election July 24: Newsletter deadline. August 21-24: NCT A Membership meeting, Board of Directors meeting, Hervida 4H Camp, Beverly, Ohio. Contact NCTA office, (616) 454-5506 October 1: Newsletter deadline. October 1: Deadline for 1998 Challenge Cost Share proposals and reporting volunteer hours. November 8: Board of Directors meeting, Romulus, Ml.
Michigan April 17: Grand Traverse Hiking Club meeting. Program is thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, with Verna Soules. 7PM, Career Tech-Center/Adult Work Center, Parsons Rd. & 3mile, Traverse City. Contact Gregg Law, (616) 941-4964. April 19: Western Michigan Chapter hikes Deerfield in Mt. Pleasant. Contact Dave S. at (616) 784-8978 or Mary P. at (616) 773-6986. April 19: Western Michigan Chapter hikes Ludington State Park. Contact Dave S. at (616) 784-8978 or Mary P. at (616) 773-6986. April 21-24: North Country Trail Hikers Hike with Herb Grenke's hiking class. Meet at 1 P.M. at the Dome, back by 4 P.M. Call Herb, (906) 249-9180. Apr 22: North Country Trail Hikers Backpacking workshop sponsored by the Sierra Club. NMU West Science room 270 at 7 P.M. Dave (906) 228-6744. April 26-27: Trail work project in Lost Nations State Game area, Hillsdale County. Contact Arden Johnson, 600 Tennyson, Rochester Hills, Ml 48307 (810) 853-0292. Apr 27: North Country Trail Hikers Little Presque Isle tract cleanup sponsored by the Sierra Club. Meet at 1 O A.M. at the LPI parking lot. Dave (906) 228-9453. April 29: Grand Traverse Hiking Club. Adopt-a-trail assignment meeting. 7:00 1045 Draka Rd., Traverse City. Contact Arlen Matson after April 20 (616) 941-4152. May and June: North Country Trail Hikers Hike or trail work with Herb Grenke's class. For times call Herb (906) 249-9180. May 3: North Country Trail HikersTrail work, location TBA. Gene (906) 225-1704. May 3: Western Michigan Chapter spring Schoolhouse maintenance and cleanup. Call Ruth at (616) 453-8622 or Ginny at (616) 689-6876. May 3-4: Trail work project in Lost Nations State Game area, Hillsdale County. Contact Arden Johnson, (see above). May 7: North Country Trail Hikers Hike Bruno's Run trail in Hiawatha N.F. 8 miles, 70 min. drive each way. Bea (906) 226-2158. May 10: Western Michigan Chapter hikes Aman Park in
Apr-May.
1997
Grand Rapids. Contact Dave S. at (616) 784-8978 or Mary P. at (616) 773-6986. May 10: North Country Trail Hikers U.P. Softies hike. west from Rumely Road to the Bridge at Laughing Whitefish River. THE HALFWAY POINT! Celebrate with trail maintenance on new section of trail west of the bridge Jan or Bob (906) 2251295 or trail work only call Gene (906) 225-1704. May 10-11: Trail work project in Lost Nations State Game area, Hillsdale County. Contact Arden Johnson, (see above). May 15: North Country Trail Hikers Journey into Spring. Hike the Addis Ponds area of Hiawatha N.F. 5 miles, leave at 1 P.M. Birds, wild flowers. No pets please Lon (906) 942-7879. May 17: North Country Trail Hikers McCormick bushwack to lakes and views. Try to find the Acropolis Richard (906) 2267934. May 17: Western Michigan Chapter hikes Owasippe Scout Reservation in Muskegon. Contact Dave S. at (616) 784-8978 or Mary P. at (616) 773-6986. May 21: North Country Trail Hikers Trail work in the McCormick and hike to Lake Raymond. Sally (906) 226-8515. May 24: North Country Trail Hikers Rain, snow date for May 17 or trail work, location TBA. Gene (906) 225-1704. May 24-27: Western Michigan Chapter hikes Wilderness State Park. Overnight tenting. Contact Dave S. at (616) 7848978 or Mary P. at (616) 773-6986. May 31: Western Michigan Chapter hikes Seaton Creek on the Manistee River trail. Contact Dave S. at (616) 784-8978 or Mary P. at (616) 773-6986. May 31: North Country Trail Hikers Little Presque Isle tract cleanup and hike. Meet at the LPI parking lot at 10 A.M. Dave (906) 228-9453. June 3:Western Michigan Chapter meeting, 7:30 PM, location TBA. Jun 7: North Country Trail Hikers National Trails Day with NCTH and Down Wind Sports Gene (906) 225-1704. Jun 14: North Country Trail Hikers Trail work in Craig Lake State Park. Denise (906) 225-1030. Jun 20: North Country Trail Hikers Solstice Sojourn; Meet at 6 A.M. atthe Sugarloaf parking lot. Climb Sugarloaf, Hogsback, and Mt. Marquette. Strenuous Lon (906) 942-7879. Jun 21: North Country Trail Hikers Little Presque Isle tract cleanup and hike. Meet at the LPI parking lot at 10 A.M., Dave (906) 228-9453. Jun 21: North Country Trail Hikers Trail work, location TBA, Gene (906) 225-1704. Jun 28: North Country Trail Hikers Trail work between McCormick and Lake Elinor. Roland1(906) 226-2996.
Minnesota April 25-27: Midwest Mountaine~ring Canoe/Outdoor Adventure Expo. Volunteers needed to staff NCTA booth for
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Single
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Five Issues (Fyll Y~ar) $80.00 $128.00 $200.00 $320.00
NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, Apr-May 1997 2-5 hours. Call Rod MacRae (612)377-0130 or Paul Wright (612) 423-5006. May 3-4: Spring Trail Clearing, Kek Trail. $50. Call Pat Duerr at (612) 484-0538 for info. May 10-11: Superior Hiking Trail Association Annual Meeting on the north shore. Contact SHTA, (218) 834-2700. May 10-11: Spring Trail Clearing, Kek Trail. Three sections: Parent Lake to Disappointment Lake (Canoe in), Beartrap to Medas Lake (Canoe in), West trailhead to Parent Lake (Hike in). $50.00 Call Pat Duerr at (612) 484-0538. May 17-18: Survey hiking trip in the Paul Bunyan section. Using map and compass and detailed maps, identify exact trail route for future construction. Shared costs. Contact Harlan Liljequist at (612)) 559-5994. May 17-18: Spring trail clearing, Kek Trail, South Lake Trail. $50. Call Pat Duerr, (612) 484-0538. May 23-26: Backpacking trip on the Superior Trail, organized by the Staring Lake Outdoor Center. Limit 10 participants. Cost $85, all inclusive. Call Rod MacRae (612) 949-8479 for information. May 24-26: Spring Trail Clearing, Kek Trail, East Trailhead to Harness Lake. $50. Call Pat Duerr (612) 484-0538. May 29-June 1: Trail clearing project on Bad Medicine section. Prepare final half mile for certification. Shared costs; work from base camp. Contact Paul Wright (612) 423-5006. June 6~8: National Trails Day weekend. One trip will prepare guidebook notes for Itasca-Bad Medicine section. Trip of $40 includes all trail food and group gear. Call Rod MacRae (612) 377-0130. June 7: A 10 mile hike along one of the more challenging sections of the SHT. Shuttle back. Contact SHTA at (218) 834-2700. July 5: A 4.8 mile hike which includes the popular Britton Peak
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and Carleton peak. Contact SHTA at (218) 834-2700. July 23: A 7.6 mile hike including vistas of the Poplar River area. Shuttle back. Contact SHTA at (218) 834-2700. August 1-3: Campsite construction project on the Chippewa section. Hike into work site and build new site from scratch. Base cost of $40 includes trip food and group gear. Call Rod MacRae at (612} 377-0130. August 2: An 8.1 mile hike along Bally Creek Rd. to Pincushion Mt. Contact SHTA at (218) 834-2700. August 23: A 6.8 mile hike with vistas of Lake Superior and Sawtooth Range. Shuttle back. Free and open to public. Contact SHTA at (218) 834-2700. September 27: An 8.1 mile hike from Crosby Manitou State Park to Caribou Wayside. Shuttle back. Free and open to the public. Contact SHTA at (218) 834-2700. October 11: A 2.5 mile round trip hike overlooking the Sawmill Valley. Free and open to the public. Contact SHTA at (218) 834-2700.
New York April 19: FLTC Wallace D. Wood founder's hike, about 9 miles in Letchworth State Park. Meet at Parade Grounds picnic pavilion at 10:00 AM. April 27: CayugaTrails Club maintenanceweekend, Shindigan Hollow SF. Contact Tom Reimers (716) 272-8679. May 3: Trail Maintenance Workshop, sponsored by Finger Lakes Trail Conference and Finger Lakes National Forest. For information, contact Howard Beye (716) 288-7191. May 9-11: The FLTC Spring meeting will be May 9-11 at
The Superior Peninsula Seasons in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan by Lon L. Emerick, Ph.D. Join a long-time lover of the "U.P." as he explores abandoned gold mines and ghost towns. Saunter down old woods roads. Take a hike on the Bay de Noc - Grand Island pathway. Visit winter waterfalls and enjoy a pasty picnic on a remote hillside as spring arrives. "A thrilling love affair with the U.P.... many readers will end up putting it high on their gift list." -- Glen Sheppard, Northwoods Call Color photos, b/w drawings, 106 pp. $17.95 +$2.00 shipping. Order from: North Country, Dept NS 355 Heidtman Rd., Skandia Ml 49885
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NORTH STAR: The Newsletterofthe North Country Trail Association, Apr-May. 1997
Cazenovia Lake. For more information, contact FLTC, PO Box 18048, Rochester NY 14618-0048 or call (716) 288-7191. May 25: Cayuga Trails Club trail maintenace, near Enfield. Contact Tom Reimers, (716) 272-8679. June 9-13. Alley Cat Trail Crew, west of Watkins Glen. For information, contact Howard Beye (716) 288-7191. Sept. 22-26: Alley Cat Trail Crew, building shelter in Allegany SP. For information, contact Howard Beye (716) 288-7191.
Ohio April 19-20. BTA Work Party. Piedmont Reservoir (Harrison County). April 25-27: The Buckeye Trail Association annual meeting will be held at Butler Springs Christian Assembly, Highland County, Ohio. For more information, contact Herb Hulls, 38450 CR46, Lower Salem, OH 45745 (614) 585-2603, April 25-27. BTA Annual Meeting. Questions, call Herb Hulls, 614-585-2603. May 10-11. BTA Work Party. Tar Hollow State Forest (Vinton County). May 17-18, 10:00 a.m. BTA Circuit Hike. Meet at Point 8, Caesar Creek Section. June 7, 9:00 a.m. BTA. National Trails Day Work Party &
Hiking1n Austria I
l 0 Days and 9 Nights in the Montafon Valley 6 Days of Guided Hiking based on your skill level
June 3, 1997 June 12, 1997 For Further information and a brochure please contact:
Michael Guerin Bergtrekkers PO Box 611 549 Port Huron, Ml 48061 (81 0) 385-5609
Hike. Galyan's Trading Company and the Buckeye Trail Association. Meet on the Buckeye Trail at Tecumsey Lake just off SR 93, south of Shawnee and north of New Straitsville in Perry County. Look for the BTA HIKE sign. Some work, some play! Bring water and a sack lunch. Come out to help out! June 7, 10:00 a.m. NE Ohio BTA. Our Northeast Group will work on a NE Ohio Buckeye Trail segment. Final arrangements haven't been made, so call Lee Shainker, 216-6415791, for location and sign-up. June 7. 11 :30 a.m. COHC. Scioto Trails State Park. This state park has challenging wooded trails and excellent scenery. Located about 15 miles south of Chillicothe. Leader Carolyn Whitesel, 614-967-3943. June 7. Columbus Outdoor Pursuits. Work trip to Scioto Trails State Forest. Call Ann Gerckens for information, 614-2980555. June 21-22. BTA Work Party. Clendening Reservoir (Harrison County). August 21-24. BTA hosts the North Country Trail Association Annual Meeting, Beverly, Ohio. September 11-14. BTA Work Party. Tar Hollow State Forest (Vinton County). September 20-28. BTA. Adirondack Mountains, New York. The definite dates for the Adirondack Hiking Trip are September 20 to 28, 1997. This is a great time of year to go to New York with a great group of people. Since we are carpooling, the cost will be very reasonable. There are lots of trails, so you can do as much or as little as you like. We'd love to have you. Call Herb Hulls, 614-585-2603. October 10-11. BTA Work Party. Burr Oak State Park. See page 6 for details. October 30-Nov. 2. BTA Work Party. Fort Hill State Park.
Pennsylvania Sept 5-7: Work trip to build trail in SGL95. Contingent on PA Game Commission approval. Contact Mark Eckler (412) 5886164.
Wisconsin April 26: Chequamegon Chapter hike, location and time TBA. For more information call George Tresnak, (715) 274-2401. May 17-18: Heritage Chapter work days, location TBA. For more information call Jim Burow, (414) 425-5146. June 7-8. Chequamegon Chapter National Trails Day Hike.
SWISS KANDERSTEG ZERMATT MURREN LENK ~EE:i.~~~ALP RIGl-kALTENBAD GRINDELWALD SAAS-FEE GSTAAD FLUELEN ENGELBERG LEUKERBAD
ALPS
Moderate optional length DAY hiking along skyline trails. 7 - 2 week tours basing at 15 mountain 3-4 star hotels. All hikes guided by NCT member Cecil Dobbins. For a free color brochure call (216) 867-3771 or write to路 . ALPINE ADVENTURETRAILSTOURS, Inc. 783V Cliffside Dr. Akron, OH 44313
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NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, Apr-May 1997 For more information call George Tresnak, (715) 274-2401. June 7-8: Heritage Chapter National Trails Day event. For more information call Jim Burow, (414) 425-5146. June 21-22: Heritage Chapter work days, segment D-E. For more information call Jim Burow, (414) 425-5146. July 19-20: Heritage Chapter work days, segment F-H. For more information call Jim Burow, (414) 425-5146. August 2-10: Heritage Chapter Campout and work days, Weber Lake. For more information call Jim Burow, (414) 4255146. Sept. 5-7: Heritage Chapter membership meeting, location TBA. For more information call Jim Burow, (414) 425-5146. Sept. 27: Chequameon Chapter Fall Hike. For more
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information call George Tresnak, (715) 274-2401. Oct. 18-19: Heritage Chapter work days, segment H-J. For more information call Jim Burow, (414) 425-5146. Dec. 6: Heritage Chapter get-together, Milwaukee, WI. For more information call Jim Burow, (414) 425-5146.
Other National Trail events April 12-16, 1997: "Protecting Trail Resources," Fifth National Conference on National Scenic and National Historic Trails, Orlando, FL. For information contact NCTA Office. August 1-8. 31st meeting of the AppalachianTrail Conference, Bethel, ME. Contact ATC, (304) 535-6068.
Do1ao .. s: Duane and Judy Bennett Robin Spry-Campbell
Dennis R. Donathen Emily S. Gregor
Howard W. Hintz Jimmie and Kathie Richardson
Recreational Equipment, Inc.
Joined
01'
Renewed
in a epeeial
t!atego .. y:
Trail Leader
Organizatioo
Lyle Bailk Pat and Kathleen Miller Alonzo Hannaford Allen and Mary Shoup John Clay Kincaid
Superior Hiking Trail Association USDA Forest Service (Warren, Pennsylvania) USDA Forest Service (Washburn, Wisconsin) Foothills Trail Club
New Metnbet"s: Jerome E. Allen Mitzi Beckman Dennis C. Bell Lane and Dawn Bennett Mike Bessette Tim Sewer Justin Booth Peter Cann Larry and Susan Chase Steve & Sharon Churchill Shirley Ann Cloud Mary C. Coffin Barbara Day Charles and Jean Day Claudia Day Julianne Irene Day William and Isabelle Day Bruce A. DePree Joseph M. Desantis Nola Dick Art Diehm
Lee Douglas Margaret Dunning Clifton and Kay Edwards Randy Ehinger Betsy J. Flowers Kelly Golley Richard L. Halbert John G. Harris Richard and Beverly Harvey Ken and Mary Hinchman Chris Hunter Frank and Susan Johnson Pierce and Nancy Johnson Rita Krochalk Mary Kunzler-Larmann Albert F. t.arrnann Ed Leach Burt Marshall Emily 0. Marshall Kathryn Mehlenbacher Tim Mueller
Nancy Papish Michelle Penoyer Jim Petreszyn Chuck and Caryn Rieb Bill Roorbeck Anne B. Saltman Mike Shaw Charles P. Silas Carolyn J. Silverstein Carol J. Smith Carol Stetter Charlice M. Stewart Tom Sutter Schawna Thoma Norma Vanderlaan Margaret Day Verrnerris Cliff Welch Karen Wellner George Zacharek
We gratefully acknowledge the support of all our members and donors who share with us the vision of the North Country National Scenic Trail!
â&#x20AC;˘
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NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association,
Apr-May.
1997
Grand Prize (1): Jacket with embroidered logo Runners Up (5): $25 gift certificate at the NClA Trail Shop
Het'e's the eeoop: We'll record the recruiter's name for each new paying member who joins through Aug. 15, 1997. At the Annual Meeting, we'll announce the final results. You don't have to attend the Annual Meeting to receive your prize. Any member of NCTA can participate. If you get someone new to join, just ask them to write down your name as "sponsor" or "recruiter" and we'll be sure to give you credit. Good luck, and thanks for your help in getting the word out! Please call us if you need more forms or have any questions: 616-454-5506, or NCTAssoc@aol.com
The Results •o Fa1t••• Recruiter's Name(s)
Members Recruited
Members Recruited
Recruiter's Name(s)
Bill Menke
13
Derek Blount
1
Claudia Day
6
Jim Burow
1
Bob Papp*
6
Lois Cole
1
Gene Elzinga
2
Frank and Carolyn Jones
1
Len Baron
1
Fred and Kathy Sabel
1
* Our Executive Director, Bob Papp, is not eligible for any prizes. He 's just in it for the sport.
elGN UP YOUR FRISNDe AT A$ f 5 IN';RODUt!TORY RATS! -----------------
------~
Our Sponsored Membership Program allows Please choose your regional affiliation (check one): current members of the NCTA to sign up an D Member of a specific chapter: ---,--------, unlimited number of new members at an D Member of my closest local chapter (if one exists) introductory rate of just $15. To qualify, Sponsor- D Member-at-Large (not affiliated with any Chapter) ed Members must be new to NCTA, or not have f------------------------~-----------------been members for at least two years. The $15 Name(s) of New Member(s): rate is good only for the first year of membership. To use this program, just fill in your name and Add . . membership. number, then give the form t o your cess. friend to complete the shaded area. If you _ ----------sponsor enough members, you may win a prize! I City, state Zip:
l
!sponsored by: ---
-· ------
Membership #:
To begin your membership, please complete this form J., and send it with your $15 payment to:
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North Country Trail Association 49 Monroe Center NW Suite 2008 Grand Rapids, Ml 49503
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would like to volunteer the following skills (optional):