January -
March, 2003
First, there was Chips ...
.. then came Maggie
Dick's Wonderdog, Bailey
And Amanda's Beau
Behold the Trail Dogs... Champion Hikers on the NCT D
ogs are splendid. They're always glad to see you, they never have a headache and they make complainless hiking companions. Have you ever heard one ask: "Are we there, yet?" Here's a salute to some of those who trot the North Country Trail alongside their masters. Few of us have hiked as far on the North Country Trail as Joan Young, as many of you are aware, but her companions haven't done badly either. First there was Chips (we read about him in Joan's "Cache" series)who hiked 1,128 miles with her. A long boardwalk on the Spirit of the Woods segment in the HuronManistee National Forest, is dedicated to his memory. His successor,Maggie, has been trying hard to follow in his paw tracks. Now we meet Bailey, whom Photographer Dick Bolton (whose pictures appear on pages 19, 28, 29) calls, "The Wonder Dog," and Beau, the faithful companion of AmandaTikkanen, whom you might remember as having won our first, "Where Is It," Contest. Beau completed the Manistee Trail Loop with Amanda this year and was still fresh, reports Amanda, after 17 miles ... a slug too long for her, she says.
• The Pint Hoisters Guide (PHG) to the North Country National Scenic Trail is off and gulping so to speak. The first two oases to join the initial two pubs mentioned in the OctoberDecember issue have been added to the guide thanks to our indomitable Irene Szabo, President of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference and member of the NCTA Board who writes: "I say thumbs up and a hearty YO HO to your suggestion ... that there should be a Pint Hoisters Guide to the
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EDITOR'S ~®li8
WERNER VEIT North Country Trail! Fie on those for whom ice cream is sufficient incentive to do trail work all day: make mine Guinness in a cooler in the ancient trail work van." Her nominees in (mostly) her words: • The ancient and redoubtable Genesee Falls Inn, scene of fantastic river floods (see the scrapbook in the lobby!) which features lodging, meals, and a bar in the middle of relative nowhere that stocks Guinness! It's located one mile north of the main east west FLT and NCT along the yellow-blazed Letchworth Branch Trail. • The Sierra Inn, two big walking days eastward of the Genesee Falls Inn in "the sleepy village of Swain by winter a throbbing ski resort, but in any other season a real dot in the valley. The Inn, right on the blazed route, is always open for food and drink of at least minimally acceptable selection. (I drank there last when I was too young and inexperienced to have known about Guinness, but I do have vivid memories of trying to convince an October bar mate that people really did go walk in the woods for 'no reason at all' to his astonishment.)" Keep your nominations coming folks. Personally, I do remember taking refreshment in a dimly lit establishment in Butler County, PA, but I would not presume to invade Bob Tait's territory and I will submit to his local knowledge
before making "official" additions to the PHG. You remember Bob, the state coordinator there, who wants to make Pennsylvania the center of the (at least, hiking) universe.
• Annual Conference aftermath: Barbara Hawke, came to the conference all the way from Boulder, CO-she remained a loyal member of the North Country Trail Association even after her job with the Nature Conservancy took her away from a trail state-picked up a souvenir from the great outings in North Dakota. Can you guess from her drawing? Yep, poison ivy! And still another: When your North Star editor was the successful bidder on the bison head auctioned off after our banquet, his envious colleagues who tried to buy it from him, was sure he wouldn't know what to do with it ... especially since it was coming apart. Aha, they didn't reckon with Odey Kranenberg, a friend of Sherry Staal, who not only glued it together but hung it on the wall of our Lowell office.
• Angela Walker Ballard, author of the splendid piece on the Pacific Crest Trail beginning on Page 19, is a freelance writer in Sacramento CA., where she lives with her husband Dustin and, you guessed it, dog Gary. Angela and Dustin thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2002. They are writing a book about their trekking experiences, to be published by The Mountaineers in Seattle. It's expected on bookshelves in fall 2003.
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A Glance Inside
229 East Main Street, Lowell MI 49331 Ph. (888)J;454-NCTA, Fx. (616) 897-6605 hq@northcountrytrail.org, .• www.northcountrytrail.org ' '·
NCTA Staff: Bob Papp, Executive Director Rob Corbett, Director of Trail Management Tiffany Stram, GIS Coordinator Bonnie Wayman, Office Manager Bill Menke, Trail Foreman Glory Meyer, Public Services Coordinator Allison Barr, Bookkeeper Sherry Staal, Office Assistant
North Country Trail Association National Board of Directors Terms Expiring2003 Werner Veit, at Large · 229 E. Main Sr., Lowell, MI 49331 · (888) 454-6282 · wvl2@aol.com Joan Young, Secretary, at Large· 861 W. USlO, Scottville, Ml 49454 · (231) 757-2205 · jhy@t-one.net Richard Harris, VP East, at Large · 974 SOM Center Rd., Mayfield, OH 44143 · (440) 4497467 · richhohi@concentric.net Daryl Wiiiiamson,VP West, Minnesota· 5901 Timberglade Dr., Bloomington, MN 55438 · (952) 835-2186 Terms Expiring 2004 JohnLeinen, Jr., at Large . Vice President, Finance· 14205 St. Croix Trail, Stillwater, MN 55082 (651) 433-4456 · patleinen@msn.com Irene Szabo, at Large · 6939 Creek Rd., Mt. Morris, NY 14510-9638 · (585) 658-4321 · treeweenie@aol.com GaylordYost, President, at Large· P.O. Box 1013, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1013 · (414) 354-8987 · gaylyost@aol.com Bob Norlin, Great Lakes· PO Box 718, Iron River, WI 54847 · (715) 372-5229 · rnorlin@ironriver.baysat.net GarryS. Dill Jr., Ohio · 4070 TradersvilleBrighton Rd., London, OH 43140 · (937) 834-2891 · vetfarm@starband.net Bob Tait Pennsylvania · Box 2968 Butler, PA 16001-2968 · (724) 287-3382 · Bobtait@zbzoom.net Terms Expiring 2005 Derek Blount, at Large · 906 N. Alexander, Royal Oak, MI 48607 · (248) 548-1737 · djblountts'aol.com Helen Coyne, at Large· 212 Willow Circle, Cranberry Township, PA 16066 · (724) 776-0678 · hcoyne@zbzoom.net Mary Lucas, at Large · 753 Davenport St., Rhinelander, WI 54501 · (715) 362-0616 · myridgemary@netscape.net Howard Beye, New York· 202 Colebourne Rd., Rochester, NY 14609 · (585) 288-7191 · fltc@frontiernet.net Dave Cornell, at Large· 514 Cordes Rd., Delton, MI 49046 · (616) 623-8659 · janc128@aol.com
Columns Editor's Note Trail Head View from Madison View from Lowell
Page 2 Page 6 Page 26 Page 27
The third in a series of articles describing our sister national scenic trails begins on Page 20. Earlier articles featured the Ice Age and Continental Divide National Scenic Trails. In this issue we become acquainted with the Pacific Crest Trail.
Departments Heart and Sole Hiking Calendar Hiking Shorts Milestones Public Affairs Trail Craft Trail Shop Trail Supporters Who's New
Page 38 Page 25 Page 5 Page 24 Page 15 Page 4 Page 30 Page 35 Page 18
State of the Trail Also Report from Triad Wedding Bells Still Ring 7 States Host Volunteers Memorials Honor Pioneers. Board of Directors Report ..
Page Page Page Page
16 19 23 25 37
As the year 2003 dawns, The North Star assesses the State of the Trail, with maintenance reports and construction reports from chapters and partners in the seven states that are home to the North Country National Scenic Trail. The report begins on Page 7.
About the Cover Yes, that's the North Country Trail Association's sober Board of Directors and staff wishing you a Happy New Year in this photograph taken by Aaron Phipps. The North Star Staff: Werner Veit, Editor Bill Menke, Contributing Editor Roger Meyer, Contributing Editor Joan Young, Contributing Editor Aaron Phipps, Art Director JenniferTripp, Production Manager
The North Star, Wmter Issue, Vol. XX!!, Issue I, is published quarterly by the North Country Trail Association, a private, notfor-profit 50lc(3) organization, 229 East Main Street, Lowell, MI 49331. The North Star is published for promotional and educational purposes and as a benefit of membership in the Association. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permissionof the North Country Trail Association.
Trail Craft with Bill Menke, NCTA Trail Foreman
IncorrectSlope: H to Avoid It ... or Fix n the last issue of The North Star, NPS Superintendent Tom Gilbert wrote eloquently about why trail quality is so important to the hiking experience. Two of the necessaryquality conditions he mentioned were slope and dryness. In many ways, these two conditions are interdependent. In this issue, I'm going to bounce off of his writing and expand upon some ways to correct one of the major problem conditions that he mentioned-incorrect slope. AB Tom mentioned, slope falls into two categories-running slope and cross slope. Running slope can be thought of as the grade or incline of the trail. The standards established for the North Country National Scenic Trail limit the maximum sustained running slope to IO-percent. Within the Roaded Natural/ Rural areas (most of the trail), occasional short pitches up to 20-percent for 100feet in length can be incorporated when this steeper gradient (grade) is needed to pass through some obstacle in the terrain. In case you're wondering how IOpercent was selected as the general standard, the choice was not made in haste. If a wide variety of trail design handbooks, including those published by the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the State of Indiana, the Student Conservation Association, and others were available for your study, you would see the magic 10-percent figure continually appearing. Ten percent is a good compromise that still provides challenge to the average person while also providing that pleasurable experience Tom talked about. It is also the gradient that is manageable for controlling water flow and erosion. Anything much steeper is more susceptible to erosion and much more intense efforts are needed to prevent damaging the trail beyond repair. A basic law of nature is that water flows downhill. Another basic law is that it takes the course of least resistance. An undisturbed forest floor with its thick
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thumb related to slope. First, the trail gradient should not exceed 50-percent of the fall line of the hill and for the North Country NST, this 50-percent is capped at IO-percent. The crux of exceeding 50-percent of the fall line is that diverts: ~ ing water becomes a real challenge. An i§" example would be if a hill has a face of 12-percent, the trail gradient should not exceed 6-percent and if a hill had a face of 30-percent, the trail gradient should Clinometer-When headingfor the hills, not exceed IO-percent (the NCT grade never leave home without it. standard). The way to correct steep gradient, or covering of leaf litter and humus is one better yet to prevent it in the first place, of the most resistant areas to overland is through proper trail design. Laying water flow and erosion. The thick coverout new trail or correcting old trail ing on the forest floor causes water to requires thorough scouting and selectsoak into the soil rather than flow across ing a route location that meets the 10% it. grade standard. Of course, the location Those of us in the hiking comalso needs to meet a host of other design munity like to think that our favored criteria including, stable soils, dryness, activity is easy on the environment. reasonable ease of construction, scenic Relatively to some other activities, that values, etc. is very true. But, we are not immune to It is essential to use a clinometer causing environmental damage. When when laying out trail. This little instruwe use a trail that follows the fall line ment allows the flagging of a proposed (crosses the contour lines at almost right trail at the proper grade. We all (includangles) -whether that trail is created by ing myself) become overly confident and mere footsteps over the course of many think that we are experienced enough to years or we actually construct it, we are just know in our head (or perhaps more creating a channel of least resistance for correctly in our leg muscles) when we are water to follow and erosion will eventuwalking a IO% grade. ally result. But, I always use a clinometer and There are many existing N CT seghave constantly proven that my legs do ments that exceed 10-percent grade. not know an exact IO%. Using the Almost always, these steeper segments clinometer requires knowledge of someare following the fall line of a hill. Also thing called Eye Level Survey but there is almost always, these segments of trail are not enough space to go into that topic. channeling water and varying degrees of The next component of slope is erosion are present. Cross Slope (out slope). This is what In the early stages, the hiker may Tom talked about when he mentioned merely have to contend with walking in the difficulty of following a trail that slowly flowing water following a rain or merely traverses across the face of a hill the spring melt. Later, small gravel and without having been benched. Cross roots are exposed. Over the course of slope contributes to ankle twist. On the time, the trail becomes more incised and North Country NST, cross slope should "paved" with slightly larger rocks-soil not exceed 5-percent. Since the tread particles and smaller rocks have been width standard is 24-inches, the 5% cross washed away. slope standard dictates that the outer Eventually, the trail becomes a deep edge of the trail should be approximately ditch, hikers walk alongside the ditch and I-inch lower than the inner edge. create a new trail channel and the process To the hiker, this one inch of cross starts all over again. slope is basically unnoticeable while proWhen a trail follows the fall line, viding a comfortable walking experience. there is no practical way to divert the But, we would not want the cross slope water. There are two general rules-ofto be zero. The outslope allows any
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Trail Craft with Bill Menke, NCTA Trail Foreman water that does flow down the face of the hill to flow onto and right across the trail without diverting and following the trail itself. Again, there are two basic rules related to cross slope. The first is that any time the cross slope exceeds 5-percent, benching is needed. The second rule is to always make sure the outer edge of the trail is lower than the inner edge so that water will naturally flow off the trail. Establishing a correct cross slope requires either very careful trail design to insure that you are in a location that naturally provides a 5% outslope (sometimes found right at the rim of a hill) or exerting the effort to employ mattocks and McLeods to excavate the trail tread and establish the correct outslope. One way to determine outslope is to tape a I-inch block of wood to the lower side of a two-foot level (near the end). Then lay this level across the trail with the block of wood resting on the ground at the outer edge of the trail. The outslope is correct when the bubble reads level. Keep in mind that over time, wear and tear can cause even a properly
HIKING~ Learning from Bill Trail Foreman Bill Menke Will be the lead instructor durin.~ t~,~, second annual Trail Building Maintenance Seminar sponsored by the Western Michigan Chapter at its Schoolhouse in White Cloud April 5 and 6. The fee to help defray expenses is $7.50 per participant. If interested, e-mail WernerVeit at wv12@aol call him at the NCTA o 454-6282.
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outsloped trail to become insloped or cupped. This condition is often called a berm. When caught before the problem gets too bad and the trapped water has eroded the trail, the problem is fairly easy to correct. Just use mattocks and McLeods to remove the berm and reestablish the correct 5% ourslope. Together, proper running slope and cross slope go a long way toward providing the dryness factor. Next issue, I'll discuss correcting other wet conditions.
This Trail Leads To Marquette Mark July 31-Aug. 3 On your 2003 Calendar A highpoint for many members is the annual conference of the North Country Trail Association where we are introduced to the favorite sections of the North Country Trail Association by the hikers who live there. In 2003, we'll be visiting one of the most scenic locations along our trail, the south shore of Lake Superior, home to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, land of wild waterfalls, gorgeous beaches and outstanding trail. Our hosts will be the three chapters in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and especially the North Country Trail Hikers, based in Marquette, home to Northern Michigan University, headquarters for the conference. Complete details will be published in the Spring issue of The North Star, but for now mark you calendars and plan to join us.
Central NY Obtains ImportantEasement The Central New York Chapter of the North Country Trail Association obtained a perpetual easement 350 feet long and 50 feet wide in the Town of DeRuyter, south of the Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area. The easement, granted by property owner Nancy Aller, provides a much better entrance from the Carpenter Road Trailhead to the Link Trail between Muller Hill State Forest and NY State Route 80. The property had been owned by Ms. Aller's brother, Jack Day, who expressed his wish the easement be granted before he passed away. The chapter previously had achieved access to Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area through the cooperation of four private landowners and the New York Scace Department of Environmental Conservation. -Al Larmann
Spirit of Woods Names Officers The Spirit of the Woods Chapter has elected the following officers: Rich Krieger, of Manistee, President; Joan Young, of Scottville, who founded the chapter, Secretary and Mary Soule, of Wellston, Treasurer. Other posts: Angela Addington, of Scottville, Editor of the Newsletter; and Ed Chappell, oflrons and Ed Morse, of Grawn, trail work coordinators.
Corrections: In the last issue of The North Star, which reported on the annual conference in North Dakota, we misidentified a locale in the Sheyenne State Forest as a scene in Fort Ransom Stace Park. That's particularly unfortunate since forest technician Lorin Fornes, was kind enough to lead a hike there, an outing much enjoyed by attendees to the conference. Sorry, Lorin. In listing the sites for the annual conferenceof the North Country Trail Association, the last issue mislisced the year the conferencewould return to New York. The correct year should have been 2008. ·-··-·---·-·----·-------
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More Help Coming from the Associationfor Chapters and Affiliates A n article on Page 18 introduces our ..l\.newest staff member, Rob Corbett, Director of Trail Management, one of several employees we've been hoping to bring into the North Country Trail Association in the months ahead to better serve our chapters and to grow the Association. Rob will help bring added attention to our chapters' and affiliates' needs and will take some of the workload from our Executive Director, Bob Papp, whose job has been quite overwhelming the past months as we have grown and more demands made on his time. I'd like to welcome Rob and wish him well Also, we all owe Bob big thanks for his dedication and tireless effort in working to make these big organizational changes come about.
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Hey Chapters and Affiliates! Don't forget that the Association's Field Grant Program is available to help you complete those important projects each year. The 2002 grant cycle is closed now but we'll be getting into the 2003 cycle shortly. It isn't too soon to begin thinking about what project you want to submit to NCTA headquarters for a grant for 2003. This year, the Association had $12,000 to provide chapters with project or operational assistance. The awards fell short of the total dollars available and I'm not sure why. It certainly can't be because of a lack of things to be done. I think many of us may get so busy with other things we drag our feet when its time to plan. Take some time this winter to prepare for the coming hiking and project season. Sit down and do a little brainstorming with your Chapter or Council members. Lay out an agenda of projects and what you may need to complete them. If you need grant money, you know where to apply. New application forms will be sent out in January.
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How's that end-to-end trail marking going? That's a rhetorical question, of course, and I expect if some of you answered it, the answers would go something like this: We're moving along slowly; we're doing it; we haven't started because we have higher priorities and not enough volunteers, etc. All those would be the
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answers I'd expect given the large trail building task we volunteers have taken on. The need for end-to-end trail marking is brought up periodically. One of our members recently reminded us that if we are to try and attract end-to-end and/or other long distance hikers, we must have a route on the ground marked for them to follow. That means to have a route marked not only along the certified trail sections but, also, along non-certified connector trail and roads. And our member is right. We can't really brag up much over a trail that ends in the middle of nowhere and hikers have to hop a bus or drive a car to find the next marked segment. But reality has to govern our Chapter activities. For many of the chapters, marking and maintaining the marks is an on going job along with a lot of other necessary work to keep existing trail sections open and useable. Our Board of Directors considered end-to-end marking several years ago and developed a marking policy that it hoped would encourage end-to-end marking. At the same time the Board wanted to give the Chapters the flexibility to do the job consistent with the number of volunteers and time available, priority for other needed trail work, and connector trail and road situations in each area. The policy was distributed to all Board members, trail coordinators, and Chapter presidents. The Board policy makes the production of maps for the entire trail a high priority as a temporary means of telling users where to go - even though all the where-to-go places don't have the familiar blue marking on a tree or pole.
A number of Chapters already have maps on the national web site that detail routes in their areas. NCTA cartographers are speeding along the production of high quality maps that shows the trail routing over certified, connector trails, and roads but it will be some time before completion of the entire trail. What's the status of your chapter's "end-toend" mapping and marking? Can it be improved? You can get help in getting maps on the web site by contacting our webmaster, Joan Young or myself for help. For the actual marking, the policy gives priority to connector or road segments shorter than five miles and, when they are all done, to go on to the longer segments if Chapter and Affiliate resources permit it. We don't expect Chapters and Affiliates to drop everything to get those markings out on the ground, but, hopefully, your annual planning will consider where you are on this project and, if needed and possible, where you need to go in the months ahead.
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One of the most important events at our Annual Membership conference is the recognition of volunteers who invigorated and energized our NCTA mission. These are the people who are turned on to the idea of a long distance premier hiking trail and its benefits to our nation. They make the added effort to attend meetings, volunteer to help, and turn out when needed for various projects. Shortly, Helen Coyne, our Board Awards Committee Chair will outline the 2003 program descriptions for the various categories of awards available for presentation at the annual conference. We hope you will take some time to consider who in your Chapter or Council area is deserving of recognition. Please make those nominations. These people deserve a token of collective gratitude for their efforts. Our awards program will let them know the esteem in which we all hold them for what they do.
It isn't too soon to begin thinking about what project you want to submit to NCTA headquarters for a grant for 2003.
State of the
North Country Trail skirts frozen Trout Lake in Hiawatha National Forest.
Trail... 2003' Improvements EvidentAfter Busy 2002 Maintenance, BuildingYear lowly, but inexorably the North Country National Scenic Trail is taking shape. The year passed again without Congress passing the so called "willing seller," bill which slowed progress but could not halt it thanks to thousands of hours of volunteer labor that toiled on the trail during the year. As 2003 dawned, improvements were evident from ter-
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New York Central New York Chapter
minus to terminus, from New York to North Dakota and promised a much improved treadway in far scattered segments throughout the seven states where the trail is located. What follows is a state by state by state report on what has been accomplished and what is planned for 2003 from those chapters and affiliates who responded. Starting in the East and traveling west we find:
the cooperation of four private landowners and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Obtained a perpetual easement 350 feet long and 50 feet wide in the Town of DeRuyter, south of the Tioughnioga WMA. The easement, granted by property owner Nancy Aller, provides a much better entrance from the Carpenter Road T railhead to the Link Trail between Muller Hill State Forest and NY State Route 80. The property had been owned
The Central New York Chapter, teaming with various governments, agencies and private parties, had a hugely successful trail construction and improvement season during 2002. Its projects ranged from averting a major washout problem to finishing bridges to securing permission to develop foot trail in lands closed for 34 years. The highlights: Construction of a truss bridge across Canastota Creek with particular help from the Canastota American Legion post and others. Puncheon installed on private lands needed to reach the village of Canastota. Removal of debris from defunct drainage ditches. Replacement of a deep culvert south of Carey Hill Road that dealt with a rapidly expanding pair of sink holes north of Cazenovia. Elimination of a difficult stream crossing with a small footbridge south of Route 80. Workmen set a plastic liner in preparation for Achieved access to Tioughnioga installing a new drainage system on the trail Wildlife Management Area through near Canastota, NY.
by Ms Aller's brother, Jack Day, who expressed his wish the easement be granted before he passed away. -Al Larmann
Onondaga Chapter, ADC The Onondaga Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club has made steady progress scouting and constructing new trail as well as maintaining the 93 miles of FLT including 53 miles of completed NCT/FLT within its sponsorship. It is ADK-ON's commitment to extend its Onondaga Trail as North Country National Scenic Trail 18 miles from Spruce Pond to Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area, near New Woodstock. Again this year most of the new construction has occurred on private land. State land construction is still on hold as the DEC finalizes its Region 7 Recreational Plan and ADA compliance recommendations. So we remain patient. Most work focused on private land adjacent to Morgan Hill State Forest and south of Fabius. We have hauled planks into the woods on four adjacent sections of private land, constructed drainage ditches and 46 ten foot puncheons on a wet and muddy one mile ·--------------······---
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State of the North Country Trail: 2003 The puncheon construction crew from the Onondaga Chapter of the ADK are standing: (left to right) Jim Wade, Scott Bowen, Gene Pierson, Biii Lysak, Sean Redmond and Tony Rodriguez. Seated are Mary and Bill Coffin.
section of trail, built three bridges and Hazel hoed benches for level trail tread on hillsides. Thick growth in this section is home to abundant birds and wildlife. The view overlooking Fabius Valley as the trail loops out to an open field is well worth this effort. A very enthusiastic landowner, Scott Bowen, hauled the planks up to the edge of the woods with a tractor and assisted with much of the puncheon and bridge construction. We are fortunate to have his active support. After this difficult section is completed the upland, dry wooded trail sections should be a breeze to construct. A Challenge Cost-ShareChallenge Grant funded the purchase of lumber, nails and tools. We thank the National Park Service and NCTA for this support. In Highland Forest County Park we have begun trail construction on the NPS flagged route where the trail enters from the west. Also we have scouted two possible routes out of the forest on the east as the trail progresses toward DeRuyter Reservoir and DeRuyter State Forest. The NCT will join park trails and pass by the new Interpretive Center now being built at the Skyline/Limestone Valley overlook. A NCT kiosk will be placed here. DEC foresters have walked the proposed route located in Morgan Hill State Forest again this year with our team and reevaluated the route taking into consideration future logging projects and has made some modifications to the route. The trees along the route are marked but
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no construction has yet been permitted. Most of the route is quite passable as it is in deep forest with little understory and one can follow the flags and markings. In 2002 ADK-ON conducted 40 work trips on new trail alone and as many on existing trail. Over 1500 person hours have been invested on the trail this year. The ADK-ON Chapter thanks all volunteers who have donated time to preserving and extending trail. - Mary Coffin
Finger Lakes Trail Conference
A long awaited bridge over Devereaux Brook on map M-4, north of Ellicottville, NY was put in place by one of the three, 2002 ALLEY CAT Trail Crews during August. The bridge is 42 foot long, built with three-foot high, pressure treated wood and floor trusses. The trusses were preassembled and transported to a road drop off point near the site and then moved closer with an ATV and then by hand with a comealong to put the bridge's three trusses near the final location. These were then raised onto the supporting foundation structures. Cross and diagonal braces were installed along with the deck boards and handrails. Several reroutes took place this past year to improve the trail. Most notable was the two mile improvement made on the trail in Allegany State Park on map M-1/CT-l between ASP 3 and Stony Brook Lean-to. The entire trail is now on high ground avoiding the low wet areas in the valley. The other major improvement was the completion of the switchbacks on the trail coming down from Poverty Hill Road to NY Route 219 north of Ellicottville, NY. Both of these projects were completed by the September ALLEY CAT Trail Crew at Allegany State Park. Several picnic tables and fire rings
During 2002 the Finger Lakes/ North County Trail had many improvements made along the 415 miles for which the FLTC is responsible. The new Woodchuck Hollow Lean-to located in Tuller Hill State Forest, map M-20, south of Cortland, NY was completed during October by a group of trail friends from the Cortland, NY area headed up by Eric Malmberg, Chair of the Physical Education DepartmentatSUNY Cortland. The lean-to was funded by a grant from the Cortland County Healthy Heart Coalition. The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Part of Finger Lakes Conference's Alley Cat trail crew provided logs. The structure mark the opening of Devereaux Brook bridge, conreplaces a very old lean-to structed In 2002 on the North Country Trail with the located in a poor location and help of a challenge cost share grant from the National not in very good condition. Park Service.
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State of the North Country Trail: 2003 were placed at lean-tos and campsites along the trail as well as many trail register boxes along the trail route. During 2003 we plan to construct another lean-to in the Kennedy State Forest on map M-19 south of Dryden, NY in August. A replacement bridge is also planned for the West Branch of the Bucktooth Run in Bucktooth State Forest on map M-2/CT-2, north of Salamanca, NY. Additional picnic tables, fire rings will be installed at camping locations on the trail. Routed destination signs will be installed at twenty locations. - Howard Beye
Pennsylvania Butler Chapter The Butler Chapter had a most energetic construction season. Some of the important milestones: It built the first section of North Country Trail in Pennsylvania on private property. Reports the chapter: "When NW Sanitary Landfill gave us written permission to cross their property we ended up with 1.8 miles of new trail. We are currently maintaining about 36 miles of trail. We also built eight small bridges, built and installed 13 new sign posts at road crossings and erected an NCT swinging sign. With the 10 signposts installed last year, we now have 23 signposts at road crossings. We are also helping Wampum Chapter build new trail. First, they completed more than three miles of trail and then went into a trail building frenzy to complete one and a half miles of trail before winter. In 2003 we plan on maintaining and upgrading our present trail. We are also planning to help the other chapters build trail on all gamelands and private property that they have permission to cross. Then we will get serious about building trail over the private property that is remaining. We plan to be the first state to complete the North Country Trail! -Ron Rice
Wampum Chapter The Wampum Chapter performed hillside construction, blazing and branch trimming on State Game Lands 285
between Watts Mill Road and the Ohio state line at Pennsylvania route 251. In October, an American Hiking Society Trail Crew helped complete this section with help from chapter member Bill Majernik and Butler Chapter President Ron Rice. Dave Brewer, adopter for the section, completed maintenance of the trail through State Game Lands 148 north near Wampum. The chapter has begun to work in this area as well by building the footpath from the Gamelands north towards the existing section of trail in the town on the properties owned by Cemex Inc. and the Gateway Commerce Center and will continue next year until the trail is completed. Next year we hope to start construction of the trail through the Big Beaver Borough Wetland Interpretive Area. -Richard Lutz
Ohio Great Trail - Sandy Beaver Canal Agreements with the State have enabled the Great Trail - Sandy Beaver Canal Chapter to construct a segment of North Country Trail loop trails in a nature preserve that was previously off limits to the public. The adjoining landowner, Richard Berg and Vice-President of our chapter, has provided passage and great support to the trail efforts. The Chapter, located in an area with little public land, is in negotiations with owners of other large tracts of land and the outcome looks good. Currently we are finishing some trail segments to join the Wampum Chapter at the state line and we are striving to complete the trail to Lisbon, Ohio, which is our halfway point. Some shorter segments are beyond Lisbon but there is still a lot of distance to travel. The Buckeye Trail Association has been a great asset and partner in our area by providing workforces and hands on trail building training. -Brad Bosley
Buckeye Trail Association A number of segments of the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) located along the Buckeye Trail were upgraded to a higher standard during 2002. Each is either already certified or
more readily certifiable as a result. In addition, Garry Dill, Chairman of the NCTA's Ohio Trail Council, a member of the Buckeye Trail Association and active participant of the Buckeye Trail Crew, plans to blaze a series of connecting roads between certified trail segments where Buckeye Trail does not now exist. The improvements from west to east: In the vicinity of Tappan Lake, Buckeye Trail Crew completed a new segment that extends NCT by 1.6 miles at the expense of either road or trail on an exposed utility line. Maintainers also improved the trail in wet areas. The new stretch is ready for certification. Near Clendening, the Ohio River Valley Boy Scout Council, BSA, has invited us onto their Camp Steuben property, where a new section may pass close to Morgan's Cave, an impressive rock shelter that Morgan, an unfriendly combatant during the Civil War, may have used during his ramblings through Ohio. In the Salt Fork Wildlife Area, the trail has been rerouted onto so-called wildlife breaks, a step made necessary because we were barred from making necessary improvements to existing trail at the north end of the segment. The short segment of trail that we abandoned was nearly impossible trail. It was very steep, in excess of 50% in places. As a consequence, the trail eroded badly in spite of predictably little use. In the long run, more off-road trail is possible. In the Wayne National Forest, the major effort was the construction of 100 feet of turnpike through wet woods. In Hocking State Forest, more than 100 participants from the Ohio Trails Partnership (OTP) reworked an important trail segment by installing switchbacks on a steep slope near the rappelling cliffs. The OTP, comprised of the Buckeye Trail Association, the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA), Ohio Horsemen's Council and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, was the brainchild of BTA President Herb Hulls who believes that where several groups must use the trail jointly, each can do better by working cooperatively. At Old Man's Cave, the trail is once again officially open through the gorge.
j~~~~-;~-~M;;~h---~~~;········--N~rth··5·t~~---9
State of the North Country Trail: 2003 The Division of Parks and Recreation of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources completed the reconstruction of many bridges that washed away during a severe storm several years ago. Some are similar to the old stone arches. However, one is a striking modern bridge with a series of platforms at different levels, each extending from its own pier. In Tar Hollow State Forest, the Buckeye Trail Crew replaced some open culverts with closed culverts (pipe) and reestablished a quick and dirty switchback with a much more substantial version. BTA reached an agreement with the local IMBA group to keep their group of mountain bikes off a 4-mile stretch of NCT. However, I feel this agreement represents, at best, a pyrrhic victory. The IMBA people had maintained the trail on at least a monthly basis. They had regularly cut large deadfall that block the trail more or less periodically. BTA's maintenance is much more spasmodic. Now, several new deadfalls already block the trail. In Scioto Trail State Forest, Buckeye Trail Crew built 1.8 miles of new trail this fall. This segment does not yet connect to certified trail but we plan to complete this certifiable segment during 2003 for a total new length of 3 to 3-Y2 miles. Depending upon when we complete the trail, we should complete certification either during 2003 or early 2004. In Pike State Forest, the Buckeye Trail Crew reworked a switchback built for light foot traffic long ago. Now, this location receives heavy equestrian traffic. The Crew diverted an intermittent watercourse, rerouted the trail to avoid following the fall line and made the switchback much more substantial. In western Pike County, the Buckeye Trail Crew made its first visit in several years to Cave Lake Park. While BTA had good relations with the former owners of the Park, the property was privately held. And that raised the specter of sale and breakup of the holding. Consequently, we avoided work there. Fortunately, Ohio West Virginia YMCA, which is trail friendly, recently purchased the property. The Crew began a reroute around the worst portion of trail. on this property. In East Fork State Park, the Buckeye Trail Crew performed several minor reroutes on the Backpack Loop on the
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2003
Stalwarts from the Western Michigan Chapter hauled heavy logs to build structures in wet areas.
south side of the reservoir to make the trail more enjoyable. -Jim Sprague
Michigan: Lower Peninsula Chief Noonday Chapter Work crews from the Chief Noonday Chapter were busy throughout the year, under the leadership of Charles Krammin, building and maintaining trail. Existing trail was fine-tuned, new trail was scouted and planned and North Country Trail road signs were installed. Connector trail signs also were installed from the Kent County line south to Hillsdale County as a result of a $450 grant from the North Country Trail Association. The chapter also installed the first of a series of trail register boxes. A lot of damage from a storm in late 2001 was cleared to reopen a two mile section of trail. More work in this area is still being planned for the months ahead. Sheryl Drenth and John Rudnicki continued trail blazing. A trail Adopter program was established, under the leadership of Dave Cornell. Adopters will be responsible for routine maintenance of their section of trail. They will rely on a larger work crew anytime the adopter needs help. The chapter presently has seven adopters with
two others preparing to assume their responsibilities. -Tom Garnett
Western Michigan Solving long-standing problems and starts on major construction projects occupied the Western Michigan chapter much of the year. Some of the most important were: Some 13 volunteers labored for three busy weekends to construct more than 900 feet of turnpike to cover muddy trail in the southern portion of the HuronManistee Manistee Forest, a section that had been a real problem for many years. U.S. Forest Service staff was particularly helpful in the design of the turnpike and in hauling heavy materials to the site. Eric Doyle, the chapter's newlyappointed coordinator for the trail in Newaygo County, was in charge. Paul Haan, trail coordinator for northern Kent County, assessed trail needs in the Rogue River State Game area and developed a multi-year plan for upgrades and reroutes after meeting with the land manager from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. A good deal of the work was performed during the year and schedule developed to complete the projects in the following years. Completed or well underway are: A 1 Yz-mile trail reroute from an old two-track heavily used by trucks, a reroute off a road walk and pipeline right
State of the North Country Trail: 2003 of way in an area abused
by ATVs and
~
often used for target practice, installation ~ of barriers to block ATV access to the trail and major cleanup throughout the game area. In addition, John Pulver, has been contacting landowners in an effort to gain trail right-of-way from the game area all the way to the village of Cedar Springs. He has made significant progress but the permission of key property owners is still needed to complete a major link. Further north in the chapter's area, in the southern portion of the HuronManistee, Tom Learmont, the chapter's trail manager, and his crew made substantial progress in the effort to re-route the trail off busy 40rh Street. Greatly assisted by a Forest Service intern, hired in part with chapter funds, and had become something similar to a and the help of Forest Service staffers trench from use by both hikers an fisherthe trail location has been established, men. environmental assessments finished and Next year we again plan to work public comments obtained, as required in Sterling Marsh and complete the by Forest Service regulations. puncheon through the Bayou, pending Next are approval of a bridge design funding. and obtaining a building permit from the The other Trail Coordinator, Ed Michigan Department of Environmental Morse, and myself have started a project Quality, to construct a foot span over of hiking the entire section of our trail Bigelow Creek during the upcoming to determine where it needs work that construction season. Treadway construcis beyond the volunteers. This will be tion is also expected this year. completed by mid-summer this year. -Werner Veit We then plan to review and prioritize the areas of work with the respective Spirit of the Woods volunteers and plan future workdays The year for the Spirit of the Woods based on the priorities. This of course is chapter began with a workday in Sterling in addition to the ongoing trail mainteMarsh, where the trail needs a great deal nance of blazing, removing all of the old of attention. The work was started last diamonds, trimming, mowing and fallen year, and will be an ongoing project for tree removal. sometime. -Ed Chappell We then began mowing the entire trail where accessible, a project ongoing Grand Traverse Hiking Club throughout the summer. The Grand Traverse Hiking Club met most of its ambitious trail mainteOur major project for the year, accomplished in the fall, was to place nance goals during 2002. Some of the 160 feet of puncheon through the Leitch highlights: Installed three benches and two Bayou near Sawdust Hole campground. This section has been under water in information stations with appropriate sigthe spring and early summer. Next year nage in the Highbanks Rollway area and we plan to complete the project with built a third which will be installed when another 260 more feet. the county road in the area is improved. That same fall weekend we comSignage in this one of the most scenic pleted the relocation of 290 feet of the trail sections that overlooks the Manistee trail, which was started the previous River continues to be worked on. weekend, and repaired approximately Completed No. 16 Road reroute, 400 yards of the trail leading to the southwest of Mesick, including signage bayou, which was on the side of a hill painting, signage installation, and fire
Grand Traverse members (left to right) Stan Malaski, Dick Naperala and Bob Rudd with completed Information station at the High Rollways lookout.
ring installation. This work resulted in a new route some 1.3-miles long. Continued to survey a reroute away from the Shore to Shore Trail, primarily a horse trail, from near the campground on Old US-131 north to Forrest Road. Michigan Department of Natural Resources personnel have asked the chapter to resubmit the proposal, once turned down, with alternate choices. Remeasured a section of the North Country Trail from US-131 to M-37. This information resulted in three new mileage signs and corrections for the signage at Baxter Bridge Road. Bernie Hanchett and Jerry Marek did the work. Created a chain saw crew, with Bud Ward as foreman, to deal with downed trees. -Arlen Matson
TittibawasseeChapter The Tittibawassee Chapter concentrated much of its trail building and maintenance activity during 2002 in two areas, the Jordan Valley and the Warner Creek area. In the Jordan Valley, the chapter constructed more than 500 feet of boardwalk designed to cross perennially wet areas. In the Warner Creek area, the work crews installed two gates, provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, designed to block vehicular traffic where the North Country National Scenic Trail follows an old twotrack. Considerable maintenance was also performed in the vicinity. -jerry Allen January-March
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State of the North Country Trail: 2003 Harbor Springs The Harbor Springs Chapter worked on, or planned work, in 2002 on its entire segment in Emmet County, northernmost county of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. In the southerly portion of its trail, the chapter installed water bars in its section l, between Kipp and Brutus Road. Construction of 200 feet of boardwalk in Section 2 between Brutus and Stutsmanville was completed. The trail from Stutsmanville to West Robinson Road is in good shape, but we will have to reroute a part near Middle Village Road when a Red Pine Plantation there is thinned. The trail will be crossed several times by equipment and we will be moving the trail to a part of a snowmobile trail until the danger from loggmg ceases. The segment from West Robinson to Van Road is in good shape but 6.2 miles between Van road and West Levering is still on roads. The route is well marked, because of one of the last projects of Arden Johnson and Richard Seibert did together before Arden's death. The route from West Levering to Sturgeon Bay may also have to be moved, but we are waiting to see how a clear cut scheduled in the area will impact the trail. The trail in Sturgeon Bay is in good shape and the Chapter built a bridge from downed cedar there. The same type of bridge over a stream near Wilderness State Park was built this fall. Inside the park, at the east end, Boy scouts from Cheboygan built three boardwalks where the North Country Trail enters Wilderness Park. We reported a squatter on the trail at the north end of French Farm Lake and the Conservation Officer ran the same person off the property for the second straight year. We still hope to work out an enforceable camping policy for French Farm Lake with the DNR. Our trailhead boxes are still working great and we have placed over 5,000 maps in them the past three years. -Jerry Keeney
Michigan: Upper Peninsula Hiawatha Shore to Shore The Hiawatha Shore to Shore
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2003
Kay Fisher (right) from the Michigan DNR helps members of the North Country Trail hikers celebrate the opening of the little Garlic section.
Chapter, which picks up the North Country Trail at the north end of the Straits of Mackinac bridge, concentrated on trail clearing during the year, including chain saw work, and managed to blaze 20 miles of the trail in its territory. -Kirt Stage-Harvey
North Country Trail Hikers The biggest project for the North Country Trail Hikers, the NCTA chapter based in Marquette, MI, during 2002 was a major reconstruction of an eight-mile stretch of the North Country National Scenic Trail in the McCormick Wilderness, but the biggest highlight for the chapter was the certification of the Little Garlic Section. There had been no maintenance in the McCormick for a couple of years so a lot of work needed to be performed. The chapter got a big assist from personnel in the Ottawa National Forest who removed more than a dozen big windfalls without the use of chainsaws. (They are not permitted in areas designated as wilderness). Axe-hewn stumps and buck-sawn logs are the evidence. While the NCT in the wilderness area is not blazed, it is getting easier to follow after years of use by hikers (and animals). A ceremony on National Trails Day celebrated the opening of the Little Garlic section, a particularly scenic segment (see a description in the OctoberDecember issue of The North Star.) The section is a likely scene for hike by attendees of the 2003 annual NCTA
conference July 31-Aug. 3. The chapter is chartered to develop and care for more than I 00 miles of trail between the Ottawa and Hiawatha National Forests. More than half of the potential miles have been completed, and two sections are currently being scouted for development. Some of the completed sections need to be rerouted or redeveloped because of logging operations, altered uses, new roads and changes in ownership. Regular maintenance of completed trail has been a challenge this year. Heavy snows and high winds created windfalls that looked like pick-upstix. After heroic efforts to clear trails (mostly with bow saws) our sawyers are tired. Some maintenance has had to be deferred because of exceptionally wet weather and lack of trail crews. The bridge at Lake Elinor outlet that was repaired last year after vandals destroyed the handrail had to be replaced this year because it was washed away by the early breakup of ice and high water. A tired wet crew rebuilt the bridge in a day and will return to the site yet this fall to stabilize the span and secure it to the concrete abutments. Jan Wester prepared a guide for potential U.P. hikers. It's elements are: West to EastLong Lake to Wildcat Canyon (at NW edge of Silver Lake Basin) - 25 miles completed, mostly in good condition, some trail work and blazing needed near the Canyon. Wildcat Canyon to Coles Creek - 2
State of the North Country Trail: 2003 'miles ff~gged.'for redevelopment. Coles Cre~J<. to County Road 510 - 10 miles, be.i:r1g scouted County Roid 510 to west end of Little Garlic Trail - 6 miles, undeveloped Little Garlic Trail - 4 miles of completed, certified trail, not yet attached to other N~T segments. Little Garlic to-Little Presque Isle trail -. 4 mile road walk Little Presque Isle trailhead through 路 Marquette on designated trail to abandoned RR grade at Harvey - 20 miles completed, with about a mile of roadwalk in south Marquette. RR Grade to Lake LeVasseur - about 5 miles designated but not yet blazed. Lake LeVasseur to Rock River Wilderness - about 20 miles completed with two road walks-a half mile on Sand River Road and a mile on Segin Road. North of Rock River Wilderness, in Hiawatha National Forest - about 6 miles scouted, road walk on FH2276 to Rock River Road is currently used. Trail east of Rock River Road is maintained by U.S. Forest Service. -Denise Herron
Peter Wolfe Chapter The Peter Wolfe chapter in the Western Upper Peninsula had a busy year with much accomplished. Approximately 1,4 mile of rerouted trail was constructed in the Tibbets Falls area of Baraga County. Also in that area, four bridges ranging in length from 8 to 32 feet were constructed by Boy Scout crews, NCTA members, and a crew from Camp Honey Rock. Twenty feet of puncheons were also built. On Baraga Plains, 10.5 miles of trail were cleared of blowdowns and mowed with the chapter brush mower. Some four and a half miles of trail, mostly in poor condition, was substantially upgraded by a Sierra Club and an NCTA crew. The trail is in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and on nearby private land. Routine maintenance was performed on two miles of trail in the Victoria area. Altogether 65 signs and numerous 4X4 posts were installed, mostly at trailheads. -Doug Welker
Wisconsin Chequamegon, Heritage Chapters The Chequamegon Chapter reports its segment is in good condition throughout the Chequamegon National Forest following maintenance, including mowing and brushing. Chapter members also widened and blazed trail near the east side of the National Forest. The Heritage Chapter concentrated its efforts on the section east of Mellen, WI. -Bob Norlin
Brule-St. Croix The chapter's May work day brought out nice weather and 14 healthy workers. With enough volunteers to dividing into two crews, the day culminated in seven miles of trail being blazed in the Chequamegon National Forest. Even the chapter trail dog didn't escape without a blue tail blaze. During July and August, selected trail sections were mowed. Some through hikers needed a shuttle through the Chequamegon National Forest to connect with their wheeled transportation. One such hiker was a Chinese citizen attending the University of Chicago as a graduate student. He was very curious as to how there came to be so much public land and with trail access for everyone. September 21, two days before the autumnal equinox, brought beautiful fall weather for the chapter's annual Woods Walk/Jog on the trail, which was supposed to be just a play and enjoy the company day , but "Iron Horse" Bob Norlin brought his hand tools and waited right alongside the trail to hand them out to the 14 members who showed up to hike the trail from the Lake Owen Picnic Grounds to the Porcupine Lake Wilderness. Bob took some ribbing but everyone accepted the tools (and used them). -Chuck Zosel
Minnesota Superior Hiking Trail Association The Superior Hiking Trail Association, another NCTA affiliate, had another good trail season. Working with
our great volunteers, we started to build new trail in the last gap in the trail from Two Harbors to the Canadian border - a nine-mile section near Hovland, MN. Unfortunately our national forest, state forest, and state park permits did not come through during 2002 so we need to wait until this year to complete the section. SHT A also received permission to start flagging a route through Duluth - another 45 miles of trail! SHTA Executive Director Gayle Coyer held a press conference with Duluth Mayor Gary Doty in August to announce the start of flagging. The Duluth section will be a truly amazing and scenic trail. Once flagging is complete, we will begin the arduous process for permit approval. We had great volunteer participation this year. All 40 trail sections, 75 campsites, and 30 trailheads were adopted and maintained. We sponsored six work projects, which included putting in new bridges and steps, building boardwalk, and working on the new trail construction in Hovland. Our Trail Maintenance Supervisor also spent many long hours maintaining the trail. He also supervised 1,400 hours of labor by the Minnesota Conservation Corps (MCC) Young Adult Program and six weeks oflabor by MCC Summer Youth Program. One sad note is that the Minnesota Legislature eliminated the MCC program during budget cuts. We also started two new volunteer programs. One is called the Trail Angel Volunteers. These are people who work with our Trail Maintenance Supervisor on the trail for several days at a time. This has proved to be a very popular program. We also started an on-call chainsaw volunteer program to help out after storms and in the spring. We currently have six people who have taken the training and been certified as chainsaw volunteers by the U.S. Forest Service (a requirement on national forest land). This will really help keep the trail in good shape. -Gayle Coyer
Rovers Outing Club Seven crews of the Rovers Outing Club, an affiliate of the North Country Trail Association, were out during 2002 on the Border Route Trail, scheduled to become part of the Arrowhead reroute of January-March
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State of the North Country Trail: 2003 the North Country Trail. E They cleared 20.5 miles with 150 e person-days of labor, a prodigious feat. ;',"' The task was complicated by a storm that ~ blew down trees on a five-mile section completed earlier in the year. The crews s:a. m also built a bridge and repaired another. s: A group sponsored by Recreational c, Equipment Inc., which contributed 15 person days of labor, was a big help. -Tom Harris
Kent Alderin (left) of the Lonetree Chapter and Floyd (Bulldog) Bentz, wildlife biologist with the Bureau of Reclamation, installing a post on 'Public Lands Day.'
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ltasea-Moralne Chapter The Itasca-Moraine Chapter, which was only formed last Spring, completed a 3.6 mile segment of the North Country Trail which runs from the west boundary of the Chippewa National Forest to 4.3 miles north of Highway 64. This part of the NCT runs through the Paul Bunyan State Forest. Fred Szarka and Ken Howells walked the trail and declared it was ready for certification. I have cleared all the hurdles with the land manager (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources - forestry) and have notified the state coordinator, John Leinen, Jr. that it is ready for certification. Currently in our area of responsibility, there are 5.9 miles certified from Itasca State Park west to Anchor Hill Road in Clearwater County. A 2-mile segment beyond Anchor Hill Road was worked on in October and is nearly ready for certification. Removing some stumps and blazing is all that remains. -Jerry Trout
North Dakota Employees of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers accomplished a great deal on the North Country National Scenic -a Trail during 2002 in North Dakota, site zr of the 2002 annual conference, which 째"'"OOl members of the Corps helped to host. All told, Corps employees built zr ~ nearly seven miles of new trail, including OJ the construction of two bridges and built a- a remote campsite north of Sibley. Ol Other 2002 projects: Miles of .!;" ~ heavy brushing, completion of a North Country Trail kiosk and maintenance of more than 12 miles completed the year before. -Scott Tichy
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Sheyenne River Valley Chapter The newly formed Valley City group of the Sheyenne River Valley Chapter has completed many hard hours. In early spring, we analyzed different routes through Valley City. We chose an initial route and went to work securing ease-
Beth Trout, of the Itasca-Moraine Chapter, at work in the Paul Bunyan State Forest.
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2003
ments. After some disappointment and rerouting, we secured easements for the trail. We then went to work developing the four miles through Valley City. While finishing the trail and applying for certification, planning for the 2002 NCT Conference was underway. It was a great time to celebrate our new trail with fellow hikers, network, and learn a wealth of information. Since the conference, we have been fine-tuning our current trail and beginning the process to extend the trail two miles north, which will take the trail to Maryville and the US Fish Hatchery. -Alicia H ojfarth
Lonetree Section Some 20 workers, representing the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department and the Lonetree Chapter of the North Country Trail Association, turned up for a "Public Lands Day," sponsored by the Bureau, last Fall. They added or replaced markers, emblems and regulatory strips and removed debris on the entire 32-mile long Lonetree section of the North Country National Scenic Trail. Personnel from the participating organizations helped manage the event by purchasing and providing necessary materials, producing maps, and hosting a potluck lunch. -Scott Peterson, ND Game and Fish Department
In Congress: Familiar Faces Represent Districts Along the Trail ong-familiar faces and names will represent the States and Congressional Districts located along the North Country National Scenic Trail in the 108th Congress. Incumbents, who ran for re-election, won ... and by huge margins. There will be only two legislators new to the North Country trail community when the new Congress takes its seats on Jan. 20-Senator-elect Norm Coleman (R-Minnesota), who will succeed Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minnesota) killed in a plane crash during the campaign, and Representative-elect Michael Turner (R-Ohio) who succeeds Tony Hall who resigned Ohio's Third District seat. Redistricting removed one district from the trail in Pennsylvania-the 12th, home of Rep. John P. Murtha (DPA) and one in Ohio-the 9th, home of Rep. Marcy Kaptur
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(D-Ohio). One new district, Ohio's Third, now lies along the trail and the new boundries of Michigan's 4th now touch the trail. The net result is that the roster of Congressmen serving NCT districts will remain the same. The partisan balance also shifted slightly, mirroring the national results. The Congressional districts removed from the list of trail districts both were represented by Democrats and the district we picked up is represented by a Republican. In the upper house, the new senator is a Republican. The late Sen. Wellstone was a Democrat. The complete roster follows. We suggest it be saved for use when you may want to contact your legislators in support of those measures important to the North Country Trail, particularly the Department of Interior appropriations and the "willing seller" bill. -Werner Veit
Senate: Mike DeWine (R) GeorgeVoinovich(R)
Senate: Russell Feingold (D) Herb Kohl (D)
Senate: Hillary Clinton (D) Charles Schumer (D)
House Districts: 20-John Sweeney (R) 22-Maurice Hinchey (D) 23-John McHugh (R) 24-Sherwood Boehlert (R) 25--James Walsh (R) 26-Thomas Reynolds (R) 29-Amo Houghton (R)
House Districts: 2-Rob Portman (R) 3-Michael Turner (R) 4-Michael Oxley (R) 5--Paul Gillmor (R) 6-Ted Strickland (D) 7-David Hobson (R) S-John Boehner (R) 16-Ralph Regula (R) 18---Robert Ney (R)
House Districts: 7-David Obey
Senate: Norm Coleman (R) Mark Dayton (D)
House Districts: 7-Collin Peterson (D) S-James Oberstar (D)
Senate: Carl Levin (D) DebbieStabenow(D)
Senate:
Senate: Rick Santorini (R) Arlen Specter (R)
House Districts: 3-Phil English (R) 4-Melissa Hart (R) 5--John Peterson (R)
House Districts:
Kent Conrad (D) Byron Dorgan (D)
1-Bart Stupak (D) 2-Peter Hoekstra (R) 3-Vern Ehlers (R) 4-David Camp (R) 6-Fred Upton (R) 7-Nick Smith (R)
House District: 1-Earl Pomeroy (D)
January-March
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Third Annual Meeting
Forest, Park Services Exchange Experiences With NCTA at Triad
5-
"'-< ::J
0
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~ of trails. In addition, it was suggested that the NCTA work on a draft policy consistent with our desires, and which could then be circulated to cooperating agencies for incorporation in their management plans as appropriate.
By Rich Harris Vice President, East, NCTA
T
he latest in an annual series of joint meetings was recently held in Manistee, Michigan. Hosted by the US Forest Service and the local HuronManistee National Forest, this meeting was part of the continuing effort of all three groups to determine and discuss common issues that affect management of the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCNST) on Forest Service lands. This year's two-day meeting was chaired by John Romanowski, Wilderness, Wild and Scenic River Program Manager FS Region 9, of the US Forest Service, who expressed his pleasure at the growing attendance at these meetings. Representation included 18 Forest Service members, 3 National Park Service staff (100% of the Madison, WI office managing the NCNST!), and 9 members of the NCTA, both staff and volunteer representatives. The Manistee National Forest team began the meeting by reviewing some of the progress made in developing the NCNST in their forest. They reported that all 118 miles of the trail in the forest is now prohibited to horses. This is consistent with the goal of managing the trail as a 'premier hiking and backpacking' opportunity. Some mountain biking continues to be permitted on parts of the trail in the forest. The Manistee team has built new trailheads in the forest, added new maps at trailheads, and is planning expansion of existing trailheads to aid user access. By surveying user groups, they are actively involved in determining what the users find most desirable (parking, drinking water, and sanitary facilities), and responding to those needs. They are finding a rapidly growing use of the trail, as local and distant users become more aware of its availability. This visibility and activity is enhanced by groups such as the NCTA's Spirit of the Woods and Western Michigan chapters whose volunteer
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2003
Forest Service Staffers Ramona Venegas, from the host HuronManistee National Forest, and Teresa M. Maday from Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin, listen to trail discussions .
Chain Saw Safety
efforts have led to several maintenance and construction projects on the forest. The publicity generated by such projects, including the National Tails Day "special event" conducted in the forest by Spirit of the Woods, is attracting new attention each year.
Commercial Use The forest managers are also dealing with the topic of commercial uses on the trail, planning to develop policies which adequately deal with such activities. The Forest Service and the Park Service already have in place a system of "special use permits" required for certain group activities. As an example of commercial use, the topic of llama pack trips was discussed. In the Manistee NF, The current policy is that no large pack animals (horses) are permitted. While llamas are not prohibited, applications for commercial llama expeditions have thus far been turned down. NCTA President Gaylord Yost presented a Discussion Paper on commercial use to define the issue and the current practices and policies of the Forest Service, the National Park Service, and some of the states through which the NCNST passes. The policies cover permitted activities, including those for which fees are collected. Since it became clear there were a host of different management policies in effect across the trail, the consensus was that the group should develop an amendment to the existing "Memorandum of Understanding" (MOU) which might be similar to that which the Appalachian Trail Conference uses in its management
Dennis Helton of the Forest Service in North Carolina discussed the training opportunities available through the Forest Service. All operation of chain saws on FS lands requires training and certification. Dennis provides such training in FS Regions 8 and 9. The training meets OSHA standards and requires maintaining current First Aid and CPR certification. A new training "package" is available on CD-ROM from the Forest Service, based on the fire fighting standard training developed out of the Missoula, Montana center. NCTA chapters can obtain this CD and use it to preview what is learned over the 16-32 hours of instruction and certification. It is valuable for any volunteer use, even if activity is not to be conducted on FS lands. The Forest Service does provide training for volunteer groups, which can include NCTA chapters and affiliates. Over 100 volunteers have already been certified. The USDA Forest Service generally accepts training certified by the National Park Service, depending on local agreements. It was recommended that a draft be prepared on training requirements, to be added to the MOU between our three groups to provide updated information on safety and first aid requirements.
NCTA Update Executive Director Bob Papp circulated copies of a letter to the US Forest Service and National Park Service supporting their current management direction for the trail. Four years ago, both agencies agreed on a statement of "Desired Future Condition" (DFC) for the NCNST, which included the long term goal of managing the trail primarily for "premier hiking and backpack-
ing opportunities." Recently, with help from the American Hiking Society, the NCTA developed a "statement of support" for the Forest Service/National Park Service DFC, and sought the endorsement of other trail groups. Bob circulated a list of 59 organizations nationwide that signed on to the "statement of support" for the NCNST. Bob also reported on recent discussions of the NCTA Board of Directors concerning the issue of Wilderness Area designation and the NCNST. "Outside" groups have requested that the NCTA endorse their efforts to have additional property along the trail officially designated as wilderness. There has been some question, however, of what kind of activity (or lack thereof) is permitted in designated wilderness areas, and whether even the NCNST is a permissible use of wilderness. We were heartened to hear John Romanowski express his opinion that "wilderness and the North Country Trail are very compatible". The Board and the NCTA will continue to consider methods of supporting wilderness designation, if a way to ensure protection of the trail corridor can be devised. One important way to work toward accomplishing this is to provide local chapter input to the Forest Service as the process of updating their management plans evolves. John Romanowski offered to address the NCTA Board on these issues.
National Park Service Update Tom Gilbert, NPS Superintendent of the NCNST, reported on efforts to certify new trails, and on the question of dealing with sub-standard sections that were previously certified, without having to decertify them. Dave Cornell of the NCTA is heading a committee to deal with this subject. The Park Service plans to conduct a series of state-by-state summit meetings, beginning in the eastern states. These will focus on coordinating with state organizations and NCTA chapters and affiliates, to promote cooperative progress. Ken Howell of the NPS reported on progress of the "Arrowhead Route Assessment" in northern Minnesota. Flagging is in progress of the route of the Superior Hiking Trail, and thus the NCT, in the Duluth area. Additional public input meetings will be held once the preliminary route is identified.
Attendees cross the suspensionbridge over the Manistee River that links the North Country National Scenic Trail with the Manistee Trail.
Cabins, Huts and Shelters This topic was addressed as an open discussion, including input from Doug Welker, President of the NCTA Peter Wolfe Chapter, which has constructed shelters on private land near the trail in the western upper peninsula of Michigan. It was concluded that the next step in identifying shelter needs would be to survey what currently exists along the length of the NCNST, as a guide to what might become desirable. Anyone wishing to be a part of such a survey "team" can contact Tiffany Stram (NCTA's Cartographer) or John Romanowski. This topic led into a presentation by Romanowski on the proposed Forest Service Trails Accessibility Guidelines (FSTAG). The Forest Service design criteria for facilities on the forests ( dictated in part by the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA]) includes definition of how certain types of services are provided in public spaces. The FSTAG guidelines will shortly be posted on the FS website, providing an important opportunity for NCTA members to comment and ask questions. These will be responded to every couple of weeks, leading to guideline publication in the Federal Register possibly in the 1st quarter of 2003. The FS will then publish a "Universal Guidebook" of design requirements. Because these
guidelines could have a significant impact on the NCT, we strongly urge our members and volunteers to monitor and participate in the review process. At last check, the draft guidelines had not been posted, but they should be available soon at www.fs.fed.us. Search for FSTAG or "trail accessibility guidelines."
Field Trips The second day of the conference was devoted to field visits to a series of sites on the forest that have been completed recently, or are in the planning stages. The second stop (and hike) was at Marilla, to walk the trail to a suspension foot bridge on a connector to the Manistee River Trail, and observe mountain bike impact on the sometimes fragile soils of the area. The final stop of the day was to enjoy the 600' boardwalk installed as a cooperative project of the Forest Service, Park Service and NCTA Spirit of the Woods Chapter. Joan Young, former president of the chapter, expressed her pleasure at being able to participate in this project, which was planned and engineered by the Forest Service, constructed by the NCTA Chapter, and funded primarily through a Challenge Cost Share grant by the National Park Service. Next year's Triad meeting is expected to be held on the Wayne National Forest in Ohio.
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NCTA's First Director of Trail Management Is On the Job D ob Corbett, our first Director of Trail .1'Management (DTM), arrived at the Lowell office in December to take up his duties with the North Country Trail Association. Executive Director Bob Papp said, "Rob will provide overall leadership and assistance to our trail management program, working closely with our State Trail Councils as well as our local Chapters and partner organizations and agencies. "As the DTM, Rob also will help move our Land Trust program forward, assisting with acquisitions and developing a land protection plan."
'How I Came to Join Our Association... ' n 1978 I hiked for 14 days through Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. In the following year I completed my Eagle Scout project, the construction of a trail down the slope behind the City Hall in Willoughby, Ohio to Todd Field Park on the Chagrin River flood plain below. Through these two experiences I found the bliss that comes from both the solitude and comradeship that is found in the trail. For the next 22 years I worked to lay a trail through seven organizations including commercial appraisal firms, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, private land trusts, park systems and not-for-profit endeavors like greenway development projects. In all of these experiences I worked to join the interests, of often diametrically opposed groups, in protecting open space and creating positive human contact with nature. It has all been interesting and informative. Dealing with developers and bankers, politicians, officials and activists has served to broaden my skills to the point that I am a dyed-inthe-wool generalist. I had lately become disappointed with the short-term nature of these endeavors. This was most poignant in the private sector where projects only lasted from weeks to months but equally apparent in public projects, which were completed after a few years. Feeling as if I was watching a freight train pass by through a slat fence, I thought I would find an organization with a long-
I
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His diverse background includes: serving as an independent consultant for land trusts and a state Department of Natural Resources; working as a planner and director of a watershed protection partnership; serving as a land appraiser with experience in environmental and conservation issues; and working with two metropolitan park districts in planning, fund raising, and property management roles. Rob, who has been building bridges between government and private interests since 1989, worked most recently as an independent consultant. He comes from Cleveland, Ohio, where he's been involved in the past with the Buckeye Trail.
Position. It seemed like a natural next step to apply. Everything is a mixed bag, and so now, I will have to put off my hike on the AT until I have section hiked every blaze on the completed NCT. I look forward to working with you to build the North Country National Scenic Trail into a completed trail supported by a network of committed, skilled and well fitted organizations. Over the short term I hope we can fill the gaps in our network Rob Corbett: 'I look forward to working with you to build the of partnerships trail .. .' and enhance the diversity of our constituency. Over the long-term, the term vision that would require years of establishment of regional offices and an focused attention to bring to fruition. effective plan for working together will To give this final career change sound thinking, I planned to attempt give us the foundation we need to put the remaining 60% of the trail on the a thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail, southbound in June of next year. To ground. Sound land stewardship policies and begin getting things in order I took a couple of shakedown hikes on the a willingness to recognize the needs of Buckeye Trail and North Country Trail private landowners can also help drive in the Allegheny's. our land trust efforts forward creating the I got home and looked on links we will need to develop a truly valuable national asset in the form of our trail. www.idealist.org and found the posting -Rob Corbett for the Director of Trail Management
Trail Weddings: They're Becoming A Wonderful Habit
She was Julie Nietling (foreground , below) helping to lift a hefty log in the Rogue River State Game Area where husband-to-be Paul Haan (far right) led a team repairing wet spots on the North Country Trail. A few weeks later Julie and Paul were photographed on their wedding day.
T
here's something in North Country air that leads to romance along the North Country Trail, especially in Michigan. This is the third time in 2002 and the fourth time in two years that The North Star was present ... at least in a matter of speaking at a wedding of North Country Trail Association members. This fall Paul Haan and Julie Nietling were married on a sunny October day, luckily in a Saturday evening ceremony that allowed their trail friends to race to the church from a chapter outing on the trail in time for the event. (Their Western Michigan Chapter was enjoying its annual "Fun Day," hours of hikes, orienteering and trail craft inside and outside the old schoolhouse in White Cloud, MI, which serves the chapter as workshop, headquarters, classroom, camping spot and all-around handy place). Paul and Julie are among the most active of the chapter's members, busy with backpacking classes, hike leading and heavy-duty trail maintenance, mostly in the Rogue River State Game Area. Paul is the trail coordinator for northern Kent County, edits Due North and manages the chapter website and serves on the chapter's Board of Directors. Paul recounts: "Julie and I met many years ago as we were (are) active in our neighborhood community. We both have "activist" personalities and believe that the only way to make a community better if to plug in and do your part.
. ~~ "We also share a love for simple living and the outdoors, which quickly translates into hiking, camping and backpacking. Our first backpacking trip together was about five years ago up at Sleeping Bear Dunes. Recognizing that we made compatible hiking partners, we took on more extensive trips to Canada, the Cascades, and last year spent three weeks hiking the 275 miles of Vermont's Long Trail. "Giving back to the trail is incredibly important to us. We recognize that if we want premiere hiking experiences in west Michigan, we need to make that vision a reality. It won't happen without our activism. So we are honored to be the maintainers for the trail in the Rogue River SGA and eagerly join in on work-
days elsewhere. "Our honeymoon was spent hiking in New England, a favorite location of ours. With another seven of New England's 4,000-footers out of the way, we have now set our sights on climbing all 67. Many more hikes await us!" Their wedding followed by a few months that of two other chapter couples, Mark Stram and Tiffany Halfmann and Aaron Phipps and Sharon Froeligh. Mark seldom misses a work crew and Tiffany has been known to lend a hand or two in the field. She is, as you know, the association's cartographer and GIS specialist. Sharon, a sometime contributor to The North Star, also serves on the Western Michigan Board. Aaron appears on our masthead as our art director. After their wedding, Sharon and Aaron bought a house near Lowell, site of the North Country Trail Association headquarters, and adopted a section of trail in the Lowell State Game area. All these wedding reports began on June 10, 2000, when Jerry Allen and Connie Pausits, who met as a result of their work with the Tittibawassee Chapter, were married right on the segment of trail their chapter maintains. Jerry is the president of his chapter. -Werner Veit
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Our Sister National Scenic Trails: The Pacific Crest
About the PCT Association
DiscoveringWildest Californiaand the Dramatic Northwest
Much like the North Country TrailAssociation, the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of the PCT. A direct descendent of the Pacific Crest Trail System Conference founded by Clinton C. Clarke in the 1930s, the PCTA is the "voice" of the PCT. As such, the PCTA strives to protect and manage the trail by working with the USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and other agencies to maintain the trail as well as to identifj and address threats to its wilderness character (such threats may include development as a result of suburban sprawl, increased traffic on once-rural roadways, and indiscriminate logging}. While the PCTA receivessome fundingfrom the government and grants, members make the bulk of its work possible. For more information about the PCTA visit www.pcta.org or call 1888-PCTRAIL.
Text by Angela Walker Ballard PCT Thru-hiker, Class of 2000 (Photographs
by Ron Farmer)
C
oyotes yip, yip ya'roo as a full desert moon begins its ascent across the quickly darkening sky. Our trail meanders among the fuchsia blooms of prickly pear cactus, blood red Indian paintbrushes, and fragrant sagebrush. Jittery push-up lizards and emerald hummingbirds keep us company as we set up camp on a sandy exposed ridge. Here, in the Sonoran Desert after following it for 224 miles, I think I know what the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT) is all about. Five hundred and fifty miles later, gazing down at a turquoise, ice-crusted tarn from 13,200 feet, breathing air so crisp it makes my lungs ache, I decide that this view of glacier-polished, snow-' blanketed High Sierra slopes is the epitome of the PCT. I still have much to learn. In the Trinity Alps, a burly mamma bruin gobbles down marble-sized blackberries. Four hundred and sixty miles north, in Oregon, sheets of crystal water plunge over a black volcanic cliff that (Continued on Next Page)
Traverse Chapter's Mike Schaefer- A Frequent Visitorto rail Some of my best backpacking trips have been on the Pacific Crest Trail during four weeklong trips. In 1975 and 1989, we hiked in the North Cascades in the Glacier Peak area and in 1989 from the south side of Mount Hood to the Columbia River in 1989. This past Labor Day, we hiked along the trail in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, in the Cascades just east of Seattle. In the rain forests we encountered large Douglas firs along with lots of rushing creeks (cold!!!! water) and waterfalls. At higher elevations, treeline is around 5000', the big views opened up. There you can see glaciers and, from a considerable distance, some of
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the larger peaks such as Rainier, Hood, Baker, Adams, and St. Helens. There are rocky areas and scree fields to cross but there are also many stretches where the walking is very comfortable along the forest floor. While there are significant elevation changes, the trail is well graded with plenry of switchbacksto make the walking reasonable. Campsites and water seem to appear whenever needed. I'm sure that our group will do other expeditions along the PCT in the Cascades in a few years. I'd like to do a PCT thru hike some day but it will have to wait until I find a way to get by without a weekly paycheck. -Michael Schaefer, GT Hiker
drips with moss. In Washington, mushrooms the size and color of pumpkins flourish in a dense muddy rain forest. On the slopes of the Northern Cascades, larch trees don autumn hues of gold. It took nearly 4 Yz months of living, breathing and walking it, but finally, upon nearing the northern terminus of the PCT at the border of Washington and Canada, I discovered the essence of our nation's second longest and arguably most beautiful National Scenic Trail. It's in the extremes of cold and hot, wet and dry, high and low, wide open and claustrophobically close. It's in the diversity of life exhibited from desert dry lands to artic-alpine. And most certainly, it's in the uniquely Western character of this rugged, highland footpath. Zigzagging it's way from Mexico to Canada for 2,650 miles the PCT crosses three states, three national monuments, seven national parks, 24 national forests, and 33 federally mandated "wildernesses." Along the way it ascends more than 57 major mountain passes and skirts the shores of innumerable bodies of water - lakes, tarns, ponds, creeks, streams, and rivers. Temperatures on the route range from over 100°F in the deserts to below freezing in the High Sierra and Northern Cascades. The trail's lowest point is 140 feet above sea level at the Columbia River Gorge between Oregon and Washington. It's highest at 13,200 feet at Forester Pass in California's Sierra Nevada. All told, the PCT boasts the greatest elevation changes of any of the National Scenic Trails, allowing it to pass through six out of seven of North America's ecozones including high and low desert, old-growth forest and artic-alpine country. PCT wildlife includes rattlesnakes, coyotes, marmots, bear, elk, mountain goats, bobcats, and cougars. The trail is designed for both pedestrian and equestrian traffic. Bicycles are not permitted. Located within driving distance of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Portland, and Seattle, the PCT is both easily accessible and blissfully wild at the same time. Whether you'd like to explore the PCT for weeks on end, or just a weekend, it offers the best of the West - the Mojave Desert, the Sierra Nevada and Mt. Whitney, Yosemite National Park, Marble Mountain and the Russian Wilderness
Peaks reflected in Spectacle Lake.
in Northern California, the volcanoes of the Cascades including Mt. Shasta and Mt. Hood, Crater Lake, Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Rainier and the remote Northern Cascades. In the oft-quoted words of Clinton C. Clarke (known as the father of the California PCT): "In few places in the world - certainly nowhere else in the United States - are found such a varied and priceless collection of sculptured masterpieces of Nature as adorn, strung like pearls, the mountain ranges of Washington, Oregon, and California. The Pacific Crest Trailway is the cord that binds the necklace."
A History of Commitment A Harvard graduate with a degree in literature, a successful oilman, and an avid boy scout, Clinton C. Clarke wasn't much of a hiker. In fact, in the early 1930s, at the age of 58 he thought he was too old for it. That didn't stop him, though, from dedicating the rest of his life to preserving a slice of the American West for future generations. His dream was a border-to-border trail along the mountain ranges in California, Oregon and Washington, "traversing the best scenic areas and maintaining an absolute
wilderness character." It would take millions of dollars, sixty years and thousands of hours of labor but eventually Clarke's dream would be realized. To build the PCT, Clarke recommended linking several existing trails; Oregon's Skyline Trail and Washington's Cascade Crest Trail as well as the John Muir and the TahoeYosemite trails in California. Initially, however, the response from the federal administration was lukewarm. Without a popular mandate for such a trail, in the throes of the Great Depression, and recognizing that the cost of trail construction, mapping, and rights of way through private land would be large, the folks in DC weren't eager to take up the challenge. Very gradually, though, like the coming of spring, the idea picked up steam and Clarke founded the Pacific Crest Trail System Conference to lobby for and plan the trail. The founding members of the PCT Conference included the Boy Scouts, YMCA and a young photographer named Ansel Adams. Most of the mapping and trailblazing work was completed by members of the YMCA with one YMCA staff-person in particular, 23-year-old Warren Rogers, being instrumental in exploring sections of trail after they'd been mapped out - a feat made all the more impressive by the fact that Rogers had been crippled by childhood polio. During the slow spawning of the PCT, Clarke remained the project's figurehead, with Rogers as his eyes, ears and feet in the field. When Clarke passed away in 1957 at the age of 84, Rogers continued campaigning for the completion of the PCT. "My father knew what his purpose in life was," says Rogers' son, "to keep the Pacific Crest Trail alive." Finally, in 1965 President Lyndon Johnson announced his intention to develop a national system of trails and his administration released a report called "Trails for America." This report recommended the creation of four (Continued on Next Page)
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Our Sister National Scenic
Trails: The Pacific Crest
'
national scenic trails - the Appalachian Trail (AT), The Continental Divide Trail (CDT), The Potomac Heritage Trail and the PCT. Several years later, President Johnson signed the National Trails System Act, which named the AT and PCT as our first National Scenic Trails. Still, there was much work to be done. As of 1972, two years after Eric Ryback became the first person to attempt to walk the PCT from end to end, only half of the trail actually existed and nearly half of this did not meet specifications for ideal placement or grade. Over the next ten years, the Bureau of Land Management, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, Pacific Crest Trail Association (see page 20) and volunteers constructed nearly 1,000 miles of trail. And finally, in 1993, at a golden spike ceremony in Soledad Canyon, Calif., the PCT was declared officially complete. There's still a lot of work to be done, however, and a new legion of dreamers envisions a trail unencumbered by private land and protected from suburban sprawl.
Border~to-Border , a Trail of Jewels Over the past decade the PCT has become a favorite target of thru-hikers (the hearty souls who attempt to hike an entire long-distance trail in one "season"). Each year, in fact, an average of 300 hikers attempt to cover the full length of the PCT. A northbound thruhike begins about 50 miles east of San Diego amidst chaparral-covered hills, just yards from the U.S.-Mexico international border. Once home to Digueno Indians, the border region of California is now populated by border patrol, ranchers, and in late spring, Canada-bound thru-hikers, who 路 for the next 700 miles will encounter the rigors as well as the stark, unique beauty of Southern California badlands. During the daylight hours of desert summer, temperatures rise precipitously, often reaching triple digits. Fortunately, the PCT follows some of the indigenous Digueno's summer migration patterns. Seeking water and relief from the heat, the Digueno would flee to higher ground and when possible the PCT does the same, ascending into the pine-forested Laguna, San Jacinto, San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains. Reaching heights of 9,399 feet (at the summit
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Delate Creek in the Alpine Wilderness.
of Mt. Baden Powell) these Southern California ranges give hikers a taste of things to come - namely the Sierra Nevada, also known as "The Range of Light." Leaving the desert and ascending into the Sierra Nevada, changes in climate, flora and fauna are similar to those you'd experience traveling between Mexico and the Arctic. Glaciers carved these mountains 20,000 years ago, leaving behind serrated peaks, alpine lakes and meadows. Gnarled pines dot the landscape, twisted and stunted by harsh winter conditions. The Sierra range is 60 miles wide and 400 miles long. The PCT hugs its crest for 200 miles without interruption by towns or roads. From Kennedy Meadows to Reds Meadow at Devils Postpile National Monument, hikers won't see electric or telephone wires overhead. There are no fences to climb over and no vehicles to flag down. It's the biggest wilderness
in the lower 48 and the longest roadless section on any of the nation's long-distance hiking trails. Highlights in the Sierra include Mt Whitney, at 14,400 feet the highest mountain in the lower 48; Forester pass which at 13,200 feet marks the highest point on the PCT; the Tuolumne Meadows region of Yosemite; Lake Tahoe; and historically infamous Donner Pass. Departing from the Sierra in northern California and beginning to follow a trail of Cascade volcanoes the PCT continues to shine with Mother Nature's jewels including fumaroles and mud pots in Lassen National Park; Mt. Shasta with a glacier-covered peak that's visible for 100 miles in any direction; the glistening hump of Marble Mountain; granitic cliffs in the Russian Wilderness that seem to mirror Yosemite terrain; and Gold Rush towns where prospectors still pan for nuggets. In Oregon, big climbs are few and far between. This allows PCT thru-hikers (trying to get to Canada before winter weather) to do big miles - twenty- to thirty-mile-days are common. This is not to say that there aren't times when travelers are compelled to slow down and take in the scenery. They often are. Among the highlights of the Oregon section of the PCT are Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the nation and the seventh deepest in the world; the Pumice Desert, created when the ancient volcano Mt. Mazama exploded, raining down ash and pumice for miles around; and 11,235-foot Mt. Hood, where you can ski 350 days a year and visit Timberline Lodge, built by artisans of the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. At the Oregon-Washington border, the PCT plunges to its lowest elevation; 140 feet at the Bridge of the Gods, which spans the Columbia River Gorge. The Columbia River is the only drainage to cut the Cascade Range for 700 miles and its precipitous cliffs give evidence to the power of snowmelt making
Pacific Crest its way to the ocean. Cold, driving rain is typical of the Washington section of the PCT in September and early October, when · most thru-hikers find themselves in the Evergreen State. But despite the potential for perpetually cold feet, the Washingi'op. forests are dream-like. Water droplets hang heavy on evergreen boughs while mushrooms grow amidst a thick carp~t of ferns, moss and grasses. · Nearing Canada, Mt. Rainier dominates the horizon. At 14,410 feet, many consider Rainier to be the most majes- · tic mountain in the West and perhaps . the most identifiable landmark on the entire PCT. Actually, glacier-covered Mt. Rainier is 30 miles west of the PCT but hikers sometimes swing by to take a look - or a climb. If you're up to the challenge, be prepared for ice, slippery talus, and crevasses. Crampons, an ice ax, ropes, and the mountaineering experience necessary to use these tools are a necessity. Next up, Northern Washington and the North Cascades, a region that is populated by 750 perennial snowfields and small glaciers. Sometimes described as being in a contemporary ice age, the North Cascades include more than half of all the active glaciers in the contigu ous United States. But not only is the area cold and snowy (toponames like Early Winters Pass, Windy Pass, and Foggy Pass give an idea of the weather), it's also remote. For the last 187 miles of the PCT, trekkers cross only one paved road, the North Cascades Highway at Rainy Pass. After that there's just a forest service dirt road at Harts Pass. And then, a clear-cut in a dense pine forest that's home to Monument 78 on the Canadian border, which marks the northern terrnir nus of the PCT. From yucca and cactus in Southern California, to chartreuse alpine lichen .J in the Sierras of Central California; from lava flows in Oregon to glaciers in Washington, the PCT provides hikers and equestrians with a unique opportunity to experience the diversity of terrain, flora and fauna that is characteristic of the West. Two thousand six hundred and fifty miles of adventure and discovery await you - whether you visit the PCT for a few hours or for a few weeks you'll surely see a Western scene that will rejuvenate, inspire and surprise you.
Volunteers Will Camp Near Lake Superior Shore
Pennsylvania,Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota Will Host Volunteer Vacationsthis Year merican Hiking Society's Volunteer vacations are scheduled in four of our states during 2003, one each in Pennsylvania and Ohio, three in Michigan and three in Minnesota. Much of the work will be performed on the North Country National Scenic Trail. The Pennsylvania project, scheduled for June 22 through June 28, is especially designed for women. It will involve general trail maintenance on that portion of the North Country Trail that passes through McConnell's Mill State Park. Participants will perform rock work, timber construction, establish drainage controls and relocate sections of the trail. Accommodations will be provided at the Davis Hollow Outdoor Center, a facility maintained by Pennsylvania NCTA members in Moraine State Park. Also between June 22 and 28, Ohio participants will perform extensive maintenance work at Camp Tuscazoar, a former Boy Scout camp in the scenic Tuscarawas River valley near Zoarville, OH. The work will consist of trail construction and clearing, gate installation, tree clearing and firewood cutting. There will be three Volunteer Vacation opportunities in Michigan, all in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, the first during May 11-17, the second between July 20 and 26 and the third, Aug. 10-16. The National Park Service is the sponsor. During the May week, participants will help the Pictured Rocks trail crew re-open 80 miles of hiking trails for the Summer season. Removing fallen trees and trimming brush blocking the trail are the main tasks. The volunteers will stay at a remote cabin on the Lake Superior beach, the first building in Michigan equipped with
A
photovoltaic roof shingles. Utilities are solar powered. During the July week, volunteers will build steps on the North Country Trail in the Coves Area of Pictured Rocks along the shore of Lake Superior. Cedar poles will be used to install steps and retaining walls. Some large rocks will also be used to construct steps. Participants will camp in a grove of trees protected by the wind but still within steps of a sandy beach. Two of the Minnesota projects are sponsored during consecutive weeks by the Kekekabic Trail Club, an affiliate of the North Country Trail Association. First, on May 3-10, volunteers will perform general trail maintenance in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area about five miles from the trailhead of the PowWow Trail. Then, on May 10-17 volunteers will perform maintenance on the Kekekabic Trail, from Seahorse Lake to the Agamok River bridge. Much of the this part of the trail was affected by straight line winds that tore through the BWCA in 1999. To gain access will require not only backpacking but 26 miles of paddling canoes and at least 20 portages. The third Minnesota project, sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service in the Kawishiwi Ranger District of the Superior National Forest, also involves canoe travel to and from base camp in the Boundary Waters, which lies on the southern edge of the forest. Volunteers will build water bars, check dams, turnpikes and rock retaining walls during the Aug. 3 through Aug. 9 session. For more information, log on to www.AmericanHiking.org/ events/vv/ index.html, or call the American Hiking Society's Shirley Hearn at (301) 5656704.
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Milestones Along the North Country Trail Along the way to building the longest continuous hiking trail in the country, we pass many milestones. This page marks some that show our progress.
Trail Building Progress on the North Country Trail The National Park Service certifies rhose completed miles rhat satisfy its standards. In addition there are many more completed miles rhat may be enjoyable to hike but cannot be certified for a variety of reasons. Percent Done and Certified
State 0~'"
.
..
Miles Certified
Increase Since Last Issue
196.8
Other Off-Road Miles
Total Off Road Miles
Marked Road Miles
0.0
196.8
0.0
0.0
4.7
97.7
0.0
-0.2
62.3
681.5
105.2
177.7
1,875.1
176.3
"'*"'*'>
[North Dakot~llitl!;;; 41.'. ~%
24.8%
Minnesota
93.0 101.0
0
53.8%
Michigan
29i% 43.3%
Pennsylvania
129.9
0.0
'""'fii\%f'::;~;:{·i';;t@~j)Jf''""'~
1,697.4
40.7%
Totals
-0.2
BIG~D~~
State by State Membership Membership in rhe NCTA demonstrates public support for rhe trail. Membership dues help fund activities rhat benefit the trail. Here's how each state grew since rhe last issue of The North Star. Members Last Issue
State
Current Members
Change
5~
,•;'.i@i\§0.2% 22.1% ~l,24.5% 11.0%
210
Minnesota
1,209 241 232 89 2,376
Pennsylvania New.'Vork Other Total
294 :,w,;:..,,, 27~ 102 2,808
Percent Change
+53 ';~
22.0%
+~'3 +13 +432
14.6% 18.2%
As of Nov. 30, 2002, membership in rhe Norrh Country Trail Association rose to 2,808, the first time membership has ever climbed over rhe 2,600 mark. The largest number, 808, is in the at-large category, but rhe chapters are growing as well. Western Michigan continues as our largest, with 323 members, followed by Star of rhe Norrh with 157, and Chief Noonday wirh 152. Orhers over rhe century mark are Grand Traverse Hikers, 129, Central New York, 125, and Norrh Country Hikers (Marquette) with 114.
yg(u'riteerl(!'on the Trail
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are given.for re;cruiting , 0, TOO and 250 new members. top recruiters since t~~. last were: Bernic!rjnde Len & Jo aro~'. '.' .. '.'.: J~l3 LaVerne BeBeau 3
13ettie 0111y
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John Leinen ~···························::3 David Swanson :~ 3
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age growrh ince rhe last
Special rhanks go to the f<2llow·;n) ing, who have reported rhe most vol~.'. unteer Hours guring !he third quarter of2002. ''·' Charles Kramrnin 350 J6liii Ya'llng ..•....... .:1'"··············· 245 Tom Learmont 222 1{;1:ary Larmann 222 Doug Welker 205 Al Larmann :~tii~ 201 .:§.? Chappel... 181 J.6hn Ltjinen ::······· 164 Roger Meyer 164 Ed Morse 130 Irene S:labo 125 Tom Garnett 120
.,
HIKING @8[18~[[)8[;] Jan. 10-12-Winter Backpacking for Beginners sponsored by Spirit of the Woods Chapter, Manistee, Ml, Joan Young, jhy@t-0ne.net Jan. 20-Annual Martin Luther King hike by Buckeye Trail Association and Miami Indian Trekkers Volksmarch, Hueston Woods State Park. Paul Daniel, (513) 523-4851. Feb. 1-23RD annual Winter Hike, cosponsored by CuyahogaValley Spaziergangers and the Buckeye Trail Association, at Findley State Park. Larry Morton (303) 722-1073, or solamo@zoomintern.net March 8,9-Trail and Outdoor Symposium sponsored by Buckeye Trail Association, Salt Fork State Park, Herb Hulls, hhulls@frognet.net April 5,6-Trail Maintenance and Construction Workshop, White Cloud, Ml Schoolhouse, Werner Veit, WV12@aol.com, or NCTA headquarters (888) 454-6282. April 12-North Country Trail Association, Board of Directors meeting, Lowell, Ml, NCTA headquarters, (888) 897-5987 April 25-28-Annual Meeting, Buckeye Trail Association, Camp Lazarus and Highbanks Metropark in Delaware County. BTATrailblazer@aol.com May 16-0hio Trails Expo, Hocking College, Herb Hulls, hhulls@frognet.net. July 31-Aug. 3-North Country Trail Association annual conference, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Ml, NCTA headquarters, (888) 897-5987
Memorials Honor Trail Veterans Memorials to two longtime stalwarts of the hiking community and pioneer trail builders were erected or in the planning stage by their trail friends during 2002. A resting bench to commemorate the achievements of Randall Brune was placed on a section of the Finger Lakes Trail maintained by the Onondaga Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club. The site, where Randall was the steward, is located between Randall Hill and Stoney Brook Roads, near Cuyler, NY. The bench design followed the wishes of the family. Meanwhile the Lower Michigan Trail Council was completing plans to honor Arden Johnson, longtime trail coordinator for the Lower Peninsula, map maker , extensive trail builder and a director of the North Country Trail Association. A boulder had been placed in the Jordan Valley, Arden's favorite
SPONSORED
MEMBERSHIP
Our Sponsored Membership Program allows current members to sign up new members at an introductory rate of just $18.00. To qualify, Sponsor Members must be new to NCTA, or not have been members for at least two years. The $18.00 rate is good only for the first year of membership. To use the program, just fill you name in the "Sponsored by" box. Then, give the form to a friend to finish.
Please choose your Chapter affiliation:
D Member of a specific
FORM
*~cOUNTRy
~~~ ~~ ili
~~
t.r~
•ASSOCIATION•
Chapter =------------
0 Member of my closest Chapter D At-Large Member (Not affiliated
area of trail and his friends hoped to attach a plaque to it but a Michigan Department of Natural Resources policy does not permit memorials on trails. The Council is exploring alternatives. Friends who wish to contribute to the cost of a Johnson memorial should send contributions to the North Country Trail Association headquarters, earmarked for the Arden Johnson memorial.
(If one exists)
To begin your membership, complete this form and send It with your $18 payment to: 229 East Main Street Lowell, Michigan 49331
with any Chapter)
Sponsored by
I Daytt 7ne 11:_• tode llrst) I
Name (Please Print) Address
City
State
Skllls to Volunteer
E-mail Address
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What Does the National Park Service Office in Madison Do, Anyway? fair question. Many of you have perhaps wondered about this. After all, isn't it the volunteers who are building and maintaining the trail? What is left to be done? Most of our responsibilities for the North Country National Scenic Trail are stated in the National Trails System (NTS) Act. While we currently cannot acquire lands, there are many other requirements in the Act that we, as the federal administering agency, must carry out. Fortunately, the Act says we can carry out those responsibilities on lands owned by others, if agreeable to them, or assist others in carrying out those responsibilities. This article begins a series that will attempt to clearly explain what it is that the National Park Service (NPS) staff in Madison, Wisconsin, does for the North Country Trail. The following section-by-section litany of the NTS Act's requirements/authorities provides a good overview of our responsibilities. Subsequent articles will elaborate on these, and requirements found in other legislation, regulations, and policy directives. Section 5(a)(8)-Establish and administer the North Country National Scenic Trail. Section 5(f)-Prepare a comprehensive plan for management and use of the trail. This was completed in September 1982. Section 7(a)(l)(A)-Consult with all affected state and federal agencies. (This is a large and continuing responsibility.) Section 7(a)(l)(B)--Select the routes for the trail. In doing this, we must "obtain the advice and assistance of the States, local governments, private organizations, and landowners and land users concerned." (This is the basis for the trail route planning we do and for the trail segment certification process.) Section 7(c)-Permit or provide for the development of "campsites, shelters, and related-public-use facilities." Permit other uses along the trail that will not substantially interfere with the nature and purposes of the trail. Make reasonable efforts to provide sufficient access to the trail and, to the extent practicable, avoid activities incompatible with the purposes for which the trail was established. Prohibit the use of motorized vehicles by the general public along the
A
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trail. (This is the basis for our involvement in determining appropriate uses.) Section 7(c)-"Establish a uniform marker, including thereon an appropriate and distinctive symbol for" the trail. Provide the markers to cooperating interests and "require such agencies to erect and maintain them in accordance with the standards established." Section 7(c)-"Provide for trail interpretation sites ... in order to present information to the public about the trail, at the lowest possible cost." Section 7(e)-"Encourage the States or local governments involved (1) to enter into written cooperative agreements with landowners, private organizations, and individuals to provide the necessary trail right-of-way, or (2) to acquire such lands or interests therein to be utilized as segments of the ... trail: Provided, That if the State or local governments fail to enter into such written cooperative agreements or to acquire such lands or interests therein ... the ... Secretary, may (i) enter into such agreements with landowners, States, local governments, private organizations, and individuals for the use of lands for trail purposes, or (ii) acquire private lands or interests therein by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds or exchange." (However, section lO(c)(l) currently prohibits federal agencies spending funds to purchase lands, except for one interpretive site in each state.) Section 7(h)-"Cooperate with and encourage the States to operate, develop, and maintain portions of [the] trail which are located outside the boundaries of federally administered areas. When deemed to be in the public interest, ... enter [into] written cooperative agreements with the States or their political
subdivisions, landowners, private organizations, or individuals to operate, develop, and maintain any portion of [the] trail either within or outside a federally administered area. Such agreements may include provisions for limited financial assistance to encourage participation in the acquisition, protection, operation, development, or maintenance of [the] trail, provisions providing volunteer in the park ... status ... to individuals, private organizations, or landowners participating in such activities, or provisions of both types." Section 7(i)-Issue "regulations ... governing the use, protection, management, development, and administration" of the trail "with the concurrence of the heads of any other Federal agencies administering lands through which [the trail] passes, and after consultation with the States, local governments, and organizations concerned." Section 11 (a)-"Encourage volunteers and volunteer organizations to plan, develop, maintain, and manage [the trail], where appropriate." Section 11 (b)-"Assist volunteers and volunteers organizations in planning, developing, maintaining, and managing [the] trail. Volunteer work may include, but need not be limited to ... planning, developing, maintaining, or managing ... [the] trail ... , operating programs to organize and supervise volunteer trail building efforts ... , conducting trailrelated research projects, or providing education and training to volunteers on methods of trails planning, construction, and maintenance." (This is the basis for all of the technical assistance and training we provide to volunteers.) Section ll(c)-"Make available Federal facilities, equipment, tools, and technical assistance to volunteers and volunteer organizations, subject to such limitations and restrictions as the appropriate Secretary or the head of any Federal land managing agency deems necessary or desirable." (An example of an appropriate restriction is requiring users of chainsaws to be trained and certified.)
First of a series outlining the staffs responsibilities and explaining the requirements of the National Trail System Act.
NCTA, the Trail's Primary Contractor, an Old Hand at Privatization n November, President Bush outlined a proposal to privatize more than 800,000 federal jobs. In an effort to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government, this plan would open "certain non-core government functions to competition." The North Country Trail itself is a function of the Federal government, being administered by the National Park Service and crossing ten National Forests. So, how would this proposal affect the trail? Well, to be flip, "Been there. Done that." The North Country Trail (NCT) is one of 23 trails authorized by Congress through the National Trails System Act. When Congress crafted this Act back in 1968, it set out to "encourage and assist volunteer citizen involvement in the planning, development, maintenance and management" of the trails. The NCT is no exception. For the past two decades, the NCTA has been serving as the primary private contractor in developing and maintaining the Trail for the National Park Service (NPS). Today, almost half of the Federal funds appropriated to the Trail are allocated to the NCTA. As a private nonprofit organization, we can apply these funds to further the Trail more efficiently and effectivelythan the government itself could. Not only do we stretch those dollars further, but we also leveragethem in a way that the government can't, by generating significant private contributions and a tremendous amount of volunteer labor. Imagine the cost if all the work for the trail had to be performed by Federal employees! The North Country Trail partnership already is an outstanding example of privatization of government functions. In the coming years, we'll seek to build on this success, by advocating for additional Federal dollars to expand our "contract" with the NPS and, with it, the role and effectiveness of our organization. To succeed, though, we have serious challenges to overcome. One of these challenges is the
I
Reporting volunteer hours has become more critical than ever.
BOB PAPP Executive Director
"corporate culture" of the NPS itself, and its very treatment of the North Country Trail. In some ways, the North Country Trail is square peg in a park system of round holes. In a typical National Park, volunteers serve as assistants to paid staff. They work as campground hosts, serve at information desks, and help with interpretation and maintenance. Yet, along the NCT, we find volunteers and private organizations leading the way in planning and management decisions. While there is a growing acceptance of the value of partnerships within the NPS, ironically, I think we are so far ahead of the curve that the extent and success of our partnership has yet to be fully embraced. The National Park Service promotes that it administers 387 units, however, the North Country Trail is not included in this statistic. Unlike the Appalachian Trail, the NCT technically is not a "unit" of the NPS. Look up park designations on the NPS website and you'll find mention of the National Trails, which are described as linear parklands totaling more than 3,600 miles. In reality, National Trails administered by the NPS total more than 19,000 miles (a conservativeestimate). It's almost as if the NPS has blinders on when it comes to the National Trails System. Perhaps because the Trails are largely privatized, they are somewhat off the radar of higher-ups in the NPS. Certainly, this is not the case with the Madison, WI office of the NPS, which administers the North Country Trail. The dedicated employees in that office work with us daily, and fully appreciate the contributions of our hundreds of volunteers, and the efficiency of our work. Yet, they can do little to communicate the effectivenessof our partnership or the needs that we face to those far up the NPS chain. After all, the North Country Trail is not even a unit of the NPS, and only two 1
NPS employeesare fully assigned to the Trail. Many National Parks can barely keep the lights on and have sobering and depressing maintenance backlogs. Given these facts, how great can the needs of the North Country Trail be? Part of this difficulty in communication stems from our own difficulties in quantifying the work that we do as· a private contractor for the NPS. While we can report on new miles of trail certified, this figure is minimal compared to the total work we do for the trail. Currently, we report about 30,000 volunteer hours per year. That sounds like a lot, but it's only the equivalent of about 15 full-time employees. Is it possible that only 15 employees could handle all of the maintenance and construction and promotion and planning and hike leading and administration and communication work accomplished by hundreds of volunteers across seven states? Of course not, but this is all we have to report since many volunteers don't report their hours to us. As the President's plan to privatize Federal jobs continues to evolve, it will be extremely important for us to be able to stand up and wave our hands, saying "Hey! We've been doing that for years! Look at how successful we are!" Federal bureaucracieswill be struggling to figure out how to implement privatization in as painless a manner as possible. One method of doing this will be to demonstrate that they already have model programs in place. We have the potential to be promoted as one of those model programs and, in so doing, come onto the radar of NPS higher-ups in a big and beneficial way.
Willing Seller Bill As you may know, we worked hard last year to pass a bill providing the Federal government with the authority to acquire land or easements for the North Country Trail (which is now banned by law). Bills to accomplished this passed both the House and the Senate, but they were different Bills and, unfortunately, were not reconciled before the 107th Congress adjourned. This is the closest we've ever come, though, and this achievement will give us a significant leg up as begin again early in the new Congress.
i~~~~-;~-~M;;~h--~~~~·········N~rth .. st~-~··27
Abroad on the NCT with Camera and Bailey, the Wonderdog By Roger Meyer Contributing
Labrador Hollow overlook. (below) from Jones Hill on the Onondaga segment in New York has a special significance for Dick. The stretch between Spruce Pond and Tinker Falls was part of his last hike before leaving home in Manlius, NY, to join the U.S. Air Force, 35 years ago.
Editor
f you've been around NCT activities in West Michigan, you have probably met Dick Bolton. He's attended National Trails Day, many trail building efforts, and day hikes. He doesn't do a lot of physical labor because of a bad back. He's at the events mostly to take photographs. The North Star uses many of his photos. Dick is taking photos of recent trail work to document what NCTA volunteers are doing. So far, most of his photographs have been of efforts by the Western Michigan Chapter. You'll know Dick because he usually carrying a huge daypack. It's larger than some overnight backpacks. He has several cameras with lenses and enough clothing to handle any possible weather or maybe even an Arctic â&#x20AC;˘. expedition. Included is his favorite snack - Fig Newtons (which he freely shares). Could this load be the cause of his bad back? Another clue to his identity is his sometimes-hiking companion - Bailey The Wonder Dog. But we asked why Bailey, a Springer Spaniel, is called "The Wonder Dog" and no one seems to know. In spite of several other minor abnormalities, Dick is multi-talented. He's a freelance photographer and a columnist for his focal paper, the Morning Sun (a daily newspaper in Mount Pleasant MI). He's written a series for that paper on hiking in Michigan. His photographic career started in the Air Force and he later taught photojournalism at Central Michigan University. For eight years, Dick was
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2003
editor- reporter-writer- photographeretc. for Oil & Gas News -- Michigan's Weekly Petroleum Magazine. Then, in his own business for a few years, he gathered information for the petroleum industry. After activity in that business dried up, he joined the staff of the Morning Sun as a photographer. Dick left the paper to spend more time with his family. He became involved in fund raising and opened his own woodworking shop making custom furniture. However, Dick's bad back stopped that effort. The Morning Sun then called him and asked him to come back. He's been there ever since.
Dick often returns to his birthplace, Utica, NY, to hike and visit. He plays the trumpet as a regular member of the Central Michigan Area Concert Band in Shepherd, MI and is actively involved in the local school district improvement work. Dick chairs his township's planning commission. When asked how he became a hiker, Dick said, 'Tm not sure exactly when this happened, but one day about a decade ago it dawned on me that one of very few activities I enjoyed year after year since childhood was hiking. That's when I actually started thinking of myself as a 'hiker.' It was an important moment. Now, I say I've been a
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Dick's wife Sharon and Bailey at Cedar Falls (above) and Gorge (below) along the NCT-Buckeye Trail in the Hocking Hills of Ohio.
hiker for about 50 years, by my reckoning." Dick isn't a backpacker. He says, 'Tm a dayhiker, and proud of it! In fact, I like to joke about my being a reformed backpacker who got his head right one day and stepped up to a higher plane of enlightenment. Haven't been on an overnight backpacking trip in about 10 years or more." He adds, "On a serious note about this, it dismays me that so many people who are interested in hiking approach with an apology to the effect that Tm just a dayhiker, but ... .' And you fill in the rest of it. I see no class difference between day hikers and backpackers and long distance hikers and through hikers and all that. We don't need fragmentation; we need unity." We asked Dick about his attitude toward long distance hikers. He replied, "Not that I'm unimpressed by people who walk the full length of, say, the Appalachian Trail in one shot, for
example. Accomplishments like that are real feats (we hope 'feats' is not one of Dick's puns - Editor) and I admire the folks who have done them. It's just that by definition all hikers get from Point A to Point B through the simple act of repeatedly putting one foot in front of the other. That's the tie that binds us together into what I like to think of as a huge pedestrian community." During our interview, Dick said, "One of my hiking goals has been to get involved in some kind of volunteer trail improvement, development or building activity. That bad back business limits the kind of physical work I can take on, and that's been a little frustrating." Dick proposes a challenge to all NCTA members, ''I'd love to be swinging a Pulaski with abandon, but doing the photos has been very rewarding. Well, if you're interested there's probably some kind of NCTA volunteer job that fits your skills, and capacities. So what are you waiting for?"
TWO NEW T-SHIRTS!
SHIRTS
HATS A. Royal Mesh-Back Cap (C201) Mesh back, cotton twill front, royal blue, plastic snap strap $10.95 B. Light Khaki/Navy Cap (C207) Trail emblem design. Low profile washed cotton, unconstructed. Light khaki crown with washed navy bill. Adjustable buckle on fabric strap $14.95 C. Denim Blue Cap (C203) Pro-wash cotton twill with extended bill, deep blue crown and bill (looks like denim), adjustable buckle on a leather strap.$15.95 D. Grey-Moss Green Cap (C206) Low profile distressed washed cotton twill. Adjustable buckle on fabric strap ... $14.95 E. Sun Protection (C210) Wide bill, Supplex速 tan nylon, sofi: and breathable. Adjustable clip back. .... $18.50 F. The Aussie Hat (C209) Natural Color, cotton canvas with full brim and rope cord with adjustable slider $24.5
G. Trail Crew T-shirt (C102) A trail crew shitt for volunteers! 50/50 blend. Two color design on front with map and a "fired up" volunteer. Color: tan. M, L,XL ..... $8.95, XXL..... $9.95 H. NCTA T-Shirt (C101) Pre-shrunk cotton "Beefy-T". Three-color NCTA logo on front and two-color trail map on back. Slogan on back reads "Going the Distance on the North Country National Scenic Trail" and includes the seven state map of the trail. Color: natural. S, M, L, XL $11.95, XXL $12.95 I. Sweatshirts M, L,XL $34.95, XXL $37.95 Goldenrod (C107A) Khaki Green (C107B) Denim (C107C) Light Raspberry (C107D) J. Polo Shirt Color: Tan (C106) Embroidered association logo. M, L,XL XXL $31.95 K. Fleece Vest Color: Grey (C108) Embroidered trail logo. M, L,XL, XXL $38.95
Designed by Max Boyd
Rediscover nature The 100% cotton "leaf' shitt available in: Dusty Blue (C.110) Pale Plum (C.110A) S, M, L,XL: $15.95, XXL:$17.95
"Blue Blazes'' 50150 PolyCotron blend on ash gray shirt. Short sleeve (C.109) S, M, L,XL:$11.95,XXL:$13.95 Long sleeve (C.109A) M, L,XL $15.95,XXL:$17.95
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c
ORDER TOLL FREE! 1-888-454-NCTA (6282)
e-mail: hq@northcountrytrail.org
NCT TRAIL MAP SETS 1:100,000 SCALE·
'
Printed in full color on durable paper, this pocket size map· unfolds to a full 11" x 17'', doubleside. These maps do not come in a plastic bag. NEW YORK Rome to Finger Lakes Trail
$3.50
(NY-04)
MICHIGAN Marshall to Bowne Township
1:24,000 SCALE Printed in full color on durable paper these new maps come in a dear plastic bag to assure complete water protection. They have been carefully field checked fur acruracy. Each map unfulds to a full n" x 17". PENNSYLVANIA McConnells Mill and Moraine State Parks (T201) $5.00 Allegheny National Forest North Section
$6.50
(T202)
$3.50
(Ml-02)
Southern Allegheny National Forest and Cook Forest State Park
Bowne Township to M-37
www.northcountrytrail.org
CERTIFIED SECTIONS OF THE NCT By Byron and Margaret Hutchins Detailed information and maps highlighting the longest and best off-road segments of the Trail. These are accurate route descriptions by experienced guidebook writers who have walked the sections with a measuring wheel. In easy to use looseleaf form. PENNSYLVANIA NCT in Pennsylvania, 37 pages $5. 75
(M201)
$8.00
(T203)
$3.50
(Ml-03)
Freesoil Trailhead to Cedar Creek Road (Ml-05)
$3.50
MICHIGAN Huron-Manistee N.F.: North Segment
$3.50
Battle Creek to ChiefNoonday Road
$3.50
Huron-Manistee N.F.: South Segment
Grand Marais to Au Train Lake
$8.00
(T401)
(Ml-10)
Alberta to Cascade Falls
$6.50
(T402)
(Ml-13)
Cascade Falls to Ironwood
$8.00
(T403)
$3.50
(Ml-14)
WISCONSIN Together these maps cover the Chequamegon National Forest Ironwood to Long Mile Lookout (Wl-01)
Map shown: Grand Marias to Au Train Lake NCT Trail Map Set
$3.50
,
Long Mile Lookout to Solon Spring
$3.50
(Wl-02)
MINNESOTA Chippewa N.F. to Paul Bunyan S.F.
$3.50
(MN-09)
NORTH DAKOTA Showing four sections of trail
$3.50
(ND-SE)
Legend ___
N
North Country Trail (Certified)' 000000
North Country Trail (Not Certified) Temporary Selected
Connector
.. A
Legend
__,,,..~
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*
Other Trail
GM
Miles Between Points
5,.,
Highway
0°35'
Paved Road Gravel/Dirt
Road UTM Grid and 2002 MagneticNorth Oeclina!ion
Other Road Two Track
Diagam is approximate
Public Land
II Ull
Fishing
lEIJ
Hospital
Ranger Station
•
Potable Water
jar uary-March
2003
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ORDER TOLL FREE! 1-888-454-NCTA
e-mail: hq@northcountrytrail.org
(6282)
www.northcountrytrail.org
OHIO Wayne National Forest, 14 pages (M301) $3.00 From Burr Oak State Park to Milford on the Buckeye Trail, 38 pages (M3032) $14.00 Milford to Lake Loramie S.P., 42 pages (M304A) $7.00 Miami & Erie Canal from Lake Loramie S.P. to Napoleon, 30 pages (M305A) : $5.00
MICHIGAN NCT in Lower Michigan, 81 pages $12.50
(M401)
NCT in Upper Michigan, 88 pages (M402)
STATE PATCHES New York Pennsylvania Ohio Michigan Wisconsin Minnesota North Dakota,
VOWNTEER PATCHES
2.00 ea. (P126) (P127) (P128) (P129) (P130)
._,.
(P131) (P .
2.00 ea.
Volunteer 2000 Volunteer 2001 Volunteer 2002 Trail Crew Hike Leader Trail Mapper 0 . .
(P133) (P134) (P135) (P136) (P137) (P138) (P139)
$13.00
:
WISCONSIN Iron County Forests; Chequamegon N.F., Brule River S.F., 27 pages $4.50
(M501A)
MINNESOTA Chippewa National Forest, Itasca S.P., 24 pages (M601) $4.00 NORTH DAKOTA NCT in North Dakota 15 pages $5.00
(M701)
NCT PATCH Patch of Trail Emblem 3Yz " bottom measure North Countty Trail emblem triangle design (P125) $3.50
MEDALLIONS AND PINS Add the North Country National Scenic Trail insignia to your hiking stick. A. Painted color (P105) $4.00 8. Brass (P104) $4.00 C. The Trail Emblem cloisonne pin is'%'' and features the updated North Country triangle design. (P102) ••••••••••••••••••••• $3.00
MICHIGAN MAP SETS By Arden [obnson An excellent reference for the entire North Country Trail in Michigan. Includes all off-. road segments and suggests on-road routes where the rrail is incomplete. Also provides good general information about access points, terrain, markers, camping and water, etc. Ohio State Line at Waldron to Augusta (M411A) $4.00 Augusta to Rogue River State Game Area (M412A) $4.00 Coates Highway at Manistee River to M115 West of Mesick (M413A) $4.00 M-115 West of Mesick to M-32 West of U.S. 131 (M414A) $4.00 M-32 West of U.S. 131 to Mackinaw City (M415A) $4.00 St. Ignace to SE Marquette (M416A) $4.00 Marquette to Ironwood (M417A) $4.00
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MUG North Countty National Scenic Trail plastic trail mug tapered to fit in cup holder. (P103) $5.00 Back
Fall Scene on denim blue (C-104) S, M, L, XL: $12.95, XXL:$13.95
Woodiltd Scene on pebble tan (C-105) S, M, L,XL: $12.95,XXL $13.95 January-March
2003
ORDER TOLL FREE! 1-888-454-NCTA (6282)
e-mail: hq@northcountrytrail.org
Take a Hike
Great Wisconsin Walks
by Rich and Sue Freeman
by Wm. Chad McGrath
Explore the Finger Lakes and Genesee Valley with ease and convenience. 51 walks are completely described. 264 pages
Describes some of the state's most beautiful and interesting paths. Includes walks in the woods and in the cities. 160 pages (L116)
(L119) $16.95
$16.95
Peak Experiences
by Gary Pallesen A guide to the highest points in every New York county. Includes maps, directions to trailheads, and some alternate routes. 288 pages
Lipsmackin ' Backpackin'
by Tim and Christine Hilclr!g the Highest 5ummlts
inlVewYO(fc. COU<>tv bV County,
(L120) $16.95
50 Hikes in Ohio
Connors Dine on spaghetti, chicken salad, and cheesecake in the backcountry instead of gorp, cereal bars, and jerky. 232 pages (L118) $15.95
by Ralph Ramey They range over the entire state and includes hikes from easy to vigorous. Some overnight backpacks. 272 pages (L121)
$14.95
Hiking with Kids
www.northcountrytrail.org
First Aid and Family Emergency Handbook This compact book tells you what to do in emergency and then what to do to protect a victim. 252 pages (L125) $6.00
New
RnllfflUl tfla
FIRST AID
+
II FAMILY HtUGINCY
SUPPO~ GROUP RUEREHCE GUIDE
Great Minnesota Walks
by Wm. Chad McGrath Describes some of the state's most beautiful and interesting paths. Includes walks beside river rapids and scenic overlooks. 168 pages (L117) $16.95
America's National Scenic Trails
by Robin Tawney
by Kathleen Ann Cordes
Introduce your children to the wonders of hiking. This answers any questions and gives valuable tips. 70 pages
History, the present condition, points of interest, and other details for each of the eight national scenic ttails including the North Country National Scenic Trail. 306 pages (L122)
50 Hikes in Michigan
(L123) $6.95
by Jim DuFresne
The Country Doctor, Alive and Well
$19.95
by john G. Hipps M D.
Edible Wild Plants
His stories will entertain and charm you. Has advice on home remedies and alternative medicine for self-care. 363 pages (L115) $19.95
This pocket-size guide is perfect for identifying the various plants you see while out walking. (L127)
Describes the best trails in the Lower Peninsula. Includes access, parking, hiking times, contour maps, and explicit trail directions. 252 pages (L109)
$17 .95
Porcupine Mountains
Hiking!
by Jim DuFresne
by Philip Farranti and
Describes the Porkies for hikers, campers, skiers, and backpackers. Includes history, cabins, camping areas, day hikes, and waterfalls. 160 pages (L108)
A fresh look at hiking including its philosophy, health aspects for kids and seniors, and stronger family ties. 245 pages (L106)
Cecilia Leyva
$14.95
$11.95 Trail Atlas of Michigan
by Dennis R. Hansen This third edition has descriptions and maps for over 600 hiking, biking, skiing, and nature trails in Michigan. 789 pages (L102A) $34.95
The Appalachian Food Planner
by James Kavanagh
$5.95 Backpacking Wisconsin
by jack P. Hailman & Elizabeth D. Hailman The authors provide first-hand information for trails in every comer of the state - from the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore to picturesque Newport State Park.
Gulde
(L129) $19.95
by Lou Adsmond Proven food tips for a short backpack to a six-month thruhike. Includes recipes for easy trailside cooking. 128 pages (L126) $15.95
Guide to NCT, Chippewa National Forest, Minnesota
Nortl1
...
Country 'lnll
by Roderick MacRae Description and trail log written by an expert. 12 pages (M611) $1.25 January-March
2003
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ORDERTOLL FREE! 1-888-454-NCTA (6282)
e-mail: hq@northcountrytrail.org
NCTA Trail Building and Maintenance Manual by Thomas Reimers This provides guidelines for planning, construction, and maintenance of the North Country Trail. 22 pages (L101)
Buck Wilder's Hiking & Camping Guide by Tim Smith and Mark Herrick Great color illustrations filled with humor with tips and trivia. Appears to be a book for kids, but adults find it's lots of fun and informative. 64 pages (L103) $12.95
www.northcountrytrail.org
by Wes Boyd This is the third edition of a classic. It describes the trail and efforts to build it in each of the seven states. It includes details of through-hiking and a history of the Trail and Association. 96 pages (L112) $4.95
___
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$2.00 Following the NCT
MEMBERSHIP
Be TRAIL
SHOP ORDER FORM
The top form maybe used for new and renewing members. The lower portion of the form is for Trail Shop Merchandise. Home Phone with Area Code
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34
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January-March
2003
Please mail, fax or phone your order to: 229 East Main Street Lowell, Michigan 49331 Toll free telephone: 888-454-NCTA (6282) If ordering by credit card, you may fax your order to: 616-897-6605
Shipping and Handling Charges Amount of Order $00.00 to $10.00 $10.01 to $25.00 $25.01 to $50.00 $50.01 to $100 Over $100
Charge $2.50 $5.00 $6.00 $8.00 $10.00
Trail Supporters We gratefully acknowledge the support of all our members and donors, and especially wish to recognize the following individuals, businesses, foundations and agencies, for their generous contributions over the past twelve months":
INDIVIDUALS
Jim Grau . Harry Gubbins Shelby Haynes Paul & Jerry Henry Denise Herron Bobbie Hineline Carolyn Hoffman Tom Hord Joe Hyrman Hans Kappus Lou & Sandy Kasischke Brooks & Margie Kindel Stephen Kobylarz
$500 OR MORE Dave & Jan Cornell Garrett Dill David & Carol Dixen Brett & Lynn Harris William & Donna Menke Val Rauceps Harmon Strong Irene Szabo Werner & Marianne Veit
Robert Lafrenierre
$250 TO $499
David & Jean Adams Pat AJlen & Mark Miller Jerry AJlen & Connie Pausirs-Allen Daniel & Constance Arnold
Dale Lack Kurt Landauer Raoul & Jan LePage Ned Liddle Christopher & Margo Light john & Marianne Ludwick Jeffrey Lurz William Lynch Cynthia Macauga Charles McKay Roger & Glory Meyer John & Diana Meyer Par & Kathleen Miller Laura Miller AJ & Jean Moberly Larry Mulder Gregg & Colleen Nelson Robert Norlin John Norlund
LeRoy Bliven Loyal Eldridge Gene & Jean Elzinga Keith & Katherine Horngren Peggy Jones & Andy Zeek John & Pat Leinen Philip Lenka Linda O'Donnel Bob & Annette Papp Raymond & Elaine Papp Gaylord Yost
$100 TO $249
Francis Azur
Patricia Norman
Thomas & Patricia Backe Frank Ballo Michael Bard Len & JoAnne Baron
Peter O'Rourke Timothy O'Rourke Peter & Susan Ordway
Jason Beam
Aaron Phipps Thomas & Diane Piquet William & Avis Rambo P.S. Reichelderfer Michael Robinson Bob & Grace Rudd Michael & Erica SanDrerco Merl & Patricia Schlaack Tina Schmidt
Harold Petrimoulx
Richard Beil & Dana Burkley Lewis & Mary Bender Charles Benjamin Steven Biskie Bert Bleke David Blewett Richard Boettner Patrick Bradley Terry & Diane Brant
Peter Schmitz
Baxter Brings
Richard Schwaab Richard Seabold Brian Seely Stephen Selden James Spencer James Sprague
Brian & Barb Buchanan Carolyn Butcher James Byrne Jay & Mary Campbell Frances & Steve Cheyne Chang Choi Walter Clawson Pearl Compann
Rolf Swanson David Swanson
John & Mary Lou Tanton
Daniel Dardio Roberc Davis Richard & Ann DeBoer Claire Dedow William Dixon Joe & Stephanie Kobylinski Dixon Cathy Drexler Terry Duncan
Steve Vear
Kathleen Eisele
Michael & Diane Veen Bob & Barbara Vos Gary Werner
Duane Elenbaas John Fenner Douglas Frairs John Gall Tom &Janis Gilbert Marc Gilbert Anita Gilleo George Girod Robert Glesne Daniel Gold
$2500 to $9999 Madison County Board of Supervisors Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation
$1000 to $2,499 Cohn & Wolfe Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) Universal Forest Products
$250 to $999 Econo-Foods Marquette Ml 49855
Striders, Inc. Grandville, Ml 49418
Mead Corporation Dayton, OH 45463
T&C Markets, Inc. Marquette, Ml 49855
$150 to $249 Adirondack Mountain Club OnondagaChapter 304 Windsor Dr., Dewitt, NY 13214
Butler Outdoor Club P.O. Box 243, Burler, PA 16003 (253)395-3780
Northern Michigan University Marquette, Ml 49855 (253)395-3780 Orthopaedic Surgery Associates of Marquette 1414 West Fair Ave., Marquette, Ml 49855 (253)395-3780
Campmor Inc. 28 Parkway Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 (253)395-3780 Dental Associates of Marquette 708 Chippewa Square, Marquette, Ml 49855 (253) 395-3780 Down Wind Sports South, Inc. 514 N. Third St., Marquette, MI 49855 (253) 395-3780 Exkurslon Outfitters 4037WilliarnPenn Hwy.,Monroeville, PA 15146 (253) 395-3780 Lee's Sports and Sportswear 3 l 1 Kilgore Sr.,Porrage, Ml 49002 (253)395-3780
Steven Wester
F.T. Weyerhaeuser Michael & Carol Weymier Donald Wickstra Rodger & Denise Wolf Gary Wright Joan Young David Younger Walter Zarnoch
Midwest Mountaineering 309 Cedar Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55454 (253)395-3780
Bill Prall Touring Gear 108 E. Third Sr,, Harbor Springs, MI 49740 231-526-2594
David Tattan
William Thomas Jerry & Beth Trout Donna Turtle Roger Tuuk Nancy Uschold Betty VanderSmissen Jeffrey and Nancy Van Winkle John & Diane VanderVeen
William Eisenman
$10,000 or more Grand Rapids Foundation National Park Service
Kevin Staunton
Eugene Conte Dan Converse
Dennis Donathen
BUSINESSES,FOUNDATIONS AND AGENCIES
Marquette General Hospital 420 West Magnetic St., Marquene, MI 49855 (253)395-3780 Michigan Mountain Bike Association 5119 Highland Rd., Waterford, Ml 48327 (253)395-3780
Sandhill Marketing Communications 1715 Glendale Blvd., Kalamazoo,Ml 49004 (253)395-3780 Steelcase Foundation P.O. Box 1967,Grand Rapids, Ml 49501 (253) 395-3780 The Outfitter l 53 E. Main Sr., Harbor Springs, Ml 49740 (253) 395-3780 Trail Atlas of Michigan 1801 Birchwood Dr., Okemos, Ml 48864 (253)395-3780 Wells Fargo Bank 10l W. Washington s.; Marquette, Ml 49855 (253)395-3780 Western Pennsylvania Outside Adventure 101 Canterbury rÂť, Pittsburgh, PA 15238 (253)395-3780
*Includes cumulative gifts, membership contributions and grants received between Dec. I, 2001 and Nov. 30, 2002.
January-March
2003
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North Country Trail Association Trail Councils Chapters of the North Country Trail Association are like local trail clubs. They build and maintain trail, host hikes and other events, and work to promote the trail and the Association in their areas. For information about local activities and volunteering, contact Chapter representatives. Partner organizations are independent nonprofit organizations that are working to build and maintain certain sections of the trail. 2
NORTH DAKOTA TRAIL COUNCIL 1. Lone Tree Chapter Eldon Ehrman· 2940 15th Avenue, NE Anamoose, ND 58710 · (701) 465-3387 · ejje@ndak.net
LEGEND Chapters .......... Partners
2. Sheyenne River Valley Chapter Lisa Engel· P.O. Box 100 Cooperstown, ND 58245 · (701) 797-3530 · lisamengel@invisirnax.com
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MINNESOTA TRAIL COUNCIL Chair: Daryl Williamson· 5901 Tirnberglade Dr., Bloomington, MN 55438 · (952) 835-2186 · putswilli@earthlink.net Trail Coordinator:John Leinen, Jr.· 14205 St. Croix Trail, Stillwater, MN 55082-9587 · (651) 433-4456 · patleinen@rnsn.com
3. Star of the North Chapter John Dreher· 7641 10th St. N, Oakdale, MN 55128. (651) 738-3717
4. Itasca Moraine Chapter Jerry Trout· 4379 Maple Lane NW, Hackensack, MN 56452 · (218) 675-5448 · jbtrout@tds.net Peter Sparks · (800) 818-4453 · pjsparks@isd.net
6. Rovers Outing Club John Elliott· (612) 829-5142
7. Superior Hiking Trail Association Gayle Coyer· (218) 834-2700 · suphike@rnr.net
GREAT LAKES TRAIL COUNCIL Chair:BobNorlin ·PO Box718,lronRiver, WI54847 · (715) 372-5229 · rnorlin@ironriver.baysat.net WisconsinCoordinator:Brad Gingras · PO Box 416, Cable, WI 54821-0416 · (715) 7983890 · nctrail@cablemuseurn.org Upper Michigan Coordinator:Doug Welker · 26344 Tauriainen Road, Pelkie, MI 49958 · (906) 338-2680 · dwelker@up.net
8. Brule-St. Croix Chapter
9. ChequamegonChapter Tana Turonie ·P.O. Box 475, Mellen, WI 54546 · (715) 274-2521 · tjt@wageswebworks.com
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Jim Burow· 7067 Oakwood Circle, Neskoro, WI 53496 · (920) 293-8023 · glorirn@wirural.net 11.. Peter Wolfe Chapter Doug Welker· 26344 Tauriainen Rd., Pelki, MI 49958 · (906) 338-2680 · dwelker@up.net
12. North Country Trail Hikers (Chapter) Jan Wester· 352 E. Hewitt Ave., Marquette, MI 49855. (906) 225-1295 Bettie Daly· 126 HC 1, Marquette, MI 49855 · (906) 228-9018 Denise Herron · 423 W. Park St. · Marquette, MI 49855 · (906) 225-1030 · dherron906@aol.com
January-March
Kirt Stage-Harvey· 950 Huron Street, St. Ignace, MI 49781 · {906) 643-6379 · Stahar950@lighthouse.net
LOWER MICHIGAN TRAIL COUNCIL Chair: Arlen Matson · 49684 Dracka Road Traverse City, MI 49684-8837 · {231) 941-4152 · as319@tcnet.org
Trail Coordinator: Joan Young· 861 W. US10, Scottville, MI, 49454 ·(231) 757-2205 · jhy@t-one.net
14. Harbor Springs Chapter Jerry Keeney· 2385 Manitou Trail, Harbor Springs, MI 497 40 · (231) 526-9597 · Keeney@freeway.net
15. Tittabawassee Chapter
Charles (Chuck) Zosel· 6697 S. Degerrnan Rd., Lake Nebagamon, WI 54849 · (715) 374-3489 · ezosel@presscenter.com
North Star
10. Heritage Chapter 17. Spirit of the Woods Chapter Richard Krieger · 364 First Street #2, Manistee, MI 49660 · (231) 398-9193 · rndkrieger@jackpine.com
18. Western Michigan Chapter Werner Veit· 229 East Main Street, Lowell, MI 49331 · (616) 897-5987 · wvl2@aol.com
19. Chief NoondayChapter Torn Garnen · 1715 Glendale Blvd, Kalamazoo,MI 49004 · (616) 382-2561 · garnettt@rrinity-health.org
20. Baw Beese Chapter Richard Saur· P.O. Box 673, Hillsdale, MI 49242 · (517) 437-5033 · dkstufEfrontier.net
12. Hiawatha Shore to Shore Chapter
5. Kekekabic Trail Club
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Jerry Allen· 5516 Bensch Road, Alger, MI 48610 · (989) 345-2677 · killingc@m33access.com
16. Grand Traverse Hiking Club (Chapter) Rick Halbert · 7385 S. Whispering Hills, Traverse City, MI 49684 · (231) 947-8485 · hornes5@charterrni.net
OHIO TRAIL COUNCIL Chair: Garry S. Dill Jr. · 4070 TradersvilleBrighton Road, London, OH 43140 · (937) 834-2891 vetfarrn@starband.net Trail Coordinator:Jim Sprague · 4406 Maplecrest, Parma, OH 44134 · (440) 884-4757 · jirnsprague@rnsn.net
21. Northwestern Ohio Rail-to-TrailsAssoc. Gene Markley · 22266 County Rd. 5, Delta, OH 43615 · (800) 951-4788 · 140years@powersupply.net
• 22. Buckeye Trail Association Garry Dill · 4070 Tradersville-Brighton Rd., London, OH 43140 · (937) 834-2891 · vetfarm@starband.net
23. Great Trail Sandy Beaver Canal Chapter Brad Bosley· 1210 Pancake-Clarkston Rd., Nefley, OH 44441 · (330) 227-2432
PENNSYLVANIA TRAIL COUNCIL Chair and Trail Coordinator:Bob Tait · Box 2968, Butler PA 16001-2968 · (724) 287-3382 · bobtait@zbzboom.net
24. Wampum Chapter Paul Henry· 469 Superior St., Hermitage, PA 16148. (724) 347-3281 25. Greater Pittsburgh Chapter Michael Kaizar · 933 Norfolk St., Pittsburgh, PA 15217 · (412) 321-0842 · mike@greenmarketplac e.com 25. Rock Chapter Frank Cetera· P.O. Box 151, Forestville, PA 16035 · (724) 735-1133 · frcetera@hotmail.com 26. Butler Chapter Ron Rice· 111 Ash Stop Rd., Evans City, PA 16033 · (724) 538-8475 · Ricel@nauticom.net 27. Clarion Chapter Caroline Lundberg-Schroeder · Rose and 30 Craig Street, Brookville, PA, 15825 · (814) 8493459 28. American Youth Hostels-Pittsburgh Council Bob Roth· 80 Rose Leaf Rd., Pittsburgh, PA 15220. (412) 279-6219
NEW YORK TRAIL COUNCIL Chair and Trail Coordinator : Howard Beye · 202 Colebourne Road, Rochester, NY 14609· (585) 288-7191 · fltc@frontiernet.net 29. Finger Lakes Trail Conference Irene Szabo · 6939 Creek Road, Mt. Morris, NY 14510-9638 · (585) 658-4321 · treeweenie@aol.com 30. Onondaga Chapter, ADK Mary Coffin · 328 Deepsrings Dr., Chittenango, NY 13037 · (315) 687-3589 · Mccoffin721@worl dnet.att.net 31. Central New York Chapter Al Larmann · 7169 Forbes Road, Canastota, NY 13032-9999 · (315) 697-3387 · larmann@worldnet.att.net
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Tom Gilbert, Superintendent Fred Szarka, Trail Manager Ken Howell, Land Protection Specialist National Park Service 700 Rayovac Drive Suite JOO Madison, WI 53711 (608) 441-5610 tom_gilbert@nps.gov fredrick_Szarka@nps.gov ken_howell@nps.gov
Tom Gilbert received a shirt from the North Country Trail Association in recognition of his 30 years of service with the National Park Service.
In recognition of his 30 years of service with the National Park Service, the Board voted to award an NCTA shirt to Tom Gilbert, Superintendent of the North Country and Ice Age National Scenic Trails. Back in the 70's, Tom helped author the initial study of the trail, which led to its authorization by Congress in 1980. Tom also was instrumental in the development of the trail' s 1982 Comprehensive Plan and, except for a short gap of a few years, has been working on the trail on behalf of the NPS throughout his professional life. Dave Cornell, a veteran director of the NCTA who has worked with Tom for many years, said: "As the 'keeper of the flame,' Tom has always known what the North Country Trail should become. Bringing this vision into being requires negotiation and compromise. This is where Tom excels.Always seeking to build a consensus, never holding a grudge, and always giving everyone he deals with a fair hearing is his strongest attribute. Protecting the vision, while dealing in the real world, is not easy, but Tom makes it look that way." The Directors also received an update on the strategic plan being written for the Association, heard a request for a cartography committee from Tiffany Stram, GIS coordinator and heard recommendations from a Board committee studying certification procedures and challenge cost share grants. (Log on to the NCTA website at www.northcountrytrail.org for the complete minutes which are posted in the "Volunteer Center" when available.)
Board Approves2003 Budget ShowingDecade's Big Growth
T
he Board of Directors of the North Country Trail Association approved a budget for 2003 of $448,317 for national operations and programs. As a measure for how far the organization has grown in the past 10 years, our 1993 budget was $38,898, less than a tenth of next year's total. At its Winter meeting in Lowell, the Board also approved a proposal to devote 12 percent of all dues money received to field grants for the chapters, affiliates and trail council, agreed to initiate a modest retirement matching plan for employees, selected a firm for the first Association financial audit and considered various staffing proposals. The Board also accepted the resignation ofJon Lindgren, as Vice President, West, and North Dakota State coordinator and trail council chair. It also heard proposals to lower the cost of student memberships from $16 to $10 (from the Lower Michigan Trail Council) and to provide memberships to landowners who permit the trail to traverse their property. The Board also discussed reciprocal, discounted membership fees with affiliates, received a report from the committee proposing an update on the NCTA's position on timber harvests and heard from the National Park Service's Fred Szarka who expressed a need for a video and other communication devices.
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These Volunteers Provide Needed Depth to Our Trail Community "How deep is the water, Mom?" One of my sons used to be obsessed with the depth of every body of water we saw, thinking I should be able to tell, by looking at the surface, how many feet of water would be above his head if he were standing on the bottom! Eventually, I fielded the question by saying that if you were swimming you only needed the top few feet and all those fathoms below you didn't matter. That explanation worked for a childish question, but sometimes depth is important. You need the depth to calculate the volume of water- important to know in a reservoir. Or, depth is important in predicting what aquatic organisms to expect. Equally, if you were searching for a sunken vessel, knowing its depth would deter-
Superior Hiking Trail Association JEREMY RIDLBAUER is another member of a "special team." His expertise is in collecting GPS data for the trail, and in fact that is his business. A few years ago when Nancy Odden was the SHTA director, she contacted him to help clear up a question about the route of the trail with a landowner. From there on his volunteer involvement has grown to the point where he is now hiking the entire 235 miles of the Superior Trail (the potential southern Arrowhead portion of the NCT in Minnesota), getting accurate readings from satellite positioning. The SHTA Director is currently Gayle Coyer, and they work closely together to make best use of the data Jeremy collects. There were places where they knew the current maps were inaccurate. There were other landowners who had questions about the trail' s location. Information about features such as parking, water or other facilities of interest to hikers was not previously complete. Not only does the cartographer need this kind of data, but the SHT Guidebook is being updated with Jeremy's information as well. They hope to have complete data by the end of 2003. One of his favorite things to do is collect the data for sections of trail, which are still being developed. The SHT is working on a route through Duluth, and also to extend the trail north to the Border Route in what is called the Hovland Section. Jeremy says he has been very impressed with the quality of
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mine the diving equipment needed. And so on.... Of course there are tools to measure water depth (they just weren't available to a family casually driving by a lake in the car!) "Depth" has also come to mean diversity and duplication of talents. A soccer or gymnastics team with depth can substitute someone of quality for a tired or injured athlete. A football squad with depth fields special teams for the kicking game. More than 11 players are needed for the work. Similarly, a trail community needs depth, diversity and duplication of talents. Two of the following volunteers bring some of those "speciet teams" talents to the playing field.
the potential routes through Duluth. Despite the large metropolitan area, it is going to be possible for hikers to pass through the city by means of a pleasant, offstreet trail. Jeremy lives in Grand Marais, MN, not exactly a bustling metropolis, yet he enjoys "escaping" to the trail, Jeremy Rldlbauer particularly to be away from the sounds of motorized vehicles. He wanted to be sure to thank us all. "Keep up the good work!" he exclaimed. Having easy access to a long-distance trail is important to him. He also commented that if he hadn't taken on the GPS project he might never have seen all of the SHT. ''I'm likely to hike near home, or to go far away- to the East or West," he confessed, but those mid-distance trips would likely be passed over. When I asked him his favorite part of his participation he quickly replied with a sentiment many of us would also echo, "I like hiking; no question about it!"
NCTA Headquarters GINNYWAN1Y, another of our "special teams" players, retired from middle school teaching and administration in Colorado and moved back to Michigan where she contacted a friend, Margie Kindel (the NCTA's former Project Manager) who was looking for volunteers to help in the headquarters office. It quickly became obvious that Ginny had many talents of value to the North Country Trail. Health issues have curtailed Ginny's ability to hike, but her administrative skills were just lying dormant, waiting for a sunny spot in which to bloom. Ginny especially likes to solve problems and coordinate projects. One of her big accomplishments was the pulling together of the items in the Chapter President's notebook. Speaking as one of those who served both before and after the appearance of this notebook, I can attest to its value. Having information, forms and policies ready at hand seems so obvious, yet they had previously not been collected in one place. Ginny also supervises the monthly mailings which go out to three members of each chapter with current membership and financial information. So the next time that 63 of you readers receive that envelope, be sure to thank Ginny! Another big project she is working on is the archiving of pictures and news clippings. So many of us best like to be cutting earth with a McLeod or lopping brush from the trail' s edge, but clipping newsprint and maintaining that database of pictures is part of the depth of resources which can provide publicity,
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help recruit new members and maintain connections along our lengthy route. Ginny has also worked on the Diversity Plan and has been an editorial assistant for The North Star. She likes to learn new things, and was fascinated when she was asked to contact members of Congress for lobbying appointments. "It was an education to see how the political system works," she commented. Working with the headquarters' staff has been "a hoot!" She says the atmosphere has always been cheerful, even when so many people were crammed into the downtown Grand Rapids cracker-box of an office. She appreciates that everyone focuses on her abilities rather than the things she is no longer able to do. Ginny also has volunteered as a tour guide at the Blandford Nature Center, and as a docent at the Meijer Botanical Gardens. And she's one of our vocal supporters as well, stating, "I value what the NCTA does, and I try to talk to others about the trail." Thanks, Ginny!
Onondaga Chapter of the ADK I needed some athletic prowess myself to twist DICK LIGHTCAP's arm hard enough to get him to agree to be featured. He doesn't think he's accomplished very much, but we disagree! Dick joined the ADK (Adirondack Mountain Club) in 1993 after his kids were grown. The Onondaga Chapter (ADK-ON) maintains 93 miles of the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) and the Onondaga branch, which turns north, east of the Finger Lakes of New York. That state's omnipresent Howard Beye approached Dick about extending the Onondaga branch eastward to join the FLT to the Link Trail, a critical connection for the North Country Trail. And thus Dick became a supporter of the NCT as well. He has served on the ADK-ON Executive Committee for seven years and is also a trail steward. His grandkids have affectionately named his section "Poppy's Trail." He leads both easy and more challenging hikes to attract a variety of members. Also, he has taught low-key courses on beginning hiking through adult education programs. He says that people often want to hike but don't know how to start. He urges people to
Ginny Wanty performs her volunteer work at the NCTA's national headquarters in Lowell.
"taste a wilderness atmosphere" without traveling far from home. He's been seen on local television promoting the trail, and speaking at public hearings on behalf of the trail. One of his favorite topics is making the trail accessible to all where that is appropriate, while preserving most of the route as a rugged footpath. He's also a history buff and researches sites of interest along the trail. Dick is a retired assistant school principal. His ability to "be ready for those kids on Monday morning" focused on trails. After trying many methods of relaxation he discovered that being outdoors, and hiking, was the only thing, which rejuvenated him. "I don't know just what it is, but something affects and soothes you in the woods. It's not only the exercise but there's a psychological energizing as well," Dick observed. He finds it most satisfying to plan new trail. "I've learned to sense how a trail should be." He considers many factors: views, points of natural or historic interest, and ease of construction and maintenance as well. Here he reiterated his frustration with not being able to have miles of trail on the ground to show for his time, and tried to convince me to feature someone else. Another member aptly observed, "Dick is not one to draw attention to himself," but he coordinates the efforts to extend the Onondaga Trail to the Link Trail. The depth of Dick Lightcap' s dedication and work are clear and it's good to remind ourselves that we don't just measure worth by miles of trail constructed.
So what is the depth of our team? The NCTA now has 2800 memberships- about one for every 2 miles of certified trail. Including Affiliates and their members there are several thousand more people supporting the NCT in one way or another. Acknowledgingactive volunteers is another way to measure our depth. Since it's beginning, this column has featured 86 volunteers, and we know there are dozens more worthy people waiting "on the bench." Did you notice that each of this month's volunteers was recruited by another trail person? Are you willing to ask your friends to become involved? Continuing the sports analogy begun in the introduction, we know that most athletic programs support active recruiting efforts. Or maybe we could think of this column as the "trading cards" of trail stars. Fans collect pictures and stats of their favorite players. Many of our participants are shy of publicity, but we've captured a few of them here anyway. The more we get to know fellow volunteers across the length of the trail the better we can improve the team effort and increase the depth of our strengths. Who do you know whose face should appear on one of our trading cards? Contact me to suggest a volunteer to feature. Joan Young, 231-757-2205 or jhy@tone.net.
NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE
PAID North Country Trail Association 229 East Main Street Lowell, Michigan 49331
Grand Rapids, Ml Permit 340