North Star Vol. 14, No. 4 (1995)

KIM BAIR, recenUy hired NCTA Reaealion Plaming Assistant, works out of the National Scenic Trails office in Madison, Wisconsin. She has a degree in Landscape Architecture from Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana Previously involved in restoration of wetlands and prairies, she's now working on trail planning and development.

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID Permit No. 47

Caledonia, Ml 49316

on the NCNST New Faces

RICHARD OWENS, Student Conservation Association Resource

Assistant, has been living in the NCTA Schoolhouse and

working on the trail this summer, greeting

and assisting trail users. He's a

University of Toledo student majoring in

Recreational Studies.

KEN VAN TIMMEREN has spent the summer as a student intern at the NCTA Headquarters. He's a Calvin College (Michigan) student majoring in Geology and minoring in Environmental Studies.

Michigan (U.P.) Gene Elzinga, 1 Z Midale Island , Marquette 1\111 49855 (906) 225-1704

Wisconsin Gaylord Yost

Minnesota Hans Erdman

North Dakota Dale Anderson, RR 1, Box 10, Oslo, MN, 56744 (218)965-4508

Ohio Jim Sprague, 4406 Maplecrest, Parma OR 44134 (216) 884-4757

Michigan (Lower} Arden Johnson

STATE COORDINATORS

New York Howard Beye

Pennsylvania vacant

Trail Shop: Virginia Wunsch, Rt. 1, White Cloud MI 49349 (616) 689-6876

Meetings: (vacanl)

Membership: Kenneth Gackler

Planning: Arden Johnson

Publications: Wes Boyd

Trall Management: Doug Welker

Awards: Odell Bjerkness

Finance: Arden Johnson

REGIONAL AFFILIATES

New York: Finger Lakes Trail Confer ence, PO Box 18048, Rochester NY 14618-0048

Ohio: Buckeye Trail Association, PO Box 254, Worthington OH 43085

Pennsylvania: AYH,.,.Pittsburgh Council 5604 SOiway, #202, rittsburgh PA 15217.

CHAPTER CHAIRS Headwaters:

Hans Erdman (see above) NCT Hikers:

Gene Elzinga (see above) Traverse City:

Gregg Law, 1953 Lardie Rd., Traverse City, Ml 49684

Western Michigan: Bill Van Zee 7744 Thornapple Bayou

Dr. SE, Grand Rapids Ml, 49512

810 548-1737 517 547-7402 616 623-8659 513 879-2068 810 853-0292 612 436-1795 607 272-8679 716 586-3846 412 538-9299

218 567-3858 904 788-2232 216 884-0281 715 373-3735 414 354-8987 412 364-2864

(701) 224-4887 (906) 338-2680

~

716J 288- 7191 612 482-1877 616 957-9751

BOARD OF DIRECTORS TERMS EXPIRING IN 1996

F Howard Beye, 202 Colebourne Rd., Rochester NY 14609 A Hans Erdman, 116 E. Rose Plµ Little Canada MN 55117 A Kenneth Gackler, 113 Taos Nt:., Ada, Ml A Tim Mueller, ND Parks and Recreation Department

1835 E Bismark Expy. Bismark ND 58501 A Doug Welker, R1, Box 59A, Pelk1e Ml 49958

TERMS EXPIRING IN 1997 W Odell Bjerkness R1 Box 221A, Ponsford, MN 56575 A Chet Fromm, 1001 tompkins Dr., Port Orange, FL 32119 B Emily Gregor, 6502 Olde York Rd., Parma Hts OH 44130 W Pat Miller B1, Box 36A Washburn WI A Gaylord Yost, 2925 W. Bradley Rd., River Hills WI 53209 G Glenn Oster, 784 Olive St., Pittsburgh PA 15237

TERMS EXPIRING IN 1998 C Derek Blount, 906 N. Alexanderl j=toyal Oak Ml 48067 A Wes Boyd, 14815 Home Road, Manitou Beach Ml 49253

David Cornell, 514 Cordes Rd Delton Ml 49046 Elwood Ensor, 1304 Harison Dr ..... Fairborn, OH 45324-5816

C Arden Johnson, 600 Tennyson, Rochester Hills, Ml 48307 John Leinen Jr, 111 Quant Ct So, Lakeland MN 55043

E Thomas J. Reimers, 3C Wildflower Dr.hlthaca NY 14850 H Harmon Strong, 76 Shellwood Dr, Roe ester NY 14618 H Jim Stull, 206 Kaufman Rd, Evans City, PA 16033

A At-large representatives B Represents Buckeye Trail Association (Appointed by BTA) C West Central Region representatives E Eastern Region Representative F Represents Finger Lakes Trail Conference (Appointed by FL TC) G General affil(ate representative (Current appointment by AYH Pittsburgh) W Western region representatives

(810) 853-0292

(607) 272-8679

(218 )573-3858

(906) 338-2680

(810) 548-1737

Acting Secretary: Thomas J. Reimers, 3C Wildflower Dr., Ithaca NY 14850

Treasurer: Arden Johnson, 600 Tennyson, Rochester Hills, Ml 48307

President: Derek Blount, 906 N. Alexander, Royal Oak Ml 48067

Vice President (Trails): Doug Welker, R1, Box 59A, Pelkie Ml 49958

Vice President (Admln) Odell Bjerkness, Bad Medicine Lake, R1, Box221A,

Ponsford, MN 56575

OFFICERS

Executive Director: Pat Allen, 3777 Sparks Dr. SE, #105, Grand Rapids Ml 49506 (616) 975-0831

National Park Service Administrator Bill Menke, National Park Service, 700 Rayovac Dr., Suite 100,

Madison WI 53711 (608) 264-5610

RECYCLED PAPER

the newsletter of the North Country Trail Association

3777 Sparks SE, Suite 105 Grand Rapids Ml 49546

Phone (616} 975-0831 FAX (616) 975-0957 Editor:

Wes Boyd, 14815 Rome Road, Manitou Beach, Ml 49253

PRINTED ON NORTH STAR: ·COMMITTEES

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, August-September1995 Page2

1111111111:111111111111:111111111111illlilllllllllllllllllllillillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllillllll1111111111111illllllll Trail Head: Congress slashes trail funds 4 Pat Allen: New Opportunities in East 5 Letters: South Pole, end to ender report 5 NPS Report: New relo in Pennsylvania 7 NCTA Conference to be in New York 8 Thru-hiking the NCT -- last of a series 9 Walk of life - a report on the hikers 13 Land protection options available 14 Trail building with power equipment 15 Listservers on the Electronic Trail 17 North Star computer Bulletin Board 17 Head for the East, Lady 18 More Hiking in Michigan 19 Lots of coming events 21

*** CERTIFICATION NOTES:

There's some new activity in Michi gan, with 8.2 miles of the Battle Creek Linear Parkway being cer tified, and another .4 miles in Emmit County, a private land cer tification; and 2.6 miles in Wilder ness State Park, connecting exist ing trail to the south boundary of the park. The grand total of certi fied mileage is now 1254.2 miles.

among 42 features buyers said were "important" in a poll of 800 con sumers who bought or shopped for a home in planned comm unties in several states. Low traffic and quiet tied for number one. Walkways and bike baths ranked second, well ahead of traditional favorites such as tennis courts, golf courses and swimming pools. The setting aside of substantial wooded acreage with the flora and fauna that existed before the development was con sidered a high-value feature for which home buyers would pay premium prices.

RECENT STUDIES show that home buyers increasingly want plenty of natural areas and open space, as well as walkways and bike pathways. Community designs that include "lots of natu ral, open space" ranked first

***

*** LANDOWNER OPEN

HOUSES were recently held in Columbiana/Carroll Counties, OH. An essential step in com pleting the planning process for therouteofthetrailacrossthese two counties, in east-central Ohio, was completed in mid-J ulywhen open houses were held in Lisbon and Minerva. Letters were sent to over 1,000 landowners through out the two county area to in form them about the trail and the alternative routes, and in viting their participation.

next year's hike to the west of Steuben County. -- FLT News

THE FLTC's HIKE across Steuben County has turned into a big deal, with 150 registered for the hike and 90+ typically involved in the event. Each trip involves the use of two school buses, and is the third in the FLTC's Hike-across the-county series. Organizers are looking for someone to organize

***

TRAVIS SCOTT of Boy Scout Troop 2, Ithaca, NY, completed a wonderful Eagle Scout project on the Danby section of the FLT,· building a footbridge over a tribu tary of Miller Creek. Scouts also did other trail improvements in the area. -- CTC News

***

ON APRIL 29, six Cornell University students replaced the deteriorated brick, stone and con crete fireplace at the Chestnut Lean To on the FLT with a shiny new steel one. Cornell students have made many contributions to the FLT over the years. -- CTC News

***

IN LATE JUNE, Chet Fromm of Port Orange, Florida, became the fourth person to finish an end to end trip on the North Country NST. Fromm's hike stretched over four years, starting in eastern New York State in 1992. In 1993, he hiked from White Cloud, MI, to Watkins Glen, NY, and in 1994 from White Cloud to Duluth, MN. His hike this year went from Du luth to Lake Sakakawea. Chet has now end-to-ended the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, Florida and North Country Trails. Next: the Conti nental Divide. Fromm's story of his adventures in Minnesota and North Dakota will be in the next North Star, and can be downloaded from the North Star BBS.

Page3 NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association , August-September 1995

mistakeitwillcostmanymoretimesthatsmallamount to restore those trails that were left to grow over. Some trails will undoubtedly be lost forever. Nevertheless, they will hear from the public when those trails are no longer a pleasant hike, when bridges collapse over rivers due to neglect, and favorite scenic areas are closed due to dangerous trail conditions. Your children and grandchildren may never know the beauty of the view of the Grand Tetons from Shadow Mountain in the Teton National Forest or other similar places. The cost of this neglect will be enormous.

In addition to this, there is interest in Congress to close some of our National Parks. These are Parks that people like yourselves fought to get designated by Congressional Acts. They want to get rid of the small gems in the crown jewels of America. It may be great to keep the large gems like Yellowstone and Yosemite but without the small gems the crown looks like a piece of junk. What is a tennis bracelet with all of the small stones dug out? The mood is to privatize some of these small Parks and Forests, or transfer them to State control. If they are privatized they will undoubtedly be exploited for profit. If turned over to the states they will most likely be neglected since most States do not have the funds to cope with what they already have. We need to fight this trend of divestiture and their transfer of responsibility in our lawmakers.

You can help. You don't need to have all of the details. You don't need to have lists of facts and figures. All you need to do is let your legislator know that you want them to support ALL trails in the Parks and Forests. The entire National Trail System is affected by these cuts. Tell them that you want your tax dollars spent to support the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service. Trails are still one of the few free recreational opportunities in America. Every family, no matter what their income, can afford to walk on the open pathways of America.

Look to our parks as well. We need to stop our legislators from dismantling all that has taken 100 years of hard work to save and build. Most importantly, tell them about your personal experiences in the Parks and on the trails. Tell them about the wildlife you've seen. Send them a picture of your favorite scenic site along a trail or a picture of your family camping. It doesn't even have to be on our trail. Tell them about the fun and enjoyment you've had and the experiences with your family in the Parks and Forests. .

Each American is given the rights of "life, Iiberfy and the P'!:&Suit of Happiness. If your "pursuit of happi ness inclJ,t~ walking fo~ paths, riding grassland trails, or biking abandoned mu lines, then let the folks in Washington know that they are infringing on your rights as an American and neglecting our resource

By the time you read this our annual NCTA Confer ence, "Empire 95" will be on. There are lots of work shops, tours and hikes. If you weren't there, then you missed a great time. The hikes passed by many scenic areas in New York State, including a number offantas tic waterfalls. This gives you another excellent idea of why they made this a National Scenic Trail. You will also have missed the folk singing and our amazing set of speakers. Next year, don't miss this event! It will be in Wisconsin in conjunction with the Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation, one of our sister National Trail or ganizations. More in the next issue on the fun at "Empire 95".

As most of us know, there is a great amount of activity in Washington this year. Currently the newly elected legislators are carving large pieces out of the Federal Budget. The Legislators in the House Appro priations Committee have proposed cutting $21.6 mil lion from the U.S. Forest Service buget for Trail Con struction/Reconstruction. This is a reduction of 79% from FY 95 and 93.5% from FY 94. The total proposed amount for all U.S. Forest Service Trails is only $5 million. This program cannot survive at this level.

This will impact the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Florida Trail, Ice Age Trail, and the North Country Trail. It also includes trails in places like the Bridger/l'eton National Forest surrounding the Grand Teton National Park, the Al legheny National Forest in Pennsylvania, the Ocala National Forest in Florida, the Chugach National For est in Alaska. It touches every one of the nineteen National Historic and Scenic Trails in America. It impacts National Monuments, historic sites, National Parks, State Parks and Forests as well. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of miles of trail. This is not just hiking trails. It means cross country ski trails, bike trails, equestrian trails, hunting trails, and even small nature trails will be competing for this small bone this committee is tossing out.

The Appalachian Trail has but 43 miles left to protect and complete their trail after over forty years of work. It was expected that all land acquisition for this trail would be complete in 2-3 years. Today's Congress wants to stop all land acquisition and eliminate the funds from the budget. As a result not only will the AT not be completed, but all of the rest of the National Scenic Trails will be left out in the cold and probably :never be completed, Some of the trails inay have to be abandoned ... forever. .

This Congress is filled with inexperienced lawmak ers whodo not know how many Americans enjoy these trails. They do not know about the many years of'work that have brought us to this meager level of Federal funding.rThey don't care that after they realize their

• •


On the subject of electronic communications, though: it's getting around, as evidenced by the E-mail from Jeff Lutz on the next page. Wow! AN orth Star at the South Pole! Either our newsletter really gets around, or my astronomy software is having a severe gutache!

***

After a spate of problems, the North Star Bulletin Board Service seems to be running reliably -- it's been on three different computers so far, and is running on its second software package, Maximus, a big improve ment over the earlier software. Trail user use is build ing up, and we'regettingafairnumberofcallsfrom non NCT states. It's probably going to take time to reach its full potential, but the use is there. Computer modem users can call the North Star BBS at (517) 547-5106 from 5 PM to 1 AM, with modem settings of 8-N -1.

Chet Fromm's completion of his end to end hike on the North Country Trail brings to four the total number of end-to-enders on the trail -- hardly a drop compared to the flood of end-to-enders that indundates the AT each year, but a rare enough accomplishment that it deserves notice. After all, it's twice the distance of the AT, and the distance makes a single-season thruhike only barely possible.

For the record, then, here's the list of NCNST end - to-enders:

1. Carolyn Hoffman, 1978. First end-to-end user; Rode a bicycle part of the way through Ohio and Michi gan. She was accompanied much of the way by Lou Ann Fellows, who was injured and unable to hike part of the trip.

2. Peter Wolfe, 1973-1979. First end-to-end hiker; spread his hike over a seven-year period.

3. Ed Talone, 1994. First single-season thruhiker. He was accompanied much of the way by Sue Lockwood, who could not do part of the trip due to hospitilization.

4. Chet Fromm, 1992-1995. Spread his hike over four years.

Who'll be next? I know ofno other end-to-end hikes currently in progress or in the works.

The deadline for the October-December issue of the Newsletter is October 1, 1995. Items received after that date cannot be assured of a place in the newsletter. Items received well before that date are much appreciated. The deadline for the January-March issue of the newsletter will be January 1, 1996.

Keyboard Trails. • . by the Editor ~00

•• anmmm~

j'"'""'lll CICJ •

In the past two years I have been to each of the seven states through which the North Country Na tional Scenic Trail passes. This past week, I attended a public meeting in Minerva, Ohio, which was part of the planning process to find a connection from the route of the Buckeye Trail to Pennsylvania. While rail trails are the latest fad, Ohio's Canal Towpaths reach much further back in history and provide a wonderful trail resource through parts of Ohio. It's very helpful to have our recreational planner at work.

The next two days were spent in Pennsylvania where the summit brought together leaders from agen cies and trail groups. I was very impressed with the work of the Alleheny Valley Trails Association and their use ofISTEA funds. They presented a description of their trail work and suggeted that the North Country Trail follow a segment of their trails. It has high poten tial and I believe they will submit a certification pro posal in the next two years. This will end a long period of little progress in Pennsylvania except for a fine new segment in McConnel's Mill State Park constructed under Mark Eckler's supervision. It really makes a difference to hike on a trail that has been well sited and constructed.

We learned of new funding opportunities through a Pennsylvania Bond Fund. It is essential that we pres ent a convincing case to the Pennsylvania Game Com mission to make progress in that state. A coalition approach to the Commission was suggested and I will provide support for that effort.

Everywhere there are political challenges -- in the appropriations bills currently before Congress, and in attacks from the private land movement. We need to be willing to continue our efforts to remind our state and national elected officals that we care about trails.

I'm still excited by the variety along the trail -- from the grasslands to the canal towpaths, from Lake Supe rior to the Allegheny Mountains. It is a wonderful trail and I hope you have enjoyed part of it this summer.

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, August-September 1995

heritage. Okay. I know I'm up on my soapbox again. But ifwe

aren't watchful and diligent, then our treasures will be taken away and we will become poorer for it. As Goldie Hawn pointed out in the movie, "Protocol", you and I are "We the people" and wenowhaveoureyeson Washing ton.Just let them know we care about what we love best in America, her trails, forests and parks. Just call or write your Federal Legislators and be yourself. Re member, it's folks like us that put them there.

Page~

seven NCNST states is needed, to determine if foot trails are represented. If a state does not have such a group. one should be organized. The NCTA, being a national trail organization, should strive, in each state to have someone on these advisory groups. Just turn to page 23 of the same Newsletter. Does Ohio have such a board? Ifso, have they had any input, as to the proposed Serpent Mound development affecting also the NCNST/ BT?

Re: The ADT controversy. In the same issue of the North Star, I agree with some parts of'bcth Ron Strick land's and Reese Lukei's letters. On Strickland's side the PNT, tied into NCNSTis more Viable as part of~ transcontinental wilderness foot path than the ADT would be. Walkable wilderness parts of the Lewis and Clark National Historic trail might be part of that connecting link. He states he has no objection to the ADT if it's not categorized as a national scenic trail. Also of note is James Wolfs idea to tie in these trails (April-May '95 Newsletter).

To Lukei's side: He states, "The AHS is proposing that a new category of national long-distance trail be created." That idea is needed in this era. Most national scenic trail organizations strive to physically separate their trails away from urban and metropolitan centers, so as to fully enjoy a wilderness experience. Nearly all national historic trail organizations opt to have a mo torized route, so a trails history can be followed by anyone. It's my firm belief every American should be able to enjoy the use of a national trail in whatever . ' settmg they reside. The ADT would help broaden, not broach America's national trail system. The ADT is a combination of national scenic, historic and other cate gories of trails.

I think the ADT would fit into a category called N a~ional Peregrinate Trails. Peregrinate, a fancy word for Journey, surely would attract attention!

A footnote for national trails: rm pushing to have the U.S. Postal Service issue a set of stamps. Stamps depicting and honoring all of America's National Scenic and Historic Trails. I've written to the postal service, magazines, trail organizations, and others, to encour age the issuing of such a set. A set would broaden public ~waren~ of the ?'fills. The postal service also pub lishes a history with each stamp set. Public pressure gave us the Elvis stamp. One design idea, use each trail logo, overlaid on the states they pass through. What's your idea? Now is time to write. State the trail set first day issue be on National Trails Day. Maybe next year, it could happen! Trail organizations should send peti tions; individuals, postcards and letters. Send all cor respondence to:

Citizens Advisory Committee U.S. Postal Service, Room 5500 4 75 l'Enfant Plaza Washington D.C. 20260

Sincerely yours, Chet Fromm

Director-at-Large NCTA

Latest end-to-ender comments Being one of Directors of the NCTA, I feel somewhat

remiss to that honor, as for various reasons, I've not been able to attend a board meeting. Also, being the only director not from an NCNST state, and living sort of in left field, far from the trail, confounds any volun teer effort. I'll be very happy when we (the NCTA) decide to teleconference! As a director, and long-dis tance hiker, however, I feel I must make some state ments on various articles printed in the Newsletter.

From the June-July '95 Keyboard Trails: No foot hiking groups representatives named to Michigan DNR trails advisory group. Was the NCTA, or any other foot trail organization invited to do so? If so, someone didn't have their hiking boots on! Ifnot, this should become a priority of the NCTA. Attending any meeting on trails, as an interested party, is quite different than attending as an advisory member. A review of these groups in all

Hi Wes!! I am (or was) a member (depending on when my

membership runs out) who is a bit out of circulation right now. I am at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica. My parents sent down the Janu ary-March, 1995 newsletter for our mid winter air drop.

I definitely think the time is right for at least email. As more and more people become connected to the in ternet either through direct connection or through some type of service, it will become easier to communicate. Just look at people like me, who wouldn't be able to write unless I had email. During the winter season we have no other way to correspond with people except for 5 hours of telephone service, HF radio and email. While I am an extreme case, there are others out there who probably would find it easier to email.

I would just like to comment on another subject. I enjoyed the article on GPS. However, with the SIA (selective availability) on, the accuracy of the unit is degraded to about 100 meters. This accuracy is still usable, although not as good, for route finding and trail maintaince.

Thanks for letting me air my views ... Jeff Lutz

North Star at South Pole From: JefILutz Subject: NCTA Email 'lb: [email protected] Organization: South Pole Station

Page6

Pennsylvania Summit Meeting held in Mor raine State Park: A successful summit meeting, held to discuss the route of the trail across Pennsylvania, was well attended and informative. There are a num ber of exciting, on-going initiatives to move toward completion of the trail across the State. There are a couple that are particularly interesting: David Howes, past president of the Allegheny Valley Trail Associa tion (AVTA) made a very well reasoned route change proposal to the group and we basically decided to accept their recommendation to follow a new route for most of the distance between Cook Forest State Park and the town of Parker-rather than following the Clarion Fiver valley as is currently shown.

Beginning near where I-80 crosses the Clarion River, the trail will now follow the developing Clarion Secondary rail-trail in a loop to the north and west. A VTA holds fee simple ownership of an approximate 200 foot wide corridor and is receiving grant moneys to complete the screened limestone surfacing. Along the new route are six trestles that are 80-100 feet high and a couple of tunnels. The day after the summit meeting, we visited the Kenderdell Tunnel-the entrance that is. At a length that approaches one mile, we could go in only a short distance before it was too dark to see. Hikers will definitely stop before entering to retrieve their flashlight from their pack. Besides being consid ered more scenic than the old route, it avoids parts of the Clarion River that are polluted. It also solves passage through an area where acquiring landowner approval would have been difficult. This route follows the Deer and Sandy Creek valleys to the Allegheny River, near East Sandy and then heads downstream along the very pretty Allegheny River valley to near Parker and the original route. It is satisfying when a proposed route adjustment not only solves feasibility problems but also is considered to be more scenic. The new route will also provide another significant stretch along the trail where people with disabilities can be accomodated and where we can support the use of bi cycles on the trail. A VTA plans to complete the surfac ing of the route by the summer of 1996 and to then apply for certification.

Another exciting development is occuring along the route between Parker and Old Stone House (Jennings Environmental Center). The Butler Outdoor Club has been working with State GameAreamanagerstolocate a route through four game areas in this stretch. Follow ing the summit, we scouted the route with Bob Tait, President of the club. From the roads and maps, it looks entirely feasible and passes through some very pretty hills and valleys of mixed woods and fields. The club will continue to explore the route and work out the details.

Editor's note: I couldn't agree more. "Following the North Country National Scenic Trail" was not intended to be a guidebook, but a stopgap. Onatrailthesizeofthe NCNST, and with the continuous changes, a complete guidebooks is a daunting task that will require funding and developmental work that just isn't present as yet. It is probably the most single crying need we have, and some important pieces have dropped into the puzzle recently. -- WB

Guidebook needed Thanks for your publication efforts - book and

Newsletter - finding information about the trail has been the hard part over the past 15 years. I have found most of the district N.F. ranger stations in the U.P.

The A.D.T. isn't even in existence yet and they're talking about a guide book already. After 15years, NCT doesn't have one - for format, the Bruce .Trail had a superb Guidebook when I hiked it back 72-75.

Small format, looseleaf style (screw rivets) 4 1/2 x 61/2, so changed routings could be inserted. Also, each map could be removed for pocket use while hiking. Separate additional sheets gave a verbal description of trail features. The newer guidebooks are using color now.

The NCT Michigan Section Hike Guide <AC Johnson) was helpful for planning but not useful to carry while hiking (8 1/2 x 11).

Take care and keep up the good work. Don Beattie

Consider the correction made. -- WB

Hello Wes, When I last talked to Ed Talone he called to my at

tention that the last newsletter had mentioned that a guiding permit for mountain bike trips on the NC'J'. was issued for the Chequamegon NF. He was sort of disap pointed that the forest had done this. Having seen the Decision Memo that the Forest issued on this, I assured Ed that there must be a mistake in the newsletter.

So ... I went back to the NorthStar and sure enough it was there. Then dug up the Decision Memo for com parison. The only thing that the USFS issued a permit on the NCT for was dogsledding trips (item 3 in their decision). Perhaps a correction in the next issue might be appropriate as the Chequamegon has been working with us very closely to resolve some of our bike con cerns. Eg: They denied CAMBA permision to sign the NCT as a bike route; they sought our council regarding a proposal to construct a new bike trail that CROSSED the NCT so as to complete a CAMBA loop and get the bikes off the NCT, etc.

Bill Menke

Correction From: Bill [email protected] (Bill Menke) Subject: r..Rst newsletter To: [email protected]

Pagel NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, August-September 1995

WATSON «HOMESTEAD

· CENTER

There's still time to register for this teriffic event!

Contact Joan Lilga, 100 Ayer Rd, Williamsville, NY 14221 (716) 632-1351.

A picnic lunch is CJ~ planned for those in

L~ .: · attendanceonFridayfol- ~v lowed by a social time be-

• £((; · fore the evening program. Trail )~~ / .: · lunches will be available Friday,

J;>~ CJO . Saturday and Monday. / Swimming pool: The opportunity .s: will be available for those attending to use

OT the indoor swimming pool . .... ~ Camping will be available at_ two nearby

~ private campgrounds, but it's suggested that par- ~ ticipants use the economical lodging facilities and

meal plans at Watson Homestead. Meals may be pur chased separately for those not staying at the Watson Homestead. Housing plans with meals will be available for

both motel and bunkroom type fa cilities for either two or three nights.

and Facilities for Day or Long Distance Hikers, and Multi Use Trails Pros and Cons.

Tours: Corning Glass Center, Rockwell Museum of Western Art, Glenn Curtis Museum (Early naval plane

builder and aviator), World-famous Watkins Glen Race Course, National Soaring Museum with

sailplane rides, boat cruises on either Seneca or Keuka Lakes (Dinner Cruises are also

·, available), Winery tours and tasting, and ~ Mark Twain's study at Elmira College.

· Programs: Three top flight evening programs are planned that

everyone will enjoy and long remember.

set for New York Date: Fri., Aug. 18 through Mon., Aug. 21 Location: Watson Homestead Conference Center.

This 600 acre estate was the birthplace of IBM founder Thomas J. Watson. The center has an indoor Olympic sized pool and other recreational attractions. The center is located at Coopers Plain, NY, and is ~V nearCorningGlassCenter, Lake Seneca with ~"'".o+ boat tours, many vinyards, and is only 10 _, ~ .... ~ minutes from the North Country Trail. ~ ·~

Accomodations: Motel type ~~ CJ~ rooms, bunk rooms and nearby ~ ..._v ,_O campgrounds will provide a va- Ov c,-,, riety of housing options. Later ·"""CJ ~ information will detail pack- ~v age options for 3 nights, ~ --- 2 nights, or a meal ~O plan. T

Hikes: Thirteen guided hikes of varying lengths are being planned. Some of the locations are as fol lows: Sugar Hill State Forest, Watkins Glen State Park, Finger Lakes National Forest, Robert Treman State Park, Birsdeye Hollow State Forest, Con necticut Hill Wildlife Management Area, Texas Hollow State Forest, and the Bristol Hills Branch of the Finger Lakes Trail. The first seven are all certified sections of the North Country Trail.

Workshops: Ten workshops, including Brunton Compass and Map Course, Chain Saw Use and Mainte nance, Securing Private Land owner Permission for Trail, Trail Mapping Using GPS, Night Sky, Edible Wild Plant Identifications, Native Americans of the Area, Bridge Design and Con struction, and Util izing College Pro grams for Trail Building and Main tenance.

Seminars: Design of Trails

1995 NCTA Trail Conference NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, August-September1995 Pages

Our return to Duluth was accompanied by a couple days of rain, but we persisted and hiked a rail trail south of Duluth before returning to Two Harbors to begin where we had left off nine days earlier. We hiked along the highway to the present southern terminus of the Superior Hiking Trail, a 175 mile route paralleling the north shore of Lake Superior, usually a couple of miles inland.

The fall color, so evident now in Michigan's upper peninsula, generally had not yet arrived on the ''North Shore", though occasional bursts of red and scarlet on the maples and yellows and golds of the birches re minded us that the September days with near SO's. couldn't last. We were following a well built and main tained serious backpacking trail. Unlike most of the "cut" trail we had traversed in the first 3000 miles and five and a half months, the quality of maintenance on the Superior Hiking Trail was consistently tops! As we crossed Canadian Shield rock, wound along river gorges with exciting waterfalls, looked out across shimmering Lake Superior from atop 1000 foot bluffs and from highway bridges and historical lighthouses at the wa ter's edge, autumn set in with a full array of colors. The dark greens of spruce and pines mingled with the lighter green of lower elevation birches not yet ready to tum color. As we climbed from river gorges a kaleido scope of yellows, browns, reds and scarlets of birches and maples turning quicker at higher elevations greeted us. Bog bridges and corduroy pathways lined the three foot swath of the the trail where necessary, reminding us of the amount of work which had been done to construct and maintain this footpath.

Mid-September found us following an array of pink ribbons and reflective "tubes" marking the route of a 100-mile mountain run the preceding weekend. Bright

trees changing color. The walk through Superior's his toric district gave us an opportunity to indulge in every hiker's fantasy - FOOD!

At the Bong Bridge, we crossed into Minnesota. It was a bridge to be admired and savored. A curving highway bridge with attached walkway, it is of unique architectural design and a fitting introduction to Du luth's waterfront hike and bikeway which whisked us through Duluth - over and under interstates and businesses to the north edge of town without so much as a single traffic light.

The old highway, now called Lakeshore Drive, provided a scenic alternative to the State Highway, though still quite busy on the Friday before Labor Day. We made it to Two Harbors near the beginning of the Superior Hiking Trail and called ''time out" for nine days. On Labor Day, we joined 70,000 other walkers at the north end of the Mackinac Bridge connecting Michi gan's two peninsulas, and arrived at the southern end of the bridge behind some 21,000 other according to the numbers on our certificates, but officially finishing Michigan. Then it was off to Isle Royal, our nation's only island national park, in Lake Superior, for five days of leisurely hiking on well-maintained trail where we saw five moose. We hiked along cut trail, variously blazed with

orange, white, or more often yellow metal diamonds nailed to trees. These were much more visible, espe cially in the darker spruce forests, than the blue dia monds which were supposed to eventually be the stan dard marker for the while North Country Trail.

The route along the northern boundary of the Na tional Forest was indeed the picture most likely to be conjured up when the words ''North Country" are spo ken. Spruce and hardwoods, with ample white birch and aspen mixed in, made up the forest. Small lakes and ponds dotted the woods.

The two wildernesses along the route in the Chequamegon National Forest, Porcupine Lake and Rainbow Lake, were as different as night and day; the first with rolling hills and rock outcroppings, the latter flat as could be, and dotted with numerous lakes. In both, the forest canopy was unbroken and the mystique which is the ''north country" was in one's mind. ''Desig nated wilderness area" mingled to make the two com paratively small sections of trail really something spe cial and worthy of the status they enjoyed.

At the road to Iron River we left the original North Country Trail at the Chequamegon National Forest boundary and the proposed NCNST high potential corridor to follow a rail trail toward Duluth. The high potential corridor proceeds from the National Forest to the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway and then north toJayCookeStateParkon thesouthemedgeofDuluth. Originally, it was planned to cross the Savannah Port age west of Jay Cooke and on to the Chippewa National Fe rest. Recent changes have brought the proposed trail more in line with the route we took.

The rail trail we followed to Seymour, though open to motor vehicles, was absent any during our traverse, and it was an enjoyable walk along a level, dry footway with a hint of fall in the sporadic flashes of individual

Editor's note: In the last two NORTH STARS, we have been running this account of the 1994 thru-hike of the NCT, written by Gordon Smith about Ed Talone and Sue Lockwood's 1994 end to end hike of the NCT. It is much too long to put in one issue, so we're serializing it over several issues. The story picks up in August in Wisconsin's Chequamegon National Forest.

by Gordon Smith

Part 3: Racing Winter West

Thro-hiking theNCT

Page9 NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, August-September 1995

wilderness added significantly to the trail experience. The Kekebabic Trail, which traverses the western

section of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness cut a.straight swath through colorful birches, aspens and hardwoods towards Ely on an obviously main tained footway contrary to reports fueled by out-of-date Forest Service information. The first portion was slow going, with lots of ups and downs; but the western half was flat and easy going. The weather, now in the first week of October, was holding good with daytime tem peratures, even here on the Minnesota-Canadian bor der, staying in the fifties. We had frost only two nights in the last half of September!

We walked along Fernberg Road, away from the wilderness, past the International Wolf Center and into thecanoe-outfittingcommunityofEly. Wehadhopesto follow the Taconite Snowmobile Trail from Ely to Grand Rapids but were informed that its track through large swampy areas made it generally unsuitable for foot travel (though we later learned that alternate rout~ for foot travel are marked and available). The Rails-To Trails Conservancy and the Minnesota interests, we understand, are presently negotiating for an aban doned rail grade between Ely and Grand Rapids which will hopefully, one day, be the trail route. Rather than hazard its rough ballast and any property rights which may still be unresolved, we chose to follow public roads through Embarrass, Iron Mountain, Hibbing, and on towards Grand Rapids, crossing the world's largest deposit of iron ore en route. The Iron Range Reclama tion and Rehabilitation Board has evidently done an excellent job of covering the scars of open-pit mining, at least along the roads, and signs proclaiming their tree plantings, as well as their cooperative efforts on recrea tional facilities, were conspicuous at several points.

The yellows and golds of poplars, aspens and larches, intermingled occasionally with reds of a maple or a scarlet understory of sumac were set against a back drop of the greens of cedars, spruce and other pines - a kaleidoscope of color to divert our attention from the monotony of roadwalking. The second week of October brought freezing nights and gray, cloudy days as if to confirm what the trees had been telling us for a month - the seasons were changing. Another sure sign was the shorter days which made it harder to maintain the daily mileage that 16 to 18 hours of daylight most of the summer had permitted. Additionally, Saturday after noons at a bar with large-screen 1V to watch collegiate football contributed to our dwindling daily averages. Still, we treaded on, always with North Dakota on our mind. ·

Out of Hibbing we altered our int.ended route slightly, and passed instead sou th of Grand Rapids, and rejoined the NCT route as we entered the Chippewa National Forest. The cut trail, mowed four to five feet wide, felt like an expressway compared to the other sections of cut trail we had followed. Sunshine and fifty degree days followed us through the forest as we threaded our way through some ofMinnesota's 10,000 lakes walking on the wide, leaf-covered treadway.

Our last day in the Chippewa, as if in response to

reflective pink arrows painted on rocks and pavement and along rock cliffs were telltale evidence of another type of trail user who rushed over roots and down steep embankments with a form and agility we couldn't even imagine. Occasional broken split-log planks across creeks and misplaced rock steps told of the wear and tear sixty mountain runners inflict even on a well-built footway. As we laboriously chugged up steep inclines and gin gerly descended almost vertical walls into gorges, we could only wonder at how they could run on this terrain. Running it, to us, was pure lunacy! Yet, the pink ribbons tied to the tree limbs were mute testimony that at least the forty who completed the ''run"were, in fact, lunatic!

Rain - in two and three day sieges - beset us, but the intervening days remained in the seventies, and night-time temperatures, even the last week of Septem ber in northern Minnesota, were often still in the low fifties! With each period of rain more and more sections of the trail became strewn with yellows, browns and reds of fallen leaves often right between tunnels of green where trees had not yet changed color. The birches here were amazing- giants two and two and a halffeet in diameter, often growing in clumps of four to eight, bark peeling off like curled leaves of paper.

In the Grand Portage State Forest, just beyond the Judge C.R. Magney State Park we left the Superior Hiking Trail route and continued along the coastal highway into the Grand Portage Indian Reservation and to the Grand Portage National Monument. There, we followed the trail of the 19th century French fur traders to the Canadian border. We then backtracked to the old highway and soon followed a two-rut road used as a cross-country ski trail to connect with the Border Route Trail which would lead us into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Dissension between the Grand Portage Indian Reservation, the National Park Service and the Rovers Outing Club had appar ently resulted in closure of an identified route between the Grand Portage Trail and the Canoe Area Wilder ness. Though no signs on the ground indicated the closure, the route was obviously unmaintained at all of the access points we checked.

Now that we were at higher elevations and away from the effect of Lake Superior there was a noticable lack of reds and scarlets in the trees. The more subdued yellows blended into the various shades of green as the forests became more conifers.

The Border Route Trail (historically used by the French Voyageurs, we had been told), was an unmain tained trail with lots of windfalls. Evidently someone knew we were coming because all the windfalls had recently been cut. Though the tread was overgrown, especially in areas with ferns, the trail was generally followable through forests of cedars and pines, except for the first fifteen miles which were outside the bound ary of the wilderness. Maps and a guidebook for the Border Route, which we had, were certainly helpful at junctions and in the vicinity of the Gunflint Trail where intersecting ski trails could be confusing. There weren't the views as boasted in the writeups, but the historical aspect of the trail and the aura of being in a famous

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter ottne North Country Trail Association, August-September1995

We did hike in Maplewood, among a mixture of forests with bare trees and prairie grasslands, passing the 4,000 mile mark in our saga (by our best calcula tions, including side trails, missed trails, meanderings and whatnot). We had been underway now for seven months and 17 days since starting down near Cincin nati in March. We still hadjust over 500 miles to go, and hopefully would finish that in 23 more days - meeting our goal of finishing in time to be home for Thanksgiv ing. We were eight days behind our original schedule computed some 10 months earlier with maps scattered all over the floor at home; when Tamarack and Maple wood were just dots on one of those. Now, those dots were visions of hunters and prairies, northern lights and honking geese; real places we had walked in!

From Maplewood State Park we followed county and state roads to the little community of Kent, on the Red River separating Minnesota from North Dakota. We had cut out a loop through Breckenridge and Wah pe ton which the ''high potential corridor" of the North Country Trail makes; and entered our final state, in stead, in the middle of restored Fort Abercrombie (the road literally goes through the middle of the fort): We were not in farm land; agribusiness was king here. On Halloween, under sunny skies and with the thermome ter hovering near the 60 degree mark, tractors, corn pickers and grain trucks were chugging everywhere.

We followed mostly farm roads through neat square cornfields which had already been harvested by corn pickers - huge mower-type machines that cut down stalks and all, separating the kernals from all the rest. Our progress was measured by crossroads, evenly spaced one mile apart.

The Sheyenne National Grasslands interrupted this neat checkerboard pattern with a 25 mile stretch of cow pasture along the Sheyenne River. Through the Grasslands we followed posts with plastic blue dia monds nailed on them through fences, one after an other. Theroutewentupanddownsmalldune-likehills and through occasional stands of bare trees. ''Forest Roads" in the grasslands were little more than two tracks barely distinguishable from the cattle paths which meandered everywhere, We followed these cattle paths much of the time with grazing cattle often ob structing our view of the next post with a diamond; cowpies were an ever present nuisance in the trail.

We splurged on steaks, crab legs, chops and lots of salad in Lisbon, west of the grasslands, and slapped ourselves on the back for having made it to the final state. A good night's sleep and we were off, following the Sheyenne River north, thankful for being through the grasslands twenty-four hours before the opening of deer-hunting season, but anxious about being out with the hunters for the rest of our trip.

Hunting along the Sheyenne River was different than hunting any of us had ever observed before. The hunters, dressed in blaze orange, came in truckloads, fanned out through the hundred yards or less of woods alongtheriver, and started upriver. One hunter walked the road (as we were) ready to shoot anything the hoard of hunters scared up. Time and again we met two or

the Michigan loss to Penn State, the rains set in. We hoped this was not a prelude to the onslaught of winter though the locals kept telling us that snow on the ground was a fifty-fifty proposition for Halloween, and that notorious day was looming. Thirty inches of the white stuff had laden the ground on Halloween just a fewyearsago, wewereoften told. Still, with undaunted optimism, we took a few days off from out westward route to hike a portion oftheSoo Line, a rail-trail which intersects the NCT route in the Chippewa.

A week later, after a couple of unexpected medical consultations and with Ed contemplating an elective "surgery'', we set out once again in a westerly direction under gray, drizzly skies on the paved Heartland rail trail towards Park Rapids. We veered north along a county road. Then, as we followed a one lane dirt road, the rain changed to flurries, leaving a white dusting on grassy areas as we approached Itasca State Park and our next section of certified route.

The northwest winds which accompanied our change in weather was just a taste of what, we were told, we could expect in North Dakota in November, "Where even the telephone poles bent with the winds!" We donned a few more layers, thankful to be rid of the bugs and flies which had sporadjcally plagued us during the warmer days and even into October!

The Itasca State Park trail was recently signed with new NCT logos along the typical Minnesota wide mowed pathway which served as a groomed cross country ski trail in the winter, and weaved between numerous small lakes for which Minnesota is noted, and through mammoth red and white pines. We took a brief detour from the certified route to see the headwa ters of the Mississippi River at the outlet of Lake Itasca, where the Mississippi, like any good trail, begins its journey south to the Gulf of Mexico by heading north toward Bemidji. The western half of the certified NCT route in the park followed newly built treadway.

The Bad Medicine Trail west of the park which we had hoped to pursue proved too difficult to follow, though pink ribbons indicated that it was being worked on. As a result, we decided to follow county roads through the White Earth Indian Reservation and on ward to the Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge. We shared the woods here with Indian deer hunters whose hunting season was two weeks before the general Min nesota hunting population would be loosed on the for est. We stayed on refuge roads and followed an auto tour route through the refuge winding through some more of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes and learning that tamarack and larch trees are apparently one and the same - the only pine trees that change colors and drop their needles in the fall. As we followed farm roads between the refuge and Maplewood State Park we felt the great plains approaching as wooded areas became more sparse and farms and their fields more expansive. Our hopes of walking through Maplewood were dashed as roads and trails all seemed to be loop routes on a small map tacked up on a bulletin board near the front entrance to the park. We could find no park officials for further infor mation on that last weekend in October.

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association , August-September 1995

excavated. The New Rockford Canal ended as it had begun -

in the middle of a farm field. It was a long, obviously expensive, ditch from nowhere to nowhere in the middle of the North Dakota plains - but it provided us with a route westward.

We hiked graveled roads across the Lonetree Wild life Management Area, where a 26 mile marked trail was to be in place for the NCT next spring, following the swampy, marshy and meandering Shawnee River. Then, in the middle of a field, we met the McCluskey Canal and our final leg to the waters of the Missouri in Audubon Lake and Lake Sakakawea.

Our third day in the cuts through the rolling hills that marked the route of the McCluskey Canal, winter, North Dakota style, caught us! We were just five days from our ultimate goal. A few inches of snow whipped by forty-mile-per-hour winds, and we understood what "horizontal snow" meant. With temperatures dropping from the mid-thirties and ''wind chills" unbelievable, we decided to get a motel. Friday tern peratures were in the teens and the wind had not abated. It was a struggle to walk from the motel to the restaurant next door - a mere 100 yards. We decided not to give up our motel unit that day, though we did do some hiking with the van very close at hand and used regularly as a warming station. We were too close to the end to stop now. We did abandon the McCluskey Canal route and followed the most direct road route to Garrison Dam, and, beyond it, Lake Sakakawea State Park. The next day, the wind abated considerably and we trudged through cold tem peratures stopping regularly at the van for warming spells.

We proceeded through Mercer and on to Turtle Lake. The van delivered us nightly to a motel as night time temperatures dropped into the single digits. At Riverdale, on the eastern side of the Garrison Dam, we stayed in an historic inn and had the pleasure ofbreak fasting with Shiela Robinson, a historian involved in the Lewis and Clark Trail development in North Da kota. With a wind chill of minus 18, we were inter viewed by a reporter from Minot as we began out final day, crossing the Garrison Dam and climbing the hill toward Lake Sakakawea State Park - and the end.

Park personnel, who had been alerted to our arri val, met us and directed us to the point within the park where the western North Country National Scenic Trailhead will be. We nailed an official NCTlogomarker to a post in the parking area and retreated to the warm maintenance building. .

We then sat around a pot-bellied wood-burning stove and enjoyed coffee, tea and conversation with the park employees, and talked North Country Trail. The words "Wow", and ''I don't believe it," which were re peated often daily along the trail, were again uttered as we relived memorable moments. It was a diverse and exhilarating trail and we had lasting images of the North Country- its wilderness, its beauty, its history and its people. Over 4200 miles of hiking in eight months. We had accomplished our goal - hiking the North Country National Scenic Trail in one season.

three hunters standing alongside the road advising us that a group were driving deer towards the road from over a bluff or through a cornfield. Soon, a dozen orange dots would appear on the horizon and grow larger as they approached the road.

After the first weekend, the number of hunters we· saw dwindled and we continued along farm roads par alleling the twisty Sheyenne River's many "oxbows", often off the surrounding plateau. The Sheyenne River Valley itself was primarily hay fields, huge circular bales laying in long lines through the fields. Occasional herds of feeder cattle grazing along the' way reminded us where those bales of hay would eventually wind up.

Temperatures continued to be in the fifties in the afternoons, and thirties in the mornings. The shorter days of November meant we were often underway with skies just beginning to lighten up, and evening hikes often lasted until stars were clearly visible. The prairie lands we were passing through afforded spectacular sunrises and sunsets which we walked into or away from mornings and evenings.

We quickly passed through several small game refuges and entered reservation lands of the Lakota and Sioux Indians. We followed small graveled roads through the Reservation, passing Free People's Lake and the Indian villages of Tokio and St. Michaels to Sully's Hill National Game Preserve. The big game part of this preserve which we had hoped to traverse was closed as they were "culling" the herds of buffalo and elk. We had to settle for a hike on the 1.2 mile nature trail with a gorgeous view of a November sunset over Fort Totten State Historical Site viewed across a small preserve lake.

The next morning our attempts to visit the Fort, which had served the needs of the local Indians during the last half of the 19th century and as a boarding school during the first half of the 20th century were foiled by locked gates.

From Fort Totten, we headed south off the Reserva tion and towards now-abandoned irrigation canals which would serve as our route for most of the remainder of our trek. As we passed the eight-month mark on our journey and with less than 200 miles to go, the mild fall weather was predicted to change, and, as we began our trek down the New Rockford irrigation canal, the winds shifted from southeasterly to northwesterly with light rain pelting us in the face. ·

Our second day on the canal, the sun re-emerged and winter was once again held at bayforusdespitethe dire predictions to the contrary. The New Rockford arid McCluskey Irrigation canals were two bf the three planned canals in a grand scheme called the Garrison Diversion Project to provide irrigation for North Da kota wheat farms. There was always a lot of controversy locally over the Bureau of Reclamation project and the middle canal never got started. Finally, after Canada balked because waters flowing into her dominion would necessarily be disturbed, the whole project was scrapped, but not until millions had been spent on acquiring rights of way, hundreds of cement road bridges had been built and over a hundred miles of actual canal


The blue van with show-me state license plates rocked in the 30 mph wind blowing off Lake Sakakawea. The radio DJ earlier announced temperatures were below freezing and wind chills were nearing double digits below zero.

It was the kind of day in which the van's occupants would probably have preferred to stay behind windows and closed doors, but they weren't about to.

Ed Talone and Sue Lockwood instead layered their clothing, covered all exposed skin parts, and headed west from Riverdale to Lake Sakakawea State Park to finish the last leg of their 4,250 mile hiking odyssey of the North Country National Scenic Trail. ·

''We've heard so much about the wind in North Dakota, it would have been a shame not to have experi enced it," said Lockwood of Van Buren, MO.

That's a pretty stoic attitude, which is not surpris ing. It takes plenty of stoicism and perserverance to hike from New York to North Dakota in eight months.

Talone, of Silver Spring, MD, said hiking an aver age of 18 miles per day from March to November came easy for him. Lockwood would probably say the same, just because she wouldn't want to dwell on the disabili ties caused by diabetes. ''She walks through a lot of pain, but she'll never admit it," Talone said.

Lockwood is legally blind and forced to undergo . portable dialysis four times a day·: "It's a -pretty fast

procedure that doesn't "interrupt my walking much," she said. ''I would say that it's tolerable."

Tolerable! Many people wouldn't leave their homes, let alone walk a_4,250 mile trail end-to-end, if they had to subject themselves to such a procedure. But, Lock wood takes it in stride.

The dialysis is administered in a van driven by Sue's brother, Gordon Smith, also of Van Buren. Smith acts as the trip's support person.

Stuff - lots of stuff - was jammed and crammed into every conceivable corner of the blue van. It looked like, well, like three people and two dogs had been living out of the thing for the last eight months. Smith, the support man, drops the hikers off in the morning and periodically checks on them at road crossings and other meeting points. He must be good at this. He's been doing it for 10 years since his sister went blind, got out of the teaching profession and took up hiking.

He's been the support man for Lockwood and others

Editor's note: Gordon Smith talks beautifully about the trail in his series, which we have run over the last three issues - but doesn't talk as much about the people that accomplished the journey, This article, by Ron Wilson of the Minot, North Dakota "News", the reporter Smith refers to, gioes us a little glimpse of the people. ·

• by Ro1>; Wilson

Walk of life

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association , August-September 1995 on the Pacific Crest Trail (2700 miles from Mexico to Canada), the Appalachian Trail (2, 150 miles from Maine to Georgia) and the Continental Divide Trail (2600 miles from Mexico to Canada).

Actually, Smith is one of the main reasons Lock wood is able to hike. A vehicle is needed to haul the medical supplies that keep her going. This easy going man, with a thick beard and gentle speech, looks like he belongs here on the backroads of America, hiking a little himself and providing support to those who need it. What he does may not seem monumental, but it is to the tired hiker.

He'll sometimes catch up on a trail, packing along candy bars and water for Lockwood and whoever else needs it. Plus, he'll have a hot meal ready as the sun sets and the day's hiking is done. "With backpack meals, you just add boiling water," he said. "If it's not much more difficult than that, I can handle it."

Smith is kept company in the van by Bugsy, a terrier mutt. Bugsy takes readily to strangers. The day's end or rest breaks are probably Bugsy's favorites. That's when the terrier can lick and bug Lockwood's seeing-eye dog Mac. ·

Mac is a story in himself. The 14-year-old black Labrador retriever has seen his share of miles, having guided Lockwood around fallen trees and other trail obstructions in several states. ''He's four years past retirement," Lockwood said. "We like to say he was trained on the streets of Detroit and hasn't seen a sidewalk since."

In the comfort of the van, he feigns sleep while sitting up, and doesn't bother to snarl at the pestering Bugsy. But once outside, with a harness attached, a skip - albeit a small one - comes back in his step.

This hike on the North Country National Scenic Trail just may have been Mac's last. "I'm going to have to retire him sometime," Lockwood said.

Talone has a passion for hiking. You can hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes when he talks about the beauty he's seen along many a trail. He and Lockwood are the first hikers to make a ''through hike" from end to end of the North Country Trail in a single season. The two met in 1992 on the Pacific Crest Trail.

"The feeling is unbelievable," Talone said of finish ing the 4,250 mile hike. ''I've had chills for several days thinkingaboutit."Talonewasanauditorfor5 l/2years before quitting to make the trip. He quit a good job to live on the side of the road for months and hike. It may

- not sound appealing to some folks, but it is to Talone. ''I just wanted to do this while I could. I know it's

going to be a hardship financially, but I probably wouldn't be able to do this when I'm 60, "said Talone, 37. "Now that rm done, I'll be going home and looking for work."

Talone, Lockwood, Smith and the dogs said good bye to each other Monday. Talonecaughta trail to make it home in time for Thanksgiving. Brother, sister, and the two dogs were doing the same by another route in the van. "This is the sad part because we have to say good-bye to a good friend," Lockwood said of Talone.

Now it's back to the real world and back to the rat race, she said. "But we're really not true rats," Talone added.

North Country NST Options to Achieve Permanent Trail protection

Protection Income Estate Property Options Description Results Tax Tax Tax

(best to worst){1) Deel. (2) Ded (2) Ded (2) Conservation Legal agreement between Trail passage/conservation Yes Yes Maybe easement landowner and NCTA or values permanently protected. (4)

~overnment agency permanently Landowner continues to own, limiting a property's uses use, live on land.

Outright land Land donated to NCTA or agency Organization owns/protects (3) Yes Yes Maybe donation (4) Donation of Land donated to NCTA or agency Organization owns/protects land. Yes Yes Maybe undivided partial over several years until Income tax deductions spready (4) interests organization has full ownership over several years (3) Donation of land Land donated to NCTA or agency Organization owns/protects land Yes Yes Maybe by will at death. (3) (4) Donation of rem- Land donated to NCTA or agency, Organization owns owns/protects Yes Yes Maybe ainder interest in but owners or others designated land (3) (4) land with res- continue to live there, usually till erved life estate death. Bargain sale of Land sold to NCTA or agency at Organization owns and protects Yes Yes Maybe land less than fair market value land (3) (4) Sale of land Land sold to NCTA or agency at Organization owns and protects No No Maybe

fair market value land . Expensive (3) (4) Lease Trail corridor or land leased to Postpones development. Still No No No

NCTA or agency for a specified expensive. number of years, with restrictions placed on how it can be used

Memorandum of A somewhat formal agreement Secures passage, can be nullified No No No Understanding between NPS and landowner at anh time. Need to renegotiate and VIP allowing trail passage for a with uture owners. May or may agreement specified time period -- usually 5- not be more effective than options

10 years (renewable). below. Written Between NCTA and landowner Secures passage, can be nullified No No No agreement allowing trail ~age for specified at anh time. Need to renegotiate

years or until changed. with uture owners. Handshake Between NCTA and landowner Secures passa~e. Can be No No No agreement allowing trail passage for specified nullified at any time. Need to

years or until changed. renegotiate with future owners, even less permanent.

(1) In terms of land protection only. Not necessarily the most economical. Also, the relative positions are not fixed -- they may move up or down somewhat. (2) Any person contemplating a donation should talk to a tax advisor. The value of any deduction is based on an individual's tax status. (3) For acquired properties best left in private ownership, the organization may place a conservation easement on the property to provide permanent protection and then resell the property. Any deduction may be subject to a limitation if an attempt is made to take a deduction in more than one category. (4) Depends on local tax apprasial system.

•

Land Protection Options: This table listing various may be helpful in deliberations on how to best protect any sections of the trail crossing private property. Laws do vary from state to state, so before presenting any of this as an absolute, you may want to doublecheck with a local expert regarding the specifics of your state laws.


long. Also, the chain doesn't stay tight. It pays to carry a chain saw file and a wrench in your daypack when using a chain saw. Also, wear safety glasses and take all necessary safety precautions. Ear plugs are recom mended.

By the way, if you're old enough to recognize a corn knife and know where to get one, grab it. You can take off small branches with one swipe, much faster than with loppers. It's also great for trimming back briar patches.

The second chore is to clear the pathway. The best tool is an ordinary side delivery lawn mower. It will take out anything up to knee high, and it's much faster and more efficient than a weed whacker. The mower should have a 22" or 24" cut, and the wheels should be adjustable for height. Set them up as high as possible to keep from scalping high spots as much as possible. It will hang up on trees continually otherwise, but you must keep other personnel away from your work area for safety's sake.

Get a mower that takes a universal replacement blade (Sears doesn't). Blades don't last long, and you're bound to hit a stone or a stump now and then. I've never had a problem restarting the engine when stalled on a stump or stone, but the blades wear out fast. The biggest problems with mowers are the wheels (replace able) and the handle bars. The handle bars are too flimsy for maneuvering on rough terrain, and the bolts don't stay in place unless you use self-locking nuts.

When encountering saplings too large for the mower, they have to be lopped off close to the ground before running the mower. If the saplings are too thick, a power weed whacker can do the job, but it must be a heavy duty direct drive type. About three years ago, somebody gave Vince Smith a Husqvara machine. I got my hands on it for use in the summer of 1994, and it was particularly effective in heavy sapling growth areas. It comes equipped with a three tooth blade and a saw type blade. We used the three tooth blade; where the saw blade was required, it was simpler to use the chain saw. You can cut a lot of brush with this rig, but it is exhausting to use. A couple of hours will make you ready for a long break. We tried trimming tree branches with it, but it is awkward to hold at the proper angle.

The third major job is cutting the tread. In many areas, the weeds, briars and saplings come up so fast that the trail can disappear in one season, and it become hard to find the assurance markers. So, I cut the tread unless the trail is on an old two-track or RR grade where the tread is hard and clear.

After watching the Michigan DNR cut a snowmo bile trail, I wished for a small bulldozer, but I didn't have the money, and the results aren't very aesthetic. Cu ttingthe tread with a pulaski is hard on the back and raises too many blisters, so I decided to try a roto-tiller. Rich did some trials with a tiller that had the cutters in front. This didn't work too well. The tiller had too narrow a cut, and the machine was hard to control on hard ground. It was made for work in a garden with fairly loose soil.

I shopped around for a machine with rear cutters,

by A.C. Johnson I built a few miles of trail in various places - two

work trips on the Appalachian Trail, two work trips on the Tahoe Rim Trail and one to Mt. Rainier National Park. There was everything from flat lands to mountain sides. I built some rock walls and winched out some stumps. Then I heard about the North Country Na tional Scenic Trail and decided there was plenty to do close to home.

As a result of the above experience, I can think ofa lot of good reasons to use power equipment for trail building: 1) hand work is too slow; 2) there aren't enough volunteers; 3) I'm getting older, smarter(?) and lazier, 4) I like more efficient ways to do things, 5) it's interesting to try things out, etc. I've been trying things out for the last two years, and I'm looking forward to some more experiments in 1995.

I've learned some thinks that work and some things that don't work. Also, what works in one place isn't necessarily successful in another place. So I thought it might possibly be useful to others to set down my experiences. If anyone has other ideas or experiences, I would like to hear from them.

I must say at the beginning that I wouldn't have accomplished much without the help ofmy friend Rich Seibert. Rich can fix just about anything, and he made all the equipment modifications we tried as well as doing a lot of the repairs. In addition, he showed up for work whenever he had some time off. You can't ask for more than that.

Now a word about the terrain in the lower penin sula of Michigan. Its mostly glacial moraine. That means lots of sand and gravel. There is very little rock, although a floater pops up sometimes when I'm not looking for it. The cover varies from old growth timber through pine plantations, second growth, scrub brush, clear cuts and open fields. The grade varies from flat to rolling to hilly, and in some places there are ravines with steep banks. It gave us a lot of variety in trail sites.

The first chore in building the trail, after the sur veying and flagging are done, is to clear the pathway. For anything too heavy for loppers, I use a 16" chain saw. Anything smaller is too light for the heavy wind falls, and anything bigger is pretty heavy to carry all day. I found it particularly neat for trimming dead limbs in red pine plantations, but the edge doesn't last

Trail building with power equipment


New Address: NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL ASSOCIATION 3777 Sparks Dr., SE., Suite 105 Grand Rapids, Ml 49546 Telehone: (616) 975-0831 FAX(616)975-0957

Funding for the office has been provided by the National Park Service, and we are most grateful for their assistance. It will allow us to make better use of office volunteers and to add an additional staff person. We hope to respond promptly to your inquiries.

Please change your records to reflect the address change and phone numbers below. It is very important to us that we continue to receive your mailings. Under postal regulations, only first class mail is autommically forwarded.

After many years of having a Post Office Box as our National Headquarters Address, we now have an office which you can visit. We urge you to visit when you are in the area. Our office hours will be 9:00 AM to 1 :OO PM, Monday through Friday

We've Moved!

saved so much labor. That's my story. I've seen some places in the upper

peninsula where the mower and tiller would be useless. On the other hand, Gaylord Yost stopped over last summer to see what we were doing, and he thought our techniques would fit very nicely in Wisconsin terrain. So you're welcome to benefit by any of our experiences if they fit your trail project. If you have any other good ideas, I'd like to hear of them.

Some years ago, I saw a machine on a small crawler frame that was made just for cutting trail treads. I can't find out who made it. If anyone knows, please let me hear from you.

weight made it a killer. Rich built and tried several versions of the plow,

but none were completely satisfactory. He built one mounted further back; but it made the machine hard to steer. Then he had an inspiration: he adapted the principle of Archimedes screw and built a set of cutters that chew up the sod and -push it out at each side. They worked surprisingly well in spite of some balance and vibration problems. We learned to run the engine at low speed and set the wheels as far apart as possible to keep it under control. It cuts and cleans out the tread entirely except under the gear case. Rich has been working on a new and improved version that we hope will make the operation even more effective.

The tiller doesn't do so well on a side hill. It becomes hard to steer, and it doesn't give a level tread. It was more effective to use the tiller only to loosen the soil and then rake it out with a fire rake. I also had trouble getting it into a few places where it was neces sary to cross a stream or a ravine. I did these sections when there was help available to lift the machine, because it

They come in two general sizes, a 5 hp machine for about $700, and a heavier model for about $1400. I had some doubts about the lighter model, but bought it because it was a lot easier to load and unload from a trailer. Also, ifwe had to wrestle it across a ditch or over a log, two men could handle it.

I have had surprisingly good service from it. The chief problems were losing pins and nuts and bolts. Also, the handle bar broke at a weak point, and Rich had to weld it back together. The cutters should be fastened on with pins and safety clips. You need to get them off regularly to sharpen, straighten or replace teeth. It's also wise to carry some wrenches in your daypack. I learned this after jamming a rock in the cutter a half mile from the car and making two trips to get the right tools to disassemble and put it back together.

The machine I use has a 14" cut, plus it doesn't cut in the center beneath the gear case. Therefore, it takes a pass up the trail and return to loosen the tread. A second round trip is even better. It is still neces sary to rake out the tread with a fire rake, but the pulaski work has disappeared, except for the occasional small stump or stone.

I got a hiller attachment for the tiller. That's a sort of plow that attaches behind the cutter. I thought it might solve the problem of removing the loose soil from the tread. It wasn't wide enough, so Rich welded on some wings. That worked fairly well, except that it tended to ball up with roots and sod. It took two passes and a lot of stopping to clean the plow, but it did dras tically reduce the work with the fire rake.

Have you ever wielded a fire rake all day? It's guar anteed to give aches, pains and blisters. Rich modified a rake with two extra teethfortreadwork, but the extra

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, August-September1995

The NCT A, in cooperation with the Astronomical Societies of Lenawee and Hillsdale Country, Michigan, is experimentally operating the "NORTH STAR" Bulletin Board Service.

You do not need Internet or service provider capability; it is not used. You dial NORTH ST AR BBS directly at (517) 547-5106, with your computer modem set for N-8-1 (No parity, eight bits, 1 stop bit). Speeds to 14400 BPS are supported. For the moment, the board will only operate from 5 PM to 1 AM Eastern time.

If you haven't used an electronic BBS before, the software will lead you through the log-on procedure. You will want to read -- and possibly save with a capture file the Bulletin, "How to use this BBS".

The main NCT A Message area is Message Area #4. Items for the newsletter, electronic messages, and other items may be left here, or uploaded as a file. If you have something interesting, please pass it along. Files, including recent "North Stars", "Following the NCNST", reprints of some other interesting "North Star" articles and the only known NCT computer program are in File Areas 6, 7, 8, and 9.

No one knows what a trail organization's bulletin board is supposed to do or look like; you will have to help us invent it as we go along! If you have questions or problems, feel free to call me in the evening at (517) 547-7402. - Wes Boyd

NORTH STAR BULLETIN BOARD NOW ON LINE!

-- Editor's note: Another good weather source is "Weather Underground" at the University of Michigan.

In a future issue, Beth will give details on the USENET and the World Wide Web. There are a lot of different resources about the outdoors to be had elec tronically; finding them can be a hassle. The variety of outdoor sites and information available electronically is expanding at a teriffic rate, and the North Star will try to keep abreast of them.

This article originally appeared in the North Coun try Trail Hiker's Club newsletter.

forward to meeting more ofmy Internet friends. Weather forecasts are also available on the Net

through gopher servers. Most servers offer the forecast for a specific area, the state, and the world Usually, they provide daily, 5-day and 30-day forecasts. I like to print one the morning I leave for a hike, and then use it for a firestarter once it is two or three days old (recy cling, eh?). A site with weather forecasts that I have always found to be running is the University ofMaine at Orono.

Happy Hiking, Beth Hronek, Sault Ste. Marie [email protected]

The Internet, a global computer network, is a great resource for hikers and backpackers. With creative use of E-Mail, USENET, Gopher and the World Wide Web, a hiker can find information on equipment, compan ions, and organizations.

The Outdor-1 listserv is an E-Mail service com posed of about 200 hikers, mostly from the U.S. and Canada. When you subscribe, for free, you'll be sent electronic postings that include trip reports from places such as Nepal, Big Sur, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. There are frequent discussions about environmental issues, the quality of various equipment, and questions about the best place to visit, hike, eat or shop in an area. Recently, there have been many funny skunk and bear stories, also.

To subscribe, send an E-mail to: listerv@ulkyvm. louisville.edu. In the message, type "subscribe outdor-1 <your name>. You should get an acceptance notice back in a few minutes.

The list generates about 15 messages per week and is a good place to get information about trails and areas as well as share stories and make friends. I have had four outings with people I had met online through outdor-1. The first was Stacey, a forest pathologist who had just moved to Georgia. I wanted to do a 15-mile segment on the Appalachain Trail, and she was looking for a hiking companion. It was mid-October, the peak foliage season. We made all of our plans via E-Mail and met at a trail-head parking lot near Dick's Creek Gap. We didn't know what each other looked like; indeed, I wasn't even sure if Stacey was male or female. But, we found each other, made short introductions and hiked off into the woods together. It turned out to be a splen did trip, with completely new stories to be heard by both ofus!

I took another hike, in North Carolina, with a trail maintainer and AT 2000~miler and his wife. He knew where the best places to camp were, where to get water, and the names of all the blooming plants we saw.

While it is probably dangerous meeting people in the woods, it has proven wonderful for me and I look

by Beth Hronek

Hikin~ the electronic trail

The "Outdor-1 " listserver: a great place for friends

NORTH STAR: 11Je Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association , August-September 1995

Addendum by Ed Sidote: Mary Ann Nissley is from Chalfont, Pennsylvania (35 miles northeast of Philly). She is a senior, but I do not have pennission to disclose her age. We met at the October 1994 ALDHA Meeting in Hanover, Dartmouth College. I gave a totally unpre pared talk about the FLT after the show, and she decided to back-pack the FLT in 1995. We corresponded all win ter, and she sent me her hike schedule which I copied and sent to Jim De Wan. Jim sent her an excellent reply by making suggestions for each day's hike. Mary Ann drove to a friend's home in the Catskills, left her car there and he drove her to the Burger King in Watkins Glen where George Probst picked her up and took her to the NCT I FLT Trail Head in Pennsylvania. I met her in Watkins Glen, and tracked her down again at Jackson Pond where she had pitched her dome tent. She started out with a 47 pound backpack, but cut it down about 5 pounds. She had only four food packages. She hiked the A. T. over a four year period in the '80s, and by the end of 1995 will have hiked it for the second time. Last year, 1994, she hiked the Ozark Trail alone. She was self employed, but her business was interfering with her hiking so she decided to sell the business.

Abbotts all came a long-distance to help me celebrate the completion of 39 days on the trail. I felt proud and humble at the same time.

I will never forget this hike and the people who made it so much easier. The guides written by Irene Szabo, The Cayuga Trails Club, Tony Preus were espe cially invaluable and kept me from getting lost all the way. I was especially lucky with the weather. The rivers that I had to reluctantly wade through were not deep because of the small amount of snow fall in the past winter and the rain-fall was minimal. When it did rain, I was usually safe in a shelter. I only had one day of hard rain and only drizzle on other days. I wore my jacket mostly to keep warm rather than dry.

Amlreadytodoitagain? Whatfun! Comewithme!

by Mary Ann Nissley On April 17, 1995, I left George Probst's van to

begin a long journey from Alleghany State Park to the Denning Lean - to, a distance of 550 miles. It was to be a trip filled with many Angels, and much trail magic. There were so many animals to enjoy: deer, turkeys, porkies, chipmunks, squirrels, wood-chucks, beaver, and even a weasel. A Golden Fox was the high-light of all the animals. I loved all the domestic varieties, too: dogs, cows, horses, and sheep. The wildflowers were indescribable as I hiked through Spring. There were blood-roots, violets, spring beauties, trillium, anemo nes, and flowers of every color. The woods turned green overnight. It was incredible. My hike was not all eu phoric. I lost my gas tank and had to eat cold food for eleven days during the coldest part of my hike, I walked four miles in the wrong direction and sometimes I was lonely. However, trail magic prevailed to overcome any difficulty. My family sent me a new gas tank, the Sweetbrier Shop gave me boiled eggs, Marilyn Weidman of Swain, the Browns, George and Eva Hager, Gary Klee, Buddy Rover, and Laura McGuire, the Abbotts, and the Motels that gave me discount rates to fit my budget, and of course, Ed Si dote, who started me on this adventure with his enthusiasm for the trail and fol lowed my progress. All were Trail Angels.

Can you ever thank such Trail Angels? They gave me shelter, food, showers, washed my clothes, encour aged me, and helped me every step of the way, trail magic is unbelievable! The Orall family who let me camp on their lawn and their son, who accompanied me on his bike as far as he was allowed and, Ed Sidote, who let me walk without my pack for several days and watched over me during the long road walk; the Thay ers and the Woosters homes were another Oasis.

The trail was mostly well-marked, and remarkably well maintained. The views were like jewels in a pile of stones. The history of the State was written in the old foundations, graveyards, and buggy roads, stone walls, andsprings. Itwasfascinating. TheFLTissointerest ing in its diversity: mountains, lowlands, farms, and civilization, isolation and wilderness, deep woods, road walks, wild animals, and domestic ones, flowers by the millions, little creeks, big rivers, and adventure all the way. It wasn't an easy trail. There are lots of hills with big elevation changes but every step was an adventure: never knowing what you might see over the next hill.

When I finished on May 25, 1995, Thursday, at the Denning Lean - to, I became the 39th person to finish the trail and the first woman to back-pack it End to End continuously. My son and his wife, Ed Sidote, and the

East, Lady Head For The

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, August-September1995

One of the more memorable photos in the NORTH ST AR came in 1991 , of a Coast Guard helicopter flying bridge materials in to a remote Manistee County, Ml., site. This is the bridge that resulted. Don Beattie photo

James Dilworth was the manager of Boyne High lands for about 20 years. He then joined the two Fisher brothers to manage Nubs Nob. He was the world expert on snow making, designing all the snow making for Boyne and later Nubs, and was the advisor for snow making for the Saravejo and Calgary Winter Olympics. He died in British Columbia on his last trip out before the Calgary Olympics.

The several short trails make a nice few minutes addition to the NCT hiking with a peaceful stop at the edge of Round Lake before exciting onto roads to con nect up to Hathaway and Kipp Roads to the next completed NCT section there. The first mile is cut and blazed then a few miles of yellow ribbons (more or less) to its temporary end at Brutus Road behind Nubs Nob and across the valley from Boyne Highlands.

On the way home I finished the mostly roaded connection between Croton Dam and the Rogue River Game Area (did that a couple years ago).

I had an interesting day last October in Battle Creek. A couple of months earlier I wrote to the Battle Creek Public Works address in your book Following the North County NST. As of this date I've never received any response. That didn't stop me as I went anyway. Driving thru downtown I encountered a rather slummy area I wasn't sure I wanted to walk thru alone! I later found the north end at the sports park and it turned out to be a nice day and walked along the river most of the

by Don Beattie My NCT hiking last August extended and con

nected two sections - one along the Manistee River connecting the Manistee N .F. section and the Shore-to Shore Trail and the other extending the Munising end to just beyond the Laughing Whitefish Falls - and then the Harvey to Hogback Mountain section thru Mar quette.

During the unseasonably warm weather at Thanks giving and Christmas '94 I completed the section from the Warner Creek Pathway up through the Chandler Hills and discovered the new three mile connecting NCT Trail from the old Wilderness State Park trails to the Sturgeon Bay picnic area. I think this is one of the most beautiful unspoiled, natural sections of the NCT in Michigan. I've been going up to the Sturgeon Bay picnic area for the past several years (Easter week after skiing finished) looking for the NCT exit from the park. In April '92 I saw my first Snowy Owl while walking along the beach - in the picnic area. I met a fellow from University ofMinnesota who had spend three summers in the sou th west section of Wilderness State Park doing PhD. work, plantstudiesandotherwork there. He had dated core samples of the sand ridges (old Lake Michi gan shorelines). Ones nearer Lake Michigan dated around 2000 years old. The larger sand ridges further inland around 4000 years old. The NCT now passes right thru this section. I hope the mountain bikers never discover this section! It is a beautiful, quiet, fragile trail but great walking if you like nature. Soft on the feet - up, down, around, water filled portions be tween the ancient ridges. One of the greatest variety of native Michigan pines I've found along any section of trail.

With skiing finished at Boyne Highlands and nice hiking weather, Spring Break week after Easter was a nice time to walk the newly certified section thru Pe toskey. After completing the NCT finished sections between Maxwell Road and Brunbaker Roads and the Petoskey section, I continued on near the beach of Little Traverse Bay thru Bay View and on thru Petosk;y State Park, stopping to have a nice talk with a park employee in the campgrounds, giving a NCT information flyer to them. I thought it was a necessary item as the State Park staff member was right on the designated route of the NCT and knew nothing about the trail! I wandered out of the State Park and into the trees just across the road into the Nature Conservancy (Round Lake) and followed the James Dilworth Memorial Trail north.

More hiking in Michigan


soldiers there objected. Their experiences were proba bly more akin to a hikers than most other people. Anyway, "alls well that ends well".

The first time I ever got stopped by the police was 17 years ago when I was hiking the Shore-to-Shore Trail. The marked trail ended at a power line easement near a farm on a dirt road outside east Tawas. I had a couple of miles to walk from there to Lake Huron so I chose the least populated route to get me there. I figured if I was going to do the ''Shore-to-Shore" all the way I wanted to reach the shore at both ends even if there was no designated trail to the shore. I parked the car at the end of the dirt road and was 1/2 mile towards town when the police stopped me (someone in the farmhouse had called them). I checked out OK. They thought I was ditching a stolen car from Detroit.

No, I'm not overly fond of urban areas to walk through. I prefer forest or mountains anyday.

The new Superior Trail sounds great, even ifit does add on 200 extra miles. The scenery along Lake Supe rior there is great. In August '91 I was hiking the NCT route thru Porcupine State Park which then followed about four miles along the South Boundary Road (poor, narrow road, no shoulder, high weeds). When I finished the NCT routing, I stayed on for a week or so more and hiked every trail in the park. I met a staff member at the Naturalist Center and he got me to turn in trail reports to the park since they hadn't been on all the trails recently. Ayearlaterin theNCTNewsletterthey were requesting input for NCT reroute off the South Boundary Road. I sent in a suggested route from the Ottawa Trailhead to the Lily Pond area (now used). I added besides that what I thought would be even better than following the Little Carp River (the present route) was to include the Escarpment Trail (four miles) which I discovered that summer and feel to be the finest ''view trail" in the State of Michigan (the Pictured Rocks is almost tied). The park was probably looking for the shortest NCT route possible thru the park but I felt if the NCT is a National Trail, and additional 10-15 miles to provide the best scenery in the state, why not? So they took the Lily Pond, Little Carp River (shortest) route. It was no additional expense to the State or Park as it would follow existing trails all the way, either way.

The Michigan section of the NCT is really coming along well. IchucklewhenireadtheNCTflyersstating the Michigan section to be 800 plus miles. My current NCT hiked status in Michigan is around 780.3 miles and I would venture a guess of the finished trail to be around 1000 miles in the state! So far, I've hiked:

1. Wisconsin border (Montreal River) to Covington 2. Marquette: Little Presque Isle Point to Harvey 3. Laughing Whitefish Falls State Park to Wilder

ness State Park - Sturgeon Bay 4. Brutus Road (near Nubs Nob) to Rogue River

Game Area 5. Yankee Springs Recreation Area 6. Battle Creek Linear Pathway 7. Hillsdale M99 Bikeway and Baw Beese Trail I haven't done the section at Craig Lake State Park

and McCormick Tract yet.

way until west of town, ending at Fort Custer National Cemetery. I've lived in Michigan most of my life and had never heard of Fort Custer National Cemetery. A nice spot. I drove in the cemetery, impressive with all the American flags lining the entrance drive. I also spotted a nice public restroom. A commodity in short supply along the eleven mile bike path, and made a mental note for future use. The path gets a lot oflocal use - families biking, a group of 50ish (age) women roller blading, a couple of fishermen and a couple walking with a babystroller and a few joggers.

I finished the 22 miles - hiking alone, I usually hike each section out and back - and get to see things in a different light and can double check mileages and times. The downtown area was a bit confusing by the Kellogg Center a bikers directions helped a bit here. A few blue NCT diamonds would be very helpful not only here but all over the state, particularly where roads are needed to connect up other sections. I've hiked the Bruce Trail across Ontario and many miles were on connector roads and all were nicely marked on telephone poles, trees or sign poles. It sure was helpful and totally marked. No sections were ever left to "fend for yourself''.

I finished the last section of the Battle Creek Lin ear Parkway at dusk and drove back to the Fort Custer Cemetery restroom to wash up and change out of my hiking boots. The floodlight on the huge American flag at the end of the drive with the smaller flags was impressive after dark. After I washed up and was changing my boots and getting ready to head back home, a police car pulled up behind my car. Someone in the cemetery building must have called them when I pulled in, so I had my name and drivers license run thru the state records and in the meantime I had to be reminded three times ''not to put my hands in my pockets" while he was waiting for the records to check thru. I explained to the young officer I was hiking the NCTand the Linear Parkway thru Battle Creek. I don't think he knew of either. It all came out OK as I had no ''record". I was puzzled until he explained the problem of drug peddling. Right across the road is a large Army base. I told him I was aware of such problems as I taught school in Detroit! He later apologized for the problem. On the drive back home that night, I realized I had missed a chance to give him a N CT flyer! But they were in my hiking pack in the trunk which is where my wallet was when he asked for my drivers license as he told me I should not keep my drivers license in such a place. I had intentionally left my pack and wallet in the car after that morning sleeze area I drove thru. I didn't want anything of value on me if! had to walk thru that area. Fortunately the trail went only a few blocks away but the Pathway was a "world away" with no problems.

Interestingly enough, I had stopped to read the eight or so posted rules at the entrance to Fort Custer National Cemetery including the hours of visitation and I was in full compliance with all regulations. My thoughts when I finished hiking: there were no nearby public restrooms around or gas stations or anything and my tax dollars were paying to operate this facility so why not stop here to wash up. None of the entombed


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Wisconsin October 7-8: Work day on North Country Trail, Washburn Area. Contact Gaylord Yost, WI Trail Coordinator, (414) 354-8987.

Ohio Sept. 10-16: BTA Work crew, Clendening Lake (MWCD). Lasts the full week; complete trail construction initiated last June on the south shore of the lake. Qintact Jim Sprague, {216) 8844757 fa' informaticJI. Sept. 30, Oct 1: BTA Work weekend, Perry Country. Project and camping area will be announced later. Contact Jim Sprague, (216) 884-4757 for information. Oct. 14 & 15. BTA Autumn Amble, Burr Oak State Park. Hiking, camping, kids games, soup kettle. Contact Herb Hulls, (614) 585- 2603. October 21-22. BT A Work Weekend, Pike State Forest, to continue trail project betwen Lapperell and Dry Bone roads. We will not camp at Cave Lake Park. Contact Jim Sprague, at (216) 884-4757 for more information.

Pennsylvania Sept 8-1 O: Work session on NCT in area between Moraine State Park and Jennings Environmental Center. For information call Mark Eckler, (412) 588-6164.

New York Sept. 3: Finger Lakes Trail Runners sponsor Monster Marathon and half marathon, Virgil State Forest, 7:00 AM. Call (607) 844-3872 for information.

Minnesota Sept. 22-24: Work weekend on the Bad Medicine section west of Itasca State Park. We will stay overnight at the Dell Bjerkness home on Bad Medicine Lake. Contact Paul Wright, (612) 423-5006 for information and to reserve your bed.

225-1585. Oct, 16. NCT Hikers Club membership meeting, 7 PM at P.W. Library. Brad Homier from Mead will tarrc about the Mulligan Plains.

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Michigan August 12-27: New trail construction atthe Old Victoria Village area in western UP, sponsored by NCT Hikers Club and Sierra Club. Stay in rustic miner's cabins, camp, motel. Excellent Home-cooked meals. Cost $10/day. Come join the crew for as long as you can. For information contact Gene Elzinga, (906) 225-1704. August 19: Western Michigan Chapter hike Cadillac Pathway. 11.3 miles of trail, flat to rolling with some hills. Hiking easy. Call Dave s., (616) 784-8975. August 26: Western Michigan Chapter, hike NCT, Pierce Road to Highbanks, 9 miles, photographic rolling terrain with some hills, easy hiking. Call Dave S., (616) 784-8975. Sept. 2: Western Michigan Chapter hike, Seidman Park, Grand Rapids, 6 mile hike, rolling to hilly terrain, easy to moderate difficulty. Call Dave S., (616) 784-8975. Sept. 3: Annual NCT Hiker's (Marquette) public hike, starting at Wetmore Landing. Volunteers needed to help with event. Call Gene Bzinga at (906) 225-1704. Sept. 9-10. NCT Hikers Club canoe and camp at Big Island Wilderness south of Munising. Nine lakes to portage, wilderness camping, lots of fishing, lots of fun. Call Gene Elzinga, (906) 225- 1704 for more information. Sept 12: Western Michigan Chapter hike in Newaygo County, 40th to Baseline. Call Dave T., (616) 281-8813. Sept. 13: Hike Sheep Ranch Pathway. Five miles flat to sligh~y rolling. Call Ruth, (616) 453-8622 or Ginny, )616) 689-6876. Sept 16: NCT Hikers aub trail maintenance in Rock River Wilderness with John lippki. Rain date Sept, 23. Call Gene at (906) 225-1704. Sept. 24: NCT Hikers Club hike to Sour Dough Ridge, Moderate. Starts behind the DNR Parking Lot on 553 by the Marquette Mountian Ski Hilt Call Lon at (906) 226-3800. Sept. 27: NCT Hikers Club Fall color hike at Bruno's Run, south of Munising. Call Bea at (906) 22~2158. ,. Sept. 30: NCT Hikers Club Fall Color tour of west Marquette County. Leaves (pun intended) at 8 AM. Call Don Bzinga at (906)

NCTA August 18-21, 1995: NCTA Second Annual Conference, Watson 1-bmestead Conference Center, Coopers Plain, New York. For more infoonaticJI, Qintact 1-bM:rd Beye, FirgEJ Lakes Tral Cialferalre, 202 Colebourne Rd, Rochester NY 14609 (716) 288-7191. September 15: Challenge Cost Share Projects due to NPS. For more information, contact Bill Menke, NPS, (608) 264-5610. October 1 : Newsletter deadline. November 11: NCTA Board of Directors meeting.

ffEMS FOR THIS COLUMN IDJl§Lbe received before the deadline date given on Page 4 of this newsletter. We welcome listing activities of affiliated organizations, but we must be aware of them in sufficient time for publication.

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, August-September 1995

GUIDE TO THE PICTURED ROCKS NATIONAL LAKESHORE by Olive Anderson. Includes revised Lakeshore Trail Guide. The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is the centerpiece of the North Country Trail -- a rugged, unique coast on the wild Lake Superior shore. Updated in 1994, this M page book by Pictured Rocks enthusiast Olive M. Anderson gives the reader revised maps and up-to-date information about this Michigan section of the North Country Trail. $6.95 each; Wholesale (lo or more) $5.25 each.

THE NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL -- MANISTEE NATIONAL FOREST by the Michigan Trailfinders. Offers a detailed description of the trail from the Whi.te Cloud trailhead to Big Star Lake, and from US 1 Oto McCarthy Lake. Current through June, 1989. $2.00 each, no wholesale available.

MICHIGAN MAPSETS developed by Arden Johnson. Maps to follow the NCNST in the Manistee, Hiawatha and Ottawa National Forests, and the trail between St. Ignace and Munising, and northern lower peninsula. $4.00 per set; Binder with indicies, $2.50. Contact bookstore for information on ordering individual maps.

GUIDE TO THE NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL -- CHIPPEWA NATIONAL FOREST by Rod Mac Rae. Discussion of the route and trail log from east to west in the Chippewa National Forest. Wonderfully written by a Chippewa National Forest expert. 12 pages. $1.25 each; Wholesale (10 or more) $.75 each.

CERTIFIED SECTIONS OF THE NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL by Byron and Margaret Hutchins.The long-awaited start to a trail guide for the entire trail. Accurate route descriptions by an experienced guidebook writer who's walked the sections with a measuring wheel, cover ing many certified sections of the trail long enough to be a hiking destination, published in an easy to carry loose-leaf form. Individual map sets at various prices (see order form); whole set, including binder, is $23.00, use order form. Sorry, no direct wholesale.

North Country Tra,it shop GREAT INFORMATION ON THE NORTH COUNTRY NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL

AVAILABLE FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL BOOKSTORE/

FOLLOWING THE NORTH COUNTTJ..Y NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL, by Wes Boyd, NCTA Newsletter editor. Packed full of Information about the NCNST. 64 pages. Not a trail guide, but a trail discussion. "The aim Is to give the reader the information necessary to find out what they need to know to follow the trail" - - and lots of other useful information. The most inclusive information on the whole trail. Printed 1992. $5.95, ($4.00 wholesale 1 O or more).


Send order to: NCTA Trail Shop am Sparks Dr., Suite 105 Grand Rapids Ml 49546

Make check/money order payable to: "North Country Trail Association•

Please enclose for shipping & handUng: $0.00 - $10.00 $2.00 $10.01 - $25.00 $3.00 $25.01 - $100.00 $4.00 Over $100.00 $5.00

Michiaan residents olease include 6% sales tax

Phone ..

State, Zip . BOOKS copies of •Fol/owing the North Country Notional Scenic Troll"

$5.95 per copy ($4.00 per copy If ten or more)

copies of •The North Country Troll -- Manistee Notional Forest" $2.00 per copy. (no wholesale)

copies of 'Gulde to the Pictured Rocks Notional Lakeshore• $6.95 per copy. ($5.25 each If ten or more)

copies of •Gulde to the North Country Troll -- Chippewa National Forest" $1.25 per copy ($.75 per copy If ten or more)

copies of Michigan mapsets (check appropriate ones:) o Lenawee Co. - Calhoun Co. O Kalamazoo Co - SE Newaygo Co. o SE Newaygo Co - NW Wexford o Wexford - CharlevolX Co. o Charlevols Co. - Mackinac City o St. Ignace - Marquette o Marquette - Ironwood $4.00 per set. Binder, $2.50 No wholesale

copies of rcemnea Sections of the North Country Troll" (Check sestlons) o Burr Oak - Sinking Spring $4.00 O Allegheny NF & Cook Forest, $2.90 o Wayne NF $1.50 o Little Miami Scenic Park, $1.15 O Miami and Erle Canal, $1.80 O Manistee NF $3.50 O Hiawatha NF E & Tahqua $2.70 O Ottawa NF $2.10 o Hie.NF w & Pict Rocks, $2.05 o Chequamegon NF $1.80 o Chippewa NF, $2.20 o Sheyenne Grassland $1.15

Complete set with binder, $23.00, shipping Included. No wholesale.

City . North Country Troll T-Shlrt (circle size):

Adult, S, M. L. XL. XXL. l 00% cotton, It. blue only@ $9.95 each

Name .

Address .

PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT

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NCT Patch $3.00 State Strip $1.50

New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota

Hike Distance Strips (must qualify) $1.25 5, l 0, 15, 20, 25 or 35 miles

hiked in one day NCTA Coffee Mugs $6.95 Trail Supporter Pin (3/ 4" Clolsonne) $3. 95

Volunteer Strip $1.50 Patches and Stickers

·~North Country Trail Shop

1• ' ( l\ t \, :

------------------ ORDER FORM -- NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL SHOP North Country Trail Patch@ $3.00 each North Country Trail State Segment Patch@ $1.50 each North Country Trail Volunteer Strips@ $1.50 each North Country Trail Coffee Mugs @ $6. 95 each North Country Trail Supporter Cloisonne pin@$3.95 each


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. ~·~~;~~lfi~~~=~±~~~~~2t~~~~t~t~~~~;'!~~~~jJ!!~~~"p : O $39Househo1? _ · O $5(l'frai!Le.ader _ ·. · CJ_$5po Corporate . , -- , ; · 0$60() ~ · koupte~ ·· :

I would like to be a 0 Member -at-large Or, I would like $5 of my di'.ies. to be rei;Ilitted to rhe tollo'wing NCTA Chapter:' - ' 0. \YeSt rwdugafl' ·. rj .Gra11d Travf~e Hldrtg Club_. ·. q ~orth C~ori~;~.r~~ll~~t~ (M1-tfp>';7_

c . . .. •. . ·G Headwaters (MN) q yYisconsin P' North Dakota - Q. Ohio d f>ennsylvania '. • . · 0 lwouldlik~t~furthe~s\1pport~heN,<'.:'.fA;ithmY~~ded~~tjbl~~ontn~titi611of!i . ··: -.~< · .-/./~ ;;; . > - _ . _ .·_ . . . .,

· · , .' ·Please mak~~heck payaJ?ietQ: ~~rth Country TrailAsspdati~~~rid !11ailto:NCTA,37i7 Sparks D~-~SE..:S~i~~ fos;q1-;ndR~pidS).114~;;~4ti' ·. ··, . c Name_-: ·:_. . . - ···., - . ;' _.·._ .·: . . · : ... · ·_ · ·-. --. ·"· -. . .

2000 Members by 2000 2000 Certified Miles by 2000

lt's not going to be easy, but we can do it. Much has been completed, but there's still a lot to do. You can help meet the challenge by joining the North Country Trail Association, and by inviting others to join, too. Let's do it!


North Star Vol. 14, No. 4 (1995)

Documents

Transcript of North Star Vol. 14, No. 4 (1995)