North Star Vol. 23, No. 1 (2004)

If there are more inveterate hikers among us than Joan Young, Bill Menke and Don Beattie, especially Don Beattie, I'd like to meet them. I missed Don on his way through our Lowell headquarters this fall, a shame really since I would have liked to hear about his latest adventures. "Hear," is the oper ative word here. Don sends postcards from NCT outposts but he is the only writer I know who can get 150 words on half of a postcard. That makes them too small for 75-year-old eyes to read.

Best I can tell, Don hiked nearly 300 miles last fall, all in Minnesota where he ran into snow in early September.

Don, who lives in Commerce, Mich., is an original member of the NCTA. Our records show he has been paying dues since 1981.

•

the applicant clause, commonly known as "Section 4(f)."

The Times editorial, in case you missed it, said the administration and the highway lobby hope to "streamline the process," by relying on transporta tion agencies to decide what's historic and important.

Said the Times: "Irritated motorists caught in traf

fic jams may think the answer is more roads, and they certainly have friends in Congress. But those same motorists, if asked, could hardly want the roads of the future to destroy what's left of the past ... "

Yolanda Ritsema In the Lowell office.

On page 35, Tom Gilbert, the National Park Service Superintendent for the North Country National Scenic Trail, writes about the care the federal government is supposed to take to pre vent adverse effects to parks, recreation areas, wildlife refuges and other catego ries of public lands, when approving the construction of roads. Here's hoping that what he writes holds up. A recent New York Times article listed reports that the Bush administration may seek to weaken the authority the Park Service has under

•

that requires carrying too many maps when hiking any distance. If the new scale proves popular, Tiffany plans to continue producing it.

Sample of inventory map going to Allegheny chapter.

2 The North Star *January-March 2004

I f it hasn't already, your chapter will be receiving maps soon showing the trail

in your area, based on the latest informa tion we have at headquarters. The chap ters are being asked to check them and note any additions, changes or reroutes so that an inventory of the North Country National Scenic Trail can be completed.

These inventory maps are the work of Yolanda Ritsema, the latest link in our Ontario connection, cartography interns from Calvin College in Grand Rapids who hail from our northern neighbor.

The chain began with Melanie VanderMolen (now Weening), who founded the cartography program at national headquarters before and after her graduation from Calvin. When Melanie returned to Delaware, Ont., after her marriage, Tiffany Stram, a Wisconsin Badger, became our fulltime cartographer and GIS specialist.

Tiffany has trained a number of student cartographers since then, among them Jan vander Woerd, another Ontarian.

Yolanda, a senior at Calvin, hails from Wingham, Ont., a town 30 min utes inland from Lake Huron, east of Goderich. A geography major at Calvin, she hopes to become involved in devel opment programs overseas after her graduation in May.

She started her internship with the NCTA last Fall and completed the first of our hiking maps in Ohio, showing a stretch from the Pennsylvania state line westward to the Minerva, OH area.

The map is the first drawn to a scale of one inch to a mile, which shows more detail than the 1:100,000 scale maps we have been producing but less than the 1: 24,000 maps we started out with, a scale

Ontario Connection Still Flourishing at Headquarters

t

.,~,EDITOR'S ~ [K]@)l:J[3 ----------··wERN-ER-vEiT

The North Star, Wmter Issue, Vol. XXIII, Issue 1, is published quarterly by the North Country Trail Association, a private, not for-profit 501 (c)(3) organization, 229 East Main Street, Lowell, MI 49331. The North Srar is published for promotional and educational purposes and as a benefit of membership in the Association. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the North Country Trail Association.

Werner Veit, Editor Irene Szabo, Associate Editor Jennifer Tripp, Associate Editor Bill Menke, Contributing Editor Roger Meyer, Contributing Editor Joan Young, Contributing Editor Aaron Phipps, Art Director

The North Star Staff:

Our Sister Trails The fifth of our series of articles on our sister national scenic trails begins on Page 27 with a description of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail.

Columns Editor's Note 2 Trail Head 5 View from Lowell 6 View from Madison 35

Departments Councils, Chapters, Affiliates 36 Hiking Calendar 7 Hiking Shorts 17 Milestones 16 Profile: New York 20 On the Road with Rob 18 Trail Shop 30 Trail Supporters 39

Articles Our New Trail Guide 4 In Memoriam: Rich Saur. 7 Trail Inventory Planned 25 NCTA's Record Budget 38

About the Cover Tom Gilbert, the National Park Service's Superintendent of the North Country National Scenic Trail, photographed this Winter view of Hoo Doo Lake in northern Wisconsin from the North Country Trail in the Brule River State Forest.

A Glance Inside

Terms Expiring 2006 Al Larmann, at Large· 7169 Forbes Road,

Canastota, NY 13032-999 · (315) 697-3387 · [email protected]

Daryl Wiiiiamson, VP West, Minnesota· 5901 Timberglade Dr., Bloomington, MN 55438 · (952) 835-2186

Terms Expiring 2005 Derek Blount, at Large · 906 N. Alexander,

Royal Oak, MI 48607 · (248) 548-1737 · [email protected]

Helen Coyne, at Large · 212 Willow Circle, Cranberry Township, PA 16066 · (724) 776-0678 · [email protected]

Mary Lucas, at Large · 753 Davenport St., Rhinelander, WI 54501 · (715) 362-0616 · [email protected]

Howard Beye, New York · 202 Colebourne Rd., Rochester, NY 14609 · (585) 288-7191 · [email protected]

Dave Cornell, at Large· 514 Cordes Rd., Delton, MI 49046 · (269) 623-8659 · [email protected]

Alicia Hoffarth · 435 Fifth Ave. NE, Valley City, ND 58072 · (701) 845-0286 · [email protected]

North Country Trail Association National Board of Directors

Terms Expiring 2004 John Leinen, Jr., at Large . Vice President,

Finance· 14205 Sr. Croix Trail, Stillwater, MN 55082 (651) 433-4456 · [email protected]

Irene Szabo, at Large· 6939 Creek Rd., Mt. Morris, NY 14510-9638 · (585) 658-4321 · [email protected]

Gaylord Yost, President, at Large· P.O. Box 1013, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1013 · (414) 354-8987 · [email protected]

Garry 5. Diii Jr., Ohio · 4070 Tradersville Brighton Rd., London, OH 43140 · (937) 834-2891 · [email protected]

Bob Tait, Pennsylvania · 380 West Park Road, Portersville, PA 16051 · (724) 368-3709 · [email protected]

. NCTA Staff: Bob Papp,. Executive Director

Rob Corbett, Director of Trail Management · Tiffany Stram, GIS Coordinator Bonnie Wayman, Office Manager

Bill Menke, Trail Foreman Glory Meyer, Public Services Coordinator

Alllson Barr, Bookkeeper Sherry Staal, Office Assistant

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., 229 East. Main Street, Lowell MI 49331 .Ph. (866) HikeNCT, Fax (616) 897-6605

' · [email protected] '}yww.northcountrytrail.org

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~~ •A S,S 0 C I AT I 0 N •

Advertising R Black &\White

$26.25 $47.25 $ .94

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work in progress. The digital file will be updated continually as more trail is built or re-routed. Thus with every new print order as the Association runs out of books, the latest version will be pub lished. Current plans are to issue a new guide at least every two years.

-Werner Veit

coordinated by Tiffany Stram, the Association's cartographer and GIS specialist. Much of the research, which involved hundreds of telephone calls, was performed by Ginny Wanty, a volunteer member of the Western Michigan chapter. Jennifer Tripp, associate editor of The North Star, spent many volunteer hours formatting the text and laying out the pages, while Max Boyd designed and executed the cover.

The editing, too, was a cooperative enterprise. Text was passed around the head quarters office for checking and then sent out to all the chapters and affiliates for fur ther checking and corrections.

Particular mention should be made of Jim Sprague, from the Buckeye Trail Association and the NCTA Ohio coordinator; Gayle Coyer, of the Superior Hiking Trail Association; and Irene Szabo, President of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, for their meticulous checking.

The guidebook is very much a


You can turn winter dreams into spring, summer and fall hikes on the

North Country National Scenic Trail by turning to the new resource book just published by the North Country Trail Association.

The book, called Hikeable Segments of the North Country National Scenic Trail, is now available in the NCTA Trailshop for a nominal $5.95. Many new members get the book free as a gift for joining, just as current members received Wes Boyd's Following the North Country National Scenic Trail published some years ago.

The new up-to-date book is not an atlas of maps, nor should it be used as a hiking aid, but it can help plan hikes of all lengths. The guide lists all the hike able segments of the trail and presents accurate mileages along and between segments. It also presents a condensed history of the trail.

There is a chapter devoted to each state, beginning with a general descrip tion of the trail in that state, accompa nied by a map showing the trail. Each trail segment on the map is numbered and corresponds to a description of that segment.

For example, the Michigan map has 42 numbers, which correspond to the 38 segments described.

Each segment description includes: The geographical range, total trail

miles, the number of blazed road miles to the next segment if not contiguous, the name and web site of the local vol unteer group, such as an NCTA chapter, to contact for more information and all the map sources, both those produced by the Association's cartography depart ment and others available for that seg ment from our partners.

Other local contacts for each seg ment, such as a state department of natural resources, or the U.S. Forest Service, or other land managers also are listed. One of the useful features of the book is the Table of Contents, which can double as a checklist of all the NCT segments you have hiked.

As you may imagine, the book is the result of a huge research effort

Planning Hikes? New Resource a Useful Tool

While on the Superior Hiking Trail, I also was reminded that this trail and the rest of the completed trail that is part of the Minnesota Arrowhead Reroute of the NCT is not official trail yet. We believe that the completed NCT will be 4,600 miles long but the "Trail Building Progress on the North Country Trail" section contained in each The North Star accounts for only 4,140 miles of trail. There really aren't 460 miles of missing Trail; the difference between the two numbers is the additional Minnesota miles that will be added in the reroute. Included in the "Trail Building Progress on the North Country Trail" reckoning are the 375 Minnesota miles included in the original (official) NCT route, not the 835 miles of Minnesota trail included in the 4,600 mile projection. Right now, sad to say, in Minnesota 60% of the Trail doesn't exist and that equals 10% of the total length of the NCT.

·········j;~~~~;~M;;~h··;~~~--r'1·~-N~rth.st·~-~-5

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demand for goods and services will cause the development of raw land to increase. I'm sure it will be a much more stressful place to live in and I'm sure that many folks will be living even more sedentary lives. And a great many of them will still choose recreate by placing one foot in front of the other.

It made me realize again how important our efforts to build our Trail are. Once completed, the North Country Trail (NCT) will be our nation's longest greenway. That factor alone confirms the importance of the Trail. In a much further developed world long continuous greenways will become vital to maintain species and to protect the web of life. Humankind will have a huge need to connect to natural places in order shed the stress of the increased pace of life. The NCT will be a haven for many seeking connection to their simpler past, offering a chance to sort through events and personalities, to recognize hype and to sift experiences until real truths and inner peace can be discovered. I know how much I depend on experiencing our wonderful natural world to keep myself grounded; I imagine this importance will increase in the future. Our work is truly vital.

And then there's the trail: constructed with a focus on keep ing the hiker on the ridgeline as much as possible the path is never very far from the next vista.

could experience this spectacular nature setting.

I thought back 100 years to a time when walking five or ten miles was com monplace just to provide for everyday needs, when personal transportation was riding horseback or a buggy or wagon pulled by livestock or you walked ... when the average Joe spent nearly all his time providing for the basic needs of his fam ily, usually through hard physical work, and life expectancy was 20 years less than today. What a different world we live in today! Most of us no longer per form hard physical work to make our liv ing. We travel from place to place almost effortlessly in our automobiles. A lot of us spend large amounts of time trapped in commuter gridlock, or in the digital world with email, the World Wide Web, and instant information, yet when we want to have fun we still choose to go back to our most basic beginnings and put one foot in front of the other.

Then I tried to imagine what it might be like 100 years from now. Surely everything will have changed dramatically and even the best of today's forecasters probably will miss the mark significantly. The increase in population and the corresponding increase in the

Not too long ago I was with a group of friends on our annual fall color

weekend on the Superior Hiking Trail. This was our l lth year hiking together and everyone considers this event one of the highlights of their year. We stay at a North Shore resort and hike an eight tolO mile section on Saturday and a three to six mile one on Sunday. Some day we hope to cover the total length of the trail. Every year our time on the trail steals the show but our time together socializing at our impromptu hors d'oeuvre parties at the resort and dinner and breakfast at local restaurants are just as rewarding and almost as fulfilling. Trying to find some place to eat for about 20 on Saturday eve ning is always a challenge and the source of many stories.

And then there's the trail: con structed with a focus on keeping the hiker on the ridgeline as much as pos sible, the path is never very far from the next vista. The autumn maple, birch and aspen colors transform an already spec tacular setting into an almost enchanted magical world. Passing through the birch and aspen stretches, especially on a sunny afternoon, where the ground is golden with freshly fallen leaves, the forest around you is filled with golden leaves and even the air seems golden with the reflected and refracted sun - light, makes you wonder if this is indeed real. From the ridgeline you gaze across slashes of reds and oranges provided by the maples and much of the shrubbery and groundcover. At the bottom of the draws the path is often covered with red and purple. Hiking the ridgeline guaran - tees frequent plunges and rapid ascents reinforcing the need to dress in layers and provides countless perfect spots to gather for lunch and more conversa- tion. Whether it's warm or frosty, sunny, drippy or downpour, gusty or still, we all have a great time and all will want to return again.

I find that when I'm strolling through the forest as we did then, I can get into a rhythm and begin to flow down the trail. When that happens I have an opportunity to reflect on all kinds of things. While hiking this year I thought about all of the effort that volunteers have contributed so that I

Fall Hiking Offers A Time for Reflection

treks off to Washington D.C. to meet with staff of about 50 Senators and Representatives. Our main goal is to educate them about the trail, and to seek support for increased funding for the National Park Service (NPS). We've been reasonably successful over the past few years, and the news from this past November was that a $60,000 increase would go to the NPS for the trail in 2004.

The bad news is that this is about a fifth of what we'd been seeking. After administrative assessments are trimmed out at the upper echelons of the NPS, there won't be enough left to accomplish our main goal of setting up the NCTA's first regional offices. Even so, it's good money and will be very helpful. At this point, we expect that NCTA's portion will go toward projects like research related to possible land acquisitions, improved communications to build pub lic awareness, new training opportunities for volunteers, expanded trail mapping, and other miscellaneous work.

In the box to the right is a list of the Senators and Representatives who sup ported additional funding for the trail this year. We hope you'll take a minute or two to thank your elected officials if they appear on this list. You can elabo rate all you'd like, but even a simple note saying, "Thanks for helping us increase funding for the North Country National Scenic Trail!" will do the job. Be sure to include your name and address, so they know you are a constituent!

The easiest way is to go to the main Senate and House websites and follow the links to your Senator's or Representative's own website where you'll find their e-mail link: www.senate.gov and www.house.gov. Or, you can call the main Capitol switchboard at: 202- 224-3121. Letters by post are not recom mended due to delays caused by security screen mg.

You may think that a note from you won't mean much, but I guarantee you that even a half dozen "thank you" notes will be enough to draw their attention to the trail and these notes will be a huge help when we meet them again next year.


" ... it made me extremely proud of all the work our volunteers have done over the years to complete all those segments. "

We had a spot of good news in November regarding funding for the trail! As you might know, each spring, a small handful of volunteers and staff

words, data and pictures spread across all those pages. It may seem silly for me as executive director to hold a book in my hands and think to myself, "Wow, it really is one, single trail. And it's a whopper." Of course, we all know it's one single trail, but having it all together like that, in my hands, really drove the point home. What's more, it made me extremely proud of all the work our volunteers have done over the years to complete all those segments. You won't find anything profound in this book, but you will find a good, solid milestone for the NCT.

I can't possibly blather on about this new book without also acknowledg ing all the hard work that went into it. Volunteer Ginny Wanty took on the monumental task of gathering all the information, which included a LOT of badgering, research, and writing. Our GIS Coordinator, Tiffany Stram gamely took on the role of staff coordinator for the project, even though I never really assigned it to her and instead sort of let it slide inexorably onto her desk. And, talk about welcoming a Trojan horse, volunteer Jennifer Tripp agreed to take on the layout and graphic end of things. Around the office, we all look sheepishly at the floor when we think about how big a project this became for Jennifer. Lastly, thanks to all the volunteers who helped provide information for the book and who proofed our final draft.

A fter nearly two years of work, we're ~leased to announce the publication of our new book, Hikeable Segments of the North Country National Scenic Trail. (See page 4 for more details on the guidebook.) While it's not a guidebook by any means, this book does provide an overview of all the off- road segments of the trail. You'll find information on what maps are available, how many miles are continuous, how far to the next seg ment, and whom to contact for more information. In browsing through the book, you're likely to be struck by just how much trail is out there to enjoy, and how much work goes into pulling it all together.

We continually struggle with the challenge of our trail's identity. The North Country National Scenic Trail does not follow a single landscape feature, like the Appalachian Trail which follows a ridgeline or like the Continental Divide Trail which follows that Divide. The North Country Trail (NCT) also is not united by a single his toric theme, as are our National Historic Trails, such as the Lewis and Clark Trail, the Pony Express Trail, or the Trail of Tears.

In fact, even the concept of "North Country" means different things to dif ferent people. We know that the diver sity of the NCT is one of its greatest strengths, yet that very diversity almost encourages us to break the trail into regions or parts, and to view each part separately. When we do this, it can be difficult to step back and see the big pic ture, to remember that we're all focused on the same footpath, and that we're all striving for the same overarching goals, or exploring the same long trail.

Despite these challenges, I have to say that when I held an early draft of Hikeable Segments of the North Country National Scenic Trail in my hands, a tingle went up my spine. There was the entire NCT, reflected in the

Volunteers Accomplish Milestone for the NCT

;"Lowell, Ml, pountrytrall.or

uckeye Trail annual membership

me ng, ocking College, Ohio, www.buckeyetrail.org

April 30-May 2 - Finger Lakes Trail Conference annual meeting in central N.Y.,

erlakestrail.org ;:c:':}:::::·"oQ:'>

y: 2 - Superior Hiking soclatlon annual meetin

Ridge Environmental earning Center, Finland, MN,

[email protected]

5-i.6 - Ohio Trails Expo, ing College, Ohio,

uckeyetrai l.org

May 16-22 - Volunteer vacation, Moraine and McConnells Mills State Parks, Penns www.AmericanHiki

May 16-22 - Volunteer, Pictured Rocks Natio Lakeshore, Michigan. www.AmericanHiking.org

May 23-29 - Volunteer vacation, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan. WWW.Ame( erg

Dey. ugust 5-8 - North Country Trail

Association annual conference, Marietta, Ohio. www.northcountcytrail.org

-Bob Papp

state of Michigan. Having personally

recruited more than 60 new members to the NCTA and volunteered nearly 2,500 hours, Rich was extremely

We were shocked and saddened recently by the news that Rich

Saur had passed away unexpectedly, at the age of 53.

Rich joined the NCTA back in the early 1990's and soon began looking for ways to become more involved with the trail. Seeing a need for a support group in his area, Rich

. founded our Baw Beese Chapter in 1998 to develop and maintain the southernmost section of the NCT in the Richard D. Saur

Jan. 7, 1950 - Oct. 22, 2003

effective at promoting the NCT and the work of the Association. The Baw Beese Chapter was NCTA's 13th Chapter. With Rich as president, it grew to become our seventh largest

Chapter and accom plished numerous proj ects to create new trail and improve and pro tect the trail segments under its management. A strong presence and one who was never shy about speaking his mind, Rich definitely will be missed by many of us in the NCTA.

As a veteran of the Vietnam War, Rich was buried in Fort Custer National Cemetery, near Augusta, Michigan, just a stone's

throw from the North Country Trail itself.

Baw Beese's President, Fervent Backer of Trail

In Memoriam: Richard D. Saur, 1950-2003

Representatives New York:

Sherwood Boehlert (R) Maurice Hinchey (D) Amo Houghton (R) Carolyn Maloney (D) John McHugh (R) Tom Reynolds (R)

Pennsylvania: Phil English (R) Melissa Hart (R)

Ohio: Rob Portman (R) Ralph Regula (R) Tim Ryan (D) Ted Strickland (D) Michael Turner (R)

Michigan: Vern Ehlers (R) Pete Hoekstra (R) Dale Kildee (D) Sander Levin (D) Bart Stupak (D) Fred Upton (R)

Wisconsin: David Obey (D) Herb Kohl (D)

Minnesota: James Oberstar (D) Collin Peterson (D) Betty McCollum (D)

North Dakota: Earl Pomeroy (D)

Senators New York:

Hillary Clinton (D) Chuck Schumer (D)

Pennsylvania: Rick Santorum (R) Arlen Specter (R)

Ohio: Mike DeWine (R) George Voinovich (R)

Michigan: Carl Levin (D) Debbie Stabenow (D)

Wisconsin: Russ Feingold (D) Herb Kohl (D)

Minnesota: Norm Coleman (R) Mark Dayton (D)

North Dakota: Kent Conrad (D) Byron Dorgan (D)

Senators and Representatives who actively supported our

request for increased funding for the North Country Trail in 2004:

impede illegal motorized incursions, and selective fencing installation. Youth Conservation Corp personnel were assigned for three weeks for brush clearing in drainage areas; the N.Y. State Army National Guard assigned the 204th Engineering Battalion for a training operation, and a contrac- tor performed services at our direc tion. The net results: major clearing of debris, installation of ten culverts, clearing of culvert entrances, and trail surface grading. Work continues.

•Major trail upgrades: 400+ feet of

passage through an area slated for major development. NPS funding, Madison County Social Services, and Town of Lenox support (trucking and Gradall equipment use) made project viable. This is part of a 2.6-mile trail segment planned for NCT certifica tion.

• Award of a federal highway funded grant for two segments of the former Lehigh Valley Railroad totaling 2.7 miles will enable us to provide drain age system restoration/maintenance, parking area construction, barriers to


Central NY Chapter 2003 Accomplishments:

• Stone surfaced walkway provides safe

Trail Reports From NEW YORK

and the installation of signs and other trail facilities. Even so, there were plenty of good, old-fashioned, dirt-on-the-ground projects as well.

While the following reports may seem exhaustive, they actually represent work completed on only about half of

the total trail length! Many folks volunteer to get away from paperwork, so you can imagine where priorities

might fall when weigh ing an afternoon of trail work against an afternoon of report writ ing. So, even though you may not find their reports in these pages, we know you'll find the

results of their dedication along the trail!

H undreds of volunteers spent more than 33,000 hours dur ing 2003 tending to the needs of the North Country

National Scenic Trail from New York in the east to North Dakota in the west.

Trail con struction, recon struction and maintenance of treadway and structures occupied the members and partners of the NCTA throughout the year, espe cially where severe storms - the worst of them in Ohio - wreaked havoc in the forests that shelter the NCNST.

Many of the volunteer hours reported went toward the construction of new bridges and puncheon over wet areas,

Finger Lakes Trail Conference Following a much messier winter

than average, maintaining clubs and individuals in the middle of the state especially had a long hard time cleaning up this spring. And of course, this fall, just about when every conscientious trail caretaker thought he or she was all done picking up, we had several extremely windy days which have littered all trails with an enormous number of branches. Remember Sisyphus, the rock, and his endless hill?

During the relative peace of this summer, several special projects were accomplished. A new log shelter was built west of Cortland in the center of the state, a 40-foot truss bridge was built over perennial problem West Branch Bucktooth Run in far western N.Y., and three kits are being made for handi capped accessible outhouses. An existing shelter received some work on its under pinnings to shore it up and reduce runoff damage, while a vocational school crew with its backhoe and dump trucks built a parking lot. That firm lot enabling hikers to park safely off a busy highway has increased the walking traffic notice ably at a property the FLTC owns in the western part of the state, where we have provided a nice loop for day hikers. Funding for materials and the school's project leader came from NPS grants.

Three ''Alley Cat" five-day crews also improved trail where slope was too severe, plus totally rerouted the trail across the top of Bear Creek State Forest to improve the route to a drier, less steep path. Our new NovaJack trailer from an NPS Challenge Cost Share award will help us move heavy materials down nar row lanes.

Major reroutes are also underway in Sugar Hill State Forest to avoid logging projects and to separate our footpath from horse trails. Best news of all: two

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- Mary Coffin

We are fighting hard to maintain and preserve single use hiking trail desig nation on state lands.

Left and below left are treadways of the NCT completed this year by the Central New York Chapter.

Onondaga Chapter of ADK The Onondaga Chapter of the

Adirondack Mountain Club continues to make progress as we extend the Onondaga Branch Trail of the Finger Lakes Trail and the route of the NCT north and east from the main FLT. Our North Country Trail Team scouts, flags and constructs a few miles of com pleted NCT annually while maintaining 101 miles of FLT including 59 miles of completed NCT/FLT within its sponsor ship.

On existing trail we cleared much blowdown this season due to a spring ice storm and fall winds from Hurricane Isabel and worked steadily to keep up with the brushy growth promoted by the summer rains. Several hundred hours were spent removing nails and plastic markers and replacing them with 2 x 6 painted blazes.

Once again this year all new con struction has occurred on private or county land and since the topography is so hilly we flexed our muscles while completing a great deal of 10% grade benching. We applied for certification on a completed segment in Highland Forest, an Onondaga County Park.

In 2003 we obtained permission from three more private landowners and plan to construct on their land in 2004. Soon the only gaps in the trail will be on State land because trail construc tion on state land in our region is still on hold while several official resource and recreation management plans await completion.

puncheon installed on the north and south approaches to the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, all on private land with owner support. Within the Nelson Swamp Unique Area, N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation improved the parking area per our shared goals, plus added a 0.7-mile "interpretive trail" forming a loop with the NCT. Trail register data illustrate significant use of these seg ments in the greater Cazenovia area.

•Liaison efforts: continued to work with public land-managing agencies to pre serve "foot-trail only" status, and have begun forming a group to the north of our area to develop the continuation of the NCT toward the Adirondacks.

-Al Larmann, Jr.

Reports from Trail: 2004

Chief Noonday Chapter 2003 was a busy year for the

Chapter with numerous activities from public hiking events, to scouting new trail and partnering with Calhoun County Parks and Recreation to extend the NCT along the Kalamazoo River between Battle Creek and Marshall. Trail Development & Maintenance- • Fe Custer National Cemetery trail

of approximately three miles was completed in early fall. This section includes approximately one mile of bridging and puncheon through a beautiful natural marsh area.

• Another delightful section of future trail will pass through the Middleville State Game Area. The initial scouting

Trail Reports From

MICHIGAN

the Buckeye Trail in preparation to mark and blaze this trail as connector trail so that a hiker entering Ohio from either Pennsylvania or Michigan will have a clear trail to follow though the state. The marking and blaziqg will be done in early 2004 to complete the task. As part of this task a route was laid out that reaches from the existing Buckeye Trail to the NCNST in the Wayne National Forest. In Washington County, the route follows the NCT in its entirety and then returns to the Buckeye Trail. This will also be marked and blazed including this segment of trail that up until now has been isolated.

Brad Bosley and the members of the Great Trail Sandy Beaver Canal Chapter continue to work with the local landowners and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to get permission to construct new trail. It is a slow process requiring a lot of education and patience but they continue to make progress.

- Garry Dill

The single largest impact on the NCNST in Ohio this year was a single ice storm in the Shawnee State Forest in southern Ohio. There were over 10 miles of trail completely obstructed. Five work parties of five days each were required to clear and in one place reroute the trail. This effort had a significant impact on the labor available for other projects this spring and fall.

A group of hikers undertook to hike all the portions of the NCNST not on

Rock Chapter We have:

• Increased membership. • Reinvigorated Chapter via new

President and meetings held on the trail.

• Performed minimal trail maintenance on our section, and reviewed needs.

• Conducted four hikes. We are planning to:

• Continue increasing membership. • Continue refresh via membership

drives, hikes, and educational events. • Increase trail maintenance and build

ing under new State Coordinator Ron Rice.

• Prepare for a landowner meeting. - Deborah Houldsworth

-Ed Scurry

completing the trail as they have initi ated new regulations and some of the Land Managers are insisting that all new trails be multi-use, even though our proposed trail had been in place with the state agency long before the new regula tions were implemented. It should be of no surprise to any trail maintainers that environmental damage has already become evident from horse usage. So we will be penalized until the Game Commission decides how to work out their multi- use scheme.


Clarion Chapter The Clarion Chapter is in the early

stages of laying out the next section of the NCT along the Clarion River, The new segment will parallel the Clarion River and continue through Game Land 283. On this portion there is an extensive Mountain Laurel canopy and several river vistas. Anyone needing more specific information can contact me at [email protected].

The Manager of the Game Land has attempted to place a few hurdles to

- Bert Nemcik

Allegheny National Forest Chapter

We are still working on cleaning up the storm damage from July. The NFS officially closed the trail in the Allegheny National Forest. The section of the trail from S.R. 59 to the N.Y. border is not damaged at all and may be opened again very soon.

We have: • Grown from 0 to 30 members since

April 2003. • Formed a partnership with NFS and

gained their support in promoting and protecting the NCT within the NFS boundary.

• Fifteen members who adopted Trail Sections and have logged more than 700+ hours of volunteer time on the NCT.

• Adopted Amsler Spring Shelter as care takers and installed trail log box for backpackers and hikers.

•Attended two PA Council Meetings representing the ANF Chapter.

•Had fun!

rail Repor rom PENNSYLVANIA

- Irene Szabo

more permanent trail easements are being finalized with private landowners.

During the previous full year, 14,000 volunteer hours were dedicated to trail work on our 880-mile system, almost half of which is the route of the NCT.


Above: A major goal for the Harbor Springs Chapter has been to remove trash near trail sections east of Wilderness Park and south of Wycamp Lake.

······j~~-~~~;~M~;~1··;~~~---rh"~-N~rth".st·~-~-ii

Harbor Springs Chapter One of the main goals for the

Chapter this year was to restore a two mile section of trail between Brutus and Stutsmanville roads that was impacted by logging and soil erosion.

A half-mile section of the trail had been crossed 14 times by heavy logging equipment, so a group of Boy Scouts and their leaders worked on moving the slash back away from the trail while four members regraded the tread in the half-mile section with hand tools and the assistance of the DNR forester Ken Phillips. We hope that all chapters try to give input to the DNR when open houses or compartment reviews affect their areas because being a part of the planning process helps make logging projects smoother for affected trails. The other project for the two-mile section of

All ages and genders, couples and fami lies-all turned out for Western Michigan workdays in 2003. Among the 30 volun teers who participated In the Bigelow Creek project were, from left: Mary Lowrey (seated), Julie and Paul Haan, Jeff Essenden (in rear), Larry Meyers, Alan Casey with his two children; Dave Goodman (hugging tree), Dave Sheldon (kneeling), Holly Botts, Matt Hahnfeld, Mary Payne and Tom Learmont.

during 2003 providing substantial improvement to the trail but not add ing significant new miles. Still more than 61 miles are now certified in Western Michigan's area of responsibil ity in Kent and Newaygo Counties. The trail is nearly complete and mostly certified on public lands but barely begun on private land.

Some 50 volunteers accomplished a lot during 2003: • In the Huron-Manistee National

Forest we finished construction of a 33-foot bridge and 80 feet of board walk over Bigelow Creek plus a mile of new trail leading to the bridge, new treadway in the Rattlesnake Creek area to repair sections ruined by all-terrain vehicles, and repair to a half-mile section damaged by severe erosion.

• In the Rogue River State Game area in Kent County we moved two miles of trail on an old two-track onto new trail built to the new gold standard.

During 2004, the chapter again will schedule extensive work in the Huron-Manistee National Forest including construction of a new bridge over Cedar Creek, beginning a 16-mile reroute from an old railroad bed now heavily used by ATVs.

The chapter also hopes to build another mile of trail in the Rogue River State Game area with the help of college students we have been training, and a new route through the City of Lowell, site of national headquarters, will be chosen and marked this year.

-Werner Veit

Western Michigan Chapter Repair, reconstruction and re

routing occupied much of the Western Michigan Chapter's trail workers

- Tom Garnett

and meetings with DNR officials as to the location of the trail were begun this year.

• An Eagle Scout project was begun this year to construct trailhead kiosks that will include appropriate interpre tive signage, trail section information, NCTA and local contact information.

• Trail Adopters were educated to proper trail maintenance and assigned to pro vide most of the trail maintenance on off-road sections of trail in our three county areas this year.

Interpretive Project - • The purpose of this project is to

research and identify interesting aspects of the trail environment includ ing history of land use, unique eco logical features, flowers, trees, birds, and wildlife habitat. This information will be collected and organized into a "pocket guide" that can be taken along by hikers to provide a self-guided hike of the NCT in Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Barry counties.

Public Hikes- • Seasonal hikes were held during the

year with an additional 'Night Hike.' Over 100 folks, including NCTA/ Chapter members and nonmembers participated. The Night Hike this year was fortunate to have clear skies and nearly two dozen hikers enjoyed a lunar eclipse.


Rolf Swanson of the Peter Wolf Chapter constructs a modular "box" as the first step In build ing ten new wheelchair accesslble boardwalks on Baraga Plains In Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Peter Wolfe Chapter Our major project this year, which

was accomplished in conjunction with the Sierra Club, involved construction of ten wheelchair-accessible boardwalks across wetlands on the NCT on Baraga

- Denise Herron

North Country Trail Hikers The Chapter is chartered to develop

and maintain more than 100 miles of trail between the Hiawatha National Forest on the east and the Ottawa National Forest on the west. More than half has been completed and includes about 12 miles of blazed country road walks.

New trail development has taken a back seat to maintenance and reroutes occasioned by logging, new roads, and changes in ownership or land use. Some maintenance still needs to be done and some wet areas need boardwalks. We had hoped to add about five miles of RR grade through private lands that has been acquired by the DNR, but political issues have not yet been resolved and the possibility of its becoming a motorized trail still exists.

Some good news: we have initi ated a working partnership with the Noquemenon Trail Network (skiing, hiking, and mountain biking trails) that will result in some joint trail use and some combined signage.

Some not-so-good news: the illegal incursion of ATV's into some of our prime hiking areas is becoming all too evident.

shared good information to assist in the start-up of the Grand Marais Chapter.

Secretary Sue Deaner, kept our records, with Karen Sandberg's help. Our motivated and resourceful Tool Duchess, Marilyn Chadwick, keeps our tools at the ready. Our talented Adopt a-Section Coordinator, Mark Halvorsen, keeps the maintainers organized. Members adopt a six-mile section of our 122-mile trail and commit to "hike it, mark it, and report it" once a year. Mark is also credited with some incredible artwork and help with chapter brochures that we are in the process of revising and reprinting. He also worked with Fred Szarka of the NPS and Justin Carrick of the Hiawatha National Forest to order some high quality reflective road signs to mark trailheads and crossings, while Stan Kujawa worked on new trailhead signs.

Our creative Webmaster is Don Sandberg. We thank our staff photogra pher, Roger Morrison, for his help with Trails Day, and for organizing NCNST awareness at the Mackinac Bridge Walk.

We are grateful to our devoted and tireless partner at the Hiawatha National Forest, Justin Carrick, for all the board walk and maintenance his crew did this summer, for answering our endless ques tions, and for putting together another chainsaw certification class for us.

Our energetic partner at the DNR, Dave Merk, helped with National Trails Day and maintenance work in Tahquamenon Falls State Park.

- Kirt Stage- Harvey


Hiawatha Shore-to-Shore Looking back at another year on the

Trail, we're pleased with all the success and progress our Hiawatha Shore-to Shore Chapter has made in the east- ern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Of course, we have many key ingredients (faithful members, new members, offi cers, strangers made friends, and partner organizations) who have made invaluable contributions:

Our fired-up vice-president, Kay Kujawa spearheaded a great National Trails Day event in June. With the DNR at Tahquamenon Falls as our hosts, we had a great turnout to get the message of the NCTA across.

Our treasurer, Julia Rawlings, keeps the books and membership rolls, and

trail was to install water bars to reduce '':the soil erosion in the hills leading to the "wetlands in the area.

A second major goal has been to remove trash on state and private land near sections of our trail east of Wilderness Park and another section south ofWycamp Lake. We were unable to obtain any dump trucks or front load ers so four of our members have removed over 10 yards of recyclable materials (metal), eleven appliances (stoves, dry ers etc.), four refrigerators, and 20 tires using muscle and trailers. We have been assured funding from the Department of Natural Resources "Adopt a Forest" pro gram. We urge all Michigan Chapters to call 989-275-5151 and ask for Ada Takacs to obtain materials on how to make use of the funds.

The DNR also has an ''Adopt a Campground" program and we hope to make use of it next year. We have two beautiful camping areas on our 46 miles of trails, but people trashing the areas have impacted both. The Wycamp Lake area has been closed to any camping until citizens are willing to help enforce camp rules by reporting littering and unauthorized camping. The French Farm Lake area near Mackinaw City is under review. We found 15 trees downed by beavers within 50 yards of the trail head and that kept two of us busy for one whole morning.

The main goal for next year is to get more of our members involved in trail maintenance and monitoring.

- Jerry Keeney


Brule St. Croix Chapter The Brule St. Croix Rovers trail

construction crew accomplished much again during 2003. Four sessions of four days each by the Rovers and four regular Saturday chapter work days were spent on finishing up 3.9 miles of trail connecting the Chequamegon National Forest's original section of NCT to the Brule River State Forest segment.

Most of the work was done in the western portion of Bayfield County Forest and the easternmost mile of Douglas County: The Rovers camped out at the Winnboujou Bluff campsite on the trail and were joined by other vol unteer workers each day.

Due to a cool start to summer and a dry finish, one mowing seemed to suf fice in our area.

All completed trail was mowed this year and with few exceptions is in good shape.

We expect to complete two trailhead ...... j;~·~~~;~M;;~h·. ;~~~ .•. rh"~. N~~th. st·~·~ i3

Chequamegon Chapter About 95% of the potential length

for the North Country Trail in the Chequamegon National Forest has now been completed.

The chapter spent its 2003 seasonal work days reblazing trail sections, mow ing segments with a brush mower, and shuttling distance trail users to a trail head destination.

Sixteen new posts and signs were placed in two wilderness areas in the Chequamegon National Forest. Following the guidelines for wilderness areas, the posts and posthole hand tools

-Tana Turonie winter.

were hand carried by vol unteers.

The chapter also replaced the exterior and interior siding of an Adirondack trail shelter and repositioned a 400- foot long footbridge that had been partly displaced by high water, then added strengthening cross braces

to the lower bridge structure. A passing Boy Scout troop helped carry lumber.

Particular trail maintenance needs for 2004 are being prioritized during the

Michael Stafford and a group of eight volunteers recorded data for a possible trail to link Copper Falls State Park and Wren Falls on the Tyler Fork River.

On National Trails Day, several members began work to complete about 30 feet of boardwalk on the Uller Trail. Work on the boardwalk was completed in mid- July with the help of two men visiting from out of state.

The Chequamegon and Heritage Chapters held their annual joint meeting in October. This year, the two chapters teamedup with a park crew to build puncheon at Copper Falls State Park.

- James Burow

Chequamegon's Dennis Chapman sets up a blaz ing session.

Heritage Chapter . An extremely heavy rainfall and

flood this past spring washed an old bridge out of position and rendered it hazardous to use. The chapter built a new bridge crossing the stream located in the Whitecap Resort segment of the Trail, connected to the certified section that runs concurrently over the Uller Trail. The work crew was able to salvage portions of the old bridge and used new lumber to finish off a new 34-foot span with a new deck.

In May, a group scouted possible locations for a link trail. Using a GPS,

Trail Reports From WISCONSIN

- Doug Welker

Plains. Total boardwalk length is almost 400 feet across state forestland, where the boardwalks are necessary before the trail can be certified next year.

In addition, we assisted the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition on the four-mile section of trail it has adopted in the Ottawa National Forest. About Yz mile of the trail, through a former clear-cut that had turned into a thicket, required extensive mowing with the chapter brush mower. Basic mainte nance was performed on the four-mile segment, and a sidehill bypass of a steep section of trail was constructed.

Routine maintenance on chapter maintained trail involved 14 miles of brush mowing and several miles of chain saw, bow saw, and/or loppers work.

Some areas of existing trail are in great need of routine maintenance, especially a few sections maintained by the Ottawa National Forest. Blazing on almost the entire trail is generally quite good. No areas of extensive rerouting are needed, though there are overly steep areas where short reroutes would be helpful.


MCC Crew member using the weed wrench being assisted by Carter Hedeen, Itasca Moraine Chapter Vice President .

necessary to re-establish the tread way and re-blaze where the blazed trees had been taken.

A total of 4.8 miles of new con struction were completed in 2003. The chapter is indebted to the University of Minnesota YMCA Backpacking Club and the Outdoor Program at Bemidji State University for good contribu tions to that effort. A Challenge Cost Share Award paid for a crew from the Minnesota Conservation Corps, too.

Bad Medicine: Upon gaining approval of a Challenge Cost Share funding, the signage in the Bad Medicine area was brought up to stan dard. The entire length of the certified trail was walked, and maintained, and mowing occurred in most areas.

Construction of the trail was completed from Anchor Hill Road (end of current certification) west approximately 1.5 miles to the Old Headquarters (Logging) Site. This is the western boundary of the Itasca Moraine Chapter. Certification inspec tion walks were scheduled with the NPS's Fred Szarka for late November for both these new segments of trail.

2004 Goals Paul Bunyan: A few miles of trail will be flagged and con structed from the Akeley Cutoff, pass ing by Waboose Lake and on toward Itasca. A project is underway to gain approval from Hubbard County to

The Superior Hiking Trail Association had a good trail season. We constructed 7.2 miles of new trail and built three new campsites in the last Itasca Moraine Chapter gap of the existing trail near Hovland, 2003 trail maintenance: The certi- Minn. We also put in two new trailhead fied sections of the trail in the Paul parking lots. The trail is now continu- Bunyan State Forest and the Clearwater ous from Two Harbors to the Canadian County Bad Medicine have been well border. We also did two re-routes on the maintained this past year. trail where the existing trail was flooded Paul Bunyan: Signage was installed due to new beaver activity. in the spring on the section that was

For maintenance, we put in eight certified in December 2002. There was new backcountry latrines and dug 21 a short section of the trail where a red new latrine pits. We updated three pine forest had been thinned and it was ............................................................................. 14 The North Star *January-March 2004

campsites, replaced eight aging small bridges, put in 1,000 feet of boardwalk in eight different locations, and put in steps in nine different locations. In addi tion, most of the trail was weed-whipped and numerous fallen trees were cleared throughout the trail.

Each section of trail and each campsite was inspected and maintained twice by approximately 100 volunteers. Ken Oelkers, our Trail Maintenance Supervisor, crews from the Minnesota Conservation Corps, and approximately 50 additional volunteers accomplished the rest of the work.

We have laid out a 38-mile route through the city of Duluth and are now going through the approval process. Hopefully new trail construction in Duluth will begin in 2004.

- Gayle Coyer

Newly completed trail in Bayfield County Forest, Wisc.

Superior Hiking Trail Association

- Chuck Zosel

parking lots, complete with kiosks, in ~ 2004, one near Brule and one near Solon ~ Springs.

Plans are also in the works to build bridges across Jersett and St. Croix Creeks.

The major project will be the con struction of about one-quarter mile of puncheon as part a multi-year project needed to cross the Bois Brule Bog, a northern conifer sphagnum bog that will eventually be the setting for over one half mile of trail, part of it possibly a future Brule River State Forest interpre tive nature trail.

Hikers in the Brule St. Croix Chapter area can now hike from Bayfield County Highway A, south of Iron River to Douglas County Highway A, just east of Solon Springs, a distance of 32 miles of continuous trail. We have been fortunate to work mainly on public lands to this point. Now we begin to tackle some more challenging stretches, represented by smaller private hold- ings, as we seek to link up with the trail through Solon Springs.


Janaury-March 2004 *The North Star 15

Sheyenne River Valley Chapter The Sheyenne River Valley Chapter

was busy in 2003 building, reconstruct ing, and maintaining trail as well as edu - eating the public and planning for future trail. 2003 projects include: • The Corp of Engineers secured a grant

to build 15 miles of new trail along Lake Ashtabula. Five miles of this are now certified with the remainder to be completed in spring. A Boy Scout com pleted his Eagle Scout project by assist ing in benching trail, building stiles, and rebuilding puncheon.

•The chapter reconstructed 1/2 mile of trail on a fragile hillside from Valley City State University to Medicine Wheel Park. The work on this was completed quickly thanks to help from Fred Szarka, Bill Menke, and the Roving Trail Crew as well as chapter members and the local juvenile com munity service program.

• After building the new trail, four exist ing trails were closed on the hillside. The chapter planted grass, stabilized slopes, covered the trail with deadfall, and planted over 40 trees and shrubs to block the entrances of the trails. Much time was spent throughout the summer keeping the trees watered.

• Planning is ongoing for connecting the segment of trail along Lake Ashtabula with the segment in Valley City. The initially selected route was met with resistance from landowners.

• The chapter hosted a Trails Day event and four hikes on various trail seg ments. Although participation varied, everyone had a great time and new people learned about the trail. To assist with public education, the chapter participated in the annual Christmas Parade (complete with a bonfire on our float!) and the Community Days parade in Valley City.

Currently, there are 23.8 miles of certified trail, five were added this year and 10 that are ready for certification.

-Alicia Hoffarth

Trail Report From NORTH DAKOTA

For information, e-mail [email protected], call: 724-287-3382 or call the National Office at 888-

454-6282 for a brochure.

!The Center is maintained and managed ' ·· 1 by volunteers of the Davis Hollow

Outdoor Center Committee.

Pennsylvania State Headquarters for North Country Trail Association volunteers Located in Pennsylvania's Moraine State Park, right on the North Country Trail!

Facilities include bunk beds, kitchen, and a meeting room. Tent pads near the Center that can be used by people who hike the North

Country Trail. Program weekends already are scheduled for bird watching, kayaking, geology, and biking. Others are being planned.

Visit the Davis Hollow Outdoor Center

Sponsored two trail building trips, one each in the Bad Medicine Section and Paul Bunyan State Forest.

Acted in a leadership role to coordinate the Minnesota Wilderness Trails Alliance's effort to provide maintenance for the long-range foot paths in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness including Minnesota Arrowhead Route trails, the Border Route Trail and the Kekekabic Trail.

Produced four quarterly newsletters to keep members of both Minnesota chapters and other interested parties up to date on the trail happenings in Minnesota.

Attended the Superior Hiking Trail annual meeting and exhibited the Minnesota NCTA display there.

Hosted a Solstice Hike in Wild River State Park.

In addition, our volunteer efforts were recognized at the NCTA Annual Meeting when Harlan Liliquist was awarded the Sweep Award, Ginny Ruppe and Pat Leinen earned 400-hour shirts, and our own John Leinen was named President of the NCTA.

In 2004, the Star of the North Chapter will continue the above support ive and proactive projects, while apply ing special effort to the Itasca Moraine Chapter's dreams of routing the trail west from the Old Headquarters Site to Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge.

-Pat Leinen

Star of the North Chapter While reporting 1,200 volunteer

hours over the past 12 months, the Star of the North Chapter has noted many accomplishments:

Attended NPS Minnesota Arrowhead Route Open Houses and monitored progress towards the route's adoption.

Exhibited at Midwest Mountaineering's spring and Fall Outdoor Adventure Expos. This great event allows us to introduce the Trail to an estimated eight to 10 thousand out door enthusiasts in the spring, and 10 to 12 thousand in the fall.

Co-hosted a National Trails Day weekend-long event in Ely, Minnesota, with the International Wolf Center and other trail groups.

construct a latrine on a peninsula on Waboose Lake. We will construct a short spur to that point and an NCT campground on the peninsula is to be established.

The certified sections of the trail in Hubbard and Clearwater counties are in good shape but this leaves about 20 miles to be constructed in Hubbard County, from Akeley Cutoff Forest Road to Itasca State Park. Except for 100 yards or so in a wet area, all of the land is either state, Paul Bunyan State Forest or Hubbard County forest land.

- jerry Trout


* Allegheny Natiohaf Forest.. .. Hiawatha Shore to Shore .

·· e 1

+29.2% +5.1%

+40 +152

177 3,130

... 142 ........ 53 ........ 20

Percent Change

Change Since Last Quarter

-9 --·.iiliil!liitlrr;1 +27

regio,tr~l partners. Here is what we sho~ for oved · embers: Current

Members 55


Kirt Stage Harve . Shirley Le Bonte ..

l ~d Chappel. , 3 !£+'Deborah Houldsworth 3 see

~:;·Marilyn Chadwick 3 [. Julia Rawlings.. ...: 3 % Rob Corbett ...

333 311 137

2,978

Pennsylvania

New YQr~1·,,"·'·'·"·"'"""""'H·•=~- Other Totals

Members State Last Issue ~Orth Dakota_""&~,j\;_~-~< 64 Minnesota 215 Wisconsin Michigan

J.phio

Pennsylvania

[;~~~'""'rl<"" .. ---~~ Totals 41.5%

State by State Membership Membership in the NCTA demonstrates public support for the trail. Membership dues help fund activities that benefit the trail. Here's how each state grew since the last issue of The North Star.

97.5 2.0 99.5 0

0.8 123.4 11.1 .'736.9

34.1 159.8 4.9

1,718.5 13.0 290.5 2,009 20.9 -----··--·-·- -----------·-··--··----------·-·························-···-·········

Total Off Road

Miles Miles Issue

Marked Road Miles

Change Other Since Last Off-Road Miles

Certified

Percent Done and Certified

Bob Tait .,,.,.,,, 121 John Klnc~id 70 Rich Saur................... .. 64 Richard Naperala ........ .. 44

Trail Building Progress on the North Country Trail The National Park Service certifies those completed miles that satisfy its standards. In addition, there are many more completed miles that may be enjoyable to hike but can not be certified for a variety of reasons.

A/ MILESiQNES·

,(. .,_ ~-><;ti> ·Ai.<>il·g--t:iie-·N·o~tlfc'i>~iliry··1;a-1i· Along the way to building the Iongest'contlnuous hiking trail in the country, we pass many milestones. This page marks some that show our progress.

2 More Hats for NCTA Head John Leinen Jr., President of the

NCTA, has also been elected chair man of the Minnesota Trail Council. Gayle Coyer, Executive Director of the Superior Hiking Trail Association, agreed to serve as assistant chair.

-------;-~~~~;;~M·~~~h·~;~~···;:h~·N·~-~th.st~~-ii

NPS 'New Look' Trail Websites The National Park Service has

unveiled redesigned websites for many of the trails in the National Trails System. The new NPS site for the North Country National Scenic Trail is at http: //www.nps.gov/noco/. NCTA also con tinues to maintain an extensive site on the trail, found at http://www.northcou ntrytrail.org.

Duluth Route Update The proposed 38-mile route

through Duluth of the Superior Hiking Trail, which will become part of the NCT when the Arrowhead route is finally established, has received approval from the Duluth Parks and Recreation Commission. The planning commission and City Council are also due to con sider the route. The goal is still to start construction this year.

-The Ridgeline, SHTA Newsletter

Davis Hollow Outdoor Center Gears Up

Pennsylvania State Trail Council appointed a taskforce to manage the Davis Hollow Outdoor Center at Moraine State Park. Dave Myers, President, Butler Chapter and Linda Matchett, Butler Chapter member, and Cheryl Nemcik, Secretary, Allegheny National Forest Chapter, will manage this outstanding resource for NCTA. The Davis Hollow cabin is a historic stone and dove-tailed log farm house dating back to settlement times. The cabin has meeting facilities, 11 bunk beds and several tent pads to accom - modate groups and NCTA members for weekend events and over night stays. The cabin is located along the NCT near the North Shore Marina inside the park. The taskforce is currently developing a year around schedule of events. Anyone interested in reserving the Davis Hollow Outdoor Center for over night or week end use should call 1-866-HikeNCT or email Linda at lmatchett@zoominternet. net to find out about available dates.

-Rob Corbett

-Bill Menke route.

Wisconsin Land Purchase Wisconsin Governor James Doyle

has just signed the final papers complet ing the purchase of another 90 acres, costing $81,000, for the North Country Trail. This is the latest in a series of purchases that the Wisconsin DNR has made to secure passage for the trail in northern Wisconsin. The National Park Service (NPS) has been an integral part ner in this process, providing planning, technical support and $500,000 in Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) dollars.

The L WCF funds resulted from the direct assistance of Congressman David Obey and Senator Herb Kohl, in the 2000 federal budget. The Wisconsin DNR matched these federal dollars with another $112 million from its State Stewardship Fund. With this latest pur chase, the totals are getting quite impres sive. Five tracts have been purchased in total and easements secured on another three tracts. Altogether, 590 acres at a cost of $356,000 have been acquired. Until the authority to acquire land from willing sellers is granted to the NPS, NPS grants to state governments offer a viable option for protecting the trail

unteers will open trails for the summer by clearing trails of fallen trees and per forming extensive brush work.

In Ohio, volunteers will perform maintenance work at Camp Tuscazoar, near Zoarville, Ohio, during the weeks of June 20 and again on Oct. 24. The work will consist of trail construction and clearing, gate installation, tree clear ing and firewood cutting.

To enroll in these or other similar volunteer vacations, contact the AHS at www.AmericanHiking.org or call (301) 565-6704.

HI

For More Information: Call the North Country Trail Association toll free at (866) HikeNCT for a free brochure or log on to the Western Michigan chapter's website at

ji!www.northcountrytrall.org/wml

·~·Or hold a Meeting $25 will give you four hour t the

';1,~c~oolhouse, or you can extend your ' stayJor a longer meeting for only $5

additional per hour.

"""'"'""''" of Association schoolhouse near Whit loud, Mich. for only $5 per person, per night ($7 ;50 for non-members). The schoolhouse, run by the Western Michigan Chapter, is equipped with a shower, cots and a kitchenette. The facility, in the heart of the southern portion of the Manistee National Forest, is only 1.5 miles from a trailhead of the North Co tional Scenic Trail.

Aconstruction project designed for :women on the North Country Trail

(NCT) in Pennsylvania is among four American Hiking Society (AHS) volun teer vacations to be held in 2004 in NCT states. There are two in Ohio and two others are in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan.

The Pennsylvania project, in Moraine and McConnells Mills State Park, involves construction of benches around a fire pit, constructing board walks over wet areas, erecting signs, clearing up around a new shelter, creat ing information kiosks, painting, some basic carpentry and stone work and various maintenance tasks on the trail. Dates are from May 16-22.

For the Michigan projects, which involve two separate, consecutive weeks starting on May 16 and May 23, vol-

Volunteer Vacations Set in Three NCTA States

No, Rob does not have a backache. He's stooping down, all 5 ft. 6 Inches of him, so he won't tower over the youth church group he encountered on the Superior Hiking Trall near Bean Lake, MN.

the ridges, the stars and the waning crescent of the moon's visible disk illumi nated the trail ahead and the silver tree trunks all around. I stopped for some tea on a bluff overlooking the town of Beaver Bay and a Lake Superior that was smooth as glass. This is the ultimate in solitude. Alone, at night, hiking a ridge top trail when even the animals have all moved to lower ground for some last minute grub before winter's arrival. Only the lights of Beaver Bay and the yellow glow of a distant cabin to the west reminded me that I would have to move on to be within range of my morning meeting destination.

The next day I climbed out of my tent for a quick 1.5-mile hike down the ridge to the shore via a side trail to Cove Point Lodge where I attended a meet ing of the SHTA Board of Directors. Marcia Hillestad, Cove Point's owner, had the foresight to buy enough land on the northwest side of Highway 61 to create a link trail from the SHT to the lodge. Nice! No road walk! All down hill from my camp on the SHT and running on an empty belly, I made it to the lodge just as break fast was making its way from the kitchen to the dining room.

Cove Point Lodge sits on the shore of Lake Superior just south of Beaver Bay and proves a great jumping off point for trail expeditions. The dining room looks out

with Rob Corbett Director of Trail Management

on the lake and the sunrise was slow and yellow so I sat and sucked down some coffee and eyed the growing selection of herring, pickled beets and cucumbers, hard rolls and hot blueberry muffins. Best of all was that Marcia's lodge has a hiker's shower that was so clean it squeaks and so hot that you might think it a sauna. I was in presentable condition and well fed just in time for our morn ing meeting.

After our meeting, I had a walleye lunch with SHTA Executive Director Gayle Coyer and some of her more hun gry board members, and hitched a ride back to my truck. The rest of the day I hiked north to the falls at Baptism River in Tettegouche State Park under clear skies. This was the beginning of the fall color season on the SHT and hikers and backpackers were out in force. I ran into a church youth group from the Twin Cities, a group of nine local youths on

ON THE


This September I had the joyful job of hiking about 25 miles of the Superior

Hiking Trail (SHT) along the North Shore of Lake Superior. I was on my way to meet with the Superior Hiking Trail Association regarding blazing, signing and bridge replacement issues along the SHT.

As many of you already know, the National Park service is in the process of completing a route assessment that would take the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCNST) north and east along the Superior Hiking Trail, and then west along the Border Route Trail and the Kekekabic Trail. When this route is adopted, the NCNST will pass through a number of Minnesota State Parks, the Superior National Forest (making a total of 10 National Forests on our route) and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area on its way back south to Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and the Chippewa National Forest.

But I digress. I was up north to take a look at the SHT, and gain an under standing of how the trail and its trailside destinations have worked together to make the SHT the popular trail it is today.

It's about a 17-hour drive from Lowell, Michigan, to Beaver Bay, Minn., and when I finally arrived it was dusk. I pulled into the trailhead at County Highway 4 just north of Beaver Bay and pulled out my stove for a dinner of smoked salmon, wild rice and coffee. I weighed the choices of sleeping in the truck and rising early to hike, or, hiking at night and waking up on the trail. The choice was easy so after dinner I donned my headlamp and hit the trail toward Cove Point Lodge just south of Beaver Bay.

The SHT runs up and down the ridge on interesting sets of stone steps and along high bluffs that look out over Lake Superior and west across the expanse of forest that is northern Minnesota. At night, with a cold breeze and no cloud cover, I only needed the headlamp when I descended into the little valleys on the stone steps that must have cost a fortune's worth of scraped knuckles to construct. While I was atop

Stepping Down the Superior Hiking Trail

Ed spends an enviable amount of time in the north woods. This time he was doing a three-day southbound hike on the SHT. Ed is one of those guys you start talking to and soon forget that you just met him. We talked a little about the fall color and a lot about his hiking in Wisconsin and the efforts to find a route from the east to Copper Falls State Park. Quick-witted and insightful, Ed is a pleasure to visit with so it was hard to pick up my pack and head down the back of the mountain. However, Ed is never too far out of touch, as you can track his movements by reading his informative and by all means entertain ing hike reports at www.backpacker.com.

Walking out of the woods at Tettegouche State Park I put on my "sad tired hiker" face and convinced a young couple at the visitor center to give me a ride back to my truck. Sitting in the back seat between two sets of golf clubs, I took the opportunity to lighten my pack by sticking an NCTA map and discount membership form in the side pocket of each golf bag. Asking about my hike they seemed dismayed that I had seen so much fall color when they had seen none to speak of on their drive up Highway 61. "You have to get up on the ridge and away from the warm lake air," I explained. I told them about Bean Lake and the view of Beaver Bay at night and about looking west from the top of Mount Trudee and the smell of the waterfall on the Baptism River. We talked for about a half hour, until I got to telling them about the pickled herring at Cove Point Lodge and my stomach began to growl. I thanked them and threw my pack in the back of my truck.

I never miss an opportunity to pro mote our trail and share my experiences with those I meet. Possibly next spring, as they open their golf bags to tee off the first ball of the season, they'll find the maps, remember our talk and we'll see them hiking the SHT some time next year. One can only hope.

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The forest in Tettegouche State Park was in full fall plumage along the Superior Hiking Trail In northern Minnesota.

savor the experience. Best of all though is where these steps take you. Views like that of Bean Lake and Bear Lake where high bluffs look down on still water and rolling ridges would be nearly impos sible to reach without the time and labor invested by volunteers over many seasons of bloody-knuckled step construction.

From the ridge above these lakes you can see the northwestern side of the superior ridge where the warm air from the lake can't reach to hold off the fall of summer. The side of the ridge fac- ing Lake Superior was still green but here, looking west, the golds and reds of turning trees rip through the conifers in crazy patterns. Sweet! As I watched the breeze move across the lakes below, I noticed what appeared to be a small dog swimming across Bear Lake. Interesting, I thought, that a dog would pick such a cool day for a swim, until I realized that it was not a dog at all but two people in a canoe! Vast expanses of open space can challenge your sense of perception even with 20/20 vision. I was glad the steps had led me there.

On September 21, 2003, at the top of Mount Trudee, I stopped to drink some water and listen to the trees moan the cool wind. I found some company in the form of one Ed "Prosecutor" Ronkowski, his two hiking partners, and a dog of questionable demeanor. A me~ber of the NCTA and the SHTA,

their way out from a weekend at Bean Lake, and three couples all within the first hour. Campsites along the SHT are within close striking range of the trail heads and make for great weekend hike in-hike-out overnight excursions and they were certainly getting their share of use on this weekend. Once I traveled south of the second campsite it was soli tude again for the rest of the afternoon.

The SHT is an up and down trail with stone steps everywhere. From peak to valley and ridge top to saddle you'll not find anything in the way of boot sucking mud but you will find enough steps to fill your needs. Small steps, big steps, long steps, short steps, bend around the corner steps and take you under that house-sized rock steps. In some places the steps permit you to stand on one step and closely examine the details of the lichen on the steps above it without bending over. This is because that little lichen is no more than two feet from your face. I call these steep steps.

Did I find this bothersome? No, rather I find it adds an opportunity to appreciate truly some of those trail-side features that would otherwise be passed right by were the trail flat and follow ing along the valley floors. Steps on the SHT are like a good well-built wine. You don't chug right through it but rather take it a sip (or step) at a time and

~ -e 0 u

Genesee tumbles over a series of grand waterfalls to cut a canyon 400 feet deep. The FLTC has an office beside the Mt. Morris Dam, within Letchworth State Park, at the north end of that branch.

Woods and farms on private prop erty, some of it hillside cut by rugged gullies, take the trail next to another ski spot, Swain, where the trail leaves the village on yet another very old railbed cut into the steep wooded hillside, NOT up the ski slopes!

Not far past Swain begins a long stretch of state forest, where occasional evidence can be seen of early farms on these long-abandoned hilltops ... a barn ramp, stone foundations, a surprise lilac bush next to a 70-year-old pine planta tion. The trail eventually drops into Hornell, another town with services for hikers, right on Interstate 86.

A few blocks of road walk pass stores, restaurants, and two motels, then the trail charges right up a hill past the second motel's driveway and disappears again into the woods. Two days' walk later the trail descends to yet another valley, the Cohocton River's, after which our route reaches the first of the actual Finger Lakes.

The approach to Hammondsport and Keuka Lake takes walkers in one day from 1,900 ft. elevation down to 750 ft. in the lake valley and back up again, and subsequent lake valley cross ings are even more dramatic. The trail has been in oak territory for a while now, and the forests on the massive hill east of Hammondsport are impressive with red, white, and chestnut oak, plus many sprouts from the struggling American chestnut. When the leaves are off, there are even striking views up Keuka Lake.

Between Keuka and Seneca Lakes there are wonderful miles mostly in state forests, descending at last into Watkins Glen along the breathtaking rocky gorge of the same name. After a quick mile through this village and along the south end of the lake, the trail climbs once again steeply out of the rock-sided valley into the highlands.

For the second time since the Keuka region, the trail goes through vineyards, for we are also now in a renowned wine-making neighborhood. The route takes in the south end of the Finger Lakes National Forest and the large Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management

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especially deep. Also the leading edge of the glacier dropped off eons' worth of bulldozed clutter where it ground to a halt: some of the first hills outside the park involve hiking from rock to rock underfoot, a very lumpy experience and an effect that reaches its maximum bom bast at "Little Rock City." There the trail wanders among house-sized rocks, some with gnarly trees growing out of cracks, or caps of intriguing mosses and ferns.

The trail route continues generally north and eastward from Allegany SP, through a mixture of state forests and private lands, including one ski slope! Yes, it is a steep region, especially around Ellicottville, a toney ski village with accommodations for those who want to get off the trail, where the trail continues to rise and fall rather viciously. But cher ish those brilliant red and gold maple vistas in the autumn!

Hills and valleys never stop, but they do smooth out soon into milder coronaries for overburdened hikers. In fact, the trail is downright roly-poly for a couple days' walk, sometimes in woods, sometimes tiptoeing through an old hedgerow grown up into trees between two still active farm fields, and once even enjoying an odd level mile on an ancient railbed of the long defunct Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad through a current forest where a maple

sugar operation is underway.

In summer the path even skirts fields where men of the local "Plain Folk" harvest hay with 19th century

cutters pulled by steady horses. The snick-snick-snick of

their reapers coupled with the delicious smell of new-mown hay is a memory that will long stay with a hiker.

The Genesee River offers the next memorable waypoint. While the Allegany River bordering its park is crossed on a long-abandoned highway bridge, lending a strange ghost town feel to the route, the Genesee is crossed by hikers on a modern bridge at the junc tion with the Letchworth Branch Trail.

This branch is not an NCT route, but for those in no hurry, a few days walk northward would include 26 miles along the surprising gorge where the

backpackers. Allegany is an anomaly in upstate NY: the last glacier stopped at the river valley forming its north border, wrapped around it and oozed on into Pennsylvania, but did not scour the park itself.

So there are several odd features unique to the area just beyond the park: for one, the hills and valleys at the last edge of the glacier weren't scooped out and smoothed as much as others further north and east, so the next three days' hills are especially steep, the valleys

be had along the FLT, a good share of which coincides with the North Country National Scenic Trail. These hills fre quently are checkered in hay and corn; othcis are forested in oak or maple.

The NCT leaves the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania and enters Allegany State Park in New York, using the route of the 41-year-old Finger Lakes Trail System's main east-west trail. White blazes replace blue at the New York border, since the FLT had already been established for almost two decades

Potential Route of the North Country Trail

Completed North Country Trail

Finger Lakes and North Country Trail

NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL IN NEW YORK

I ..

Mountains. Together they are larger than some whole states. Outside of those vast preserves, there are still many dozens of spectacular state parks and state forests, including the beauti ful and unique Finger Lakes, and our own two Great Lakes con nected by none other than Niagara Falls.

Okay, I've seen the shoreline of Lake Superior from Minnesota's Superior Hiking Trail and from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, so let's not brag on our two bland little "great" lakes, Ontario and Erie: they are ringed mostly by flat plains and way too many houses.

But the glaciers that produced them also gave us the spectacular grooves between high hills that hold the Finger Lakes, an up-and-down topography that gives our trail its serial elevation changes. Thus many beautiful views of endless hills overlapping into the horizon can

, ;.I

when the NCT was authorized. The Finger Lakes Trail Conference publishes maps and guidebooks and administers the entire system, including branch trails, which shoot northward off the main trail.

Allegany State Park is so large that there are more than 20 miles of NCT within it, including two log shelters for

Portrait of the Trail: New York

---····------- --------------·····-·······-·-··························· 20 The North Star *January-March 2004

! attended Michigan State University back when we still used slide rules

and Joan Baez couldn't yet vote, so I know how Midwesterners pictured New York State: East Lansing freshmen were amazed that even Buffalo students knew what a tree looked like. So I suspect that many of today's NCTA members are puzzled that there could be any hiking trail in New York at all!

Well, have we got wonderful sur prises for you! Would you have imagined that New York is the third largest dairy farming state?

While it is true that the metro politan area around New York City is astoundingly crowded and urbanized, an area so complicated to the uninitiated that I personally avoid it like I do black flies, the rest of the state has so much delicious outdoors to enjoy that I'll never get to all of it.

Two immense parks are protected by the state constitution, the Forest Preserves of the Adirondack and Catskill

By Irene Szabo Associate Editor


Maps and guidebooks for the FLT are available online at www.fingerlakestrail. org, or by requesting a map buyer's guide from The Finger Lakes Trail Conference office: 585-658-9320. The Central NY Chapter's portion of NCT beyond the Onondaga Branch of the FLT can be

found on NCTA Map #NY-04, available in The North Star's Trail Shop.

the remnants of the Black River Canal. Alas, the actual route thereafter through the vast Adirondack Forest Preserve remains in a limbo of "studies" on the heaped desks of overworked NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation employees.

Yes, it is possible to walk hundreds of miles in New York even outside the two Forest Preserves and remain almost continuously in woods or occasional farm country. It's a delicious secret even many Yorkers don't know.

Autumn outing rewards the hiker with a maple forest ablaze for the season.

by the Association's only chapter ... so far. .. within the state of New York.

In a few short years the chapter has built miles of trail, some of it especially noteworthy for novel and creative part - nerships that resulted in miles on two different old railbeds, through a housing development, through a sculpture park, and through two villages up to the Old Erie Canal towpath at Canastota.

Madison County, focus of the chapter's endeavors and site of Cazenovia College where the NCTA held its 2001 annual meeting, has a dramatic profile along its north-south axis, as does the NCT/Link Trail, dropping from high wild hills in the south to flat plains in the north, where the Old Erie Canal State Park follows the "long level" por tion of the 1840s version of the famed canal.

The 36-mile park runs from Syracuse to Rome, and includes watered portions of the old canal, a wonderful boat drydock museum, and a nearly continuous stone dust towpath trail, but no locks, a real rarity along that famous "climbing" canal in any of its three his toric versions.

The N CT expects to follow over 20 miles of that pathway to Rome, after which the route will angle northward into the southern Adirondacks along

Until winter called a halt, Gene Cornellus of Bradford, PA, a member of the Allegheny National Forest Chapter In Pennsylvania and the FLTC, re-Installed seven sections of puncheons and added stabillzlng two by fours on the New York side of the border along the NCT where it coincides with the Finger Lakes Trall In Allegany State Park.


Area (yes, in pre- Revolutionary times Connecticut claimed this far west into what is now N.Y.), to descend eventually through yet another state park featur ing a mind-boggling rocky gorge with waterfalls. Robert Treman State Park, like Watkins Glen, deserves a half-day side trip off the route of the marked FLT/NCT, just because it is such a bizarre place.

After Robert Treman, the "bottom" of the FLT, where it crosses a busy high way on a dedicated walkway under the highway bridge, is at 430' elevation, and is of course followed by a heart-thump ing, steep ascent up Lick Brook Gorge on the other side. Again, waterfalls; again, wonderful dark forests, this time protected by a local land trust.

After miles more of state forest, including the view above the deep valley south of Ithaca and Cayuga Lake on the Abbott Loop off the main FLT/NCT at Thatcher's Pinnacles, and the waterfalls deep in hemlock forest in Shindagin Hollow, the trail heads eastward toward Cortland County. That county presents ever-steeper hills, and yet another ski resort, naturally, where the trail descends eventually to the Tioughnioga River.

As the trail leaves that river valley it passes 120 feet below Interstate 81 flying above on a long bridge, and meanders up dark hemlock-shrouded Hoxie Gorge.

Near the east border of Cortland County, the NCT departs the main FLT (which continues eastward to the Catskill Mountains) to follow the FLT's Onondaga Branch northward, climb ing eventually to the top of an overlook over Labrador Hollow, a view featured on the front cover of The North Star in September '01. Twenty miles of the Onondaga Branch are open, mapped, and blazed, with 20 more miles flagged and plotted; however, permission to proceed awaits state forester permission after a regional recreation plan is finally approved in the state capital, much to the frustration of the group whose sec tion this is to tend.

So here at last is a gap in the NCT's march across New York, but that tempo rary opening is followed by the Central N.Y. Chapter's "Link Trail" creations. While the whole FLT is tended by adopting individuals, local hiking clubs, or chapters of the Adirondack Mountain Club, here the NCT is shepherded


3 FLT Map M19, Spanish Loop There is room for only one car at the FLT/NCT trailhead

on Lake Rd. (additional parking is available about a quarter mile down the hill) south of Dryden.

After climbing steeply on switchbacks, reach the top of Havington Hill (also known locally as "The Pinnacle" (el. 1,650'). Descend on long switchbacks to panoramic view from top of pasture. Dryden Lake is visible to the right.

After several ups and downs and crossing two major streams on stepping stones, reach junction with Spanish Loop Trail (SLT), blazed orange, on right. Leave NCT at 3.3 miles

.... j~~~;;;_:.'M~~-~h -~~~~- ·r·h~- -N~rth. ·st~~- ·:2'3

gorge of Enfield Creek. Hike west from the parking lot and take Woodard Rd.

about a quarter mile to where the FLT/NCT crosses the road. Turn left and follow the white-blazed trail through lovely woods. The rushing waters of Lucifer Falls in the gorge of Enfield Creek can be heard from the trail. A little-used park service road takes hikers on a side-excursion to view the falls. The Gorge Trail, which most park visitors take to Lucifer Falls, is closed in winter because of treacherous ice conditions. However, the FLT/NCT route is open year round.

After 2.6 miles, take a break at the Sierra Shelter, built in 1996 by the Sierra Club, Cayuga Trails Club, and park person nel. The Enfield Outhouse is 75 yards west on a service road. As you approach NY Route 13/34/96, look for a walkway under the highway bridge over Enfield Creek. This walkway was included in the N.Y. State Dept. of Transportation's bridge design at the urging of the local Cayuga Trails Club and FLTC.

Continue heading eastward through two fields. The sec ond field and woodlands are part of the Howard E. Babcock Preserve owned by Cornell University. Its 27 acres were donated to the university in 1997. From this preserve, hikers enter the magnificent Sweedler Nature Preserve at Lick Brook owned by the Finger Lakes Land Trust. Lick Brook has long been con sidered one of the Ithaca area's most beautiful gorges boasting two major waterfalls. The FLT/NCT almost immediately takes the hiker to the lower waterfall and then through magnificent woods while crossing two small glens. A blue-blazed trail goes almost straight up along the side of the gorge. The white-blazed and blue-blazed trails meet at an informal overlook for the huge upper waterfall.

Write down your thoughts in the trail register and end the hike, if you want, at Town Line Rd. But the FLT/NCT contin ues east of the road following the gorge for a few more miles.

-Tom Reimers

Dryden Lake seen from Pinnacle Hill encountered on Hike #3.

2 FLT Map M16, Hilltop to Hilltop

This segment gives a sampling of many beautiful features of the Finger Lakes Region of New York: gorges, hardwood for ests, gorges, pine plantations, gorges, waterfalls, gorges, farms, historic sites, and gorges. Hikers pass through a state park and two nature preserves during this 4.7-mile walk.

Begin at the parking lot in upper Robert H. Treman State Park about five miles southwest of Ithaca, off NY Route 327. The park comprises 1,025 acres including the beautiful

-Irene Szabo

1 FLT Maps M3 & M4, NE of Ellicottville ' These 11 hilly miles, all on private land, are most beautiful

from late September to early October when the sugar maples show their spectacular colors. ·

Start at Access 8 on M3, Poverty Hill Rd. and head east. Follow wooded ridge north, overlooking extremely steep hill below, which of course the trail must descend on long benched switchbacks, to cross busy US 219. Climb forested hill on other side. ·

The trail follows old wooded lanes on both sides of a short walk on quiet Cotter Rd., and then descends after short zigzag on Irish Hill Rd. to cross several small streams. Cross Brennan Rd. and climb again, moderately, passing tiny stone house foundation before walking along edges of overgrown evergreen plantation. Cross field at hilltop after spruces, looking south for long views over rows of distant hills.

Descend steeply on private lane to NY 240, and cross to enter Fancy Tract Rd., crossing a railroad and major swampy stream on road bridge. A 0.7 mile roadwalk takes the trail to a left turn off Fancy Tract and down a farm lane to fenced pas ture. Then begins a long walk at bottom of huge forested hill.

At 0.7 miles into the interior, start gradually uphill at junction with orange-blazed Conservation Trail to Niagara Falls, staying with white main trail blazes. Climb through woods to great views at open hilltop, then descend gradually through maple woods first, then more old field returning to bush, with views down valley below.

Take a half-mile road walk into that valley, then gradually climb back into mature maple woods at top.

At the junction with blue-blazed loop we enter "Cobb's Forty-Five," property donated to the FLTC. Go left on 0.4 mile blue loop up to backpacker's campsite, or right one-half mile down to parking area, or straight a quarter mile on white trail to far junction with blue bivouac loop, then downhill on white on far side of property.

Whichever route you take will circle our beautiful property and end with a walk beside Devereaux Creek at the bottom. Cross over our 2002 bridge project, over an active railroad with caution, and walk a mowed path through goldenrod to parking area at NY 242.

NEW YORK SAMPLER: A Look at Some Favorite Hikes


-Kathy Eisele and Mary Kunzler Larmann

of the Shelter Valley Mill, circa 1862, which made wool felt for paper mills.

At the end of the Gorge Trail sec tion, note the old railroad station, now a photography studio, and the remains of an old plank road. Follow the blazes and NCT shields through Cazenovia village and enjoy small shops and restaurants. Blue blazes lead south at the traffic light at the Chenango St./Mill St. corner.

Follow Chenango St. for several blocks, then turn left just south of the village line at the large trailhead park ing area. Enter into a mixed hemlock/ hardwoods grove and follow the blazes across a small stream and through hedgerows with short open spots head ing east and south uphill to Stone Quarry Art Park (approximately 5.1 miles; moderate hiking all on certified trail).

Stone Quarry Art Park is a unique experience in all seasons. Check the information kiosk at the top of the hill (parking and restrooms also) for maps of the many connecting trails of varying distances within the park. Also enjoy the views, outdoor sculpture and gallery. The blue blazes for the Link Trail follow one of the Art Park's own trails through a wooded area along the back edge of the park.

As the trail comes out of the woods, enjoy the hillside views across the valley below. Follow the blue blazes as the trail turns south and then east along hedgerows, and then south again out of the park and onto private prop erty out to Charles Drive, a paved road with limited roadside parking (approxi mately .68 miles; moderate hiking all on certified trail).

5 NCTA Map 04, Link Trail To reach this Link Trail hike in

Madison County, turn north on NY 13 in Cazenovia village and drive approxi mately 2.6 miles to Bingley Rd turn right. After 0.1 mile, right onto Roberts Rd. Immediately on the right is a paved drive. Limited roadside parking is avail able near the second drive (unpaved).

Follow the unpaved drive up the slope to the Carsonite post and blue blazes. This certified section of the Link Trail follows the Gorge Trail, main tained by the Cazenovia Preservation Foundation, for approximately 2.2 miles south to the village of Cazenovia.

The Gorge Trail follows the path of the Lehigh Valley Railroad (1870-1967). For much of the way, Chittenango Creek runs alongside the trail. See the remains

-Mary Coffin

with great views of Labrador Valley to the west, then to drop steeply to the rim of Tinker Falls at 1,300'.

The trail crosses the top of Tinker Falls, which drops 50' off overhanging limestone ledges, then continues and climbs up the west side of the falls.

Next, one will encounter one of the most spectacular overlooks on the Onondaga Trail. Jones Hill, elevation 1,964', overlooks a glacial valley 720' below, featuring Labrador Pond (remains of a glacial kettle hole). There can be 30-mile visibility on a clear day.

The trail continues eastward over the hill and drops to Spruce Pond. The pond is stocked with fish, offers three season parking and free camping with state permit. An NCT kiosk is located here. Parking is available on the east side of the pond.


4 FLT Map 0-1 Spicer Falls to Spruce Pond The 9.6 mile section of the 23 mile

Onondaga Trail (Finger Lakes Trail and NCT) from Spicer Falls to Spruce Pond is one of my favorites. Found on FLT Map 0-1 south of Syracuse, this section passes through mature mixed northern hardwood forest with occasional conifer plantations.

After leaving West Keeney Rd. the trail passes briefly through a pasture but soon enters forest, climbs 100' and fol lows the upper edge of a ravine giving views of Spicer Falls with its 100' drop. At the top of the falls one can see the remains of an old mill race used to divert water for a mill below. Turning left the trail climbs to 1,620' and over a glacial ridge before dropping 320' to a ravine carved by beautiful, peaceful Cardinal Brook.

The trail crosses Morgan Hill Rd. (unpaved forest road) as it continues west, still in mature forest, crosses a steep ravine near Mossy Falls and passes Hemlock Glen Lean-to along Hemlock Brook.

The path crosses Shackham Brook on a short bridge then crosses Shackham Rd., the only paved road this section of trail intersects. At this point be prepared to climb to 1,800' and hike along a ridge

-Alex Gonzalez

and follow SLT until its junction with the NCT at 6.4 miles.

Turn left on NCT through fern for est and follow a beautiful creek to Daisy Hollow Rd. at 8.3 miles. Turn left onto the road and leave it on the right at 8.8 miles. Soon pass original junction with SLT and retrace previous route back to your car at 12.1 miles.

The view from John's Hill overlooking Labrador Pond and the rolling hills of New York.


9 office. Volunteers from the Buckeye Trail Association also joined us, includ ing Rich Pfeiffer, Herb Hulls and Jay

Scott Haas (Huron-Manistee NF), Fred Szarka (National Park Service), Rob Corbett (NCTA) and John Romanowski (Region 9 office of the Forest Service) share their perspec tives on the placement and style of trail blazes.

Abercrombe. All three of the NPS staff who work on the trail came, as did three members ofNCTA's staff Volunteers Rich and Deb Krieger of our Spirit of the Woods Chapter and Joan Young, our Lower Michigan Trail Coordinator also helped make the meet ing a success. Finally, Harold Chase from Senator Carl Levin's staff also came down from his office in Traverse City, Mich.

The first day of our gathering was spent in a meeting lis tening to presentations and discussing a num ber of interesting and

challenging issues. A couple of topics were carry-overs from previous meetings, including special use permits for events

...... j~;~~~;~M~;~·h·. ;~~~-- ·:rh~. N~;th. st~·~· 25

A lthough the National Park Service .!"\administers the North Country National Scenic Trail, nearly 800 miles of the route are found in ten National Forests. With at least one National Forest in each of the trait's seven states, main taining communication and a common vision can be a challenge.

To help improve collaborative trail management, the USDA Forest Service started hosting an annual two-day "Triad" meeting in 2000. Each Triad meeting is hosted by one of our National Forests, and is attended by representa tives of the three primary partners on the trail, the National Park Service (NPS), the USDA Forest Service (FS), and the North Country Trail Association (NCTA). This year, the Wayne National Forest hosted the gathering at their new headquarters outside Nelsonville, Ohio.

Representatives attended from seven of the ten National Forests crossed by the North Country Trail (NCT), and from the Forest Service's Region

Text and Photos By Bob Papp Executive Director, NCTA

Working Groups Will Draft Practical Arrangements Between Chapters, Forest Service

W'ayne National Forest Hosts 4th Annual Triad Meeting

A discussion of trail design captures the attention of Biii Menke, Rich Pfeiffer, Herb Hulls, Jay Abercrombie, Harold Chase, and Mike Martin.

and the NCTA expressed interest in working closer with the FS to inventory trail conditions on a regular basis, and define work priorities for each coming year. Realizing that there was a lot of overlap in these concepts, we decided that we needed to figure out how to get more "in sync" in order to avoid duplica tion of effort, to understand better what each party could expect of the other, and to be sure we're all speaking the same trail "language."

Thankfully, after all that talking on the first day, we set out early the next morning to tour segments of the NCT in the Wayne National Forest! Of course, hiking with a group like that really is an excuse to use concrete examples to dis cuss trail management issues. Seriously. The morning's hike featured a beautiful footpath with some great geologic fea tures. In the afternoon, the group visited segments of trail that were under a lot of pressure from ATV incursions.

As you'll note in the picture, we're all wearing hardhats! This is the stan dard safety procedure to which we all had to adhere. Despite our brazen appearance, one member of the group managed to get "turned around" and temporarily lost. We understand that this will cause a new safety procedure to be implemented next year: we'll all have to be tied together and take a buddy on any "bush tours."


learned that we already have 32 shelters along the trail, with two-thirds of them in New York. Designs used have been similar to those encountered on the Appalachian Trail. Having learned this, the group this year decided to appoint a "working group" to try to answer the questions first raised at last year's meet ing. So this definitely will come up again next year!

A working group was also estab lished to write an "issue paper" on the topic of annual work programs and completing trail inventories. The NPS currently has a trail condition survey form that volunteers occasionally use. However, we learned that the FS is embarking on data collection of its own,

Small historic cemeteries, like this one found at the end of the group's first hike, are scattered throughout the Forest. Fortunately, everyone survived this hike, and only one person was lost. Though It's tempting, we won't name names.

The group took a lunch break on the natural stone bridge, a popular landmark in the Wayne National Forest near Marietta, Ohio.

and group or corporate uses on the trail, chainsaw use by volunteers, and trailside shelters for distance hikers.

Occasionally, the FS receives requests to use the NCT for a large group competitive event, such as a race, or for a commercial use, such as by an outfitter or tour guide. Two such events (both foot races) have occurred in recent years, one in the Huron Manistee National Forest and one in the Chippewa. The question of how best to respond to such requests originally came up at last year's Triad meeting, where it was noted that responses have been inconsistent :-long the trail and there was a feeling that some general direction would be helpful. At the meeting this year we came to the general consensus that such special uses should be discour aged, as long as there was enough flex ibility to continue to accommodate exist ing uses and that case-by-case decisions still could be made.

On a different and less esoteric topic, the group also agreed that each Forest should appoint one or two official liaisons for volunteers working on the NCT. Many of our volunteers have been frustrated by the challenge of trying to figure out whom they should contact in the FS for each of the myriad issues and questions they might have as part of their work. Having a single contact will greatly simplify this challenge, and improve the communication between our volunteers and the FS.

We also talked about trail shelters. Last year, the question was raised as to whether we should support the develop ment of a trail-wide system of shelters, and if so, whether there should be a consistent set of designs. Feeling that we needed more information, the group asked Tiffany Stram, the NCTA's Geographic Information Systems Coordinator, to research the current status of shelters along the trail. This year, the report was in and we

native lands of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Natchez Indians. The French, Spanish, and British all tried to colonize it and their influences remain. Along the Trace is the burial site of Meriwether Lewis. It includes lush vegetation, bot tomlands, swamps, farmland, and rolling hill country. It is an ancient footpath, an All-American Road, and also hosts a National Scenic Trail.

The modern Natchez Trace Parkway commemorates this varied history. It gives present-day travelers an unhur- ried route from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee. It was the vision of the Daughters of the American Revolution-vcombined with the atten tions of Congressman Jeff Busby-- that made the Natchez Trace Parkway a real ity. Since 1937, the construction of the Parkway has experienced periods of both slow progress and rapid growth. It is nearly complete, with major construction due to be finished in 2005.

·······j;~~~~;~M;~~h··;;~~---;:h~-N~-rth.st~;·27 Boy Scouts have volunteered many hours building trail on the Natchez Trace Natlonal Scenic Trail segment in the Ridgeland area (Milepost 108 through Milepost 130).

200 Miles 100 0

200 Kilometers

include John James Audubon, Meriwether Lewis, and Andrew Jackson. Many inns or stands were established to provide travelers with food and shelter, but only Mount Locust, near Natchez, survives today. The arrival of the steamboat "New Orleans" at Natchez in January 1812 heralded a new age of travel. The use of the Trace soon declined dramatically.

Although differ ent interests brought people to the Trace they have a common thread of people on the move. Trace, a French word for trail or footpath, was the means by which this varied group could traverse the Old Southwest, cutting through the

The origins of the Natchez Trace pre date Columbus' voyage to America.

Prehistoric mound builders, southeastern Indians, and European explorers, includ ing Hernando DeSoto, were all part of the history of the Natchez Trace. In the early 1700's, the French were familiar enough with the area to. have made a map that showed an Indian trail run ning from Natchez, Mississippi, to the northeast into Tennessee. During the next one hundred years, soldiers and boatmen ("Kaintucks") returning north, and set tlers used the Natchez Trace. By 1801, the Trace had National Post Road status that brought post-riders to and from Natchez, Mississippi, and Nashville, Tennessee. During 1810, the heaviest year for use of the Trace, over 10,000 boatmen and others were recorded traveling north. A few notable Americans to travel the Trace

By Charles Cuveller District Ranger, National Park Service

Editor's Note: This is the fifth in a series of articles covering the eight national sce nic trails. Earlier articles dealt with the Florida, Ice Age, Continental Divide and Pacific Crest Trails. Subsequent issues will address the remaining two.

Traversing Centuries ... Across Three States and

Our Sister National Scenic Trails: Natchez Trace Trail

the Yockanookany picnic area south to an overlook known as the West Florida Boundary. Near Port Gibson, Mississippi, the Rocky Springs section of the trail has a 10-mile section open for use extending from the Regantown Road trailhead south to Russell Road.

The NTNST is a recre ational resource that offers people the unique opportunity to experience the Trace · n a very tangible way. While many visitors experience it at 50 miles per hour along the commemo rative Parkway, others can

literally walk segments in the footsteps of people who lived thousands of years ago. You can follow the path that French colonials used in the early 1700s to trade with the Choctaw and to war with the Chickasaw. You can march the route that General Andrew ] ackson and his volunteers used to get to New Orleans from Tennessee during the War of 1812. Students of the Civil War can retrace the route that General Grant used to move his army north to take ] ackson and eventually Vicksburg, Mississippi. Or, you can walk the trail of the present and simply enjoy the natural setting of various terrain, farmlands, waterfalls and wildlife.

The National Park Service is charged with administering the trail. Following the trail' s authorization, the Natchez Trace Trail Conference (NTTC) was the forerunner in blaz ing, clearing, and constructing the new trail. Today trail maintenance and construction includes the use of Student Conservation Association (SCA) work crews, Boy Scout troops, and other vol unteers.

The Ranger Activities Division of the Natchez Trace Parkway administers the trail. The Assistant Chief Ranger is the coordinator, while trail planning, maintenance, and construction are del egated to district staff including field rangers. This decentralization allows for local control and innovations. Trail work is currently concentrated on maintaining

An alligator sunning himself at Cypress Swamp near Miiepost 121.

The Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail (NTNST) has evolved in a similar manner with fits and starts. Authorized in 1983, its purpose is to provide a rec reational experience for horseback riders and hikers. Bicycle use is not permitted. It was originally envisioned at 694 miles long and incorporated local, county, and state lands for the trail.

Four areas have been the pilot sites for constructing the trail. The Rocky Springs, Ridgeland, Tupelo, and Leipers Fork segments have been created. Each of these areas is named for its location within the boundaries of the Natchez Trace Parkway. Three of the four seg ments are in Mississippi while the Leipers Fork area is in Tennessee. Trail maintenance and construction is funded through annual appropriations, currently $26,000. The Challenge Cost-Share program provides additional money for projects.

The four segments of trail account for 58 miles of NTNST. At the north ern end of the Natchez Trace Parkway, there is a 24--mile trail within the Leipers Fork District, near Franklin, Tennessee, extending from the Garrison Creek Parking Area south to Tennessee Highway 50. The district in Tupelo, Mississippi, has 5 .2 miles of trail open for use extending from the Beech Springs parking area to the West Jackson Street trailhead. The Ridgeland District, near Ridgeland, Mississippi, has a 23- mile trail open for use extending from

.......... ····························· . 28 The North Star *January-March 2004

Cypress knees at Cypress Swamp Area (Miiepost 121) .


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corridor, and to educate the public in its careful use and preservation, the pro posed reorganization of the trail confer ence will require the combined efforts of volunteers in three states. While the NTTC is the only statewide hiking trail organization for Mississippi, it must also provide a framework for cooperating with the Alabama Hiking Trail Society and Tennessee Trails Association.

Information, and activities related to the trail conference are available at www.natcheztracetrailconference.com.

sites along the Natchez Trace Parkway. The objective of these efforts was to increase awareness about the National Scenic Trail and volunteer opportunities.

In recent months, the Alabama Hiking Trail Society has introduced itself as a new organization further ing trail interests throughout Alabama. They have also initiated efforts to host the NTTC. Since the primary purpose of the NTTC is to plan, develop, and maintain a hiking trail along the full length of the Natchez Trace Parkway

Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail segment near Milepost 114.

existing trail segments, boardwalks, and bridges to acceptable standards. Frequent storm activity in the southeastern United States causes continual tread erosion and significant tree downfall.

While the trail has received valuable assistance from a core group of dedicated individuals in past years whose contribu tions advanced the overall trail program the NTNST would benefit from a large partner organization and full-time trail administrator to support ongoing trail maintenance projects, as well as propose and implement trail expansion efforts. Although these problems remain, the trail has had numerous successful volunteer efforts during the past year. Partnerships with the SCA to provide annual work crews to support major trail projects were expanded in 2002 and 2003 to include two work crews. One crew splits their time between the Ridgeland and Rocky Springs trail segments, while the other crew works the Tupelo and Leipers Fork segments. Projects have included trail clearing, trail re-routes, bridge construction, and boardwalk construction. In addition, Eagle candidates and other Boy Scout volunteer projects are a mainstay of trail rehabilitation efforts, contributing 468 hours in the Tupelo segment alone in 2002 and 350 hours to date in 2003.

To promote National Trails Day in 2003, various trail promotional and work events were held at three different


F

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T-SHIRTS SHIRTS G. Trail Crew T-shirt (c102) A trail crew shirt for volunteers! 50/50 blend. Two color design on front with map and a "fired up" volunteer. Color: tan. L, XL $10.95, XXL $12.95 H. NCTA T-Shirt (c101) Pre-shrunk cotton "Beefy-T". Three-color NCTA logo on front and two-color map on back which reads "Going the Distance on the North Country National Scenic Trail," includes seven state map. Color: natural. S, M, L, XL $11.95, XXL $12.95 I. Sweatshirts M, L, XL $34.95, XXL $37.95 Goldenrod (M & L sold out) ( C107 A) Khaki Green (L sold out) (C107B) Denim (L sold out) (C107C) Light Raspberry (XXL sold out) (C107D) J. Polo Shirt Color: Tan (C106) Embroidered association logo. M, L, XXL $31.95 K. Fleece Vest Color: Grey (C108) Embroidered trail logo. M, L, XL, XXL $38.95 L. Blue Shirt Color: Blue (c112) Embroidered NCTA logo. 100% cotton, collard polo shirt. S, M, L, XL, XXL $39.95


HATS A. Royal Mesh-Back Cap (C201) Mesh back, cotton twill front, royal blue, plastic snap strap $10.95 B. Ught Khaki/Navy Cap (C207l Trail emblem design. Low profile washed cotton, unconstructed. Light khaki crown with washed navy bill. Adjustable buckle on fabric strap $14.95 C. Denim Blue Cap (C203) Pro-wash cotton twill with extended bill, deep blue crown and bill (looks like denim), adjustable buckle on a leather strap. $15.95 D. Grey-Moss Green Cap (C206) Low profile distressed washed cotton twill. Adjustable buckle on fabric strap ... $14.95 E. Sun Protection (C210) Wide bill, Supplex® tan nylon, sofi: and breathable. Adjustable clip back .... $18.50 F. The Aussie Hat (C209) Natural Color, cotton canvas with full brim and rope cord with adjustable slider $24.5

PENNSYLVANIA N CT in Pennsylvania, 3 7 pages

(M201) $6.00

CERTIFIED SECTIONS OF THE NCT

By Byron and Margaret Hutchim Detailed information and maps highlighting the longest and best off-road segments of the Trail. These are accurate route descriptions by experienced guidebook writers who have walked the sections with a measuring wheel. In easy to use looseleaf form.

1:24,000 SCALE Printed in full color on durable paper these new maps come in a clear plastic bag to assure complete water protection. They have been carefully field checked for accuracy. Each map unfolds to a full n" x 17".

PENNSYLVANIA Southern Allegheny National Forest and Cook Forest State Park

(T203) $8.00 MICHIGAN

Huron-Manistee N.F.: North Segment (T 401) $8.00

Battle Creek to Chief Noonday Road (T 402) $6.50

Huron-Manistee N.F.: South Segment (T403) $8.00

MINNESOTA Chippewa N.F. to Paul Bunyan S.F.

(MN-09) $3.50 NORTH DAKOTA

Showing four sections of trail (ND-SE) $3.50

Potable Water Ran er Station

!H) Hospital

\JTM Grid Md 2002 MagnGtic North

Oeclinatioo Oifqem is ~wroximal6

--·~·-·-- Other Road

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Rome to Finger Lakes Trail (NY-04) $3.50

PENNSYLVANIA Allegheny National Forest

(PA-01) $3.50 MICHIGAN

Marshall to Bowne Township (Ml-02) $3.50

Bowne Township to M-37 (Ml-03) $3.50

Freesoil Trailhead to Cedar Creek Road (Ml-05) $3.50

Cedar Creek Road to Charlevoix County (Ml-06) $3.50

Charlevoix County to Mackinac Bridge (Ml-07) $3.50

Mackinac Bridge to Whitefish Bay Scenic Byway

(Ml-08) $3.50 Curley Lewis to Grand Marais

(Ml-09) • $3.50 Grand Marais to Au Train Lake

(Ml-10) $3.50 Au Train Lake to Little Garlic Falls

(Ml-11) $3.50 Alberta to Cascade Falls

(Ml-13) $3.50 Cascade Falls to Ironwood

(Ml-14) $3.50 WISCONSIN

Together these maps couer the Chequamegon National Forest

Ironwood to Long Mile Lookout (Wl-01) $3.50

Long Mile Lookout to Solon Spring (Wl-02) $3.50

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NlT1l>~b~~~~lt~rs Printed in full color on durable paper, this pocket size map unfolds to a full rr" x 17", doubleside. These maps do not come in a plastic bag.

~ail: [email protected] ORDER TOLL FREEfra84'54-NCTA(6282}"'=---- www.northcountrytrail.org

Pictured Rocks National ,Lakesbore by Olive Anderson An illustrated guide to the centerpiece of the North Country National Scenic Trail. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a rugged, beautiful, and unique coast on the Lake Superior Shore. Revised in 2002, this guidebook includes maps and excellent descriptions of recreational opportunities available at Pictured Rocks. 56 pages (L110) $6.95

MEDAl.tlONS AND PINS Add the North Country National Scenic Trail insignia to your hiking stick. A. Painted color (P105) $4.00 B. Brass (P104) $4.00 C. The Trail Emblem cloisonne pin is W' and features the updated North Counny triangle design. (P102) ••••••••••••••••••••• $3.00

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Full color pictures taken by our own members illustrating the beauty found on the NCNST. 100% pre-shrunk cotton.

NCT PATCH Patch ofTrail Emblem 3\/2 " bottom measure North Country Trail emblem triangle design (P125) $3.50

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Ohio State Line at Waldron to Augusta (M411A) $4.00

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Rogue River" State Game Area to M-115 West of Mesick

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MICHIGAN MAP SETS By Arden Johnson An excellent reference for the entire North Counny Trail in Michigan. Includes all off-road segments and suggests on-road routes where the trail is incomplete. Also provides good general information about access points, terrain, markers, camping and water, etc.

NORTH DAKOTA NCT in North Dakota 15 pages

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MINNESOTA Chippewa National Forest, Itasca S.P., 24 pages

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(M304A) $7.00 Miami & Erie Canal from Lake Loramie S.P. to Napoleon, 30 pages

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IFollow the Blue Blazes by Robert J Pond A guide to hiking Ohio's Buckeye Trail. Beginning with startling rock forma tions and graceful waterfalls, this 1200 mile loop provides a captivat ing look at each section of the trail. 300 pages. (l130) $19.95

······j~~~~~;~M~~~h··;~~~---rh~-N~rth.st~~·33

1eackpacklng Wisconsin by jack P. Hailman & Elizabeth D. Hailman The authors provide first hand information for trails in every corner of the state - from the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore to Newport State Park. (l129) $19.95

1Babes In the Woods by Bobbi Hoadley The women's guide to eating well, sleeping well, and having fun in the backcountry. 125 pages (l131) $12.95

Edible WUd Plants by James Kavanagh This pocket-size guide is per fect for identifying the various plants you see while out walk ing. (L127) $5.95

America's National Scenic Trails by Kathleen Ann Cordes History, the present condi tion, points of interest, and other details fur each of the eight national scenic trails. 306 pages (l122) $19.95

The Appalachian lrall Food 1Planner by Lou Adsmond Proven food tips for a short backpack to a six-month thru-hike, Includes recipes for easy trailside cooking. 128 pages (L126) $15.95

Hiking! by Philip Farranti and Cecilia Leyva A fresh look at hiking including its philosophy, health aspects for kids and seniors, and stronger family ties. 245 pages (L106) $14.95

The Country 'Doctor, Allve and Well by john G. Hipps M D. His stories will enter tain and charm you. Has advice on home remedies and alterna tive medicine for self care. 363 pages (l115) $19.95

Hiking with Kids by Robin Tawney Introduce your children to the wonders of hik ing. This answers any questions and gives valuable tips. 70 pages (l123) $6.95

Great Minnesota Walks by Wm. Chad McGrath Describes some of the state's most beautiful and interesting paths. Includes walks beside river rapids and scenic overlooks. 168 pages (l117) $16.95

Llpsmackln' Backpackln' by Tim and Christine Connors Dine on spaghetti, chicken salad, and cheesecake in the backcountry instead of gorp, cereal bars, and jerky. 232 pages (l118) $15.95

'First Aid and Family Emergency Handbook This compact book tells you what to do in emergency and then what to do to protect a victim. 252 pages (l125) $6.00

Great Wisconsin Walks by Wm. Chad McGrath Describes some of the state's most beautiful and interesting paths. Includes walks in the woods and in the cities. 160 pages (L116) $16.95

Trail Atlas of Michigan by Dennis R. Hansen This third edition has descriptions and maps for over 600 hiking, bik ing, skiing, and nature trails in Michigan. 789 pages (L102A) $34.95

Hiking Minnesota by john Pukite This edition has descrip tions, maps, and basic elevation profiles for 87 hikes in Minnesota. 273 pages (l132) $14.95

Porcupine Mountains by Jim DuFresne Describes the Porkies for hikers, campers, ski ers, and backpackers. Includes history, cabins, camping areas, day hikes, and waterfalls. 160 pages (l108) $11.95

50 Hikes in Michigan by Jim DuFresne Describes the best trails in the. Lower Peninsula. Includes access, parking, hiking times, contour maps, and explicit trail directions. 252 pages (l109) $17.95

Peak Experiences by Gary Pallesen A guide to the highest points in every New York county. Includes maps, directions to trail heads, and some alter nate routes. 288 pages (L120) $16.95

Take a Hike by Rich and Sue Freeman Explore the Finger Lakes and Genesee Valley with ease and convenience. 51 walks are completely described. 264 pages (l119) $16.95

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Gulde to NCT, Chippewa National Forest, Minnesota by Roderick MacRae Description and trail log written by an expen. 12 pages (M611) $1.25

NCTA Trail Building and Maintenance Manual by Thomas Reimers This provides guidelines -A.,-_'.tt_& for planning, construe- - tion, and maintenance of the North Country Trail. 22 pages (L101) $2.00

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minimize harm to the park, recreation areas, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, or historic site resulting from such use."

This provision of law is commonly known as "Section 4(f)." A special anal ysis must be part of highway planning when Section 4(f) applies. The FHWA has issued additional guidance to deter mine the applicability of Section 4 (f) to national trails:

"12. Trails Question A: The National Trails

System Act permits the designation of scenic and recreational trails. Are these trails or other designated scenic or rec reational trails on publicly owned land subject to the requirements of Section 4(f)?

Answer A: Yes, except for the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail which was exempted from Section 4(f) by Public Law 95-625.

Question B: Are trails on privately owned land (including land under pub lic easement) which are designated as scenic or recreational trails subject to the requirements of Section 4 (f)?

Answer B: Section 4(f) does not apply to trails on privately owned land unless there is a public easement to permit the public to utilize the trail. Nevertheless, every reasonable effort should be made to maintain the conti nuity o~, designated trails in the National System.

A fenced freeway breaks the conti nuity of a national scenic trail. Unless there is a road overpass or underpass close by for the trail to use, then a separate facility for pedestrians using the trail may be called for. But this will apply only if the lands on which the trail is located at the highway are publicly owned, or there is a permanent public easement. Nevertheless, the pol icy guidance commits FHWA to make "every reasonable effort."

Being informed of and involved with a federal project from the earliest planning phase is the key to getting spe cial provisions for the trail. Let us know if you become aware of a federal project that may affect the trail. We can influ ence the outcome.

the NCT is highway or other trans portation projects. Federal- and state numbered highways, as well as major local roads, are part of what is known as the "Federal Aid Highway System." Any work done on those roadways usu ally involves federal cost-sharing. If a project occurs on roadway where the NCT crosses, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), or the respec tive state transportation department act ing on its behalf, should coordinate with us and seek our comments.

The NCT crosses thousands of roadways. Most are two-lane roads and pose no particular concern. However, when a highway department proposes expanding a two-lane road that crosses the trail to a four-lane expressway or freeway, we become concerned about the safety of the crossing. While I can - not think of an NCT example, we have succeeded in getting several pedestrian underpasses and overpasses for the Ice Age National Scenic Trail when two lane highways have been expanded to four lanes.

Highway or transportation depart ments are charged with doing every thing possible to avoid adversely affect ing parks and other similar resources. Federal law states:

"The [U.S.] Secretary [of Transportation] may approve a trans portation program or project requiring the use of publicly owned land of a public park, recreation areas or wild life and waterfowl refuge, or land of an historic site of national, State, or local significance (as determined by the Federal, State, or local officials having jurisdiction over the park, recreation areas, refuge, or site) only if, (1) there is no prudent and feasible alternative to using that land; and (2) the program or project includes all possible planning to

In any complex organization with mul tiple functions, there is the possibility

that one function may actually work at cross-purposes with another func tion. Within the federal government, procedures have been established in law, regulation, and policy to require agen cies to notify about actions they propose to take so that the others can identify and comment on any actions that would affect their own missions.

The NPS staff in Madison has the responsibility to notify other federal agencies of major actions it proposes to take. We are doing this in connection with our Northeast Minnesota Route Assessment study, where we are propos ing a new route for a portion of the trail that may bring it in contact or conflict with other federal agency interests. For example, it would then pass through an additional national forest, the Superior. It would cross additional highways. It could pass through habitat areas impor tant to federally endangered species. We are required to seek the input from those agencies.

The reverse, of course, is also true. Other federal agencies must seek our input on how their proposed actions may affect the North Country Trail (NCT). For example, national forests along the trail route notified us they are in the process of revising their for est-wide plans. The forests also notify us of any proposed timber sales along the trail so that we can make comments. We have commented on proposed high voltage powerlines that would cross the trail. Even a Federal grant for building a new wastewater treatment plant adjacent to the trail should provide us the oppor tunity to comment.

One action that frequently affects

Key Point: If you become aware of a federal action or federally-assisted action that may affect the North Country Trail, let the NPS staff in Madison know about it so that we can coordinate with the responsible federal agency to minimize any adverse effect on the trail. We can also comment on actions of state and local gov ernment that would affect the trail.

The Work of the NPS Office, Part V.· Influencing Federal Agency Actions That May Affect the Trail

GREAT LAKES TRAIL COUNCIL Chair and Wisconsin Coordinator: Vacant, contact NCTA head

quarters for current information. Upper Michigan Coordinator: Doug Welker · 26344 Tauriainen

Road, Pelkie, MI 49958 · (906) 338-2680 · [email protected] 8. Brule-St. Croix Chapter

Charles (Chuck) Zosel · 6697 S. Degerman Rd., Lake Nebagamon, WI 54849 · (715) 374-3489 · [email protected]

9. Chequamegon Chapter Tana Turonie · P.O. Box 475, Mellen, WI 54546 · (715) 274-2521 · [email protected]

10. Heritage Chapter Jim Burow · 7067 Oakwood Circle, Neskoro, WI 53496 · (920) 293-8023 · [email protected]

11. Peter Wolfe Chapter Doug Welker · 26344 Tauriainen Rd., Pelki, MI 49958 · (906) 338-2680 · [email protected]

12. North Country Trail Hikers (Chapter) Jan Wester · 352 E. Hewitt Ave., Marquette, MI 49855 · (906) 225-1295 Bettie Daly· 126 HC l, Marquette, MI 49855 · (906) 228-9018 Denise Herron · 423 W. Park St., Marquette, MI 49855 · (906) 225-1030 · [email protected]

13. Grand Marais Chapter Mikel Classen · P.O. Box 249, Grand Marais, MI 49839 · (906) 494-2458

14. Hiawatha Shore to Shore Chapter Kirt Stage-Harvey· 950 Huron Sc., St. Ignace, MI 49781 · (906) 643-6379 · [email protected]

j. ... :;._. .. , .. , ... i.

"'111_1~,.J- ·_:.. ... ' )

Chapters Partners Not Yet Adopted

\ ... LEGEND 1111111111


MINNESOTA TRAIL COUNCIL Chair and Trail Coordinator: John Leinen, Jr. · 14205 Sc.

Croix Trail, Stillwater, MN 55082-9587 · (651) 433-4456 · [email protected]

3. Star of the North Chapter Vacant, contact NCTA headquarters for current information.

4. Itasca Moraine Chapter Jerry Trout · 4379 Maple Lane NW, Hackensack, MN 56452 · (218) 675-5448 · jbrroutts'tds.net

5. Kekekabic Trail Club (Partner) Peter Sparks· (800) 818-4453 · [email protected]

6. Rovers Outing Club (Partner) John Elliott· (612) 829-5142

7. Superior Hiking Trail Assoc. (Partner) Gayle Coyer · P.O. Box 4, Two Harbors, MN 55616 · (218) 834-2700 · [email protected]

NORTH DAKOTA TRAIL COUNCIL 1. Lone Tree Chapter

Eldon Ehrman · 2940 15th Ave., NE Anamoose, ND 58710 · (701) 465-3387 · [email protected]

2. Sheyenne River Valley Chapter Lisa Ringstad · P.O. Box 100 Cooperstown, ND 58245 · (701) 797-3530 · [email protected]

North Dakota x Minnesota « Wisconsin* Michigan Ohio * Pennsylvania * New York

229 East Main Street, Lowell MI 49331 Ph. (866) HikeNCT, Fx. (616) 897-6605

www.norchcouncrytrail.org

•ASSOCIATION•

North Country Trail Association Trail Councils

National Park Service 700 Rayovac Drive, Suite 100

Madison, WI 53711 (608) 441-5610 (608) 441-5606

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Tom Gilbert, Superintendent · [email protected]

Fred Szarka, Trail Manager · [email protected] Ken Howell, Land Protection Specialist · [email protected]

NEW YORK TRAIL COUNCIL Chair and Trail Coordinator: Howard Beye · 202 Colebourne Rd.,

Rochester, NY 14609 · (585) 288-7191 · [email protected] 32. Finger Lakes Trall Conference (Partner)

Irene Szabo· 6111 Visitor Center Road, Mt. Morris, NY 14510 · (585) 658-9320· [email protected]

33. Central New York Chapter Kathy Eisele · 106 Cordova Sr., Syracuse, NY 13205 · (315) 492-2273 · [email protected]

PENNSYLVANIA TRAIL COUNCIL Chair: Vacant, contact NCTA headquarters for current information. 25. Wampum Chapter

Paul Henry· 469 Superior St., Hermitage, PA 16148 · (724) 347-3282

26. Butler Chapter Ron Rice. 111 Ash Stop Rd., Evans City, PA 16033 · (724) 538-8475 · [email protected]

27. Greater Pittsburgh Chapter Michael Kaizar · 933 Norfolk St., Pittsburgh, PA 15217 · (412) 321-0842 · [email protected]

28. Rock Chapter Deborah Houldsworth · P.O. Box 167, West Sunbury, PA 16061 · (724) 637-2685

29. Clarlon Chapter Ed Scurry· 516 Elk Street, Franklin, PA 16323 · (814) 437-1168 · [email protected]

30. Hostelllng International-USA-Pittsburgh Councll Bob Roth. 80 Rose Leaf Rd., Pittsburgh, PA 15220 · (412) 279-6219

31. Allegheny Natlonal Forest Chapter Bert Nemcik · HC2 Box 62, Duhring Rd., Marienville, PA 16239 · (814) 927-8303 · [email protected]

OHIO TRAIL COUNCIL Chair: Garry S. Dill Jr. . 4070 Tradersville-Brighton Rd., London, OH

43140 · (937) 834-2891 · [email protected] Trall Coordinator: Jim Sprague· 4406 Maplecrest, Parma, OH 44134

· (440) 884-4757 · [email protected] 22. NW Ohio Rail-to-Tralls Assoc. (Partner)

Gene Markley· P.O. Box 234, Delta, OH 43515 · (800) 951-4788 · [email protected]

23. Buckeye Trail Association (Partner) Garry Dill · 4070 Tradersville-Brighton Rd., London, OH 43140 · (937) 834-2891 · [email protected]

24. Great Trail Sandy Beaver Canal Chapter Brad Bosley· 1210 Pancake-Clarkston Rd., Nefley, OH 44441 · (330) 227-2432 · [email protected]

LOWER MICHIGAN TRAIL COUNCIL Chair: Arlen Matson· 1045 Draca Rd., Traverse City, MI 49684-8837 ·

(231) 941-4152 · [email protected] Trall Coordinator: Joan Young. 861 W. US-10, Scottville, MI, 49454 ·

(231) 757-2205 · [email protected] 15. Harbor Springs Chapter

Jerry Keeney · 2385 Manitou Trail, Harbor Springs, MI 49740 · (231) 526-9597 · [email protected]

16. Tittabawassee Chapter Jerry Allen· 516 Bensch Rd., Alger, MI 48610 · (989) 345-2677 · [email protected]

17. Grand Traverse Hiking Club (Chapter) John Heiam · 3947 Havenhill Lane, Williamsburg, MI 49690 · [email protected]

18. Spirit of the Woods Chapter Richard Krieger · 414! Ransdell St., Manistee, MI 49660 · (231) 398-9193

19. Western Michigan Chapter Werner Veit · 229 East Main St., Lowell, MI 49331 · (616) 897-5987 · [email protected]

20. Chief Noonday Chapter Tom Garnett· 1715 Glendale Blvd., Kalamazoo, MI 49004 · (269) 382-2561 . [email protected]

21. Baw Beese Chapter Vacant, contact NCTA headquarters for current information.

Chapters of the North Country Trail Association are like local trail clubs. They build and maintain trail, host hikes and other events, and work promote the trail and the Association in their areas. For information about local activities and volunteering, contact Chapter repre sentatives. Partner organizations are independent groups that are working to build and maintain certain sections of the trail.

-Werner Veit

(3) NCT Route (not certified) and (4) Temporary Connector.

The Board also agreed to partici pate in the Active Michigan Initiative (AMI), a group of like-minded organiza tions who have agreed to combine their resources to improve Michigan's active transportation and recreation. The group operates as a project of the Michigan Environmental Council.

In other action, the Board reviewed member reaction to its proposed policy on timber harvest, heard further results of its discussions with NCTA affiliates regarding uniform trail marking, and learned that the NPS headquarters in Washington is working on a possible Memorandum of Understanding with the International Mountain Biking Association. The hoped-for result is a reduction in tension between hikers and bikers in national parks.

The Board meeting coincided with the annual Lowell Santa Claus parade. Directors, meeting in the Lowell City Hall, interrupted their session for a few minutes to watch members of the Western Michigan Chapter march past. Dressed in hiking boots and Santa hats, and wearing packs, the chapter members passed out blue blaze-colored candy sticks with NCTA labels affixed to the crowds that lined the city's Main Street.


Members of the Western Michigan Chapter promoted the North Country Trall by 'hik ing' In the Lowell Santa Claus parade.

and reviewed our current set-up to create the fund-raising plan. We plan to seek capacity building grants from private foundations to fund a development posi tion to help implement the plan that will be created by Ms. Kress.

After reviewing the proposed new certification guidelines outlined in last fall's issue of The North Star, the Board voted to recommend the new trail certi fication policy, drafted by a committee headed by Dave Cornell, to the NPS. The policy would create four categories of trail: (1) certified to standard (Gold Star); (2) certified as meeting existing criteria but does not meet all standards;

Directors watch Western Michigan members march by In the Lowell parade.

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"'

The Board of Directors of the North Country Trail Association approved

a record budget of $499,227 for 2004. It is fueled by a healthy gain in membership and an increase, more modest than hoped for, in federal appropriations.

At its winter meeting in Lowell in December, the Directors learned that membership had climbed 11 % over the previous year, leading to an increase of more than $7,000 in the projection of membership dues income for 2004. The Association projects total revenues at $499,367, an increase of 10% over 2003.

Bob Papp, Executive Director, reported that the National Park Service (NPS) committed $282,517 to its cooperative agreement with the associa tion, an increase of just over $38,017. Congress had approved an increase of base funding for the trail of $60,000 to a total of $607,000. Unfortunately, last minute Congressional action could trim this figure.

The somewhat disappointing increase underscores the need for addi tional private fund raising the NCTA will need to undertake to sustain its hoped-for growth. To that end, the Board received a preliminary report, with the final due in January, from consultant Karen Kress, who has been retained by the Board to help create a financial development plan.

She interviewed more than a dozen key NCTA members as well as Bob Papp

Record Membership Leads to Record NCTA Budget Board of Directors Approves Expenditures, Income Projections for 2004

*Includes cumulative gifts, membership contributions and grants received between December 1, 2002 and November 30, 2003.

··-··-"j~~~~~;:_:M~~~h--~~·~~---rh~.N~rth.st~;·39

Individuals ~500 or more Kirsten Anderson John Fenner Christopher & Margo Light Merl & Pat Schlaack LeRoy Bliven Kimberly Arbour Joan Filla John & Marianne Ludwick Peter & Emily Schmitz Paul Cornelius Daniel & Constance Arnold Jeff Fleming William Lynch Michael Schuler Cecil & Joanne Dobbins Len & JoAnne Baron Richard Flinn George & Patricia Maas Richard Schwaab Garrett Dill Richard Beil & Oana Burkley Don Flyckt Susan Mabee Mike Schwemin Rich Harris Lewis & Mary Bender Sue Funk & Wood Kidner Angus MacDonald Richard Seabold John & Pat Leinen Gregory Benkert Tom Garnett Rod MacRae Stephen Selden Bill & Donna Menke Howard Beye Tom & Janis Gilbert James Mackey Perry Severance Harmon Strong Bert Bleke Marc Gilbert Cynthia Maczuga David & Elvera Shappirio Irene Szabo Derek & Margaret Blount Wayne & Zita Gillis Guyer & Kimberly McCracken Robin sheard Bob Tait Frank Blumenthal George Girod Ted Mellby Joseph Smith Werner & Marianne Veit Philip & Betty Bowden Daniel Gold Roger & Glory Meyer James Sprague

Ren & Carol Brander Donald Gore John & Diana Meyer Carol Stetter ~250 to ~499 Brian & Barb Buchanan Paul & Julie Nietling Haan Pat & Kathleen Miller Rolf Swanson Dave & Jan Cornell William Buell Anthony Haga John Norlund Betty Tableman Loyal & Bonnie Eldridge Bill L.Buell William Hamilton Michael & Virginia O'Keefe John & Mary Lou Tanton Janice Garens Brian Burt Chuck Hayden Martin O'Toole David Tattan Paul & Jerry Henry John Campa Denise Herron Eugene Ollila Jerry & Beth Trout Robert Norlin Michael Cannella Bobbie Hineline Lawrence Parmelee Dori Turner Timothy O'Rourke Frances & Steve Cheyne Carolyn Hoffman Brian & Barb Pavek Donna Tuttle Bob & Annette Hollister Papp Charles Church Keith & Katherine Horngren Stephen Peura Roger Tuuk Raymond & Elaine Papp John Conway Larry Huston Richard & Kaye Pfeiffer Betty Van der Smissen Joseph Raught Robert & Romayne Corbett Peggy Jones & Andy Zeek Thomas Pfluger Gail VanHaren Janette Sweasy William Davis John Kallman Edith Phillips .John & Diane Vanderveen Daryl Williamson Patrick Delaney Hems K~ppus Aaron & Sharon Phipps Steve Vear Gaylord Yost John Diephouse Brooks & Margie Kindel Thomas & Diane Piquet Doug Welker·

William Dixon Stephen Kobylarz Andy Poineau Gary Werner ~100 to i249 Jack & Karen Dixon Deborah Kohn Thomas Prieto Neil Whitbeck David & Jean Adams Joe & Stephanie Dixon John Koschik Scott Radtke Kevin, Robin, Kate Alan & Lou Adsmond Dennis Donathen Karen Kress William Richmond & Morgan Wilson Pat Allen & Mark Miller William Eisenman Hal Lambdin Dan Rogalla Gene Wimmer John & Edith Maynard Allen Duane Elenbaas Paul Lane Edward Scanlan Rodger & Denise Wolf Jerry & Connie Pausits-Allen Gerard Engler Raoul & Jan LePage Mike Schaeffer & Debby Page

lee's Sports and Sportswear, Portage, Ml 269-381-7700 Mead Westvaco, Dayton, OH 203-461-7400

Michigan Mountain Bike Association, Waterford, Ml 248-288-3753 Orthopaedic Surgery Assoc. of Marquette, Marquette, Ml 906-225-3905

Postal Connections. Lowell, Ml 616-897-2650 The Outfitter, Harbor Springs, Ml 231-526-2621

1\'ack 'n Ttall, Rockford, Ml 616-866-7346

Adirondack Mountain Club, Onondaga Chapter, DE')witt, NY Biii Prall Touring Gear, Harbor Springs, Ml - 231-526-2594

Campmor tnc., Upper Saddle River, NJ - 201-825-8300 Dental Associates of Marquette, Marquette, Ml - 231-395-3780 Down Wind Sports South, tne., Marquette, Ml - 906-226-7112

Essential Cornmunrcations, Hayward, WI - 715-934-2338 "ealth Part~e~. Minneapolis, MN 612-883-5393

$150 to $249

ESRI (Environmental Systems Research institute} Universal Forest Product

$1.000 to $2.499

$2.500 to $9.999 Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation

Businesses, Foundations, and Agencies $250 to $999

lanan ll'ldustrkts. Albany, NY E&Stern Mountain S~ Erie, PA

Marquette General Hospital, Marquette, Ml National Cheny Festival, Traverse City, Ml

NewaYgo Engineering, White Cloud, Ml Nort~ Michigan University, Marquette, Ml

PepstBottllng Group Foundation, Somers, NY Strtders, Inc., Grandville.Ml

T le C Markets Inc., Marquette, Ml Wells Fargo Bank Ml, Marquette, Ml

We gratefully acknowledge the support of all our members and donors, and especially wish to recognize the following individuals, businesses, foundations and agencies, for their generous contributions over the past 12 months":

Trail Supporters

.. l

NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE

PAID Grand Rapids, Ml

Permit 340

_·,.~Iii the author of more than a dozen guidebooks including 50 Hikes in Michigan and Michigan's Best Hikes with Children. So lace up your boots and hit the trail with Venture Outdoors. uwi;n,...,,r-<.....

Your guide is Jim duFresne, hiking expert for Venture Outdoors since 1989. Jim has spent a lifetime trekking across Michigan and is

From the best day hikes and overnight backpacking trips in Michigan to child-friendly nature walks and the most rugged trails on Isle Royale, Booth Newspapers' weekly Venture Outdoors section is your source for information.

North Country Trail Association 229 East Main Street Lowell, Michigan 49331

Every week, spring through fall, you 71 find Venture Outdoors inside the pages of the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon. Chronicle and the Sagi,n.aw News.

North Star Vol. 23, No. 1 (2004)

Documents

Transcript of North Star Vol. 23, No. 1 (2004)