North Star Vol. 33, No. 4 (2014)

www.northcountrytrail.org October - December 2014 The North Star 1

October - December, 2014The magazine of the

North Country Trail AssociationVolume 33, No. 4

north star

Kekekabic Adventures

Purple Mushrooms!

Did You Miss the Fun at the Minnesota Hiking Fest?

2 The North Star October - December 2014

About the Cover Cheryl Passe rejoicing atop a rock along the Kekekabic Trail, her husband Derrick below. Honest, that’s not a pickle jar in the foreground but Cheryl’s raspberry tea. Read inside about the hike along the Kek that four people took this September. Photo by Dan Dorrough.

North Star StaffIrene Szabo, Volunteer Editor, (585) 658-4321 or [email protected] Emma Tufte, Volunteer Graphic Design

The North Star, Winter issue, Vol. 33, Issue 4, is published by the North Country Trail Association, a private, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, 229 East Main Street, Lowell, MI 49331. The North Star is published quarterly 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.

StaffDavid Cowles Director of [email protected] DeCator Administrative Assistant/Membership [email protected]

Matt Davis Regional Trail Coordinator Minnesota/North [email protected] HasperAdministrative [email protected] KetchmarkDirector of Trail [email protected] LindstromFinancial [email protected] Matthews Executive [email protected] Menke Regional Trail Coordinator Wisconsin [email protected] Rowbotham GIS Coordinator [email protected]

National Board of Directors

Terms Expiring 2015Joyce Appel, Pennsylvania Rep.(724) 526-5407 · [email protected] Tom Moberg, President, North Dakota Rep.(701) 271-6769 · [email protected] Pavek, Minnesota Rep. (763) 425-4195 · [email protected] Yost, VP West, Wisconsin and the UP of MI Rep(414) 354-8987 · [email protected]

Terms Expiring 2016Ruth Dorrough, New York Rep.(585) 354-4147 · [email protected] Gruchalla, North Dakota Rep.(701) 293-1839 · [email protected] Hawkins, Immediate Past President, Michigan Rep.(269) 945-5398 · [email protected] Nordgren, Wisconsin and the UP of MI Rep.(715) 374-3143 · [email protected] Nyhof, First VP, At Large Rep.(616) 786-3804 · [email protected] Larry Pio, At Large Rep.(269) 327-3589 · [email protected] Trout, Minnesota Rep.(218) 831-3965 · [email protected] Rummel, VP East, New York Rep.(315) 536-9484 · [email protected]

Terms Expiring 2017John Heiam, Secretary, At Large Rep.(231) 938-9655 · [email protected] Lorana Jinkerson, At Large Rep.(906) 226-6210 · [email protected] Doug Thomas, Treasurer, At Large Rep.(612) 240-4202 · [email protected]

In This IssueFirst Annual North Country Na-tional Scenic Trail Day Celebrations ......................... 4 Sandy Returns to Duluth ....... 7The Kekekabic Trail ............. 10In Quest of the Purple Mushroom ......................... 132015 NCT Rendezvous in Central New York ................ 22Maple Chips into Blue Chips........................................ 24Minnesota Hiking Fest inspires local woman to hike Superior Hiking Trail ........................ 26

ColumnsMatthews’ Meanders ............. 3Trailhead ............................. 6Maintainer’s Corner ............. 21NPS Corner ........................ 22

Departments Where in the Blue Blazes? ..... 9Hiking Shorts ..................... 15Milestones ......................... 20Submission GuidelinesAnd Next Deadline .............. 23

Tom W

alker

Tahquamenon Falls State Park provided perfect autumn scenery for the huge event carried off by the Hiawatha Shore-to-Shore Chapter for their Sept. 27 celebration of North Country Trail National Scenic Trail Day.


Matthews’ Meanders

Bruce MatthewsExecutive Director

There’s something of a story leading to you holding this North Star in your hand, or reading it online. It was not always going to be so. WithourJuly2014financialreportsclearlyshow-ing revenue trends not performing to expectation, I needed to make some unpopular cost reduction deci-sions. The one made mid-August included reduction in staff travel through 2014, and cutting this issue of North Star. Had the trend continued I was faced with the additional possibility of non-voluntary staff fur-loughs in November or December, not how any of us would want to be celebrating the holidays. But that’s the reality we faced in managing your Association in afiscallyresponsiblemanner.There’sjustnotmuchdiscretionary “wiggle” in budgets as tight as ours. By way of further explanation, our budget was based on what we believed was a realistic expectation fromgrantrevenuesandprivatesupportinthefirsthalfofourfiscalyear.ByJulyitwasclearwewerenotmak-ing those goals, and while we were not over-spending our budget, we could not continue spending according to our original plan and expect to end the year in the black. Hence, mid-year budget cuts. In August I shared our cost-reduction plan with your Board, and later with our chapter leadership throughaseriesofwebinarstowhichallchapteroffi-cers and committee chairs were invited. The news made no one happy, of course, and there was considerable push-back about the loss of this issue of North Star.

There was also support for acting responsibly. Best of all, you rallied to attack the problem. What happened? The membership responded to September’s I ♥ Maps fund drive, and private donations increased. Our National Park Service partners increased theirsupport,andsomelong-expectedgrantsfinallycame through. A volunteer stepped up to help out Irene Szabo, our long-time (and long-suffering) volunteer editor with the lay-out of this issue, saving us a couple thousand dollars in graphic design costs. Thank you, Emma Tufte, for doing this – more wonderful things from North Dakota! Because our September revenues exceeded expectation, coupled with the cost-savings measures already in place, we’re back on track forecast-ingarobustyear-endfinancialperformanceasplanned. With Emma’s help we had thought we would be able at least to publish North Star 33:4 as an online, electronic version only. As it has worked out, we’ve been able to print and mail the hard copy as well. So, thank you. Our North Country Trail family and community came through to meet the need. Your donations, your expressions of support for the tough cost-control decisions implemented, your understand-ing of the situation, your closing ranks around what’s important – these things matter. Strength in adversity builds character, and that’s something we tend to have in abundance in the North Country. Both adversity, and character. The Finns call it “sisu.” It de-finestheRedPlaidNation, which is united by our North Country Trail. Thank you.

SILKY PRAIRIE CLOVER IT IS!

Our previous back cover photo featured a plant from the Sheyenne National Grasslands AND an argument about what it is. Two responses from readers cinched it for us:

“It is indeed a silky prairie clover.”

BryanStotts–DistrictRanger Sheyenne National Grassland, North Dakota

“I looked them up on line - Lady Bird Johnson site. I would bet $$ on it - silky prairie clover.”

Stella Thelen, Saginaw, Michigan

Connie Burns


StorybyMaryCoffin Volunteer Membership Committee

NCTA chapters and affiliatesin

seven states hosted a variety of events along the trail on Sept 27th. The purpose of this special day dedicated to NCNST events was to raise the awareness of the trail on adaythatdoesnotconflictwiththe many American Hiking Society National Trails Day events. Also fall is a great time to be outdoors and to put a cap on the many projects accomplished during the summer. The 25+ events involving over 560 participants and volunteers were held across the seven states and included many beautiful walks on the trail and also work trips, trail exhibits, design and construction demonstrations, a trail town dedi-cation, new trail section unveiling with new brid-ges and boardwalks, an archeologist-led hike, guided walk for a local school, and post hike refreshments such as a hot dog roast, pot luck supper, picnics and several musical events.Events were hosted in every state from the prairies of North Dakota to the Adirondack Mountains of New York. National Park Service and HQ staff even hosted events in and near Lowell, and the Western Michigan Chapter held a work party to bench new trail just north of Lowell. Many chaptersandaffiliatesreportedparticipants who came from several hours away to be part of an event. The weather was great throughout the northern tier and the fall colors were at peak in many of the venues. The biggest event was the Tah-quamenon Falls Hike with trailside displays and shuttle organized by the Hiawatha Shore-to-Shore Chapter in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where they drew 200

First Annual North Country National Scenic Trail Day Celebrations

participants. The North Country Trail Hikers, also of the UP, attract-ed 70 walkers for their “Walking in Marquette” and even drew in a State Senator’s staffer. Large participation by 70 also came out for the Dakota Prairie Chapter’s event, “Hike Every Mile,” where someone hiked on every mile of the 75 miles the chapter built and maintains between Fort Abercrom-bie(ontheRedRiver)andLisbon,N.D. The state with the most events hosted was Michigan with nine, while the most northerly events werehostedbySheyenneRiverValley, Dakota Prairie, Laurentian Lakes, Itasca Moraine and Brule-St Croix Chapters. The most south-erly was the one on the Buckeye Trail, a work party to clear another half-mile of new trail on Ohio’s Mi-ami-Erie Canal towpath, and I think the most rugged trail featured on NCNS Trail Day were probably the Adirondack route hikes in Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area and Black RiverWildForest,wheretwohikes

on proposed NCT route approached the long Adirondack path from two directions. Five hikes in New York also in-cludedonethroughLittleRockCity,an area of huge boulders deposited by glaciers, where the trail winds through the amazing collection of house-high rocks, which followed a wide-open patch of trail through raspberry prickers where a tornado took down the forest four years ago. The CNY Chapter scheduled their event one week later, one intended to bring elementary school children and their parents out to the tow-path of the Old Erie Canal State Park through town, but the fair weather that almost everyone else had en-joyed on Sept. 27th eluded them, so gusty rain and cold cut down their numbers. They’ll try that good idea again, however. Since much of the trail is on publiclanditisfittingthatwecon-currently celebrated National Public Lands Day and National Hunting and Fishing Day. We hope our NCNS

On the west side of NY’s Adirondacks, Mary Coffin led her “rock group” through rugged territory to Stone Dam Pond.

Mary Coffin


Trail Day events helped to raise awareness of the NCNST as a trail of nationalsignificanceandavaluablerecreational resource to local com-munities and perhaps along the way even recruited a few new volun-teers, members and supporters.

Abbey Haan, the youngest Western Michigan Chapter worker, helped with a benching project near HQ in Lowell, Michigan.

Tahquamenon Falls State Park provided perfect autumn scenery for the huge event carried off by the Hiawatha Shore-to-Shore Chapter.

Tom W

alker

Beth Keloneva

Mary Coffin herself, she who generated the necessary enthusiasm for this first-ever National North Country Trail Day Hike, taken as she showed others the whole NCT on a map, at Stone Pond Dam on her own hike that day.

Dan Dorrough

Thanks to all the chapter and affiliatevolunteerswhoplannedand led activities to support this outreach effort in support of the North Country National Scenic Trail.

Puffer Pond in the Adirondacks

Mary M

cDonald


Trail HeadTom Moberg

President

Fall brings some of the best hiking opportunities of the year along the North Country Trail. The cool days and

cold nights eliminate the nasty bugs that plague us in hot, humid weather. The colors of the forests, grasslands, river bottoms, and wetlands are striking. As the leaves drop off the trees, longer vistas become visible, revealing contours in the land that we don’t see during the summer. Fall is alsoagoodtimeforreflectingaboutsomeoftheeventsand activities that have occurred along the Trail recently. The 1st Annual North Country National Scenic Trail Day,celebratedbyChapterandAffiliateseventsallalongthe Trail, was held on September 27. A big “Thank You” goestoMaryCoffin,formerBoardmemberandchairof the NCTA Membership Committee, who originally promoted the Trail Day idea. It is inspiring to think of hundreds (thousands?) of people enjoying the Trail at the same time on the same day. Out here in south-eastern North Dakota, the Dakota Prairie Chapter’s contribution to Trail Day was a “Hike Every Mile” event in which people (and some dogs) hiked segments of the Chapter’s 75 mile section from Fort Abercrombie to Lisbon. With great hiking weather, more than 70 people of all ages hiked distances ranging from 3 miles to 16 miles for a total of over 350 miles, and did indeed “Hike EveryMile.”Afterthehikersfinishedtheirroutes,wehad a celebration at the Ekre Grassland Preserve with refreshments,araffle,andlivemusic.Besideshavingmany people hiking many miles on the Trail, there wereotherbenefits.Volunteersworkedhardaheadoftimetofinishseveralnewtrailsegmentsandimproveother ones. The maps we created for the various trail segments and road routes to trail access locations will be placed on-line and in trail kiosks to be available for other hikers. Many hikers were exposed to new parts of the NCNST and several people became NCTA members as a result of the event. With one successful NCNST Trail Day behind us, I’ve been thinking about how we can leverage this occasion inthefuturetobenefittheTrailandtheNCTA.Whichstatewillbethefirsttohavea“HikeEveryMileinOurState” event on Trail Day? The Finger Lakes Trail already accomplished this for their 50th Anniversary in 2012 across more than 560 miles! Could every Chapter and Affiliatesponsora“HikeEveryMile”eventandtherebyhave hikers covering nearly all 4,600 miles of the Trail on that day? Could we generate some useful publicity for the NCNST by having media stars, political leaders, sportsheroes,orotherpublicfiguresparticipatein“Hiking Every Mile?” Could Trail Day be an opportunity to organize special types of hikes for people who may

not often have a chance to get outdoors (for example, the elderly, the disabled, the wounded)? I invite you to do some brainstorming about that and share your ideas along the Trail. Congratulations and thanks to Florence Hedeen and the other people who organized the Minnesota Hiking Celebration in Duluth in August. Several hundred peo-ple attended the event, one of the highest attendance rates for a trail-wide event in years. Since the Board is still studying the future of NCTA trail-wide gatherings, the Hiking Celebration provided another useful empiri-cal model for helping us understand how best to orga-nize such events. Many NCTA members believe strongly that trail-wide events are crucial to the health and success of the organization but the big challenge is how tocreateeventsthatwillattractsufficientnumbersofattendees, are cost effective, and don’t consume undue amounts of volunteer or staff time. The Board will be discussing this issue again in December so there is still time to express your opinions. Last year about this time, the NCTA launched an e-membership campaign to attract new members at a reduced initial membership rate. The campaign gen-erated several hundred new members. The NCTA staff and Board have been watching closely to see how many e-members will convert to regular memberships after one year. In general, it costs far less to retain an existing member than to recruit a new one. So far this year, 19% of the new e-members from 2013 have become regular members. By comparison, in 2012-13 the retention rate forregular,firstyearmemberswas44%.Sothee-mem-ber retention rate is currently about half the usual retention rate. While the e-member campaign did gen-erate many new Chapter members, 4 out of 5 of those new members are letting their memberships lapse. Why is that? Do we help our new members feel welcome at Chapter events? Are we doing all we can to integrate new members into Chapter activities? One of the keys to a good retention rate is the personal contact and friendliness that can happen at the local level. Please encourage your Chapter to make strong and regular efforts to retain new members. Thanks to all of you for everything you do for the NCNST. Best wishes for the coming holiday season.


Story by Irene Szabo

Pearl is wagging in dog heaven now, but Sandy was happy to return to Duluth for another walk on the Superior Hiking Trail, its rocks, hills, endless puncheon over wet spots, and fabulous bridges over rushing streams. Getting wet is high on her list, but her favorite thingaboutthevisitwastheunendingfloor-to-ceil-ing windows in our “Mountain Villa,” one of a cluster of mushroom houses on central stalks adjacent to ski slopes above the west end of the city, the location of the Minnesota Hiking Celebration we attended. How I wish I’d been smart enough to realize how much a dog likes looking out the window back when I was renovating!However, her view most days was no greater than Joan Young’s picture out our window, endless fog so thick

that everything was drenched every morning even if it didn’t rain. We’re going to a ski resort next year, too, for our annual gathering, but the fog shouldn’t be as intense or long-lasting in that steep-sided valley as it was above the St. LouisRiverinDulu-th’s harbor, a place renowned for its fog horns. Nonetheless, over 200 people came out to hike, visit, see displays one day, and attend workshops about hiking opportuni-ties in Minnesota. Did you know that Duluth is probably the only place in the nation where twenty-some miles

of rugged national scenic hiking trail exist within city limits? And permission on private land was required at only a very few places? The city is built on such steep rocky hillsides that neither building nor farming was ever possible so developers abandoned properties they had bought higher on the hill; hence, the county owns a lot of tax forfeiture properties where permission was

readily granted. Gayle Coyer, Executive Director of the SHTA, explained all this bizarre good luck at one of the workshops. As you’ll read elsewhere in this issue, people seek-ing help and information for hiking those parts of our trail at the very northern part of Minnesota found great aid at other workshops, too, from people present from theBorderRouteandtheKekekabicTrails. On Friday night both NCTA and National Park Ser-vice awards were presented; during the presentations of awards, the ski slope behind and above our big windows was dotted with mountain bikers bounding downhill, then taking the ski chairs back up. The previous night we enjoyed one of the absolutely best large-group meals

most of us had ever had! Praise for the meal was uni-versal, and it was followed by Luke “Strider” Jordan’s talk with pictures, summa-rizing his one-season hike of the whole North Country Trail the previous year. As a clearly loveable and cheerful person, he is turning into a great ambassador for the NCT. Jerry and Beth Trout hosted a funky soup dinner at a campground one night,

where the ingredients were mostly what people happened to contribute; aboutfiftypeoplelikedit! Another night we signed up to travel to area restaurants, a small group at each one. My own dinner was at a restau-rant situated immediately before the lift bridge that allows immense lake freighters to enter the

SANDY RETURNS TO DULUTHThe latest chapter in the Sandy & Pearl

series of trips to past NCTA events

Luke "Strider" Jordan, the delightful young man who hiked the whole trail last year in one season, albeit with a ton of snow and ice at the beginning, and regaled us on banquet night with tales and pictures of his adventures.

Irene Szabo

This is the view most remembered from our time in Duluth, and is the best Sandy got from our floor-to-ceiling windows at the Mountain Villas, except for one night when everything cleared and we could see clearly the lights of Superior, Wisconsin, across the harbor.

Joan Young

Minnesota Congressional Representative Richard Nolan who received the NCTA Vanguard Award for his efforts to pass the Arrowhead reroute of the NCT route into northeastern Minnesota.

Irene Szabo


harbor, but we weren’t lucky enough to see a boat that evening. If I may editorialize, this was a novel approach to our annual event, this “hiking fest,” most of all because we were not staying and eating at one central location. I personally missed that feature, since mealtime is when we get to visit with people whom we see only once a year. At least I got to hike with a few Minnesotans I haven’t seen in several years, while Sandy was delighted with her annual visit with some of her favorite people who live inconve-niently in Arizona and Michigan, but they were staying right in our mush-room house. It would have been nearly impossible to participate with-out your own car, since venues were scattered miles apart, even if only from the top of the ski slope to the bottom. Many of us noticed that our hosts did not charge a registra-tion fee, pre-ferring to cover basic costs with donations that eager volunteers scavenged for; this was intentional in order to attract local participants who

Paul Henry of Pennsylvania in a wonderful Tshirt that more of us should be wearing "out there." Thank you, Paul, and where can we all buy one?

Martin Kubik of

BorderRouteTrailAssociation

One hike on the Superior Hiking Trail within the city of Duluth but high above its harbor, ore docks for iron ore pellets, and bridges far below. John Leinen of Minnesota reveled in our view, a pretty good one for this foggy week.

Irene Szabo

Sandy of N.Y. and Lois Judd of Arizona took me to visit my favorite locomotive near Duluth, the monster steam locomotive that piled up nearly 700,000 miles carrying iron ore pellets down to the harbor from inland mines.

Irene Szabo

may not be NCTA members to discover Minnesota’s hik-ing possibilities, and possibly close to 100 such people showed up! This is admirable outreach. It was still quite enjoyable, even without visiting North Dakotans and New Yorkers over breakfast, and I think Duluth is such a treat that I would love to have stayed another week, but in August my garden was run-ning amok! Thanks and congratulations for the Minne-sota NCTA Chapters’ volunteers who created this event.

While it may be hard to believe, this piece of the Superior Hiking Trail is indeed within the city of Duluth, and there are many miles a lot like it! Many streams, both large and small, bridges and puncheon (slippery in the mist!), and lots of nice woods.

Mary Stenberg


One of many rushing waterfalls coming down city hills along the Superior Hiking Trail.

John Leinen

Luke Jordan, Peggy Stone, and Doug Thomas, who hiked 18 miles that day from Jay Cooke State Park back to Duluth on the Superior Hiking Trail. Peggy was so inspired by that hike, even though she confesses she nearly had to run to keep up, that she is now backpacking the Superior Hiking Trail, and has already done 140 miles.

Larry Pio

The mayor of Duluth, Don Ness, led one well-attended hike. Here the group is crossing one of several big time handsome bridges over a serious creek.

Sarah Allen

No answers this time, since we had no mystery spot submitted last time. This time, however, our intrepid photographer took a trip to this spot, and we’re even including a sliver of the interpretive sign explainingthearea!SURELYwe’llhearfrom a bunch of you with the answer?

Where in The Blue Blazes?

In this regular feature of North Star, we challenge your knowledge in a friendly com-petition to name the location of a detail or point of interest along the 4600+mile North Country Trail. Any of our readers can sub-mit a photo for consideration for the next puzzle, or play our game by answering the question: Where in the Blue Blazes can this location be found?


In early August we were an unlikely pair to be leaning over our dining room table intently studying thenewlyarrivedMcKenziemaps.Retiredfromseden-tary jobs, we had limited backpacking and wilderness experience. Yet we had, as they say, “caught the bug” and our secret goal of hiking the entire NCT had been made public by the well intended editor of the North Star. WehadtofindawaytohiketheKekekabicTrailinfar northern Minnesota in order to accomplish our goal. Daunted and with no obvious solution to the challenge,

The Kekekabic TrailStorybyRuthDorroughandpicturesbyDanDorrough

we packed the maps in our backpacks and headed for the Hiking Celebration in Duluth. In addition to the motivation of a clear goal we did have going for us that we had section hiked over 2700 miles of the North Country Trail. We planned on staying on after the celebration and at least completing the Superior Hiking Trail this year. Fortunately for us, the unique NCT community dispersed over 4600 miles showered us with support during the Duluth gathering and made it possible for us to complete the Kekekabic Trail. Joan Young, one of the few end-to-enders on the NCT, introduced us to Derrick Passe of the Kekekabic Trail Club. He readily agreed go hike with us through the “Kek.” Joan gen-erously spent time with us, reviewing our packs, and sharing tips which later proved valuable. Matt Davis ensured that we had the latest GPS tracks from Matt Rowbotham.Whenitwasannouncedatagatheringthat we intended to hike the entire NCT, everyone applauded in support. There was no turning back now. Sure there were those moments when my doubts and anxieties were reinforced. At a workshop, I got the latest copy of the Kek guidebook. Words such as “Tangled roots interspersed with water holes, grassy wetland lined with alder brush, beaver dams, easy to lose the trail, narrow depression strewn with fallen trees gouged by

Our merry band of hikers, left to right: Cheryl and Derrick Passe, Ruth and Dan Dorrough.

Scenic view of Mine Lake.


erosion and studded with wet slippery rocks” caused a dark cloud to pass over my mind. Nor did it help when a man familiar with the Kek came up to us and said, “I hear that you intend to hike the Kek. I hope your wills are in order.” When we obtained our permits in Ely, the ranger said, “Be careful. We’ve been pulling people out of there all year. Wear bright clothes so we can spot you from the Beaver.” With the gracious and competent support of Der-rick and Cheryl Passe, we denied the naysayers and completed the 43-mile Kek in four late September days. It was not easy but it was most rewarding. Following Cheryl on the trail one morning, I heard her give a cry of surprise. She had just made eye contact with a large bear eating grubs from the base of an overturned tree directly on the trail. The startled bear hastened off into the woods. After a morning of inching our way through wet alder brush over our heads, it was an absolute joy toascendtoclearrockyareaswithmagnificentviewsand experience the power of the wilderness. Long distance hiker Gail Lowe has described the Kekekabic as “the crown jewel of the North Country Trail.” When I asked Derrick what I could do to support the Kek, he replied, “Get more people to hike it.” In order for that to happen, we as the North Country Trail community need to increase our support for the faithful few who are committed to keeping this treasured trail open. The mapping program is critical for safe hiking. We need to continue to de-mystify the hiking challenges of this trail. It takes effort but is very do-able. Most of allweneedtofindwaystohelpmaintainthedifficultto reach center sections of the trail. Those few stal-warts who work on this trail will be holding several maintenance trips next spring, so please seek them out; information in the sidebar on this page.

Putting our Kek route in perspective at the Forest service Headquarters in Ely, Minnesota. Land of ten thousand lakes indeed! The Kek is practically in Canada.

To Work on the Kek…In 1999, a windstorm ravaged the Bound-

ary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). The Kekekabic Trail took the brunt of this storm losing 80-100% of its tree cover for the major-ity of the trail. The USFS and Kekekabic Trail Club worked together to reopen the trail. During subsequent years the central part of the trail was oftenclosedduetofiredangerandprescribedburns in the blowdown area. Finally, in 2006 and 2007,theanticipatedwildfiresstruck,burningthe easterly 13 miles of the Trail. Now after 15 years, the scars left behind by the windstorm are barely visible. Unfortunately, in many places the trail is barely visible due to lack of maintenance since 2004 and 2005.

In May, 2015, the newly formed Kekekabic Trail Chapter of the NCT and the Kekekabic Trail Club will organize four trail crews to reclaim the Kekekabic Trail and to make it a wilderness trail that will once again be a hike through the woods rather than a struggle through the brush. One of these trips will be done in conjunction with an American Hiking Society Volunteer Vacation and another will be a trip that includes volunteers who have been reuniting on the trail since the 2004and2005AHSTripswheretheyfirstmet.

Thefinaltwotripswillberecruitedthroughorganizations such as the North Country Trail Association and will include a day long canoe trip in to the Kekekabic Cabin and the Agamok Bridge. (Oddly enough, these are two man-made struc-tures in the middle of a wilderness.) Once the crews arrive at their campsites, they will set up a basecamp and make their way out on the trail each morning clearing trees and brush to reclaim the trail. Ear plugs may be required in order to sleep through the noise of calling loons.

These trips will be:May 22-27 Kek CabinMay 30-June 3rd The Bridge

If you are interested in a clearing trip next spring please contact Mark Stange at [email protected] or Derrick Passe at [email protected]


Truth be told, we did not “Kick the Kek” as some hikers proudly claim. We plodded, stumbled, slipped and even fell. We did, however, with very generous support, complete the Kek and move a few steps closer to our goal.

Footbridge across the Thomas River. Some of us would have to cross this one scooting along on our butts!

Hiking through tall post-fire overgrowth.

A waterfall seen from Agamok bridge.

Crossing a rock field. Challenging walking!


Whether hiking through mounds of pure white snow, a speckled carpet of crimson maple leaves, or under the shaded canopy of a sun-drenched June day, I consider myself blessed to live within a mile of the North Country Trail in Northern Michigan. No matter the season, I simply grab my hiking boots or snowshoes and head out seeking another adventure. Usually my chocolate lab Dank accompanies me. Because of my feisty companion, we seldom see wildlife, but we know they are there. We hear the monkey cry of the pileated woodpecker. We have come across bear scat, unmistakable with its size, dark color andthefactthatitwasfilledwithraspberryseeds!Occasionallywe’llwitnessthewhiteflagofadeerasshe seeks a hiding spot within the trees. Once we saw a handsome fox trotting across the frosty wilderness of a single-digit January afternoon. He sure looked splendid-ly red against the snow. Then there was the time I felt like something was watching me. The feeling was overwhelming and seemed very real. I never saw the creature despite looking over my shoulder occasionally and even whip-ping quickly around to see who might be following me. There are rumors that a cougar roams these woods. Two people I know have said they saw the large cat scampering across Sunset Trail. Who knows? Makes for an exciting day on the North Country Trail to think such wildlifefindsthesewoodsasdelightfulasIdo. I am never afraid. I wear a whistle, carry a cell phone, and bring my trusty four-legged best friend along with me. Dank should be a hunting dog, but my husband isn’t into that pastime. Given the opportunity, he would be a good hunter. Often he’ll be running ahead of me, protecting his woman from what lurks in these woods. (I’m talking about my chocolate lab, not my husband.) While wildlife along the North Country Trail is ex-citing to see, this past summer I enjoyed spotting some other creatures that I found just as dramatic and far more interesting – mushrooms! Not just garden variety ‘shrooms, but hundreds of fungi whose colors would knock your hiking socks off! The summer of 2014 in Northern Michigan was un-seasonably cool and wet. Temperatures never reached the 90’s and I can count on one hand the number of days that reached 80. My kind of summer. The air was refreshing with moisture enough to grow mushrooms in your hands if you were patient enough to pose against a tree overnight. I especially enjoy a four-mile trek of the NCT that I accessfromTwinLakeRoadhikingpastEagleLakeandMacNeil Pond. Along this trek one late August afternoon I saw so many colorful mushrooms that I couldn’t count them all. I did capture some of them with my camera knowing people would never believe me when I bragged

In Quest of the Purple MushroomStory and pictures by Ellen Schettling Whitehead

Dank on alert in the glory of MacNeil Pond.


about the variety of colors ranging from orange, yellow and red to tan, nearly black and mahogany. I started to wonder. What about purple? Wouldn’t it be something if I came across a purple mushroom? Do purple mush-rooms even exist? My hike that day turned into an obsession. I’ve got tofindapurplemushroom.Ibelieveinpurplemush-rooms. There must be a purple mushroom somewhere along my favorite trail. Like the old saying goes “She couldn’t see the forest for the trees.” That day, I didn’t really see the whole of the forest as my eyes focused downward, for I was searching for those tiny “trees” that grow off the death of others. I was fascinated by a miniature woodland, one made famous by tales of fairies, gnomes, and trolls. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE trees! Ask anyone who knows me. I am a tree hugger. In fact, one clump of beeches at the top of a hill on the NCT I have claimed as my own. I literally hug them each time I pass them by. I’ve photographed them in all seasons. But, on that Day of the Mushrooms, I fell in love with the forest beneath my feet. I surrendered to the present and began to understand the wonderment of Thoreau. I sat down and wallowed in the moment. I touched the slimy cap of a bright red mushroom that was no taller than an acorn. I rubbed my hand across the shingled lichen climbing along a fallen oak. I smelled the earthy goodness all soaked up within the crevasses of a toadstool’s gills. Who knows how long I lingered there? But even-tually commitments whispered in my ear and I knew it was time to leave. Then around a bend, underneath a tree marked by the familiar blue trail mark, I spotted it. A glorious, unbelievably purple mushroom! Deep Pur-ple. “Smoke on the Water” Purple. I gasped. I shook my head. I laughed and shouted out loud, “Wouldn’t Henry David be proud of me right now?!” YouneverknowwhatyoumayfindalongtheNorthCountry Trail. Just head out, in all seasons, with your heartwideopen.Youmightevenfindapurplemush-room.

My beech trees.


HIKING SHORTS

MICHIGAN – The Grand Traverse Hiking Club has recently completed a 13 mile reroute of the North Coun-try National Scenic Trail in Northern Michigan. The new route follows theManisteeRivernearUS131andproceeds north to the community of Fife Lake following Fife Lake Creek. On June 14, Steve Wanlass was day hiking north along the steep high banks of the creek enjoying the tall pine trees and listening to the echo of the fast moving creek when he nearly stumbled upon something lying right on the trail. It was a newborn fawn. The fawn looked up with its big eyes as Steve looked down, took out his camera and wel-comed the warm spotted creature to the new trail.

– Arlen Matson

The Newborn Fawn

OHIO – South of New Philadelphia, located on the shore of Tappan Lake within a park of the same name, the Buckeye Trail Association’s Century Barn is an English style, three bay ground barn with louvered venti-lation. In 2003, the BTA partnered with the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District and leased the barn for 30 years. Since then, the barn has been undergoing gradual renovations, and is now ready for use as the headquarters of the BTA.

Thanks to more than 1,500 vol-unteer hours, some of the notable

renovations include a new roof, pineflooringindesignatedareas,restrooms and showers available for summertime use, a kitchen, dormi-tory-style sleeping rooms, exterior paint, an expanded parking area, a new sidewalk and drainage tiles.

Additionally, along with its use as the headquarters for the BTA, the restored barn is now available for use by the community, for a dona-tion.

Several times last summer the place was put to good use by hiking groups. For instance, in July a hiking club camped on the property, cooking under a canopy tent, and day hiking in the area. Just after that a group of college freshmen camped on the grounds so they couldprovidefivedaysoftrailwork. BTA volunteers led their trail clearing efforts while others cooked meals for them.

Meanwhile, volunteer projects continue on the inside of the barn, adding kitchen cupboards and stairs, painting outbuildings, and scrubbingfloors.

Every trail group would love to have headquarters like this!

Information gathered from the BTA website and an article in the BTA Trailblazer by Mary Hamilton.

The Buckeye Barn

Steve Wanless


WISCONSIN – The Chequamegon Chapter of the North Country Trail Association is the primary source for maintenance of the North Coun-try National Scenic Trail (NCT) in the Chequamegon National Forest and the City of Mellen. This takes a lot of dedication and I am sure that most of our volunteers ques-tion their sanity from time to time (especially this year with all of the mosquitoes).

Occasionally we run into back-packers or hikers and receive their thanks. We once had a group of students and their leaders from La Crosse come over to our campsite at Beaver Lake Campground while we were maintaining sections of the NCT nearby. They sang a thank you song for us!

The most recent thanks came from Boy Scout Leader David Dus-

chack after he led a group of Scouts on sections of the Chapter’s NCT this August.

After you read David’s note, think about what this says! A group of young boys has been introduced to a great hiking experience and caught their own supper on the way. How many of these boys have now caught the outdoor fever? What better reason for all of our efforts and the efforts of other volunteers who help to provide a quality outdoor expe-rience.

Hi FolksThe Denmark Boy Scouts would

like to thank all those who help make the North Country trail happen.

We had a great time last week hiking the trail from Mellen to Drum-mond and yes the mosquitoes were out in great numbers. Second to last

A Reason for All the Effort!night we were at Porcupine Lake and the boys caught their dinner, some-thing they will remember for years to come. The second thing that was great was the scenic overlooks, to see that many miles, seeing the fire tower from the overlooks and then ending up camping at the base of the tower a couple of nights later. I personally was happy with the trail and how well it is kept up. We also saw your new bridge you worked on a couple of weeks ago, nice job.

Thanks, David Duschack

– Marty Swank

NEWYORK–Severalyearsagoa “Passport” series of hikes was advertised to the public for a slice of the Finger Lakes Trail in west central New York, with free book-lets available in a popular super-market chain showing twelve hikes with maps. They ranged from an easy mile to hikes of several miles, and each hike featured a post somewhere in the middle with an engraved metal plaque on the top. Hikers are supposed to do a pencil rubbing of the unique number on top of the post to “prove” they had done that hike, thereby “stamping” their passport page in the booklet. Prizes were available from both the Finger Lakes Trail and Wegmans Markets for various numbers of hikesfinished. The series was popular enough that the booklets needed to be reprintedafterthefirst15,000ranout! Additional sponsorships by MonroMuffler/Brake,HickoryHillFamilyCampingResort,andEast-ern Mountain Sports helped cover printing expenses plus posts, metal plates, and special signs at each end of Passport segments. After this success with the central

Passport Hikes Continueseries, additional Passport series were set up for areas both east and westofthefirstsegment.Sonowthe Eastern series is in place, and the Western will be available soon. Oh, joy, more post-hole digging for trail caretakers! However, the results are even better than hoped, with many new people introduced to the trail.

Bottom Right: Many families with kids are taking advantage of the Passport hikes, which were chosen for natural beauty, ease of navigation, and good trail condition.

Top Right: Sigi Schwinge at a Passport Post, signing in to the register at the back. The engraved plaque is on top of the post.

Larry Blumberg

Jackson “Jet” Thomas


NEWYORK–OnOctober11th the fall “Erv Markert” hike, one of four annual hikes named for early contrib-utors to the trail, was led by Sigi and Horst Schwinge on the Onondaga Trail, part of the North Country Trail where it angles northward away from the main east-west Finger Lakes Trail. 25 hikers started at the Heiberg Memorial Forest and hiked through Kettlebail State Forest, Labrador Hollow Unique Area, and Tinker Falls where the six-mile hike ended, while the ten-miler con-tinued to the fabulous overlook over Labrador Hollow. After a very dry September, Tinker Falls was but a trickle, but the group still enjoyed the unusual semi-cir-cular rock walkway behind the falls. New rock steps brought them uphill beside the falls, and then beyond to greater heights on the other side, a recent joint project between the Adirondack Mountain Club and the N.Y. Department of Environmental Conservation, custodians of these state forests. Toenjoyhikeslikethese,don’tmisstheRendez-vous for all North Country Trail members at the FLT fall weekend, next September 10-13.

– Story and pictures by Larry Blumberg

Finger Lakes Trail Fall Hike

The group spread out on the water-carved rock shelf behind Tinker Falls.

Top Left: The Onondaga Trail, a branch off the white-blazed main Finger Lakes Trail, is blue-blazed and carries the North Country Trail north and east toward the Adirondack Mountains.

Top Right: Labrador Hollow Unique Area includes a bizarre northern bog and a wooden walkway to render it accessible. Rich and Cathleen Maggi enjoy the easy walking before climbing up to Tinker Falls.


MICHIGAN – Boy Scout troops in our area have been involved in many projects on our Trail through the years, and it is a partnership and relationship we want to im-prove. Additionally, it is a great opportunity to get young people and their parents familiar with our Trail, planting the seeds for future involvement. For several years our Chapter has sought to involve the Boy Scouts in our monthly hikes. Eventually we found out there is a hiking badge, which requires three 10 mile hikes, and one 20 mile hike. We were also informed that many of the events the Scouts participate in are sched-uled a year in advance. With strong support (and a lot of effort) from Ben Bever, Assis-tant District Commissioner from one of our local Scout Councils, we

Chief Noonday Chapter attracts Boy Scouts Working on their Hiking Badge

scheduled an October hike one year ago, and began promoting the hike. MaryRebertandEricLongmanfrom our Chapter led our efforts. Ben arranged camping opportuni-ties nearby, so a full weekend could be utilized by the participants, including other shorter hikes. We scheduled a 12 mile hike through our Kalamazoo County section of trail, beginning at Fort Custer National Cemetery, ending at theMSUKelloggRoboticMilkingFa-cility. Participants included Troop 105 from Middleville and Troop 175 from Hastings, along with a shorter Cub Scout hike. We also had other hikers join us who were interested in a longer hike. Some of the hikers turned around at the end of 12 miles, and went part way back to complete the 20 mile hike requirement, a long day in short fall

daylight hours! The Boy Scouts pro-vided lunch mid-way through our hike at Kellogg Experimental Forest. It was a great day for hiking, a touch cool in the morning, but sun-ny all day and not too hot. Some of the leaves were turning, adding to the beauty of the day. Hiking with a youth group is an interesting expe-rience; it is lots of fun to see all that energy. Plans are already proceed-ing for next year’s hike. Participa-tion should only get larger, but the Scouts do have a busy schedule, and avoiding their busiest weeks is part of the planning process.

–Story and picture by Larry Pio

CORRECTION to Map Geek NotesbyMattRowbothaminthe summer issue: It said: “... for a scale of 1:100,000 it’s actually more like compressing every mile into a “mere” 1.578 inches. 1:63,360 is a 1 inch equals 1 mile scale.” It should have said: “...for a scale of 1:100,000 it’s actually more like compressing every mile into a “mere” 0.634 inches. 1:63,360 is a 1 inch equals 1 mile scale.” Thanks to James N. for pointing this out!


Riemen Woods transferred to Finger Lakes Trail

NEWYORK–In1937,WilliamA.Riemenpurchased37acresoflandonPorterHillRoadinEnfieldfromTomp-kins County. The County had acquired the land as the resultofataxforeclosure.In1969,Riemen’sestatedo-nated the land to the Nature Conservancy to be protect-ed in its natural state. In 1978, the Nature Conservancy, determiningthatthelanddidnotfittheirpriorities,sold the property to the Cayuga Trails Club for $10 un-derarestrictivedeed.RiemenWoodshaslongcarriedahalf mile of the FLT and a primitive bivouac site.

Following discussions over the past year with the FLTC Board of Managers and the Cayuga Trails Club Execu-tiveBoard,CTChastransferredownershipofRiemenWoodstoFLTC.FLTCnowholdsownershiptitletofiveproperties along with permanent trail access easements on an additional 80 properties, all supporting our mis-sion of protecting the trail… Forever!

RiemenWoods(foundonFLTCMapM16westofIthaca)is adjacent to the FLTC owned Bock-Harvey Forest Pre-serve and both Boards felt that it really made sense for the FLTC to own both properties. The Boards believe that the larger resources of the FLTC, as compared to the CTC, will offer better protection for the property in the long run.

– Story by Roger Hopkins and Dave Newman

Part of the trail through Rieman Woods ... yes, the Finger Lakes Trail uses white blazes, so for nearly 400 miles NCT hikers have to retrain their brains. The blue blazes return when the trail heads northeast away from the main FLT on the Onondaga Trail, still part of the FLT system.

Allegheny National Forest Chapter

PENNSYLVANIA – Our trail work day near Henrys Mills was very successful. On a gorgeous fall afternoon, we put in two small reroutes a bit north of Henrys Mills. Thefirstwasarerouteofasectionoftrailjustnorthofthe big switchback that was misplaced on an old wet roadbed. We placed the trail into an adjacent hemlock grove and now have a beautiful trail with a soft tread. The second reroute removed the trail from a very old roadbed that had eroded into a gully.

Onthetrailworkday,wealsofinishedreblazingthe last 2.5 miles to complete our goal of painting the northern 50 miles (actually 52.3!) this year. We worked at making trail turns and road crossings easier to follow. See a very happy Tina Toole placing the last blaze. Tina headed this project and blazed 33 miles! Many thanks to the volunteers who assisted Tina, Kim Gustafson and Donna Bailey (17 miles), Mike Toole (15 ), Linda Thomas(7),TomandEricMorelli,JeffManelick,RandyThomas,andRyanWinters.

Last week, the Forest Service and club member Gene Cornelius rebuilt the small bridge over School-houseRun(justsouthofRt346).Theyalsoaddedapuncheon bridge over the backwater area. Those of you who hiked the A-100 last year will especially appreciate this improvement!

For November, we have two trail work days sched-uled, both on Sundays due to the opening of hunting season.

– Randy Thomas and Tina Toole, ANF Trail Maintenance Coordinators

Tina Toole paints the last new blaze!

RandyThomas

TomReim

ers


Total Estimated Mileage

Percentage Complete

Total Completed GIS* Miles

Total Certified Miles in GIS

New York 625 58.5% 365.4 267.2Pennsylvania 265 71.9% 190.5 129.6Ohio 1,050 47.1% 494 324.1Michigan 1,150 69.7% 801.5 591.4Wisconsin 200 76.8% 153.6 125.9Minnesota** 775 72.1% 559 104.3North Dakota 475 49.7% 236 214.1Total 4,540 61.67% 2,800 1,756.7

*GIS stands for Geographic Information System. This is the computer system NCTA uses to manage our trail information. GIS mileage numbers generally involve some level of estimation.**IncludesMinnesotaArrowheadReroute

MilestonesTrail Building Progress on the North Country Trail Fall 2014

I want to help build the North Country Trail!Join the North Country Trail Association to support our volunteers in building the trail and telling its story

in communities nearby. Happy Trails!Become a member today by calling (866) 445-3628, mail this form with your check made out to NCTA or visit our

website home page. Use the Get Involved pull-down menu to choose Become a Member.

Please choose your Chapter Affiliation: I want to be a member of my local Chapter: I want to be a member of the Chapter closest to my home. I want to be an At-Large Member. (Not affiliated with any Chapter) I want to make a tax deductible contribution of Name Address City State Zip EMail Day Time Phone

North Country Trail Association229 East Main StreetLowell, Michigan 49331


Maintainer’s Corner

Bill MenkeNCTARegionalTrailCoordinator-Wisconsin

One of the great joys associated withbeingaRegionalTrailCoordi-nator is getting to know our many talented volunteers and discovering their special skills. Two of these specialpeople,RickPomerleauandMary Stenberg, were recognized at the Trailfest in Duluth this past Au-gust when they were awarded the National Park Service’s prestigious George and Helen Hartzog “Individ-ual” Category Award for the Mid-westRegion(NorthStarJuly-Sept2014, pg. 4). Both members of this talented couple play key roles and perform many services within our Chequamegon Chapter. Through the years, I’ve noticed thatRickhasagreatdealofskillinthe areas of invention and fabrica-tion. A year or so ago, he showed me his most recent invention, metal handguardsfortheDRmowers.I

could immediately see how these would improve the safety for our mower operators trailwide and encouraged him to spread the word. Ashorttimelater,RickpresentedmewithasetforuseonourRov-ing Trail Crew mower. The guards are easily installed on almost all mower models by merely replacing four bolts with slightly longer ones. We have now used our new hand guards for several months and I am even more convinced of their value. AnyonewhohasoperatedaDRbrush mower knows how import-ant it is always to wear good gloves to protect your hands. It is a given that sooner or later (usually sever-al times daily) your hand will get smashed or scraped against a tree as the mower bounces its way down the trail. With the new guards, your hands are totally protected from

DR Brush Mower Hand Guards

these occurrences. An additional benefitisthatwiththeguardsforyour hand to rest against, it is much easier to hold the mower back a bit without having to maintain such a tight grip on the handles. I enthusi-astically recommend them. FollowingupwithRick,hehasagreed for me to spread the word to the rest of you and is willing to provide a set of guards for only $25. Please note that since the photos weretaken,Rickhasmodifiedtheguards so that they are shallower than the originals, thus allowing passage through narrower spots. Rick’[email protected],orphone715/746-2139.

Dick Kroener

Left: Protective metal bars fabricated by Rick Pomerlau save our knuckles from close trees and brush.


Updates from the SuperintendentTHE NPS/NCTA Cooperative Agreement

Some have asked what agreements exist be-tween NPS and NCTA: we operate in partner-ship under a Cooperative Agreement (CA) and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). In brief, the CA is the medium to transfer funds to sup-port the trail (NPS annually supports a substan-tial portion of NCTA’s operational needs, and also supports projects as funding is available). The CA is based upon the principle of Substantial Involvement which means we work in partner-ship regarding the decisions made with those funds. The MOU is the means to clarify roles and responsibilities of each party; that is, who does what. The Recent NCTA Shortfall of Funds

Late this past summer, as you all are aware, NCTA was very concerned about a shortfall of funds and was considering serious cost cutting measures. Sometimes, at the end of the federal fiscalyear,theMidwestregionoftheNPShasfunds for last minute emergencies like this. So we gave it a shot. Given that we have a good re-lationship with the Midwest region, and have not asked for such funds before (at least in recent history) we were fortunate that our request for $25,000 was approved to maintain operations at NCTA. Many thanks to the NPS Midwest region for their assistance on this issue.

Foundation Document

I probably sound like a broken record, but we are very, very close to completing the Foundation Document! It received modest comments from theregionaloffice,afewofourpublicsectorpartners and a few individuals during the 30 day review period. (NCTA leadership has been involved in the process from the beginning.) A few more tweaks, some minor changes here and

there,anditwillgototheMidwestRegionalOf-ficeforapprovalbytheRegionalDirector.Thenitisoffforgraphicdesign,afinalreviewofthenarrative, preparation of a four page synopsis, and production of both the full Document and the Synopsis.

Governor’s Showcase Trail

MichiganDept.ofNaturalResources(DNR)istreading on new and exciting territory with the development of the “Governor’s Showcase Trail.” Whiletherouteisnotyetformallyandofficiallydetermined, it may end up following the NCT through most of the state. This would repre-sent an enhanced relationship with the state, and as such, we are reviewing the current MOU betweenNPSandMichiganDNRtoidentify…ifit happens … how we will work together to plan, develop and maintain the trail in Michigan. This is an exciting opportunity both for the state and the NCT.

North Star Scanning

A while back, I found a box or two of North Star magazines, but not a full collection. They were taking up a lot of space so we began considering scanning all the issues in order to reduce the clutter and to make it easier to store and retrieve the information found within them. I contacted Jill DeCator with the idea (she had been thinking about it, too) so she gathered all the issues from 1981 through 2006 and loaned them to us. NPS coordinated and paid for the scanning of those issues. NCTA is handling the issues since 2006. They will soon be available on the NCTA website. Excellent!

OLRs

Jeff continues working with many chapters in the preparationofOptimalLocationReviews.Getwith Jeff to learn more about this great process. [email protected]

Acquisition

JeffisworkingwithourNPSLandsofficeinMartinsburg, West Virginia, to identify and ac-quire lands for the trail. This is a slow process, and given the limited funds, fee simple federal ownership will ultimately represent only a small portion of secured lands across the trail. Other means exist to secure the trail, such as per-manent access agreements that are tied to the deed/property.ThesearebestobtainedbyotherpartiessuchasNCTAandaffiliatetrailgroups.

National Park Service

CornerMark Weaver

Superintendent


Forest Service

WewillsoonbemeetingwithRegion9oftheForest Service to review our current agreement. Ourgoalistomaximizetheefficiencyandeffec-tiveness of volunteer efforts regarding trail con-struction and maintenance operations on these federal lands.

Finally

I have received a few comments regarding recent decisions made for the Trail in general. Please keep in mind that NPS decisions about the trail are made from the trailwide perspective. The diversity of the trail, the partnerships, relation-ships and issues along any segment cannot nec-essarilybesatisfiedwithinthiscontext.AsIhavesaid before, we need to have trailwide de-cisions established so we have something to deviateFROM.Whenlocal circumstances dictate, we can review them within the con-text of the trailwide decision and make adjustments if, and where, necessary.

As usual, I welcome your comments.

– Mark [email protected]

(616) 430-3495

Brandon Mulunix

Save the dates of September 10-13 for the next fun long weekend when friends from all states of the North Country Trail will gather at Hope Lake Lodge, across the valley from Greek Peak, a ski slope where the Trail crosses the sum-mit. For four days we’ll stay at a brand new ski lodge in luxurious accommodations at reason-able prices because of their unique suite arrange-ments, permitting up to four or six people to share one set of rooms WITH complete kitchens! Severalfloorplansareavailablefordifferingtastes. Nearby housing also available in Cortland and campgrounds. Bring the kids for their water park and zip lines, share meals with the rest of us or cook in your suites, and revel in carefully designed lo-calized hike clusters each day. We’ll have busses to take us to several spectacular hikes clustered around one location for each of several days; for instance, we’ll all go to Watkins Glen to en-joy the spectacular gorge, waterfalls, and trails near there, but in groups of civilized size. Ditto for Ithaca. On a third day we’ll enjoy a menu of many varied hikes in the local area, since the ski resort is surrounded by miles of our trail in state forest. The Finger Lakes Trail is turning their usual fall weekend into a spectacular event to welcome our North Country Trail friends. We hope you’ll be so contentedly exhausted at the end of each day that you’ll nod off sitting on your own rooms’ outdoor balcony, overlooking miles of nearly dark countryside. This is a slice of New York that remains beautiful countryside and forest, so don’t miss it. Website info available this winter, and in the spring issue of North Star.

2015 North Country Trail Rendezvous in Central New York

Hope Lake Lodge across from Greek Peak ski slopes in May. Yes, that is a patch of snow up on the hill. The Finger Lakes/North Country Trail runs across the top of the ridge across the valley.

Irene Szabo

North Star Submission GuidelinesWithout your material, we cannot have a magazine,

so we eagerly request your submission of pictures and text for every issue. Please send both to Irene Szabo at [email protected],or6939CreekRd.,Mt.MorrisNY14510. PLEASEDON’TEMBEDPICTURESWITHIN

YOURARTICLE,BUTSENDTHEMSEPARATELYAS .JPG ATTACHMENTS. In all cases, please supply photographer’s name.

Front cover photo candidates: prefer vertical format, and if digital, at least 300 dpi or greater than 3000 pixels, AND we are always looking for great cover photos!

Inside pictures look much better with one dimension over 1000 pixels, too, preferably 2000.

Next deadline for Vol. 34, No. 1 is January 1, 2015.Rememberthat900wordsequalapproximatelyone

page of dense text, so very few articles should exceed 1800 words in this size of magazine.

Thank you!—Your volunteer editor, Irene

(585) 658-4321


Back in the late 1990’s, I was trying to re-route an unlovely patch of trail onto new proper-ties, all of them private and nicely wooded. One landowner, perfectly eager to permit the trail on what had been his family’s summer playtime place far from the city, happened to complain during conversation about the rising taxes on a property that the family barely used any more, now that the children were grown. Howard Beye, longtime trail chair of the Finger Lakes Trail in New York, made a good suggestion to John Cobb: GIVE us these 45 acres and receive a tax credit for the donation, plus get out of future taxes. John agreed, as long as we permittedhisadultsontohuntthereforfifteenmore years. Done. As far as we are concerned, Jay Cobb can hunt there for the rest of his life, or as long as we own the property, since we have continued per-missions to hunt to all the traditional neighbors who hunted there. Others who ask are declined. The trail is closed for the three weeks of gun hunting season for deer every year, and as long

asourtreasurerrememberstofiletheannualsimple paperwork with the county to relieve us ofpropertytaxesasanot-for-profitlandowner,this ownership costs us nothing. So not only do we have a nice forested prop-erty without competing uses or threats of lost permission, but our neighbors are happy that we haven’t sold the property for potential ski season homes due to the nearby Ellicottville ski resorts, a few miles away. They like things the way they are. Thathappenedin1998,nowmorethanfif-teen years gone. The neighbors and Jay can still hunt there, and we have just made over $21,000 from the property! Two other hillside owners are cut off from the road below by a railroad in the valley, one that features twice daily trains, and a considerable creek and swamp at the bot-tom, so if any of our neighbors to the east wants to do any logging, the logs must be dragged throughourpropertytotheRaabs’place,justtoour west but with access to the road. So when their consulting forester wanted to negotiate permission, he met with us to propose logging ours also, just enough to bring out inter-mittent trees and open up parts of the forest to greater growth in a little additional sunshine, far from a clearcut! For the last two years we have worked on this project, wherein the forester solicited bids from loggers and chose the best price. Of course, that price had to include agree-ment to cut only what he had marked AND to clean any mess off the trail at the end of each day AND to clean up the haul road across the proper-ty before all is done. Having a forestry consultant administer the sale is critical. He or she chooses which trees to cut with an eye to high value, of course, but more important, with future growth possibilities in mind. Since the logger wants the most money for his huge effort of cutting and dragging those trees out of there, it isn’t smart to let him choose which ones to cut! That’s handing henhouse keys to the fox. The consultant marked trees

MAPLE CHIPS INTO BLUE CHIPS: THE ALCHEMY OF TURNING LOGGING INTO INVESTMENTS

Jared Kramer, our forestry consultant, "cruising" the timber stand; that is, he measured trees by species so he could estimate the volume of timber available to loggers.

Story and pictures by Irene Szabo


The logging company's all-purpose machine, a feller- buncher, can roll logs between its toothed rollers, and cuts them off with a chain saw inside the red guard at the bottom. Then with its articulated arm, it drags bunches of downed logs to the haul road, all of this done by one human operator.

which would open up sunlight for nearby trees of potential future value while leaving enough seed trees, and then followed up throughout the harvest to make sure things were being done right. After the consultant’s 7%, the Finger Lakes Trail netted over $21,000, and, best of all, with the increased growth afforded some valuable trees, this can be repeated in another ten years orso!Blackcherryandsugarmaplefigureinthetotal (no oak in this neighborhood, even though there is a lot along the rest of the FLT), plus a lot of big old ash trees were removed before they die of the several ash diseases ravaging upstate N.Y. This September three of us old broads who

had built the nearly two miles of trail looping around this property back in 1998 met for a reunion of sorts to clean up post-logging. Two of them hadn’t been there since then! Connie had moved to the far southwest corner of the state so Pat and I hadn’t seen her in long years; her hair was white now, and I can’t comment on Pat’s real hair color. Just like the good old days, Connie was energetic and hard-working, clipping away the few tree tops that loggers had let fall onto the trail, while Pat, always the day-dreamer, still stared at cute plants while her weed-whacker stood in my way, planted on top of a stick in the tread. Anyway, the changes to “our” forest weren’t bad, with no terrible shocks. We have lost a few really big ash that had blazes on them, like where Connie is standing on a stump in the picture, but experience tells all of us that they would only have died soon, alas. A little reblazing, and a little extra weed-whacking where sunshine now touches the path, and all this disturbance will soon disappear for most hikers’ eyes. And the Finger Lakes Trail has put that money into long-term investments for our future needs. So don’t resist the opportunity to make renewable money from land we may actually own along the trail!

Connie Dutcher on the stump and Pat Martin, reunit-ing to tidy the trail post-logging sixteen years after building it. Connie stands on an ash stump, one of the several big old ash that were removed before they pre-dictably die of the several diseases or bugs threatening ash in upstate N.Y.


Editor’s Note: Peggy is the woman standing between Luke Jordan and Doug Thomas in Larry Pio’s picture from the 18 mile killer hike during the Duluth event on page 9. Living on the Minnesota shore of Lake Supe-rior with the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) in my backyard, it would seem likely that I would hike it. And I have over the years ...all the most scenic areassuchastheGooseberryandSplitRockRiv-ers, Oberg and Pincushion Mountains and more. The trail has also been my training ground for other shorter backpacking trips taken out west and in Alaska. But 2014 was to be the year to start backpacking the SHT, not as a through hike, but just to see what I could do. When I saw that Luke Jordan was going to lead an 18 mile hike from Jay Cooke State Park to Duluth in August, during the NCT gathering, I signed up immediately. It was a foggy, humid late summer day, one of those days when the forest is quiet and damp and you can’t see much from the overlooks, but you get that feeling of being in a special place. The last four miles were particularly challenging with Ely’s Peak at 1,219 feet (in the fog). I nearly had to run to keep up with the three guys who finishedhikingthatlaststretch. At the end, Luke said, “That was a taste of what a through hiker’s day is like.” Yikes. So after that day, I seriously planned for

the SHT, starting at the 270 Overlook near the CanadianbordertoGrandMaraisformyfirstsection. I set out on my own, fully expecting to have a lot of “alone time.” Along the way, I met two other hikers, Sue and Bonita. As it turned out, Bonita is “Mother Goose” who is well known with NCT backpackers and has logged more than 40,000 miles all over the continental US. I tagged along and on the way she gave me some good advice about my backpack, which was not fittedwell,andotherlittlegemsofwisdom.Iwas even able to keep up with her and we did a 15 mile day. That earned me a Tootsie Pop! Talk about “trail magic.” They invited me to take another weekend hike so there was another 24 miles completed. But before I get all “Yeah, me!” about my accom-

Minnesota Hiking Fest inspires local woman to hike the Superior Hiking TrailStory by Peggy Stone

Peggy Stone

The Lake Superior beach walk near Kadunce River.


plishment, I should admit to suffering through an injured knee, blistered toes and a black toenail! But all those things heal, a small price to pay for experiencing fabulous vistas of Lake Superior, scenic river crossings, and majestic pines, not tomentionmeetingnewfriendsandfindingthat, yes, I can do it. All in all, in the fall of 2014, I have completed 145 miles and will hopefully finishin2015...justbecauseofadecisiontotakea group hike sponsored by the NCT. Thank you.

Peggy herself at the very northeast end of the trail, which is either the beginning or end. The panorama is over the hills of Canada to the north and the expanse of the Swamp River valley which flows through an ancient glacial lake bed to the south.

Taken from the so-called 270 Overlook for its wide viewpoint, looking into Canada’s hills at the northeast end of the trail.

Peggy StoneDavid Grinstead

Wisconsin Register Whimsey

Bill Menke sent these pictures of register entries from Northland College backpackers.

NONPROFITU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDGrandRapids,MI

Permit 340

North Country Trail Association229 East Main StreetLowell, Michigan 49331

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The Lowell office is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.229 East Main Street, Lowell, MI 49331(866) HikeNCT • (616) 897-5987 • Fax (616) 897-6605

The North Country Trail Association develops, maintains, protects and promotes the North Country National Scenic Trail as the premier hiking path across the northern tier of the United States through a trail-wide coalition of volunteers and partners.

Our vision for the North Country National Scenic Trail is that of the premier footpath of national significance, offering a superb experience for hikers and backpackers in a permanently protected corridor, traversing and interpreting the richly diverse environmental, cultural, and historic features of the northern United States.

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This picture was taken in late August in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (South Temperance Lake). A friend of mine and I had left our canoe at a portage entry, and walked the portage looking for moss and flowers. We heard what we thought was a dog barking, only yards away, off the portage trail. Then we heard the “yip-yip” of pups, followed soon after by an adult timber wolf, howling. We froze in our tracks, amazed how close they were. Then who comes down the trail but this little pup. Fortunately, I had my camera ready and could snap a quick picture before it vanished. I still can’t believe it happened. – Connie Burns

Connie Burns

North Star Vol. 33, No. 4 (2014)

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Transcript of North Star Vol. 33, No. 4 (2014)