Uncovering a wall at the "Passport in Time" archeological dig at Norwich, Ml, near the NCT in the Ottawa NF.

PO Box an White Cloud, Ml 49349 Editor: 14845 Rome Rd., Manitou Beach Ml 49253

Newsletter of the

North Country Trail AB>ciation

\ j I

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID Permtt No. 47

Caledonia, Ml 49316

REGIONAL AFFILIATES

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

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

Pennsylvania: AYH, Pittsburgh Region.

CHAPTER CHAIRS

Michigan (U.P.) Gene Elzinga, 1~Middle Island, Marquette 11111 49855 (906) 225-1704

Wisconsin Gaylord Yost

Minnesota Rod MacRae1- 121 OW. 22nd St., Min­ neapolis MN ::>5405 (612) 337-0130

North Dakota Dale Anderson, RR1, Box 10, Oslo, MN, 56744 (218)965-4508

Ohio Jim Sprague, 4406 Maplecrest, Parma OH 44129 (216) 884-4757

Michigan (Lower) Arden Johnson

STATE COORDINATORS

New York Howard Beye

Pennsylvania vacant

COMMITTEES

Awards: Odell Bjerkness

Finance: Arden Johnson

Headquarters Virginia Wunsch, Rt.1, WhiteCloudMI 49349 (616) 689-6876

Meetings: Martha Jones

Membership: Kenneth Gackler

Planning: Arden Johnson

Publications: Wes Boyd

Trail Management: Doug Welker

Headwaters: Rod MacRae (see above)

NCT Hikers: Gene Elzinga (see above)

Traverse City: Arlen Mason;..1045 Draka Rd,

Traverse vit)', Ml 49684 Western Michigan:

Bill Van Zee 7744 Thornapple Bayou Dr. SE, Grand Rapids Ml, 49512

218 567-3858 412 776-0678 904 788-2232 216 884-0281 715 274-2346 414 354-8987

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

!7161288- 7191 612 482-1877 616 891-1366 810 280-2921

8101548-1737 517 547-7402 81 0 853-0292 607 272-8679 716 586-3846

TERMS EXPIRING IN 1995 C Derek Blount, 906 N. AlexanderLf~oyal Oak Ml 48067 A Wes Boyd, 14815 Rome Road, Manitou Beach Ml 49253 C Arden Johnson, 600 Tennyson, Rochester Hills, Ml 48307 E Thomas J. Reimers, 3C Wildflower Dr.hlthaca NY 14850 A Harmon Strong, 76 Shellwood Dr, Roe ester NY 14618

TERMS EXPIRING IN 1996 F Howard Beye, 202 Colebourne Rd., Rochester NY 14609 A Hans Erdman, 116 E. Rose Pl., Little Canada MN 55117 A Kenneth Gackler, 418 W. Johnson St.,i.. Caledonia Ml 49316 A Martha K Jones, 1857 Torquay Ave, noyal Oak Ml 48073 A Tim Mueller, ND Parks and Recreation Department

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

TERMS EXPIRING IN 1997 W Odell Bjerkness R1, Box 221A, Ponsford MN 56575 G Helen Coyne, 212 Willow Circle, Zelienople PA 16063 A Chet Fromm, 1001 Tompkins Dr., Port Orange, FL32119 B Emily Grego!{ 6502 Olde York Rd., Parma Hls OH 44130 W Pat Miller -Pu Box 756, Mellen WI 54546 A Gaylord Yost, 2925 W. Bradley Rd., River Hills WI 53209

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

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

(810) 853-0292

(412) 776-0678 Secretary:

Helen Coyne, 212 Willow Circle, Zelienople PA 16063

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

(218) 573-3858

(906) 338-2680

(810) 548-1737 President:

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

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

Vice President (Admln) Odell Bjerkness, Bad Medicine Lake, R1, Box 221 A,

Ponsford, MN 56575

OFFICERS

Executive Director: Pat Allen, 2215 Sylvan Dr. SE, Grand Rapids Ml 49506 (616) 452-4487

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

Madison WI 53711 (608) 264-561 O

PAINTED ON

0 RECYCLED

PAPER

NEWSLETTER of the

North Country Trail Association PO Box 311, White Cloud, Ml 49349

Headquarters Phone: (616) 689-1912 Editor:

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

Page2 North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994

J!JJJ!IJ!:lJIJIJliill!llJ!J!iillillllllllllil!:l:J:::;::1111111~1J1JllllllJJllJllllJlljljl!lj!j/ijllli!!/jljlllll:111JJlll!/:llll:llllill:lllllll:JlliJlJjJli"llllljjjJ 1995 Annual Conference date, plate set 5 FLTC adopts new mountain bike policy 7 Chet Fromm in Michigan and Wisconsin 8 Passport in Time on NCT in UP 12 Meeting at Maplelag 14 Wisconsin activities perk up 16 New Rich Siebert tale 18

20,21 Lots of coming events

*** THE FINGER LAKES Trail

News reports the completion of the 25th end-to-end of the Finger Lakes Trail by Abe T. Allen on June 17. There's a new lean-to on the FLT. located east of South River Road on FL'I' map M-7. It was built by a private landowner for his family, but is willing to allow hikers to use it.

MORE NEWS from the certi­ fication front: There's been a couple of adjustments to the trail in the Pictured Rocks National Lake­ shore. Remeasurementofthetrail makes it now 43.8 miles instead of the previous 42.8. In addition, the .9 miles between Woodland Park and Sable Falls are now desig­ nated as a signed connector. 2.6 miles in the Lake Superior State Forest have been decertified due to location on roads, but remeas­ urement elsewhere in the forest adds 3.5 miles, bringing the total to 46.2. Finally, 1.8 miles in New York's Texas Hollow State Forest and 3 segemen ts totaling 3.3 miles in New York's Goundry Hill State Forest were certified. The action brings the NCTs total certified mileage to 1165.8 as of August 5, with a total including signed con­ nector miles of 1176.0.

THE DEATHS BY drown­ ing of two backpackers in sepa­ rate incidents this year makes it worthwhile to review procedures for fording streams. The most important thing is to unbuckle your hip belt and sternum strap. If you are swept off your feet, shed your pack immediately. Better to lose your pack than your life. A hiking stick is of greatest use in fording streams. It transforms you from an un­ stable biped to a stable triped. It is worth carrying a good hiking stickjust for those few times you will have to ford streams; locally­ grown sticks are likely to be brittle and snap just when you need them most. Unless the stream is slow and has a sandy bottom, don't ford barefooted. Carry sneakersforfordingorwearyour boots without socks. Put your dry socks back on at the far side. Ford at the top of a rapid, not at the middle or the bottom. Hunt up and downstream to find the best spot. -- Tom Thwaites

in KTA Newsletter

***

the requirements of this new· law, so don't throw it away.

-- Emily Gregor in BTA Trailblazer

TAXPAYERS making chari­ table contributions should be aware of new rules that went into effect in Jaunary, 1994. For donations of $250 or more, written substantia­ tion of the gift from the receiving charity will be required ifa deduc­ tion is claimed. Canceled checks will no longer constitute sufficent proof. The letter of thanks you receive from the charity will fulfill

***

BOB MARTIN, assistant superintendent of Ohio's Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area, retired April 30, 1994. Martin was in charge of developing the Feasa­ bility Study for the NCNST when the project was being studied by the Bureau of Outoor Recreation in the early 1970s, prior to Tom Gilbert's taking over the effort. Bob will be leaving his Ohio home and moving to South Carolina.

-- BT A Trailblazer

***

ED TALONE and Sue Lock­ wood are still out there, in their attempt to do the first single-year end-to-end hike of the NCNSTsince 1978. A postcard from Ed, post­ marked August 18, reports: "Sue and I have now covered almost 2800 miles to the eastern bound­ ary of Ottawa National Forest (1400 to go). Trail in Michigan is incred­ ible, and on August 15, leaves al­ ready changing. Hope to reach end in N. Dakota about Nov. 15. Going back to "Big Mac" for bridge walk and one week on Isle Royale." The NPS's Tom Gilbert reports talking to Ed in the last week of Septem­ ber. Ed was then at Grand Port­ age, Minnesota, after having com­ pleted the Superior Hiking Trail, which may yet become part of the NCNST. Ed reports thatit'sa mag­ nificent trail. We'll keep you posted as we get the information.

Page3 North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994

In the period between now and 2000, we need to think beyondjust adding on to the length of the trail and work on the usability ofit. Among other things, this will require improved trail maintenance and upgrading, along with other things that make trail usable -- better signing, interpretation, campsites, perhaps shelters, improved access to water, better maps and guides, lots of things.

In our eagerness to get the trail on the ground, there are many places where we've shortchanged some of the amenities that make a trail more fun to use, and this is something that we are going to have to work on as time goes by.

Over the course of the next year or so, we're going to try to come up with some articles for the newsletter on these sorts of things. Ifyou have anything on the subject you'd like to submit, we'd welcome it.

* * *

sort of traveling campsite could easily kick out an average of twenty to thirty miles a day. Doing the whole trail in six months would be a snap; working from both ends toward the middle, in two groups, would take a lot less time, and would offer the potential for starting on National Trails Day and ending on Labor Day at the Mackinac Bridge, where there's the biggest ready-made crowd available at any point at any time along the whole route of the trail. Possibly some other event could be scheduled for the finish to help build up the publicity factor.

We could invite local groups along the way to hike with the relay hikers, perhaps in a hikeathon arrange­ ment at so much donation per mile; these groups need not be trail groups, but could be the local Jaycees or Boy Scouts or whatever. Along the way, the hikers and the hike would be the target of a lot of publicity, which would be carefully sought by reaching out to every media outlet within reasonable distance of the trail that can be located, and by cultivating national media, as well.

There's a lot of potential there. It could be a teriffic media event, which, of course, is what we're seeking.

However, it wouldn't be cheap, and I can't see doing it on a volunteer basis. This is a big enough deal with a sufficiently designed purpose that some sort of corpo­ rate sponsorship would be nearly essential - say, Coca-Cola or McDonalds or something. To do it right would require a publicity person working on it profes­ sionally and full time perhaps as much as a year in advance, and advance people traveling ahead of the hiking party to make sure the message got out. Pl us, the expenses of the hiking party itself~ food, lodging, a stipend. It's do-able, but won't pay off without a signifi­ cant investment.

I figure we've got a year or two to work on the concept, decide we want to do it, and develop it into an easily presentable package that we can present to sponsors. We've still got time at this point, but time will slip by rapidly ifwe don't start thinking about it now.

It's not too early to be thinking about the end of the decade.

In 1990, we had a fairly successful series of hikes from one end of the trail to the other to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the North Country National Sce­ nic Trail. The hikes were intended as much to garner publicity about the trail, to try to increase local mem­ bership and awareness. While they in no way managed to reach the size or the participation we had hoped, they did get the trail more publicity than it had ever seen before-and in the past three years or so, we have been able to reap the benefits.

It was about ten years ago that people conceived the idea of the 1990 hike. Memory and a study of old newsletters notes that it was mostly John Hipps and Art Holland that cooked up the original idea - and their original idea had a power that sticks with us still - an end to end hike. The concept of an end-to-end hike shared by many people took several formats over the years. One was of two groups, starting at the ends of the trail, and working toward the middle; another was to have every mile of the trail hiked in one day, by hun­ dreds of hikers as individuals or small groups. A third was of a relay of many hikers, from the association and local areas, lightly loaded to make good time, with relays changing several times a day.

There were some good ideas there; as things finally turned out, we did not have time, members, or organiza­ tional strength to carry them out. Yet, such an under­ taking- a literal publicity stunt- remains a compel­ ling idea.

Remember the way that the Olympic torch was carried around the country in 1984 by such a relay as the one we're talking about? It was done as a fundraiser, a run-a-th on, with individuals signing up for donations to youth sports or some such thing, at so much a mile. When there were unsponsored miles - and there were many - a group of selected runners, traveling with the torch in a motor home, changed off every mile or so. In sixty or ninety days or whatever, they ran something like eight or ten thousand miles, traveling day and night.

It would be possible to do something similar. A relay of good, fast hikers, traveling light, changing off several timesa day, supported by a motor home or some

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

by the Editor

Keyboard Trails _N_qrth Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994

r-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ............. ~------ ... , Page4

1995 NCTA Trail Conference set for New York Date: Friday, August 18 through Monday, August 21 Location: Wat~on Homestead Conference Center. This 600 acre estate was the birthplace of IBM founder

Thomas J. Watson. The center has an indoor Olympic-sized pool and other recreational attractions. The center is located at Coopers Plain, NY, and is near Corning Glass Center, Lake Seneca with boat tours, many vinyards, and is only 1 O minutes from the North Country Trail.

Accomodations: Motel type rooms, bunk rooms and nearby campgrounds will provide a variety of housing options. Later information will detail package options for 3 nights, 2 nights, or a meal plan.

Mark Your Calendar now. You won't want to miss itl

All in all, we had a great time and made lots of new friends. Many of you out there may have missed this year's conference, but start planning for next summer in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. There will be lots of trail to hike through exquisite canyons and magnificent waterfalls. Lot.s more learning and fun opportunities lie just ahead, so plan to be there next year.

On the tail of our conference, some of our members are heading for Alaska. OK, so our trail doesn't go there ... yet. The 1994 National Trails Symposium is being held in Anchorage this year and we will be attending to meet with the other nineteen National Trails to plan this years legislative strategy. This symposium brings trail folks from all over North America to share their trail knowledge and experience. Small and large trails are represented here. As usual, we expect to gain a lot from the experience and the networking. More to come in the next issue. .

Great strides are being made in all of our states in trail construction and maintenance. New trail keeps popping up all over the place. We expect to open new trail in every state next year. The gaps are beginning to close in all areas. New planning processes are begin­ ning and more public involvement is expected. Aware­ ness of the trail is rising dramatically in some areas, and yet still needs help in others. We are looking to open a permanent office soon in the Grand Rapids area of Michigan. We hope to have a staff to answer the phones and handle more of the trail enquiries.

We now have a fourth local chapter. This one is in Minnesota, called the Headwaters Chapter. It was named for the area that is the headwaters of the Missis­ sippi River. If you would like to see a local Chapter in your area please call or write to me and we will try to get it started.

As the leaves begin to change color and the prairie grasses turn brown there is still time to enjoy our trail before the snow. Get our and see the glory of the autumn with it.s migrating birds and it.s changing environment. For those of you who hate bugs, there aren't any! The cool breezes make hiking very pleasant. Enjoy! Happy Trails!

Some of you really missed it this time! I mean the NCTA Conference in Minnesota. You really missed it. Those of us that were there had a great time and learned a lot about things that don't usually come to mind as we talk about our trail. Paul Shurke came and spoke to us about polar travel and international expedi­ tions. We learned about linking two nations via dogsled in the Bering Straits. Stories were told of reuniting relativesaftermanyyearsofpoliticalseparation.Aswe listened to stories of long nights in wild wind and freezing tern peratures we were reminded of parts of our trail in winter.

We had theopportunitytosamplewildmushrooms and learn about wildflowers. The stars came to life at night in the dark Minnesota sky and Wes Boyd brought a new dimension to night vision with his telescope. A family of Chippewa Indians came to tell us of their vision of trails in the world and we learned more of their culture. We listened to this music and experienced their dance as some of us stepped out to the sound of a Chippewa drum. We gained a greater respect for the earth and the peoples who dwelt here before the discov­ ery of America by the Europeans.

At times we seemed to tie ourselves in knots as we learned ropecraft. Many of our future trips will be more successful with fewer problems due to the trip planning seminar. We all received a "Good Dose ofBad Medicine" and learned about the area of Minnesota we were in. We made some new friends from Norway and experienced a hospitality rarely seen except at Maplelag Lodge. The food and accomodations were great thanks to Jim and Mary Richards and their fine staff.

Steve Elkinton from the National Park Service office in Washington involved us in a workshop session on dealing with landowners. We got the opportunity to participate in discussions involving various types of landownership issues. It was a great session. Thanks, Steve.

We also opened a new certified section in Itasca State Park while we were there, and got the opportu­ nity to hike a section of new trail in the Bad Medicine area with some great views.

North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994 Page 5

The reaction of the Bent Rim Bugle, newsletter of the Michigan Mountain Biking Association, to the NCTA's policy on mountain bikes decided last January, was more positive than expected.

In the policy, decided by the Association's Board, the association conceded that the local managing au­ thority of a trail segment has the final decision over whether to permit mountain bike use or not. It did mean, however, that the Association went on record as opposing mountain bikes in most situations, with some exceptions.

"In a nutshell," the Bent Rim Bugle concluded, "If you want mountain biking to continue on theNCT, then the land managers of those sections of the NCT now being used by mountain bikes must see the benefit of having mountain bikes on the trail. Mountain bikers must take responsibility for their actions, take an active role in the development of the NCT and join the NCTA.

"If mountain bikers do not take these responsibili­ ties seriously and set trail standards that meet the needs of all the non-motorized users who use the trail, then mountain bikers have no right to use the trail. By the same token, those who manage the NCT have a responsibility to develop the trail in the interest of those non-motorized user groups who are willing to consistently contribute to the trail's development and maintenance meeting the needs of the public in the context of the trails maturation in the light of the oncoming 21st century. With the realities of increasing populations, a new level ofawareness in outdoor recrea­ tion and the nightmare of shrinking public funds for such ambitious projects, everyone who cares about the North Country Trail has their work cut out for them. The challenge for the 90's in terms of the NCT is 2000 miles by the year 2000. As with any project, the only road to get there is through cooperation and hard work -- something only the people who love the NC Trail will be able to do."

In the same issue of the Bent Rim Bugle, the newsletter reported on the International Mountain Biking Association - Sierra Club Bicycling Mediation Project meetings held in Utah last spring,

Among points of agreement were that mountain biking is a legitimate form of recreation and transpor­ tation on trails, including single-track, when and where it is done in an environmentally sound and socially responsible manner. However, it was also noted that not all non-wilderness trails should be open to bicycle use.

Bikers react to NCTA bike policy

Slippery Rock Trail dedicated Nearly fifty people were on hand at the Eckert

Bridge in Pennsylvania's McConnel's Mill State Park on the morning of April 30 to celebrate the opening of the new Slippery Rock Gorge Trail. The 6.2 mile trail was a project of a number of volunteer organizations headed up by Mark Eckler and the Shenango Outing Club. Ranger Jerry Bosiljevac reported to those as­ sembled that more than 65 volunteers had devoted more than 2, 100 hours of their time to the construction of the trail. KTA President Ed Beck and Eckler also made brief remarks thanking those who attended and giving special recognition to those who had worked on the trail.

The trail, which will become part of the NCNST, begins at Eckert Bridge, located about a mile down­ stream from the mill itself, and runs along Slippery Rock Creek and Hell Run, ending at the Hell Hollow Falls parking lot. It features pleasant stream valleys, waterfalls, hardwood and hemlock forest, dazzling spring wildflowers and natural bridges in a remote and rugged section of the park. -- KTA Newsletter

What does it mean to bea "national" trail?Itmeans a partnership with 18 other national trails. We share some common political agendas and currently are working to achieve an equal land authority for all of the trails. Among the issues we have in common is that most of the national trails are incomplete.

The web formed by the national trails connects with local trails and communities, offering trail users an opportunity to experience a trail that goes some­ where far away.

We attract inquiries from around the country and even foreign countries. National magazines feature parts of our trail system. National status means that "eco-tourism" is part of our potential. Already the Si­ erra Club and American Hiking Society offer trail work outings along portions of the trails and tour groups are marketing hikes.

We must strive for trail quality so that our national trail emblem stands for excellence. It should not mean getting lost or frustrated by poorly marked trails which are not maintained. In the coming year, I will be work­ ing with our many volunteer groups to put in place an adopt-a-trail program so that we don't lose the trails we have built as we rush to complete more miles. We cannot assume that government agencies will maintain our trail segments.

North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994 Page6

walked, some rode. Venegas reports, "I worked with a group on a section of trail just south of the Marilla Trailhead. There is a sandy section before crossing Eddington Creek. It was eroding and getting widened, as hikers and bikers tried to avoid the deep sand. We mixed oak leaves into the sand to harden the surface and brushed in the wide sections of trail to prevent erosion and trail widening. The trail looked much bet­ ter at the end of the day.• Other work was done such as removing dead.falls, putting in water bars and reshap­ ing trails all along the 15-mile portion of the NCT.

=adapted from "Bent Rim Bugle" Newsletter of the Michigan Mountain Biking Assn.

National Forest Service representative Ramona Venegas of the Manistee National Forest reports that on Saturday, May 7, 23 mountain bikers met with one goal -- to perform volunteer trail maintenance on the North Country Trail in Michigan's Manistee National Forest. The volunteers worked on 15 miles of trail in two sections: from Beers Road to Coates Highway and from Coates Highway to Dilling road. Volunteers came from all over Northwest Michigan, from Grand Rapids and Lansing to Traverse City.

The afternoon began with a project safety meeting and discussing goals for the day. People and tools were divided into four working groups and began from the north and south ends of each trail segment. Some

Mountain Bikers help maintaln NCT

"2. Sections of trail considered for bicycle use must be such that ATB usage will not damage natural or trail resources or detract from the safety or experience of other users. Trail design should be such that a section so designated is isolatable, and that usage can be confined to that section by natural landmarks or barri­ ers or built barriers, and/or by providing suitable desig­ nated loops along roads or other trails.

"Determination of trail suitability for ATB or mountain bike usage will be done by the section sponsor or sponsoring club and will be reviewed by the FLTC Trails Committee and/or Chairman. If requests to des­ ignate a specific section of trail are made to the Confer­ ence by non-affiliated clubs or individuals, these will be considered and an effort made to honor them, providing the requesting party provides support for trail up­ grades necessary to meet FLTC criteria prior to desig­ nation.

"Determination of suitability will be done with consideration given to:

"1. Consistantcy of trail bed -- should be such that excessive wear and erosion will not be caused by use. Hardened surface sections such as roads, seasonal or abandoned roads, or railroad rights-of-way should be considered as examples.

"2. Width and visibility on section -- should be such that any combination of trail users may safely pass. Turns should be gradual, with no sharp, 'blind' corners.

"3. Steepness of hills -- the trail should be routed and/or built so that no hill has more than a 16% grade. If trail cannot be constructed to meet both require­ ments and (2) above, as could occur with constricted swit.chbacks, that portion of trail may be signed as a 'walk or carry bikes' section.•

On April 12, 1994, the Executive Board of the Cayuga Trail Club voted unanimously to oppose moun­ tain bike use on sections of the Finger Lakes Trail maintained by the Cayuga Trails Club because of re­ source damage and safety concerns.

-- Reprinted from CAYUGA TRAILS Newsletter of the Cayuga Trails Club, Inc.

On June 18, 1994, the Board of Managers of the Finger lakes Trail Conference adopted the following policy regarding the use of mountain or all-terrain bikes (ATB) on the Finger lakes Trail System. Accord­ ing to Howard Beye, FLTC Trails Chairman, one of the main reasons for adopting the policy is "To provide our governmental partners with guidelines which the FLTC feels are necessary to control the ever-increasing use of ATB's on public lands."

The policy reads: "The Finger lakes Trail Conference will permit the

use of mountain, or all-terrain type, bicycles on sections of the Finger lakes Trail and Branch Trails thereof that meet the following qualifying criteria:

"1. Permission must be obtained in writing from the managing agency, in the case of public lands, or the landowner, in the case of private lands. Either may revoke or withdraw permission at any time.

bike policy

FLTC adopts new mountain

Page7 North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994

I followed US 131 to Petoskey. The tooth was pulled by Dr. Willis, a local dentist. While at the Petoskey post office, Karen Joseph, a reporter for the Petoskey News­ Review interviewed me about the NCT. The interview was published on June 22nd.

I left Petoskey, again following US 131 to Alanson. There, starting from an old, historic red locomotive, I hiked the rail trail about 30 miles to Mackinaw City. This rail trail parallels US 131 most of the way. There are many built up areas on both side of it, but it isn't hard finding camp spots. I lucked out at Fort Michili­ mackinac, meeting some people who were staying in St. Ignace, who gave me a ride across the Mackinac Bridge. I camped that night north of St. Ignace, on Lake Huron, at the east end of the Mackinac County airport.

'The 77 miles through the eastern part of the Hiawatha National Forest was a pleasant hike also, except for the attacks of mosquitoes and flies north of Trout Brook Pond. I had to wear a head net for several hours. I stopped at Soldiers Lake Campground to camp. It's only a quarter mile off the NCT, and worthy of the stop forits beach and pump.

I got my first view of Lake Superior while hiking towards Tahquamenon State Park. I bypassed the park's Riverfront Campground, getting on the NCT off the Tahqua Trail Road. The NCT is marshy in this area, and the mosquitoes swarm. Anyone finding a Kodak Fun Waterproof Camera there, it's most likely mine. As I crossed the small footbridge connecting the trail to the Lower Falls Campground, my eyes caught the shower building. My first hotshower in twenty-five days on the trail! Left the lower falls, following the river trail to the upper falls. Then, following the Big Pine and Wilder-

Chet Fromm on the Florida Trail.

This is an anecdote of my third long distance hike on the NCNST. I started on May 19, 1994 from the NCTA headquarters at White Cloud, MI. The previous evening, Virginia Wunsch had kindly picked me up from Big Rapids, driving me to the headquarters. On this hike, I backpacked the NCT through the states of Michigan and Wisconsin, approximately 775 miles. Unlike my previous two hikes (NCTA Newsletters, Autumn '92 & '93), this was mainly an ''in the woods hike," with comparatively little road walking.

The first week I was in a Michigan heat wave. At every stream I refilled my water bottles, and tried to camp near water at night. The tastiest and coldest water in this section are where the NCT crosses the Pere Marquette River canoe landing, and Timber Creek CampgroundonHighwaylO,bothplaceshavingpumps. My eighth day on the trail was the first really cool, overcast day. After crossing the Sturgis River on the Vince Smith memorial bridge, I discovered a goodies place. Note: it's a few hundred yards north of the intersection of Mile Road 5 and Bass Lake Road. No more stores until Walton Junction. Just north of the bridge, before Mile Road 5, I believe I lost my original trail journal. Anyone finding a ziploc bag with Florida Trail postcards, it's mine.

East ofM-37, in the Pere Marquette State Forest by the Manistee River, I metNCTAmember Arlen Matson and his wife, Arlene; Senator Carl Levin's aide, Thad McCollum, and his girlfriend, Sherry Park. They were scouting the trail for Senator Levin. He was coming to hike from Baxter Bridge to Lookout Point on National Trails Day. The next day, I came upon an Interlochen Mennonite Church outing. They invited me to their barbecue. Tasty food! From there, I proceeded to my first food drop at the town of Fife Lake.

Leaving there, I hiked the Michigan Shore-To-Shore Riding-Hiking Trail, to east of Kalkaska, then hiked north on theNCT, through theJordan];tiverandWarner Creek pathways. Overall, the trail from White Cloud through the pathways was in good shape, an enjoyable hike.

While on the pathways I developed a toothache, so

by Chet Fromm

Going forth to three-fourths

North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994 Pages

Crossing Highway 45, the trail is very marshy for several miles. As I found out, it also just stops. There are ribbons heading southeast, the way the NCTwillhead.Notknowingthatatthe time, I took a compass bearing to the West Branch of the Ontonagon River. Getting to the river, I wasn't sure which direction the dam I had to cross was.

Heading east for about a mile, I saw a house on the bank across the river. I hailed it, but nobody answered. After about twenty minutes, an ATV with two people pulled up to the house. I yelled, asking where I was from the dam. Bob Fisher, who owns the property, said it was west about two miles, but I wouldn't be able to cross, as the dam was spilling. He put a canoe in the water, paddled across and picked me up! He's an expert canoeist. The river is very swift and wide, but he reached me at the bank right in front of me, and repeatedthesamerightinfrontofhishouse.Heandhis wife live in Ontonagon, and had come down to mow the grass. Pure luck, as most probably the next day I would have had to backtrack to highway 45 and go north, then west, towards Victoria.

Getting to historic Old Victoria, Chris, the care­ taker, let me stay in the restored bachelor quarters for the night. Worth noting, there's a wonderful spring aboutaquartermileeastofthesite,rightneartheroad. The water flows up from three thousand feet below ground. I left Victoria along CR200, as the NCT is not complete west for about 10 miles.

ThetopographyoftheTrapHillsstretchisthemost rugged I encountered on this hike. I camped at a creek about half a mile west of FR 400, and started into these hills the next morning. The hills run almost to the Big Iron River. As a matter of fact, I camped on Bergland Hill that night. The Forest Service has a radio tower right on top. There's several beautiful overlooks that makes hiking these hills satisfying. The Geogebic Ridge

Catching a ride several clicks west of Nestoria, to the28/41/141highwayjunction,lhiked28/41 to Section 16road, and toAutioRoad, wheretheNCTstartsagain. I hiked to Tibbets Falls (looked like a small rapids to me) and into the Ottawa National Forest. This was the second time hiking for several hours in a heavy down­ pour. I still don't know if the deep cut viewed through the trees was the Sturgeon Gorge. It's supposedly one of the deepest in the east. There are some overgrown areas in this section, but passable. On one large creek, the footbridge had washed out. There's no bridge over the East Branch of the Ontonagon River. I had to detour a few miles onto FR 30's bridge, as trying to ford that wide and muddy river alone wasn't appealing. Lucky for me, I went downhill on the real slippery forest road leading to the Middle Branch Ontonagon River Bridge. If you're hiking the trail in wet weather, prepare for a hard uphill climb if heading east from the bridge. I think 0 Kun De Kun Falls, on the Baltimore River, is one of the prettiest scenes in all of the Ottawa National Forest. The falls and bridge are easily accessible from Highway 45.

ness Trails back to the NCT in Superior State Forest. The NCT in this section is poorly marked. About a

mile and a half east of County Road 500, there's a house trailer, with no trespassing signs strung across the road. Also, when reaching CR500, there's no NCT sign. Goingwest, turn north about a quarter mile, and there's an NCT sign there. Watch for a blaze to turn right, a few hundred yards past that sign. This was the first time since starting my hike that I hiked in a heavy downpour for several hours.

A few miles east of the Two Hearted River, on the Lake Superior Shoreline, the flies ate me alive! None of the repellent I had did any repelling. Finally, I just stopped and put my tent up. After the Two Hearted Campground, I had to watch the blazes closely. For several miles, sections of the NCT have washed away, along with lots of blowdowns. When I had trouble finding the trail, I hiked the beach until blue blazes appeared again. At Muskallonge Lake State Park, I took another hot shower. A store is a mile and a half west of the park, right on the NCT.

Peggy, my wife, joined me at Grand Marais to hike the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I arrived five days ahead of her, but Grand Marais is a quaint town to spend some time in. The town's Woodland ParkCampgroundisafiveminutewalk to town, right on the NCT, with hot showers. We spent seven days on the LakeshoreTrail, as Peggy is not an avid hiker, hiking 43 miles. Except for two days of rainy weather, we had a won­ derful time. The trail there is in great shape, and is the most scenic section of the NCT I've hiked. It's worthy of just hiking that area by itself.

At Au Train Lake Campground, Hiawatha Na­ tional Forest West, we had arranged to meet Jeanne Thomas and her friend, Phil, from Grand Rapids, MI. Jeanne had contacted Pat Allen to get my address. Anyway, the reason Jeanne wanted to reach me on the trail was to do a video interview about hiking the NCNST, especially in Michigan. She plans to produce a program for public television. Why they picked me, I don't know. They said it was worth it for the trip to the U .P. After the interview, Peggy and I started hiking in the Laughing Whitefish Falls section, but two straight days of heavy downpour ended that.

For me, after being mainly in the woods for many weeks, the hustle of Marquette was a small shock. I didn't hike north out of the city, as the NCT now stops at the Little Garlic Falls. One has to backtrack the trail or walk CR 550 back to Marquette. After my wife left for home, I took a country bus to Negaunee, then backroads to the McCormick Wilderness. I hiked part of Craig Lake State Park back to Highway 28/41 at Nestoria. The NCT is a little hard to follow in the wilderness, being there's no blazes allowed. I wanted to meet Bullwinkle, but didn't see any moose that supposedly hang around the wilderness, a big disappointment. I thank NCTA member Gene Elzinga for the excellent information he sent me about this section.

Page9 North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994

Editor's note: Chet Fromm, now in his third year of a four-year end-to-end attempt on the NCT, is a newly­ elected member of the NCTABoard. He's a retired Anny Chief Warrant officer, was in the service for 22 years, and is a Vietnam Veteran. He started long-distance hiking by thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1987, and has since completed the Pacific Crest and Florida Trails. He's married, and the father of four grown sons. He and his wife, Peggy, live in Port Orange, Florida.

A comment on Richard Innes's letter in the June newsletter.

I disagree that the media coverage of thru-hikers gives the impression that that is the only way to hike a trail. Just like any other worthy accomplishment, it's recognition of the feat.

One of the goals of the NCTA is "2000 by 2000". One way of achieving that goal is to publicize Ed Talone and Sue Lockwood's hike. Their attempt to complete the NCNST from end-to-end is newsworthy. I left a note on a tree in Hiawatha NF, north of East Lake, wishing them well. Such a story makes more of the public aware of the NCNST, attracting some to try, or become more involved with trails and backpacking I became part of the small minority, of six (so far) end-to-end attempters of the NCT. Why? Because I read about Peter Wolfe, Lou Ann Fellows and Carolyn Hoffman's NCNSThikes.

-Chet Fromm

shelter I camped at, but it's on a bluff east above the river, and a good place to stop, wash up and get water. I diverted off the trail to Drummond to eat breakfast; the town is only off the NCTa mile or so.

Continuing on in the Chequam.egon, there's a fork on the trail, about two miles from the western termi­ nus. Taking the right fork leads to a private camp­ ground on Lake Ruth. Taking the left fork (the NCT) leads to CR A. I went north on CR A to the town oflron River, there picking up Wisconsin snowmobile route 2, heading west. The route has breaks in it, and switches sides of the highway going toward Superior, about 30

miles. Unlike the rail trail in Michi­ gan, there's little buildup along it.

Superior is spread out several miles along highway 2 and is the last city in Wisconsin before Duluth, Min­ nesota. I finished my hike for this year at Superior, taking a bus to Du­ luth. There's no way to walk between the two cities, the highway and bridge being constructed for motorized traf­ fic only. When the NCT is rerouted in fhis section, the trail will have to cross both state borders south of there.

With the extra days spent at Pic­ tured Rocks, I was on the NCT sixty­ eight days. I've now completed three­

fourths of the NCNST, and am planning to hike Minne­ sota and North Dakota next year.

Trail intersects the NCT along this stretch. Both bridges, one over the Big Iron River, one over

the Big Iron's west branch, are beautiful. They're only about two years old, and haven't even weathered yet. However, the west branch bridge led me onto absolutely the worst trail section I have ever been on! This section is nine miles from the bridge to the South Boundary Road of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. For almost the first 7 miles, it's completely overgrown. The trail is almost impassable; sometimes you can't see the next blaze. Several times I had to follow a compass bearing towards the river hoping to pick up the blazes again. Ifl were a novice hiker, on a trail for the first .. ,,, .. , '.'·'''''''''''''''''·······'·'''·':''''''''''''''''''····· =:::::=:::=:::::::;:;:::::::::::::::::::::;:::;:::{:

~:~.: .:~:1~~~f~:~~~;~::: ~: :;;;;;11:1111~illllllllllll1:11~111::111111::111::1:::11:1::

~~~!Ji:[~:~~§ - ~:~ :fi~~~~es:on;:: ~~~~~:i~ 1111:11::1111111111•111:::111111:::11:1:.,] .. _]_:111:1::1::1111111 ~~~!f;~1j:~~:n·:::: ·- through Porcupine Mountains Wil- derness State Park (The Porkies) were also enjoyable. This park is a very popular place; I met many people day hiking in it. The trail, from outside the park to Ottawa National Forest's Black Harbor Campground is six miles of old forest road. From Black Harbor, the trail heads south past many waterfalls, the NCT in Michigan ending at a ski jump­ ing hill. From there, it's about 20 miles on roads to Ironwood. I camped at Curry Park there. The park is within easy walking distance of stores, has hot showers. and a laundromat. The fee for tents was $7 a site.

Having spent enough time in theupperpeninsulaof Michigan to be an honorary ''Yooper," I crossed into Wisconsin at Hurley. I walked down 27 miles of high­ way 77 to Mellen, then west on State Route GG to enter Chequamegon ~ ational Forest. I bypassed Copper Falls State Park, as the six miles ofNCTin it is one ended.

I was fortunate to camp at the first shelter in the forest, as there was a severe thunderstorm that night. I didn't camp at any of the campgrounds, but got water at them. Note: for budget reasons, the Forest Service will close one of the three shelters, either Lake Three, Beaver Lake, or Mineral Lake. The latter isn't on the NCT. Write and tell them which, if any, they should close.

Past Beaver Lake, for reasons unknown to me, the trail blazes turned yellow. I backtracked once, thinking I was on the wrong trail. I found no turns, and the trail was bearing in the right direction. I kept following it till a road crossing, and there were NCT signs at it. I kept following those yellow blazes all the way to the west terminus of the forest. There are several overlooks, and the 68 miles of trail are in good shape. I also camped at the Marengo River shelter. It isn't as new as the first

North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994. Page 10

The deadline is quickly approching to get in re­ quests for the Challenge Cost Share grant program.

The Madison Office of the National Park Serv­ ice has been notified that they have been funded for $110,000 in Challenge Cost Share money for the trails administered out of that office. Tom Gilbert reports that several projects have already been filed for, and that the money will be used-- but that there still is time to fi\e request for grants for the pro­ gram, as just exactly which projects will be funded hasn't yet been decided.

Last year, Challenge Cost Share grants funded eight projects on the North Country Trail in three

Challenge Cost Share deadline approaching states, ranging from privies and register boxes in New York to stairs, trailhead kiosks and stair construction in Michigan.

Gilbert said that deadline for submitting grant proposals would be mid-November. The program requires a cooperator to provide 50 percent of the total project cost. The cooperators 50 percent match can include the value of donated equipment, serv­ ices, supplies, and the value of volunteer time spent working on the project. Money received from other Federal Funding sources is not eligible as part of the 50 percent match. For more information, con­ tact Bill Menke at the Madison NPS office.

state and federal land, we will need to be familiar with design guidelines and be prepared to justify exceeding accessibility standards. Some basic design and map information from the conference will be copied for our state trail coordinators.

Derek Blount and I attended the all-day workshop on the GPS system to become familiar with the equip­ ment and to help in planning how the unit being pur­ chased by the National Park Service office in Madison

. could be used. We learned that pre-planning is very important to

determine what time of day the configuration of the 24 satellites would be most effective. We also learned that heavy leaf cover interferes with signal reception so that fall, winter and spring may be the best time of year to plan mapping hikes. Post-processing the GPS data will be a big challenge. Software comes with the GPS unit the Park Service purchased. This will allow the coordi­ nation of trail attribute information (location ofbridges, signs and maintenance needs) with the map.

Getting some !STEA funding for our trail will be challenging and we may want some assistance from the NPS. Each of the states administer this very large funding source in a different manner. We will supply the name of the state !STEA coordinator to our state trail coordinators and begin discussing ways to access this funding.

The political agendas include Amendments to the National Trails System Act, and reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act. The board will review the political issues in November and we will be supplying the specific information to members as the issues mature.

Any questions I had about whether it would be worthwhile to travel all the way to Alaska at the end of September were quickly answered. Seminar topics included issues vital to the future of trail developments, including:

• How will the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) affect our trails?

• How will we use the new Global Positioning Sys­ tem to make better trail maps?

• Why are the National Scenic Trails at the bottom of the recipient list for Intermodal Surface Transporta­ tion Efficiency Act ([STEA) funding?

• What are the coming political agendas? The North Country Trail Association had the strong­

est conference representation of the nineteen National Scenic or Historic Trails. This speaks well for our image as a leader among the national trails. Board members attended a variety of different seminars and the impact will be important to future direction. It was very com­ plementary to hear National Park Service staff from Washington recommending that other groups, "ask the North Country Trail people how they do it."

On the ADA issue, itisclearthatwe can do much to make our trails better for all Americans, including the forty-three million with disabilities, by being more committed to designing our trail segments on appropri­ ate soil types, and watching the degree of slope, the cross-slope angle, and by indicating such things on our maps so that individuals can select trails appropriate for their use. As we move forward on trail segments on

by Pat Allen

Report fro ID the National Trails Symposium, Anchorage, Alaska

Page 11 North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994

and get dirty. You suffer anxiety almost immediately for fear of stepping on something significant or moving it out of position.

But let me back up a bit. What was really great is that we utilized a portion of the North Country Trail to get back into the site. The trail was well marked and signed and the area is rugged enough to satisfy most easterners. Our work was taking place on the top of a 300-400 foot bluff.

This archaeology site occupies some 400-plus acres and was first surveyed in 1845. We were digging in the Ohio Trap Rock Mine site. Several other mines are lo­ cated on the nearby bluff and the overall site is named after the Norwich mine, which was larger and used for a longer period. What the mines had in common was that they were almost never profitable although the reports sent to stockholders were forever optimistic.

I was somewhat concerned when we were told that there were at least thirty open shafts on the site. The Forest Service has been constructing log cribs around many of the holes and/or gates across their entrance. But, there are still holes around. It would be wise to stay on the trail here. The Forest Service is planning an interpretive loop through the area which will highlight mining from this era.

One would only have to guess what the mine owners told prospective miners to get them to journey by boat

Screening for small artifacts at the Norwich Mine site.

While the North Country National Scenic Trail is not a historic trail route, it passes through many scenes of American expansion and development. One of these is the Norwich copper mine site in the Ottawa National Forest in Michigan. When I noticed that the Forest Service was holding one of their Passport in Time (PIT) volunteer archaeology projects there, I sent in an appli­ cation.

The PIT program has grown to include nearly 90 projects per year and actually has to tum people down for some of the volunteer archaeology sites. Their cata­ log listed the access to the Norwich mine site as "diffi­ cult to most difficult".

Bergland, MI, is a long drive from Grand Rapids so I camped at Van Riper State Park on my way up. I went to bed worried that I would be late for my introduction to archaeology because I wasn't sure where the time zone change line ran. I set my clock to ring VERY early. I arrived in fog at the Forest Service office in Bergland to join 25 people participating in the five-day dig at Norwich.

The project leaders had a problem -- the Suburban that was to transport many of us was missing. Staff from the Ottawa NF had been called to help fight fires in the west and had taken the Suburban to the airport in Ironwood the night before. The minivan they had left behind was no good for the road we would be using to get to our site, so a car was shuttled while the archaeolo­ gists started our orientation.

Copper had been mined in upper Michigan for centuries by Native Americans. Our project, however, was to be a modem industrial archaeology project guided by faculty Susan R. Martin, Assistant Professor or Archaeology and David B. Landon, Assistant Profes­ sor of Archaeology; and graduate students from the In­ dustrial Archaeology program of Michigan Technologi­ cal University in Houghton, MI. Michigan Tech has one of only two such programs in the country. Our other professional staff were Barbara White and Mark Hill, Forest Archaeologists who work for the Ottawa Na­ tional Forest.

I found that many of the volunteers had been on previous PIT projects and I was what is known on the site as a "virgin" archaeologist. I was a bit suspicious that I would get to do the detested job on the site, but all the jobs are pretty basic. You get to climb hills carrying heavy stuff so you can squat in uncomfortable positions

by Pat Allen

Back in Time

North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994 Page 12

done forever, a small white strip of gesso was applied and allowed to dry on each piece. Then, with india ink, each piece gets a catalog number which indicates ex­ actly where and when and by whom the piece was picked up. The cataloger measures, draws, and de­ scribes the piece and signs the catalog sheet.

One of the interesting pieces that I cleaned was a metal drill. It could have been used to make holes in rock for black powder. The Ohio Trap Rock Mine was active before the time of dynamite. The powder man and the blacksmith were probably the better paid mine employees. Many of the miners were from Cornwall, England, or Ireland.

All of the artifacts were sent to Michigan Tech where graduate students will further study them to analyze what they tell us about the Ohio Trap Rock Mine and the miner's lives. Our work on the site in August will be part of a master's thesis.

As volunteers, we were given training, and were well supervised. We had the opportunity to participate in each aspect of work on the site including surveying, surface mapping and collection, excavation and cata­ loging. As is usually the case on PIT projects, free camping was provided so our only cost was our food and transportation to the site. We were each given a t-shirt and a "passport" to mark the conclusion of the week. At least we had one clean thing to wear home.

If you are interested in being a volunteer archaeolo­ gist for the Eoreet Service, you can write for a copy of the project catalog. The address is: Passport In Time Clear­ inghouse, PO Box 18364, WashingtonD.C.20036. There is no registration fee or cost for participating. The eata­ log called the PIT Traveler is published twice a year, in MaT'Ch and September.

Cataloging artifacts from the Ohio Trap Rock Mine at the Ottawa National Forest office in Berglund.

Page 13

...

on Lake Superior, land at Ameri­ can Landing and travel inland by foot or wagon and then to spend the winter with no contact with other communities in an area that is bitterly cold and gets 200 inches of snow a year. They were often paid in company script and had to buy all necessities from the company.

What was so surprising to me is how many artifacts are on the site and how much is invis­ ible in the overgrown area. Dur­ ing the Civil War over 600 people worked at the site. Their cabins, gardens, barns, and shops are gone, and the remaining artifacts are all but invisible at first glance. While the Civil War was the boom in the area, some attempts at mining copper were continued up to the 1960's.

What is shocking is that one of the key artifacts, a stamping foot used for crushing copper ore, was carried off the site this past year. The Forest Service archaeologists believe that whoever took it probably had a buyer for it.

If you do hike in this section, don't pick up surface artifacts. Their location can tell us much about the history along our trail. Archaeological work is going on in all National Forests. In the Ottawa, the black and red flagging is used to mark off cultural areas. The orange flags throughout the woods are part of the site mapping.

It poured Tuesday evening and again Wednesday morning when it was time to leave for the site. The rain was significant because we had to climb two steep up and down bluffs -- with slippery rocks and a clay grade with a spring running down the surface (not part of the NCT). So the decision was made to clean and catalog the 250 bags of artifacts that had been carried out on Monday and Tuesday. "Carried out" needs a bit of description. We're talking heavy stuff. Collection had been going on in both the domestic area and the indus­ trial area. Parts of several cast iron wood stoves were included as well as many industrial parts created by the village blacksmith. In addition to surface collection, several test plots were excavated in layers to uncover part of the stamping mill and ore separating areas.

Archaeology hasn't changed very much in some ways. It's still physical, dirty, hard work. All measure­ ments are done in metric units. Cleaning is done with toothbrushes, either wet or dry. We brushed or washed each of hundreds of pieces of metal, glass, pottery, wood, bone, mortar, charcoal and whatever else didn't grow in the woods. After cleaning, each piece had to be measured, sketched, described and labeled. About the only part of this process that has changed is that we did not label things with a feather quill pen. As has been

•·

North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994

LOWER: Knots and lines to stretch a tent fly were the subject of the knotwork workshop, led by Tam-o­ shantered Rod MacRae.

CENTER: Maplelag is interestingly decorated by hundreds of signs and collectible lunch boxes. The lobby and registration area hardly touches the variety.

;

·• Though the turnout for the NCTA Annual Conference at Ma­ plelag Lodge, Callaway, MN, the end of August, was a little less than had been hoped for, the conference was a big success. Probably the distance to the conference kept the attendance down, but those that missed the event missed one of the best that the Association has ever held, at a memorable site.

In addition to a board meeting, there was a broad range of semi­ nars, workshops, hikes and other activities for the participants. Many took the opportunity to increase their outdoor or trail-building and main­ tenance skills, and there were sev­ eral interesting speakers, includ­ ing Paul Shurke, who dogsledded to the North Pole.

Next year's Annual Conference will be August 18-21, at the Watson Homestead Conference Center, near Corning, New York, to be hosted by the Finger Lakes Trail Conference.

UPPER: Maplelag Lodge at Callawaf, MN, site of the 1994 NCTA Annual Conference, was a rustic, eclectic location for the meeting. Normally a cross-country ski lodge, it also hosts language camps in the summer.

Maplelag

Meeting at

North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994 Page 14

,.

LOWER LEFT: The many varieties of water purification and water filters on the market was the subject of one of the many seminars and workshops. There was a lot for meeting participants to do, and it was well worth the trip.

CENTER: Dedication of the newly­ certified trail in Lake Itasca State Park was held at the Douglas Lodge area the day before the meeting. A like of part of the re« section folk:med.

LOWER RIGHT: As at any NCTA meeting, there were lots of hikes for me participants, mostly on the Bad Medicine Lake trail segment and at Lake Itasca. Byron Hutchins took the opportunity to measure some trail miles with his heavily­ used measuring wheel.

UPPER: Many out-of-staters coming to the meeting, like Doug Welker, Trails Vice-President took the opportunity to visit the headwaters of the Mississippi at nearby Lake Itasca, site of the 1987 NCTA Fall Meeting,

Page 15 North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994

1

Horse/bike ban in Allegany NF The Acting District Ranger of the Bradford Ranger

District of the Allegheny National Forest has announced plans to rehabilitate 16.5 miles of existing hiking trails withintheTracyRidgeNationalRecreationArea(NRA) of the forest. The sections to be rehabilitated include 10.2 miles of the ?jCNST. As part of the decision to rehabilitate the trails, Ranger Stanley L. Kobielski has also decided to prohibit equestrian and mountain bike use on all new and existing trails within the Tracy Ridge NRA area.

Kobielski's findings stated: "The soils and topo­ graphic conditions of the area will not support eques­ trian and mountain bike use. Horse hoofs would tear up those trail segments located on the sideslopes and the channeling effect of tire tracks would create additional erosion problems. These effects could be mitigated but not without extensive shoring up of our sideslopes and hardening of the tread with additional surfacing mate­ rial. These actions would be expensive, are likely to change the character of certain trail segments, and would add additional maintenance costs to the system."

The planned trail rehabilitation actions include: Construction of a 60 ft. pedestrian bridge over Nelse Run and nearby flood plain; relocation of several short trail sections and movement of a stream ford location.; construction of a new trailhead parking lot and a new short connector trail; creation of three vistas at se­ lected points along the existing trail; installation of waterbars, drainage dips, diversion ditches, culverts, drain tile, rocks and fill as needed. Additionally, repair of previously installed features, removal ofblowdowns and brush and the improvement and installation of signage will be undertaken. -- KTA Newsletter

by Gaylord Yost A number of exciting NCNSTevents worth relating

have transpired in Wisconsin during the past months. In May, a meeting of Wisconsin members of the NCTA was called on the 14th at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Po(nt. Pat Allen, NCTA Executive Director, and Gaylord Yost, Wisconsin Trail Manager, attended, along with Pat Miller of Mellen, Virginia Fish of Ste­ vens Point, Jim McMillan of Cottage Grove, and Tom Gilbert of the National Park Service.

Several events were planned for the summer months. In addition, Virginia Fish, who is currently taking oral histories for the NCTA, took a statement from Gaylord Yost on his involvement with the North Country NST as a member of the National Forest Service's Regional Office Staff in Milwaukee.

On June 18-19, several events, including a hike on a newly completed section of NCNST, were scheduled for Copper Falls State Park near Mellen, WI. A meeting at Park Headquarters on the 18th was attended by Tom Gilbert, Madison Trail Office Director, National Park Service, Kent Goeckermann, Copper Falls State Park Superintendent, Gaylord Yost, Chuck Rieb and Pat Miller, NCTA, and Larry Baker, US Forest Service, Glidden Ranger District. The group discussed possibili­ ties for linking the NCNST in Copper Falls State Park to the Michigan state line. They also reviewed a pos­ sible location for the trail between its eastern end on the Chequamegon National Forest and a newly completed section in the city of Mellen.

An evening program was presented to campers at the Park pavilion by Tom Gilbert. A number of campers attended and enjoyed an introduction by Tom and the slide-tape program he· presented. The following day, Tom Gilbert and family, Jim Parker, Gaylord Yost and Kent Goeckermann hiked a newly completed section of the NCNST through a portion of the city of Mellen to its connection with Copper Falls State Park and the trail recently completed there. The trail had been built through the cooperation of Mellen civic groups, City Adminstrators, and a group of'Wisconsin Conservation Corps members from the Glidden Ranger District of the Chequamegon National Forest.

A third summer event was a bridge reconstruction work project. This was successfully completed by a crew of volunteers August 13 on a section ofNCNSTseveral miles east of Porcupine Lake Wilderness on the

perking up in Wisconsin

Trail activities

Page 16 North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994

Chequamegon National Forest. The group was led by Kathy Moe of the US Forest Service Hayward Ranger District. The volunteers included Laura Harvancik of Brookfield, Jennifer Harvancik of Appleton, Dennis Dercks of Appleton, Jackie and Jim Conn of Rice Lake, Chuck and Caryn Rieb, and their sons Wade and Jake of Mellen, Carol Vesley of Brookfield and Gaylord Yost of River Hills. Most of the group camped for the week­ end at the Namekagon Lake Campground.

The crew tore out 18-20 feet of old rotting bridge and pilings, built a new 12-14 foot replacement bridge, constructed new trail to connect the new bridge and location with the NCNST, and maintained about a half mile of the trail west of the bridge project area. Two days were originally thought necessary for completion of the project but the crew was so energetic and enthu­ siastic they completed it in one day. District Ranger John Vrablec of the Hayward - Glidden Ranger District sent his thanks to the crew and his hope that they will return for other projects in future years. This was Kathy Moe's first experience leading volunteers and she was very pleased with how they worked and the speed with which they completed the job. She said she looks forward to working with them again at some future time. Plans are being made for 1995.

ment is nearing completion; there's a good chance that usable trail will be marked from one end of the North­ woods Trail to the other by the end of the decade. When completed, there will be about 1400 miles of the North­ woods Trail, and there could be another 400 miles if Minnesota's ''Arrowhead" proposal finally gets approved. However, the country around the trail is not heavily populated, and there's not a lot of local use; since destination use is common, some parts of the trail are more developed and used than others. Trail work volun­ teers sometimes travel hundreds of miles to work on a bit of trail.

The next trail, the Farmlands Trail, is something different. It's generally pretty rural, through privately held farmlands, from roughly Grand Rapids, Michigan, through Cincinnati, Ohio. Population along the trail. is moderate, and trail opportunities are poor because of the lackofpubliclandsalongtheway; were it not for the nearly accidental existence of the Ohio Canal and a couple other linear opportunities, the trail could hardly be said to exist in this area at all. Due to the high cost of land, an off-road trail is going to be a difficult propo­ sition indeed, without considerable federal funding for land purchase. Willing seller authority, if granted to the North Country Trail, might not even be enough to acquire all the lands needed to complete the Farmlands Trail. But, this isn't all bad; the route may exist for years as a "back-roads" trail, which means that it's ideal for horse and bicycle use; to urban hikers, getting out into rural farmland is almost as big an adventure as getting into the deepest wilderness.

We're back to hiking opportunities on the last of the four trails, the Foothills Trail. From Cincinnati east, the land forms change again, from the flatlands of the Farmlands Trail to the rolling, hilly country that char­ acterizes the Appalachian Foothills. There's a fair amount of public land along the Foothills Trail, although it's scattered and patchy. Long-established trails groups have managed to get a majority of it off roads and marked; while large gaps still occur in western Penn­ sylvania, these are being worked on, but land acquisi­ tion funds will be needed to complete an off-road trail. Once again, soil types are not really ideal for horse or bike use due to erosion problems. The Foothills Trail is also commonly used for "destination hiking", but usu­ ally trail maintenance volunteers are fairly local.

What does all this mean? It means that while in reality we have only one trail, there are four different sets of management problems. A solution or a policy ap­ propriate for one area may not be appropriate for the next one. In making decisions about the future of the trail, it will be important to remember that what works for one of the four trails that make up the NCT may not work for the other three.

The North Country National Scenic Trail is a big concept. The trail stretches across seven states, in varying degrees of completion, through a broad range of terrains and terrain uses. It faces a wide array of prob­ lems and opportunities, and these change from one place to the next; what works in one place doesn't always work in the next.

In fact, it's almost as if the North Country Trail were four trails tacked end to end - four trails in one, as it were. Each trail, because of the landforms it penetrates, calls for different management and differ­ ent uses from the others. What works in one segment, what's appropriate in one segment, may not be appro­ priate in the next.

For the purposes of this article, lets look at the North Country Trail as if it were in fact four separate trails tacked end to end:

The High Plains Trail is the westernmost of the four trails. It's very open, mostly farmed and ranched, with ranches being more common than farms to the western end. It's an open-sky trail, with limited wooded patches toward the east, with trees becoming progres­ sively less a part of the land cover toward the west. It reaches from extreme western Minnesota west to Lake Sakakawea, and there has been an proposal to extend it even farther westward, to Theodore Roosevelt National Monument, in Western North Dakota. The High Plains trail is the least developed of the four, at this point, although a segment approaching 150 miles in length is poised for development in central North Dakota, as the McCluskey Canal project gets closer to reality. Away from obvious routes like the McCluskey Canal and the Sheyenne National Grasslands, there's not a lot of potential for off-road development on public land. While people will hike the High Plains Trail, it has a terrific potential as a horse trail for long-distance touring, and needs to be managed with that in mind. The High Plains Trail would make for a magnificent, unique horse-packing trip, virtually all off-road or on little­ used back roads.

In contrast, on the Northwoods Trail, which stretches from roughly Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, to near Grand Rapids, Michigan, horse use is rarely appropriate. In general, soil types in the heavily-treed area won't stand up to horse use without unacceptable treadway degra­ dation; and this is generally true for mountain bike use as well; it's mostly a hiking trail. The terrain is flat to rolling, heavily wooded, and generally well watered, with lakes, streams, rivers, ponds and swamps of every description. In general, much of the route of the trail is on public lands, and for this reason, basic trail develop-

by Wes Boyd

The NCNST: Four Trails In One

Page 17 North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994

If I didn't have enough trouble trying to negotiate this poor section of trail, I slightly twisted my knee, slowing things down further. To make matters worse, it now looked like rain, and I could hear thunder off in the distance. I limped along another quarter mile as fast as I could before the storm burst upon me. I had just enough time to get my tent up before the sky split and the rain really poured down. The storm was one of those summer thunder storms with plenty of lightning, rain and wind.

I was so tired I never unrolled my sleeping bag. Before I dozed off, I calculated from the map that I had hiked three miles on this crazy trail and only really made a mile, and that I still have over five miles to go to get to the highway crossing where I had earlier in the year stashed my next allotment of food. At the rate I was going on these trails I figured it would take about four hours. Outside of two swallows of water and a pack of raisins, I was out of food until I could get to the stash. I dropped off into a deep sleep.

It was later in the evening before I woke out of a foggy sleep. I kept thinking I heard bells. It look a little while before I completely woke up, and it finally

by Richard Selbert

My plan was to hike the whole North Country Trail through Michigan during my summer break from school. I was hiking the NCT along t_he Manistee River in northern lower Michigan and I had been making very good progress. The weather had been nice and the trail through the National Forest had been excellent. Most of the trails I had hiked on were very good but the section I was now on was a few miles outside of the National Forest, and was something else.

This particular section seemed to meander around trees, bump into the river and private property, then plunge up and down steep cuts that a mountain goat would have trouble with. The trail seemed to be lost and about the time it figured out where it was, it would try to disappear into a swamp. If it wasn't for an occasional blue diamond I would sear that I wasn't on the NCT at all, but on some hunter's trail.

~.1 1'fl//JtHt,,,, , n rrlf!tn#ff//111.1

{Editor's note: It's fall, the leaves are turning, there's a chill in the air, and Halloween will soon be upon us. Yep, it's definitely time for another one of Rich Seibert's campfire tales! - WB)

~ Country TraH Association Newsletter, October-December 1994

The Johnson Place

fresh apple pie and some small food items from the kitchen. I was hurrying because some fast-moving clouds were starting to block out the moon, the wind was starting to blow and I could hear and see the flash of thunder in the distance. It was going to rain again, and I had left my raincoat in the tent.

I found a piece of paper and a pen and quickly wrote a note explaining where I was camped and what I had gotten and why and explained I would come over in the morning to settle up. I left the note, pen, and a five dollar bill on the kitchen table and headed for my tent. When I was crossing the creek again, it occurred to me that the pen I had used was a real ink pen.

The storm was just upon me as I made it to my tent. Just before I ducked in for the night I took a quick look toward the farm. In a quick flash of lightning I thought I could see them setting on the porch again, waving good night to me. I ate the food and had a real nice sleep. It stormed most of the night, but by morning it had stopped raining, but was still overcast. I slept in until about eight and then decided to go pay the Johnsons a visit.

During the daylight things seemed different. Brush arid trees seemed to be growing where I hadn't noticed them before, and the farm that seemed so idyllic the day before looked abandoned and broken now. I had trouble making it through the brush in the pasture; the mail box was knocked off its post and way lying in the weeds; the gate I had used was rusted off its hinges, and the milk cans by the spring were on the ground, shot full of holes by rust. Part of the porch was fallen in and the windows were busted out of the house. The kitchen door was partly off its hinges and the kitchen was a mess. No one had been here in years, but I could see my footprints in the dust on the floor.

I went over to the table where I had left the note, pen, and five dollar bill the night before. The paper was yellowed with age, the ink pen was rusted and unusable, and laying where the five dollar bill had been was four old blanket-sized one-dollar bills, a Standing Liberty fifty cent piece, silver quarter and dime, and a buffalo nickel. Written nearty under my note was this: "We figured the milk, pie, and whatnot would come to a dollar ten. Here is your change. It was nice of you to stop, as we don't get many visitors any more. Have a nice trip."

It was signed, "The Johnsons." It was a little after 9 AM that morning that I got to

my food stash. It was then that it dawned on me that I had been overpaid a dollar by the Johnsons, but it didn't make any difference as I had forgot to pick up my change, anyway. I seemed to be making excellent time once again.

dawned on me that I was hearing bells. The rain and the storm had passed and what sun that was left was breaking through a hole in the clouds. I peeked my head out of the tent and was surprised by what I saw. I was looking across a fenced meadow with a small creek running through the middle of it. On the other side of the pasture I could see a small barn and farm house. The bells I was hearing were coming from the cow bells on the cows that a farmer and his young son were turning out of the barn after milking.

It was starting to get dark, and a mist was rising from the meadow, so it was a little hard to make things out clearly. But, the nearly full moon was on the rise, which shed a bright glow over the scene. I watched briefly as the farmer put the fresh milk in milk cans and set them in the cool water by the spring house. The lights in the house came on and I could see a mother fixing supper through the kitchen window, while her daughter swung on the swing on the porch by the back door. It was one of those idyllic scenes one usually sees on a picture post card, a place people would want to go and visit, but can never actually find.

It was then I had a minor brain storm: if I was out of food, why not go over to the farm house and buy enough food to get me by until I made it to my food stash? It would also give me an excuse to meet these people.

I grabbed my water bottles and started across the meadow. Halfway across the meadow, just before I dropped down the cut by the creek, I looked toward the house. I could just make out the whole family setting on the back porch swing, and just briefly, clearly made out their faces in the flash of a match as the father lit his pipe. I waved, and thought I could see them wave back.

Crossing the creek I was momentarily out of sight of the house, and when I looked again, I could see no one. I figured they must be eating inside. It was then that I realized that the warm glow from the lights I was looking at was coming from kerosene lanterns, not electric lights.

I walked along the fence and could see their mailbox along the road. In bright red letters, it said "The Johnson's". I easily crossed the pasture, opened the well-oiled gate by the barn and went up to the house. I called, but no answer. I looked in the neat, clean kitchen. It looked like the family had just finished eating, but there was nobody around. I noticed that the old car I had seen earlier was gone, and I guessed that because this was Saturday, maybe they had not seen me and they had gone into town to do some shopping and see a movie.

I hurriedly filled one of my water bottles, and put a quart of fresh milk in the other. I grabbed a piece of

Page 19 North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994

Sponsored-by the Mackinaw Area Tourist Bureau. Mackinaw Boosters. Huron Distributors/Meijer. Inc .. OCT Pet Food. Tun-Dra Outfitters and Local Area Businesses

CELEBRITY MUSH - Saturday Afternoon (1 p.m.) KIDDIE MUSH (Ages 3-9) - Saturday Afternoon (Approx. 3 p.m.)

by Tun·Dra

1-800-666-0160 for more information and race application call:

"Ice Breaker'' Welcome Reception (Fri., Feb 3) & Musher's Banquet (Sat., Feb. 4) feature famous Alaskan Entertainer. "Hobo Jim"

Open to the public.

* FEBRUARY 4 & 5, 1995 *

* This Winter

Come To Mackinaw For ...

The l\fackinaw City

~ ·~~ivi:-us ~lffN AW '\t\

Michigan October 8: Western Michigan Chapter at Seaton Creek

NCTA November 12: NCTA Board Meeting, Coachlite Inn, near Detroit Metro Airport. For more information, contact Pat Allen, (616) 452-4487. August 18-21, 1995: NCTA Second Annual Conference, Watson Homestead Conference Center, Coopers Plain, New York. For more information, Contact Howard Beye, Finger Lakes Trail Conference, 202 Colebourne Rd, Rochester NY 14609 (716) 288- 7191 .

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

:~ ·.x···: .. .-.- .. ;.:.;.;.:-:.;.:-:.:·: •••• ·:·:-:·:"·:-:.·-:·.·:·:···:-:·:::-:·:·:::::·:::-:::::::::~::::·:::::::::·:::·:·:::·:-:·x;.::·:::·:---:::·:·:-x.- :·:;:::::·:::::::·:-;·:::·:·:·x::·.;:·:·:::::::::::~ifil

[NCTA TRIPS AND ACTIVITIES)ll -=-::~~ .. :·.··· ,,. ,, .. , ..:.::::~;:;:;:

Manistee River Trail near Mesick. State Sierra Club will be hiking same day. Call Dave S. at (616) 784-8975 or Mary P. at (616) na-6986. October 8: North Country Trail Hiker's Club (Marquette) fall color hike at McCormick Wilderness. Call Sally at (906) 226-8515. October 9: North Country Trail Hiker's Club (Marquette) hikes Yellow Dog River area with author Ben Mukkala. Call Matthew at (906) 249-9702. October 15: North Country Trail Hiker's Club (Marquette) Hike and trail mairtenaree east of McCormick Wilderness. Call Seth at (906) 486-9550. October 15: Western Michigan Chapter 1 O mile day hike at Owassapi Boy Scout Camp north of Muskegon past Big Blue and Wolverine Lakes. Call Dave S. at (616) 784-8975 or Mary P. at (616) n3-6986. October 16: North Country Trail Hiker's Club (Marqu9tte) short hike in Marquette area with geologist Burt Boyum. Call Rolland at (906) 226-2996. October 18: North Country Trail Hiker's Club board meeting, 7:00 PM, 12 Middle Island Point, Marquette. October 22: Western Michigan Chapter 1 O+ mile day hike on NCT from #17 road to Baxter Bridge near Mesick. Call Dave S. at (616) 784-8975 or Mary P at

Page20 North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994

The· ffi.kers _ Paradise·'

ALPINE ADVENTURE TRAILS TOURS, lac. . . :C 1e3 v c1111e1de D~. SWISSOlr AKRON, OH 44313

ENGELBERG FLUELEN

GSTAAD SAAS-FEE

KANDERSTEG ZERMATT MURR EN LENK WENG EN BETTMERALP RIGl~KALTBAD LEUKERBAD

Moderate optional length DAY hiking along skyline trails. 1-2 week tours basing at 15 mountain 3-4 star hotels. All hikes guided by NCT member Cecil Dobbins. For a free color brochure call !216) 867-3771, or write to:

GRINDELWALD

s w r-s s A L-P s . . . ' .

Other National Trail Events Oct 7-9. Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association Annual Gathering, Hanover College, Dartmout, NH. Contact Ron Keal, (502) 227-1789. Oct.14-15. lceAge Park & Trail Foundation Membership Meeting. Location TBA. Contact IAPTF office, (414) 691-2776. November 12: NCTA Board Meeting, Coachlite Inn, near Detroit Metro Airport. For more information, contact Pat Allen, (616) 452-4487.

Ohio October 14-16 BTA Work weekend, Wayne National Forest.. Contact Jim Sprague, (216) 884-4757. November 5-6. BTA Overnight hike in Pike County. 17 miles. Meet 8:30 AM at Cave Lake Campground about 3 miles east of Sinking Springs on Bell Hollow Rd. off ST- 124. Moderate difficulty. Leaders, Herb Hulls (614) 585- 2603 and Jerry Starcher (513) 339-8109. December 3. BTA Board meeting, 10:00 AM, Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus. December 31. BTA New Years Party, Lake Hope, OH. Cost $1 O/person. Make reservations by Nov. 1 o with Herb and Susie Hulls, 38450 CR-46, Lower Salem, OH 45745. (614) 585-2603. Checks payable to BTA. May 13-21, 1995. BTA bus trip to Black Hills, SD. "Lots of interest for hikers and backpackers; Cost will be around $300 for transportation." Contact Herb and Susie Hulls (address and phone above) for more information. Reservations due by Jan. 15, 1995.

Page21

New York October 9: Hike across Schuyler County #6. Contact Cayuga Trails Club, Tom Reimers (607) 272-8679, Sue Kittel (607) 594-2750 or Nick Vandam (607) 539-6313 for information and registration. October 15: Joint Finger Lakes Land Trust\Cayuga Trails Club Hike\Canoe at Canadice and Hemlock Lakes. Contact Kay Durant (539- 7688) for details. October 16: Cayuga Trails Club Walk-Look-Learn Hike #377 near Ithaca, NY. Call David Burnett (539-7977) for details. November 19: FL TC Board of Managers meeting at Covenant United Methodist Church, Rochester NY, 10:00AM. February 6: All FLT trails on private lands closed for 24 hours. March 18: FL TC Board of Managers meeting, 9:30 AM, Cornell University, Ithacan, NY August 18-21, 1995: NCTA Second Annual Conference, Watson Homestead Conference Center, Coopers Plain, New York. For more intosmation. Contact Howard Beye, Finger Lakes Trail Conference, 202 Colebourne Rd, Rochester NY 14609 (716) 288- 7191.

(616) 773-6986 for more information. October 22: North Country Trail Hiker's Club (Marquette) leader's choice hike. Call Gene at (906) 225-1704. October 23: North Country Trail Hiker's Club (Marquette) short hike in Marquette area. Learn how to use topo maps and compass. Call Mary at (906) 228-341 O. October 25: North Country Trail Hiker's Club (Marquette) membership meeting, 7:00 PM, Peter White Library, Marquette, Ml. October 29: Western Michigan Chapter 1 o mile day hike on NCT through Yankee Springs near Hastings. Call Dave S. at (616) 784-8975 or Mary P at (616) 773- 6986 for more information. November 12: NCTA Board Meeting, Coachlite Inn, near Detroit Metro Airport. For more information, contact Pat Allen, (616) 452-4487. November 13: Western Michigan Chapter Fall Potluck at the Headquarters in White Cloud. Hike at 10 AM, dinner at 1 PM. Bring a dish to pass, your own table service and drinks. Coffee will be provided. Call Wilma (616) 949-6398. December 6: Western Michigan Chapter Christmas Party at German Village Restaurant in Standale. Social hour 6:30 PM; dinner about 7:30. (Order from the menu). Meeting in there somewhere. Entertainment provided. Please make reservations so the restaurant will know how many places to set. Call Wilma (616) 949- 6398 for information and reservations. February 4-5, 1995: Mackinac Mush Sled Dog Race, Mackinac City, Ml. Contact 1-800-666-1060 for more information.

North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994

GUIDE TO THE PICTURED ROCKS NATIONAL LAKESHORE by Olive Anderson. Includes revised Lakeshore Trail Guide. The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is the centerpiece of the North Country Trail -- a rugged, unique coast on the wild Lake Superior shore. Updated in 1994, this 56 page book by Pictured Rocks enthusiast Olive M. Anderson gives the reader revised maps and up-to-date information about this Michigan section of the North Country Trail. $6.95 each; Wholesale (lo or more) $5.25 each.

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

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

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

Following the l\lorth Cou.u.trv

CERTIFIED SECTIONS OF THE NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL by Byron and Margaret Hutchins.The long-awaited start to a trail guide for the entire tra ii. Accurate route descriptions by an experienced guidebook writer who's walked the sections with a measuring wheel, cover­ ing many certified sections of the trail long enough to be a hiking destination, published in an easy to carry loose-leaf form. Individual map sets at various prices (see order form); whole set, including binder, is $22.00, use order form. Sorry, no direct wholesale.

North Country Trail Shop GREAT INFORMATION ON THE NORTH COUNTRY NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL

AVAILABLE FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL BOOKSTORE/

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

North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994 Page22

Send order to: NCTA Trail Shop PO Box311 White Cloud, Ml 49349

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

Please enclose for shipping & handling: $0.00. $10.00 $2.00 $10.01 • $25.00 $3.00 $25.01 • $100.00 $4.00 Over $100.00 $5.00

Michiaan residents please incluc/e 6% sales tax

Phone .

State, Zip .

City .

Name .

Address .

PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT

&

BOOKS copies or 'Fol/owing the North Country National Scenic Tralr

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

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

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

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

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

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

Complete set with binder, $22.00, shipping Included. No wholesale.

North Country Tra/l 1-Shlrt (circle size): Adult, S, M, L. XL, XXL, l 00% cotton, It. blue only@ $9.95 each

ORDER FORM -- NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL SHOP North Country Trail Patch@ $3.00 each North Country Trail State Segment Patch@ $1.50 each North Country Trail Volunteer Strips@ $1.50 each North Country Trail Coffee Mugs@ $6.95 each North Country Trail Supporter Cloisonne pin@$3.95 each

-

Patches and Stickers NCT Patch $3.00 Volunteer Strip $1.50 State Strip $1.50

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

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

hiked in one day NCTA Coffee Mugs $6.95 Trail Supporter Pin (3/4" Clolsonne) $3.95

~-

North Country Trail Shop

Page23 North Country Trail Association Newsletter, October-December 1994

..

Phone( ...... -~>---------- L---------------------- ----------------~ O Yes, I would like to further support the North Country -------------­ Trail Association with my tax free contribution of $................ -------------­ enclosed.

Name Address ------------

20.00 30.00 35.00 50.00

100.00 500.00 400.00 600.00

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

I wish to join the North Country Trail Association. Enclosed is $ for a ------ membership.

Basic Membership . Household (includes children under 18) Organizational. . Trail Leader. . Pathfinder. . Corporate . Life . Life (with spouse) .

Membership Cateqorjes

Annual Dues: membership year runs to anniversary of North Country Trail Association dues payment. PO Box 311

White Cloud, Ml, 49349

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP r------------:·-_--------------------------,

2000 Members by 2000 2000 Certified Miles by 2000

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

. North Country Tr~il Association Newsletter, October-December 1994 Page24