Next Chapter meetings: The next meeting is Nov. 13.  The meeting following that is on Dec 11. Both meetings are at 7:00 PM at the Barry Township Hall in Delton.

Night Hike on October 19

Joe Higdon and Jerry Pattok have set the schedule for the night hike to take place on Saturday, October 19, at 6:00 PM. The meeting place for this hike is the parking lot on the north side of Chief Noonday Road, about 0.3 miles west of Yankee Springs Road.

After positioning cars, we will leave the parking lot at 6:30 PM, picking up the trail south about 0.1 miles west of the parking lot, to finish at Hall Lake. This hike will last about 2 ½ hours, so bring along some water, and a snack.

Update: LaVerne BeBeau is investigating the possibility of some refreshments at Hall Lake. More info on that the night of the hike. For further details, or to let Joe and Jerry know of your plans, contact them at:

Joe Higdon: jhigdon@plainwellschools.org Home: 623-6675

Jerry Pattok: gspattok@iserv.net Home: 945-5443

To find Chief Noonday Road, head north out of Yankee Springs about 2 miles on Yankee Springs Road, and turn left on Chief Noonday Road. Please also note: Chief Noonday Road is also known as Michigan state route M-179, which crosses US 131 at exit 61.

Fall Color Hike October 26

Tom Garnett is leading a hike in the Yankee Springs area, the afternoon after our work session on Oct. 26.  Also under consideration is a campout afterwards at Deep Lake Campground. Check with Tom for details. Sorry about the late notice. We were hoping all the leaves would be down for our night hike, and now we are thinking maybe they will change colors before the end of the month.

Trail Adopters

Tom Funke has adopted a section of trail from Hall Lake to McKibbon Road, so we are up to 9 adopters.  We need adopters for the following areas (may not be complete):

Peets Road area south of M-37

Kellogg Biological area; Baseline to C Ave

Kellogg Forest area; M-89 and south to Augusta (several segments)

Work Session October 12 with the Boy Scouts

For those of you receiving this via email, Charles Krammin is leading a work session in Hastings on October 12. "Adam Sheldon, of Hastings, has requested our help in building his Eagle Scout hiking trail project. The trail will be on the City of Hastings property on the Northwest corner of the City, I have told him we would help with the equipment, adult help, and expertise. We will meet for breakfast, at the McDonalds restaurant on M-37 M-43, between 8 AM and 9 and then proceed to the site on Hammond road (M-43 North to State Road, blinker light, Left.  West, to Hammond road, Knights of Columbus hall, North to parking site). Other younger Scouts will also be volunteering that day. Come and instill these future boys of your love of hiking and trails."

Work Session October 26

We are having breakfast between 8 and 9am at the McDonalds near the Kimble Pines entrance; 1160 Michigan Avenue East; on the East side of Battle Creek on October 26. We will then leaving for our work session at 9 am. I usually take I-94 to exit 104,  and then head west to get there, but consult your maps, if you are not sure how to get there.  We have scheduled, but not yet planned the locations of future work session dates. Keep an eye on the web page for further updates. 

October 9 Chapter Meeting Summary

Along with items discussed elsewhere in this letter, Larry Pio had fun showing video of a recent hike to Glacier Park. We briefly reviewed the new trail inventory document, and reviewed work needs.  LaVerne BeBeau revealed his next history project in the Yankee Springs area. Treasurer Steve Hicks reports a balance of $3189, with a credit for about $300 not yet included.

Recent Trail Work Completed

On September 28, Charles Krammin, LaVerne BeBeau, Steve Hicks, John Rudnicki, Neil Juhl, James Heaton, Mary Armitage, Christy Stewart, Jerry Pattok, and Larry Pio worked in the MSU biological area, between Baseline Road and C Avenue.  Mowing and fallen tree removal were the primary projects.

Volunteers Needed for Interpretive Project

LaVerne BeBeau is calling for volunteers that have some expertise in botany, forestry, geology, and wildlife to help in the Interpretive Project. He is working on a list of projects which we will list periodically, but for now, please let him know of your interest.

New Members

The following are new members, and we extend a welcome to all of them:

Darleen Jarman; Decatur, GA

Eunice Jennings; Kalamazoo

D’Arcy Kelley; Kalamazoo

Pat Sager; Delton

Ott Preserve

If you haven’t hiked through the Ott Preserve in Battle Creek in the past year, then you haven’t seen the upgrades that have been done recently. This section of trail is about 1.7 miles (my estimate) of hardwood forest, with some small ponds and bog areas. Starting from the north, the new trail section begins about 0.7 miles in. With the recent change in trail layout, your feet stay dry as you go around the bog, rather than through it.

At about the 1.0 mile mark, the new boardwalk begins that leads to and from the bridge installed last year by NCT. This boardwalk is about 250 yards long, so was quite an achievement. (See web site photos of the March 2002 dedication.) Here again your boots stay dry, which is a big change. Annette Chapman has helped make this happen, and we should let her know our thanks. Meanwhile, check out the Ott Preserve for your own fall color hike.

Chief Noonday Chapter Brochure

Included with this month’s newsletter is the brochure Tom Garnett designed to help promote the northern section of our trail and our chapter. I wanted to be sure everyone had the chance to see it, and we are soliciting your ideas on how we can take full advantage of the brochure to help get the word out.  Any requests for copies, or ideas for distribution should be directed to Tom.