Newsletter  February 2005

CHAPTER MEETINGS

Meetings are at 7:00 PM at the Barry Township Hall on Orchard Street in Delton the second Wednesday of each month, and are open to the public. Next meeting March 9.  For directions and a map, click here!

Trivia: A “Kame” is what?

We are looking for presenters. If you or someone you know would be interested in presenting a topic at one of the NCT meetings contact garnettt@trinity-health.org or linda warren at linblessed54@aol.com

A WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS

• William Eisenman, Beverly Hills

• Daniel Keyes and Dannette Shaw; Hopkins

• Steven Nitsch; Kalamazoo

We hope to see you at our next meeting.

UPCOMING EVENTS

ATTENTION!! Members and Guests! February 26, WINTER HIKE. Meet at Long Lake Lodge at 9am. Directions from Hastings: From the intersection of Broadway and State St., go west on State for 2.3 miles. Go straight on M43 for 0.3miles. Straight onto M179 (Chief Noonday Rd). 1.3 miles bear left onto Gun Lake Rd. Go 5.6 miles until it intersects wit Yankee Springs Rd. at the stop sign. Go straight on Gun Lake Rd. for 1.3 miles. The access is on the right. Stay for Lunch.

SAVE THESE DATES: April 13th ALL MEMBER EVENT. Sharing hiking and backpacking “pearls” and an exciting PRESENTATION sure to be of interest to everyone. It will be a 'special meeting' with Tiffany Stram from the NCTA office  ho is gong to conduct a GPS Workshop. Refreshments will be served and members who have not been to a meeting are encouraged to attend.

April 23rd. NEW MEMBER HIKE. Come and enjoy the beauty of the trail at Fort Custer.

REMINDERS: To follow Andrew Skurka’s progress www.andrewskurka.com.

Report your volunteer hours: www.northcountrytrail.org, click on “volunteer center”.

Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Resource Center/Gift Shop seeking Volunteers: Contact KBS Volunteer Program at 269-671-2263 or e-mail: volunteers@kbs.msu.edu W.K. Kellogg Biological Station “Build your own bluebird house… ” for information contact the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary at 269-671-2510 or e-mail czinders@kbs.msu.edu

Adopters Needed

If you would like to adopt a portion of the NCT please contact Dave Cornell at: onestep@mei.net

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Trail Development: March 19th at 9 AM. Meet at Big Boy in Hastings. Will enjoy some camaraderie before heading to Charles Krammin’s home for kiosk construction. Items needed for this workday are: Skill saws, ¼” dado saw, 3/8”-1/2” HP drill, power screw driver with Sq drive (Phillips), ¾” and ½” drills, saw horses, insulated boots, hammer and miter saw with handle 2”x6”.

Directions: to Krammin’s: From downtown Hastings take M43 north to E. State Rd. turn right go approximately 4miles to Durkee Rd. turn left, Krammin’s in the first farm house on the left.

SPOTLIGHT: Larry Hawkins: I returned to Hastings, my childhood home, after I completed my residency in Family Practice in 1975. I’ve been in the area doing either family medicine or emergency medicine ever since. I also did a stint as EMS Director for Barry County while doing my emergency department stint. During that time I developed an interest in Wilderness Medicine and have taught several classes in Wilderness Medicine to Scout Leaders and other outdoor enthusiasts. Currently, I have a practice in family medicine located on the west side of Gun Lake near Yankee Springs. My interest in hiking and backpacking dates back to childhood outings with my father and older brother. This naturally drew me to Scouting and I have been an active Scout Leader for over twenty-five years. Other than a high adventure trek at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, all my hiking and backpacking has been in Michigan. I have hiked the Porcupine Mountains, the Pictured Rock Trail, High Country Highway, Manistee River Trail, and the Jordan River Pathway among others. When I’m not involved with hiking or backpacking, I have kept myself occupied with gardening, sailing and playing with my grandkids. Dreams? I really want to get out on Isle Royale.

Sections of the NCT by Jerry Pattok.

Johnson to Robertson

It was one of those rare winter days when the sun was shining and the temperature was in the upper forties. My wife, Sandi, and I decided to hike this section of trail. At Robertson Road there is a sign that appropriately reads “Natural Beauty Road”. This trail gets a lot of use making it an easy hike. There were some hills to climb but none that left you out of breath. We seldom spoke. We listened to the methodical crunching of the ice crystals underfoot and the calls of the birds. Almost the entire hike was through a wood. The landscape produced a feeling close to reverence. One of the assets of a winter hike is that you see more without the leaves on the undergrowth. Throughout the hike we could see large old trees among the more recent growth. Some were sculpted by the elements. There were areas of fallen trees that seemed to produce a grid against the dark vertical trunks. The snow glistened from the top of the hills. Some of the hilltops were orange from reflected sun. The sharp profile of the land left much of the lower land in shadow producing a sharp contrast to the brilliance of the highlands. The trail is about 1.2 miles one way. It took us less than two hours to make the round trip. There was always a blaze in sight. When we got home we were content that we had not wasted this wonderful winter day. (continued next column)

Answers to trivia: “Kame” a short ridge or mound of sand and gravel deposited during the melting of glacial ice.

Kiosk at Johnson Road

Directions:

Johnson Road:

From the traffic light at the intersection M-37 and E Main in Middleville, go east 0.6 miles to Grand Rapids Street. Turn left. Go north 1.9miles to Garbow Road. Grand Rapids Street turns into Whitneyville Road. Turn right. Go 2.8 miles to Johnson Road. Turn right. Go 0.3 miles south to the trail. The parking lot is on the east side of the road. The trail is across from the parking lot.

Robertson Road: Follow the directions above to Garbow Road. After turning onto Garbow, go east for 1.8miles to Robertson. Turn right and go south for 0.4 miles to the parking lot.  Adopters of this section are Wayne Marvin and John Morgan

 

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