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 April 13. This is our designated NEW MEMBER meeting.

Trivia: Are wolves in Michigan protected under the Endangered Species Act?

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 Welcome new members! We hope to see you at our next meeting on April 13th.

UPCOMING EVENTS

SAVE THESE DATES: April 13th ALL MEMBER EVENT. Sharing hiking and backpacking “pearls” and an exciting PRESENTATION sure to be of interest to everyone.

April 23rd.  NEW MEMBER HIKE. Come and enjoy the beauty of the trail at Fort Custer. Begin with breakfast at Lakeside Café’ in Augusta at 8:00AM. Hike the Fort Custer portion of the NCT beginning at 9:00AM. Meet at Armstrong Rd. trailhead. Contact Tom Garnett at garnettt@trinityhealth.org or Larry Pio at nalcom1@aol.com for more information.

REMINDERS:

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

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

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING?

-Andrew Skurka has reached Duluth MN where he is taking a 5-day break.

-Tom Garnett and John Rudnicki met with Eagle Scout candidate Shane Parent at Kimball Pines where they made preliminary measurements for bridges across the streams below the beaver dam.

-Tom Garnett attended the Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Corey Lowery. Corey was responsible for our new kiosk design and the kiosks at Fort Custer. Congratulations Corey!

-The winter hike on Feb. 26th had a small but enthusiastic turnout. Larry Hawkins had a hot meal ready and waiting for the hikers. Special thanks to Dr. Peter Forsberg for his hospitality at the Long Lake Lodge. Peter kept a warm fire going, carried water and set up tables, certainly going above and beyond to make everyone feel welcome. Long Lake Lodge: attendees: Larry Pio, Tom Momenee,  Larry Hawkins, Racheal Higdon, Joe Higdon,Shiela Mutschler, Verle Krammin, Steve Hicks.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Trail Development: April 30th.

We will be putting kiosks in Middleville and reblazing the trail.

SPOTLIGHT: Larry Pio: With only campground camping for previous experience, I was enticed to join two other students from WMU’s Paper Technology Dept. on their last leg of the Pacific Crest Trail – the 450 mile long State of Washington section, in 1975. We had an amazing experience, and remain best of friends. Since then, trips have included; Wyoming’s Wind River Range, backcountry Yellowstone, Montana’s Glacier NP (4 times) and Beartooth Mountains (2 times), Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains, Alaska’s Denali NP and the Kenai peninsula, and Canada’s Waterton NP. In past years I have taken the video camera, and I highly recommend it. Uncle Dave Cornell knew I was a hiker, and kept slipping me info about the NCTA. I eventually joined, and many months later went to my first event. I attended meetings and observed, and began attending the work sessions led by Charles Krammin. It was somewhat strange working on trail, and not really knowing where you were, and where the next section was. My downfall was commenting to Dave about the recent lack of a newsletter, and that I had a couple months on my hands until they found someone else and the rest is history. I have enjoyed all aspects of my experience with the people in Chief Noonday, and find hiking and working on the trail both relaxing and satisfying. It is a way for me to give back a little bit, on behalf of the folks who constructed all the other great trails I have been fortunate enough to visit, to benefit future hikers. Larry is currently the VP of the Chief Noonday Chapter of the NCTA and previous newsletter editor.

Sections of the NCT by Jerry Pattok.

Robertson to Crane

It was a bright winter day when Sandi and I decided to hike this trail. We started on Robertson Road. A large parking lot is on the west side of the road. The beginning of the hike was through a wood that is primarily new growth. There were hills but they were gentle. About 900 yards down the trail we noticed a rock pile on the north side of the trail that had been deposited by some laborers of the past. The trunks of the trees and the underbrush were scorched around the pile. The scorching continued down the trail. We could smell the charred remains. As we moved away from the pile, we saw a rock near the trail that appeared to have mortar on it and some sides flaked, probably evidence of an old foundation. A few more minutes of hiking brought us to a deep kettle about 150 feet south of the trail. The glacial block of ice that had formed this feature wasn’t very big but it left an impressive hole. A tree with huge grapevines growing on it was next to the rim of the kettle. In imagination, the grapevines could be threatening serpents in a Harry Potter movie. After traveling about 0.4 miles, we saw a tree next to the trail with a curious pattern of lichens. The lichens extended up the truck in neat vertical rows. Another 0.2 miles of hiking brought us to an area of recent clear-cutting. Here the blazes ended. There were ribbons marking the trail that had been put there recently by Charles Krammin, his wife Verle, and Marcia Mellen. We could still see their tracks in the snow. About half way down the trail, Sandi noticed an old roll of field fence to the east. Near the fence, we found a mysterious structure made of thick wooden planks that were partially decayed. It was about big enough to enclose a person lying on his back. One side was open to a gully that ran uphill. Neither Sandi nor I had ever seen anything like it, and we spent several pleasant moments conjecturing its use. The rest of the hike took us through woods and clear-cut. The hike is about 1.4 miles and takes less than an hour. Wayne Marvin and John Morgan are the adopters for this section of trail.

Directions:

Robertson Road

From the traffic light at the intersection of M-37 and E Main in Middleville, go east 0.6 miles to Grand Rapids Street. Turn left. Go north 1.9 miles to Garbow Road. Grand Rapids Street turns into Whitneyville Road. Turn right onto Garbow and go east for 1.8 miles to Robertson. Turn right onto Robertson and go south for about 0.5 miles to the parking lot on the west side of the road.

Crane Road

From the intersection of Whitneyville and Garbow given above, go south 1.1 miles to Crane. Turn left. Go east for 0.7 miles to the trailhead. It is on the north side of the road.

Adopters Needed

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

Kellogg Bird Sanctuary Resource Center/Gift Shop seeking Volunteers: Contact KBS Volunteer Program at 269-671-2263 or e-mail: volunteers@kbs.msu.edu

Dinners at the W.K. Kellogg Manor House: Oriental Dinner April 9 at 7 PM. Mother’s Day Dinner May 14. Contact the KBS Conference Center at 269-671-2400 or e-mail conference@kbs.msu.edu for more information.

Upcoming teas at the W.K. Manor House: May 17, June 21, Aug. 16, Sept. 20, and Oct. 18. Contact 269-671-2416 or email manorhouse@kbs.msu.edu for details. Summer Adventure offered at the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary. Call 369-671-2265 or e-mail mstage@kbs.msu.edu for session information.

Thank you to those businesses that support our chapter:

Mid-Lakes Mini Storage

11235 S. Wall Lake Rd., Delton    phone 269-623-5005

Provide storage for the Chief Noonday Tool Crib.

Yankee Springs Outdoor Center

Long Lake and Chief Noonday Outdoor Centers    phone 269-795-3856

Provide use of lodge for scheduled Chapter winter hikes

Newsletter Editor: linda warren linblessed54@aol.com

Answers to trivia: In 2003 the approx. 321 wolves in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula were removed from the Endangered Species list and were reclassified as “threatened”. Removing the wolf from the Endangered Species list returns management of Michigan’s wolf population to residents of the state.

Receive the Chief Noonday Chapter newsletter on-line.  Contact Larry at nalcoman1@aol.com

Last modified: Saturday, May 27, 2006
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