Newsletter February 2006

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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 8, 2006.  

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
    Labor Day 2006. The Chief Noonday Chapter has been invited to participate in a Fitness Festival in Battle Creek.  We will be hosting a Family Hike.  Tom Garnett and John Rudnicki are coordinating this project.

SAVE THE DATES:
    WINTER HIKE!  February 18.  Meet at the Long Lake Campground Lodge at 8:30 AM. Convoy to the M179 (Chief Noonday Road) trailhead 0.3 miles west of Yankee Springs Road and hike back to the lodge. Hot drinks will be available at the lodge after the hike.
    Spring Wildflower Hike: May 20.  Barb VanDyken is coordinating this hike.
    Labor Day 2006 Fitness Festival in Battle Creek.
    Remember: The next annual conference is in Clarion, PA on August 10-13, 2006.

TRAIL CARE:
    March 18:  Construction of temporary bridges for Kimball Pines.  John Rudnicki is responsible for design and planning.
    April 22:  Kiosk building is planned.

    THE JANUARY WORKDAY: The sky was blue and the woods were glorious with snow clinging to every branch, to be dumped down our necks as we carried the bridge through the woods.  We had a great turnout of workers, Jerry Pattock and his son Eric and brother-in-law Ron Gardon, Tom Garnett, Larry and Mick Hawkins, Steve Hicks, John Morgan, Ron Sootsman, Larry Pio, and Tom and Maggie Momenee. 
    After breakfast we broke down the bridge, loaded the bridge into the truck and convoyed to Fort Custer.  Steve took the truck as far as he could, and we then carried the bridge in two sections to the creek.  I have to admit that some of us “older” folks were puffin' by the time we got there.  We reassembled the bridge on site. 
    We had a go at putting it across the creek.  Steve, Ron, Eric and I went in the water and I promptly discovered that my boots leaked!  We got the bridge across and it required minimal leveling.  We were delighted to discover that our design was a success! Though the bridge appears challengingly narrow, there is very little sway or spring in it and everyone passed over easily. 
    With Pulaski and chainsaw we cleared the trail to the bridge site on either side of the creek fairly quickly.  Mick Hawkins and Maggie Momenee recorded the event for posterity. 
    This crew did such an awesome job we canceled the February workday.

    JANUARY CHAPTER MEETING:  Bud Leonard presented a program about Native American activities in the Wall Lake Area.  The presentation focused on the early trail system in western Michigan using Prairieville as a central focus.  Bud explained various theories about the origins on the "wall" in the Wall Lake. Bud shared some artifacts, pictures of the "wall" and a book of the archeological maps of Michigan demonstrating the original trail systems on the Native Americans.

Check out the new WEB PAGE!   Mick Hawkins is trying a new format and it seems to be working well.   Check out the photos of the bridge building described above by Larry Hawkins.  We are registered on Google.  We encourage you to register at the Yahoo site to receive up-to-date information.  You can access and join the group from the link on our home page.

Tom Garnett has presented the final draft of the SOUTH CNC BROCHURE.  It will soon be available on the web site.

Joan Young and Lyle Bialk are heading up the LOWER MICHIGAN TRAIL COUNCIL.   A roving trail crew of volunteers to join forces on bigger trail projects has been proposed.  Stay tuned for more information.

Joan Young is working on a TRAIL PASSPORT for the Lower Michigan segment of the NCT.  This will be a passport-sized book in which hikers can document their hikes on sections of the trail by putting stamps in as they complete sections.  Joan is seeking help designing the stamps that should represent something special about each section of trail.  If you are interested in helping please contact Larry Hawkins for more information.

Events of Interest
    MSU’s Kellogg Biological Station, Experimental Forest and W. K. Kellogg Manor House are offering numerous opportunities for fun and adventure.  For information about upcoming events contact (269) 671-2400 or e-mail conference@kbs.msu.edu or bbaker@kbs.msu.edu

Newsletter available on-line!  
    You can view the .pdf file for the Newsletter in the Adobe Acrobat Reader by clicking on the link above under the title of this page, and you can even save it on your hard drive.  Or you can receive the .pdf file by e-mail if you e-mail Larry Pio at nalcoman1@aol.com.