4th Quarter Newsletter 2009
(Larry Pio, Editor)

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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.  Meetings through the Fourth Quarter of 2009 are October 14, November 11, and December 9.  
    At our November Chapter meeting, Larry Pio will give a half hour presentation on this summer’s backpacking trip.   

REMINDER: For the latest information, especially toward the end of the quarter, please visit our Web site for updates – especially the Trail Log and the Events Calendar.

Upcoming Events
(See Events Calendar for links related to items below)

September 26:  Celebration Event with Ribbon Cutting, Work Day at MSU Kellogg Biological Station.   On September 26 we will be celebrating A Partnership that Works at Kellogg Biological Station.  Our celebration begins with Continental Breakfast at our Celebration Site at 8:30 AM, served in part by Dave Cornell, past president of the NCTA.  The Ribbon Cutting is at 9:00 AM, and will be performed by Dr. Katherine L. Gross of MSU/KBS.  We expect other officials from local government and from KBS, as well as Bruce Matthews, Executive Direction of NCTA, to be in attendance.   We are celebrating both our partnership with MSU and KBS, and also the near completion of off-road trail  for the North Country National Scenic Trail in Kalamazoo County.

Following the ribbon cutting, we will host educational exhibits, including trail building, and our trailer, for those in attendance.  In addition, a new section of trail will be built near the new robotic milking facility of the Kellogg Farm and Dairy Center, with the assistance of a local Boy Scout Troop. 

To reach the Celebration Site, which is down a farm drive off of 39^th Street between Baseline Road and “B” Avenue:  Take M-89 East from Plainwell, past Richland, to 40^th Street.  Head North on 40^th for about 2.3 miles to “B” Avenue, and turn west, continuing about 0.5 miles.  Then head north on 39^th Street for about 0.6 miles to the farm drive.  From Battle Creek, head West on M-89, and then follow the instructions above.  From the north, come to Hickory Corners, and head South to “B” Avenue.  (Click here for a Google map).

For more information on Kellogg Biological Station, see their Web site. 

October 10:  Fall Color Hike at Lost Nations State Game Area, Hillsdale County.  The Lost Nation State Game Area features a beautiful trail, which our Chapter visited on a joint workday a couple years ago.  We will be back when leaves may be changing to take another look.  We will meet for breakfast at 8:00 AM at the Country Kitchen in Marshall, off of I-94 exit 110, just east of the I-69 interchange.  The address for the Country Kitchen is 15421 US Highway 27 N, which will be to the north of the exit.  From there we will car pool to the hike location, leaving Marshall at 9:00 AM.  Bring water and a few snacks to enjoy on your hike.

October 24; Work Day in Middleville.  Our workday on October 24 will include lowering the roof on two of our kiosks on the Paul Henry Trail, and if the weather permits, staining those kiosks.  We will also do a little mowing and cleanup in the Middleville State Game Area.  We will meet for breakfast at 8:00 AM in downtown Middleville at the Cracked Pepper restaurant, located at 119 W. Main Street.  We will begin work at 9:00 AM at the kiosk located just down the trail behind the Middleville Village Hall.

November 7:  Hike at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, Barry County.  The Pierce Cedar Creek Institute is a 661 acre preserve, dedicated to promoting environmental education, research, preservation, and appreciation.  The Institute has over 6 miles of hiking trails, with the longest at 1.8 miles, over a wide variety of habitats.  It is located at 701 W. Cloverdale Road, south of Hastings, and northeast of Delton.  You can reach Cloverdale Road by heading north from Delton on M-43, or south from Hastings on M-37 (a mile north of Dowling).  (Click here for a Google map.)

We will meet for breakfast at 8:00 AM at the Big Boy in Hastings, located at 1105 W. State Street.  We will meet at the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute at 9:15 AM.

November 11:  Larry Pio’s Backpacking Video at Monthly Chapter Meeting.  Larry Pio will present a 30 minute video of his backpacking vacation in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness area in Montana, at the monthly Chapter Meeting in Delton.

November 14:  Work Day at Kellogg Biological Station, Kalamazoo County.  Our workday on November 14 will include staining the kiosks at MSU / Kellogg Biological Station, as well as the steps leading up to the kiosk near the Bird Sanctuary.  We will meet for breakfast at 8:00 AM at the Hickory Timber Inn, at 14576 S. Kellogg School Road, in Hickory Corners, and then drive a few miles south to KBS at 9:00 AM.

December 5:  Hike at Portage Bicentennial Trail, Kalamazoo County:  The Portage Bicentennial Park is a linear park featuring a 3.5 mile paved trail along Portage Creek, in Portage, MI.  We will meet for breakfast at 8:15 AM at Uncle Ernie's Pancake House at 4005 Portage Street, just north of exit 78 on I-94 in Kalamazoo (and Portage).  We will then drop cars at the southwest corner of Kilgore and Lover’s Lane at 9:30 AM, and carpool to begin our hike from the Portage Library parking lot.  To get to the Portage Library, take exit 76 (Westnedge Avenue) and go south about 2.5 miles on Westnedge until it curves to the right.  Then cross the railroad tracks, and immediately turn left to access the library.

December 12:  Work Day for Trailer / Tool Maintenance:  So, if you have skills involving tool maintenance, this will be your day.  We will be winterizing our engines, and preparing the trailer for the winter. We will meet for breakfast at 8:00 AM at the Big Boy in Hastings, located at 1105 W. State Street, and then head to where we can work on our tools (see web site for location as date nears).

Please be sure to report your volunteer hours either on the NCTA Web site, or by mail, or by reporting them to a Chapter officer.  These reports are used by Congress, the National Park Service, and others to help determine funding for the North Country Trail, and for some project requests.

Web Site Trail Log Reports

Mick Hawkins has included detailed reports, with pictures, at the TRAIL LOG page on our web site on some of our recent activities.  In the last quarter he has included reports on:

•   Our bicycle hike from Delton to the gravesite of Chief Noonday, led by Joe Higdon.  Mick shares a little history, along with interesting highlights of the day, in his report.
•   An invitation from the Hiawatha Shore to Shore Chapter for all NCTA members to join them in a “Bring on the Bridge!” rally on Labor Day weekend to hike the bridge and promote the NCTA.  Note:  several Chief Noonday members did travel to join the rally.
•   Our annual conference, held this year in Valley City, ND.  Eight Chief Noonday members joined the festivities:  Dave Cornell, Martha Jones, Linda Sootsman, Ron Sootsman, Mike Wilkey, Larry Pio, Mick Hawkins, and Larry Hawkins.  More on the conference below.
•   A more detailed description of our efforts coming up on September 26 at the MSU / KBS Celebration (see above for the condensed version).
•   Our participation at the Hastings Summerfest.  Thanks to our volunteers this year:  Larry Hawkins, Mick Hawkins, Dave Cornell, Charles Krammin, Jean Lamoreaux, Sandy Pattok, Anna Pattok, Mike Wilkey, Larry Pio, Mary Rebert, Tom Warner, Jeff Fleming, Jerry Pattok, and Steve Hicks.
•   Our post-Summerfest hike, held on September 12, led by Larry Hawkins.
•   Volunteer assignments for next Saturday at MSU / KBS for those who have signed up to date.