2nd Quarter Newsletter 2010
(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 Second Quarter of 2010 are April
14,
May 12 (our annual meeting),
and June 9. For those who can join us, prior to
the meeting, we will meet for dinner at 5:45 PM, at the
Grove Street Café on the north side of Delton, located
at 370 N. Grove Street (just across from intersection of
Delton Road and M-43).
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.
Ron Sootsman wins
2009 Chief Noonday Hiker Challenge
Ron Sootsman logged
287.71 non-repetitive miles on the North
Country National Scenic Trail in 2009 to win the
2009 Chief Noonday Hiker Challenge. He also becomes
a Chief Noonday Chapter Hiker of Note, 200
mile level, for lifetime mileage. To get these
miles, Ron estimates he hiked over 450 total NCT
miles, since most of the time he hiked a section, he
then turned back and hiked to his car. Ron wins the
Chief Noonday Hikers Cup. Ron, Jeff Fleming,
Linda Sootsman, and Mike Wilkey also won
shirts with the Chief Noonday logo embroidered on
them (by Katie and Christy’s Mid-Lakes Screen
Printing).
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The rest of our top 10:
2nd place: Jeff Fleming,
123.2 miles
3rd place: Linda Sootsman,
71.58 miles
4th place: Mike Wilkey, 70.95
miles
5th place: Mick Hawkins,
34.45 miles
6th place: Mary Rebert, 26.8
miles
7th place: Larry Pio, 23.0
miles
8th place: Steve Hicks, 11.4
miles
9th place: Bob Cooley, 9.4
miles
10th
place: Larry Hawkins, 6.6 miles |
Quarter's Calendar
(See
Events Calendar
for links related to items below)
|
April 14: Chapter
meeting |
May 1: Trail
Adopters Meeting
|
June 5: Hike Loda Lake
Wildflower Sanctuary |
|
April 17: Work
day YSRA |
May 12:
Chapter Annual Meeting |
June 9: Chapter Meeting |
|
April 24:
Hike Yankee Springs RA |
May 15: Work day
MSGA
|
June 19: Work day
Augusta |
|
|
May 22: Hike
MSGA |
July 3: Hike Fort Custer
Recreation Area |
|
August 5-8: NCTA
Annual Meeting in Ashland, WI |
|
The Chief Noonday
Chapter welcomes anyone to join us for
any of our meetings, hikes, or workday
events. For more
information, please contact Larry
Hawkins
by
e-mail or at 269-945-5398, or see
Web site for
other
contacts. |
Upcoming Events
April 17 — Workday in Yankee
Springs Recreation Area: Our April 17 workday
will include a cleanup, and installation of signs, in
the Yankee Springs Recreation Area, as we prepare for
certification of this reroute opened last year. We
will have breakfast at 8:00 am at the Gun Lake
Diner at 12441 West M-179 Highway (Chief Noonday
Highway). The Gun Lake Diner is 4.7 miles west of the
Yankee Springs Road and M-179 intersection on the south
side of the road. At 9:15 am we will park at the Hall
Lake parking lot on Gun Lake Road, which is about 1.3
miles west of Yankee Springs Road. A parking sticker is
needed to park at the YSRA lot at Hall Lake.
April 24 — Hike Chief Noonday
and Deep Lake Trails inYankee Springs Recreation Area;
Barry County: The Chief Noonday Trail and the
Deep Lake Trail are both part of the Yankee Springs
Recreation Area. Part of the Chief Noonday Trail
coincides with the North Country Trail. This area is
known for the cerulean warbler so perhaps you should
bring your binoculars. We will have breakfast at
8:00 am at the Gun Lake Diner at 12441
West M-179 Highway (Chief Noonday Highway). The Gun
Lake Diner is 4.7 miles west of the Yankee Springs Road
and M-179 intersection on the south side of the road.
If you plan to attend, but cannot be there for
breakfast, contact Mick Hawkins
webmaster.ncta-cnd2@comcast.net for directions to
the starting point of the hike (or if you want to be
sure we don’t leave before you arrive).
May 1 — Annual Trail Adopters
Meeting at Kellogg Forest: Our annual Trail
Adopters meeting will be held at Kellogg Forest on
May 1 at 9:00 am, near the main parking
area. Our Trail Adopters take the responsibility for
maintaining sections of our trail, including blazing,
mowing, cleaning up branches, etc. At our meeting we
will take our annual Adopters picture, distribute paint
for blazing, and do a quick review of blazing
techniques. Donuts will be available (BYO coffee). The
Kellogg Forest is north of Augusta about 1.5 miles north
of the Shell station on Webster, then becoming 42nd
Street, or south from M-89 about 0.7 miles.
Everyone is invited to attend.
May 1 — Middleville 10K
non-competitive Volksmarch: The first
Volksmarch of the year in Middleville will be held on
May 1 with starting times between 9:00 am and 11:00
am. Participation is free, or you can register to
get an AVA / IVV award for $5. Participants can
register at the gazebo next to Middleville Village Hall
at 100 E. Main Street, ¼ mile east of the M-37 traffic
light. Participants may walk, run, or bike at your own
pace. More info:
http://tracmvl.webs.com/vm52.pdf
May 12 — Chapter Annual
Meeting includes Election of Chapter Officers:
The May 12 Chapter meeting is our Annual Meeting, where
we will review accomplishments for the past year, set
goals for the coming year, and this year we will also be
electing Chapter Officers. If you have an interest in
serving on the Chapter Board of Directors, please
contact Larry Hawkins. Responsibilities of
Directors are included in our bylaws, which can be found
by using the search tab on our web site.
May 15 — Workday in
Middleville State Game Area: For our workday
on May 15, we plan to do some erosion control in a
couple areas in the Middleville State Game Area, and
install a puncheon in a wet area. We will meet for
breakfast at 8:00 am in downtown Middleville at
the Cracked Pepper restaurant, located at 119 W.
Main Street, and leave from there to head to the work
site.
May 22 — Hike Middleville
State Game Area; Barry County: We will hike
the Middleville State Game Area, with our leader Charles
Krammin determining our path, as we do some exploring.
We will meet for breakfast at 8:00 am in downtown
Middleville at the Cracked Pepper restaurant,
located at 119 W. Main Street, and leave from there to
stage cars for the hike. If you plan to attend, but
cannot be there for breakfast, contact Mick Hawkins
at
webmaster.ncta-cnd2@comcast.net for directions to
the starting point of the hike (or if you want to be
sure we don’t leave before you arrive).
June 5 — Hike at Loda Lake
Wildflower Sanctuary, Huron-Manistee National Forest;
Newaygo County: Our Trail’s Day hike will be up
near White Cloud in Newaygo County at the Loda Lake
Wildflower Sanctuary. Loda Lake is the only wildflower
sanctuary in the National Forest System. Perhaps you
can make it part of a weekend up north. Some details
are yet to be determined, but we will meet at the Birch
Grove Schoolhouse, home of our West Michigan Chapter at
9:00 am. Lunch after the hike will be at Sally’s
Family Restaurant in White Cloud. Definitely let
Mick Hawkins know if you plan to attend, so you get
all the updated details.
To get to the Birch Grove Schoolhouse, drive 7.5 miles north
of White Cloud on M-37. At 5 Mile Road, turn west,
continuing for 1 mile to Felch Avenue. Turn left, and
the schoolhouse is just south of the corner. For
more info on the Birch Grove Schoolhouse:
http://www.northcountrytrail.org/wmi/schoolhouse.php
. For more info on the Loda Lake Wildflower
Sanctuary do a web search “Loda Lake”.
June 19 — Workday north of
Augusta Drive; Kalamazoo County: Our June 19
workday will include mowing and clearing the section of
trail north of Augusta Drive near Augusta. We will
meet for breakfast at Duda’s, at 113 W. Michigan
in Augusta at 8:00 AM, and then head to the
Hutchinson trailhead on Augusta Drive at 9:00 AM.
Hike 100 Miles in 50 Hours —
Allegheny 100 Challenge in Pennsylvania —
June 18-20:
Looking for a fast way to catch Ron Sootsman this
year on the CND Hiker Challenge? This endurance
challenge through one of the most beautiful segments
on the Trail might help. 25 and 50-mile hikes will
be available also. Cost: $30 donation. Contact:
Bert Nemcik (bnemcik@yahoo.com)
from the Blue Blaze Bulletin.
July
3 — Hike in Fort Custer Recreation Area; Kalamazoo
County: Since this is right at the
beginning of the 3rd Quarter, I am adding
info on our July 3 hike in the Fort Custer
Recreation Area as well. The FCRA is located across
Dickman Road from our section of trail in the Fort
Custer National Cemetery. The FCRA is located on
3033 acres, and the hike will be around the lakes
section.
One thing you may see on this hike is a very large beaver
dam. This dam is about 6 to 7 feet tall, and has
turned the stream into a very nice looking lake in
this area.
Breakfast will be at Duda’s, at 113 W. Michigan in
Augusta at 8:00 AM. Once again, let Mick
Hawkins know if you will not be able to meet for
breakfast, so he can make arrangements to meet up
with you at the FCRA. A State of Michigan Parks
Annual Sticker or Day Pass is required. The
entrance is across from Fort Custer Road, just
across the bridge from Augusta.
Looking further ahead
More
Chief Noonday Hikes for 2010: The
following hikes are scheduled for 2010, with more hikes
to be listed in our 3rd Quarter Newsletter:
●
August 7, 2010: Allegan State Game
Area; Allegan County
●
September 3-7, 2010: “Bring on the
Bridge”, hosted by the Hiawatha Shore to Shore
Chapter. Campout, and includes hiking the Mackinaw
Bridge on Labor Day, the only day of the year the bridge
(and this section of the North Country Trail) is open to
pedestrians.
●
October 2, 2010: Fall Color Hike
Kellogg Biological to Kellogg Forest; Kalamazoo County
●
November 6, 2010: Saugatuck Dunes
State Park; Allegan County
●
December 4, 2010: Marshall Riverwalk,
and Brooks Nature Area; Calhoun County
NCTA
Annual Meeting to be held in Ashland, Wisconsin August
5-8, 2010 (with some events earlier):
Only 614 miles from Delton, MI to visit a great spot on
the shores of Lake Superior.
Web Site Trail Log
Reports
Mick
Hawkins has
included detailed reports, with pictures, on the
Trail Log page on our Web site on some of our
recent activities.
Please take the time to look
at these reports, and the great photography that Mick
includes in his reports.
In the last quarter he has
included reports on:
●
Our sighting of
Tman, aka Todd McMahon, a hiker visiting from Madison,
Wisconsin. For more about Todd’s adventures: http://sites.google.com/site/isawtman/Home/southern-michigan-hike
●
The results of the
2009 Chief Noonday Hiker Challenge, with pictures of our
top 4.
●
Our January 23
workday refurbishing materials in our kiosks. Thanks to
Jim Heaton, Bob Cooley, Mike Wilkey,
Jeff Fleming, Larry Hawkins, Mick
Hawkins, Steve Hicks, Jim Martin,
Eric Longman, Mary Rebert, Larry Pio,
and Bob Sulaski for all the winter season help.
●
The January 30 near
zero degree hike from Ott Biological to Bridge Park.
Nine brave hikers on this one.
●
The February 27
hike in the snow (12 to 18” in some places), with 4
hikers.
●
Our March 6
participation in the Quiet Water Symposium held in
Lansing every year. This was our first year visiting as
an exhibitor, and the response was great. Thanks to
Steve Hicks, Larry Hawkins, and Mick
Hawkins for all the work on setting up and manning
this exhibit.
●
Our visit to the
Baw Beese Chapter to help with some trail clearing.
Along with 6 Baw Beese members, and a West Michigan
Chapter member, our Chapter participation was Larry
Hawkins, Jason Buckner, Ron Sootsman,
Mick Hawkins, Jeff Fleming, and Mike
Wilkey. Thanks guys.
●
The March 27 hike
on the Falling Waters Trail in Jackson County, with 4
hikers.
Chief Noonday
Chapter Hiker Challenge 2010
Competition is well under
way for the Chief Noonday Chapter Hiker Challenge
Cup, version 2010. The basic challenge is to
see who can hike the most miles on the North Country
Trail in 2010. The rules:
1.
You must be a member of the Chief Noonday
Chapter at some point during the year. To become a
member, go to the
North Country Trail web site, select the
membership you want, and pick “Chief Noonday
Chapter” for your Chapter selection.
2.
Only North Country Trail miles can be
counted. (Our primary goal is to get people out to
see different sections of the Trail.)
3.
Any segment can be counted only once during
the year. Even for adopters.
4.
Cross country skiing is a legitimate mode of
hiking. After all, our goal is to get people on the
trail.
5.
If you can find someone to push your
wheelchair, that will count for both of you. See
goal in item 4.
6.
We do not want anyone to wait until December
31 to submit all their miles to win the contest.
Please report your miles with a reasonable
frequency, especially if you are one of the leaders.
7.
Report your miles, and segment ID, to me in
person, or via email to
nalcoman1@aol.com with the subject CND Hiker
Challenge mileage, or by mail to: Larry Pio; 2409
Woody Noll; Portage, MI 49002.
Our top 10 leaders as of 3/31/10 are:
|
Ron Sootsman
– 156.12 |
Steve Hicks –
8 |
|
Bob Sulaski –
27.8 |
Bob Cooley –
5 |
|
Mick Hawkins
– 11.3 |
Greg Hall – 5 |
|
Larry Hawkins
– 9.0 |
Josephine Miller
– 5 |
|
Linda Sootsman
– 8.9 |
Maureen Tucker
– 5 |
Mick Hawkins has added a
Hiker Challenge page to the web site, which
includes the latest mileage totals. Check it out.
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.
More News
Chief Noonday Chapter Challenge Cost Share Application
Approved:
Our Challenge Cost Share
application to the National Park Service for a new DR
Trimmer / Mower has been approved. This is definitely a
very timely acquisition for our Chapter, as our old unit
is near demise. Challenge Cost Shares are not grants,
but require us to match the NPS money with our labor,
i.e. we need to use this unit quite a bit to meet our
obligation.
Fortune Bay Expedition Team Continues NCT Hike Schedule
from Yankee Springs to Mackinaw:
You can get extra Hiker
Challenge Miles by joining Ron Sootsman and the Fortune
Bay Expedition Team as they continue to Mackinaw. See
http://www.fortunebaycompany.com
, and click on the link to get an email when their blog
is updated, or if you want to hike a section with them.
They plan to continue to hike mostly on weekends and
holidays to get to Mackinaw.
Joan Young’s Blog and more
Joan Young info: This year Joan Young
is going to finish the North Country Trail, after hiking
it in sections over the past several years. Joan has
been extremely active at all levels on our trail, and
did the NCTA web site for many years.
She now writes a blog,
http://www.northcountrytrailnews.blogspot.com ,
which features a lot of news about the North Country
Trail and issues that affect the trail. Joan has been a
past speaker at the Chief Noonday Chapter, but these
days requests for her talks are more frequent, and
usually include book signings of her “North Country
Cache: Adventures on a National Scenic Trail”.
Joan is not often speaking in our area, but will be in
Holland on November 5 presenting ”High Hopes Wearing
Sweaty Socks”, her slide program on hiking the North
Country Trail. For more information on the Holland
visit, and other Joan presentations, see
http://www.booksleavingfootprints.com/meetauthor.htm
.
MSU’s W.K. Kellogg Biological Station:
One
of our partners on the trail, Michigan State’s W. K.
Kellogg Biological Station, hosts a variety of programs
throughout the year. Additional information on KBS
special events and membership information can be found
on the web at
www.kbs.msu.edu.
In addition, the
Kellogg Bird
Sanctuary
is open to visitors year round. For more information,
contact the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary at 269-671-2510 or
email:
birdsanctuary@kbs.msu.edu .
New Members
We want to
welcome new members to the Chief Noonday Chapter in
recent months:
|
Greg
Hall and Vicki Hall –
Battle Creek |
Gary McCourry
- Wayland |
|
Kay Caskey
– Decatur |
Derek Sheehan
- Galesburg |
|
Donald Krause
- Allegan |
|
Lyme Disease has now
been reported in most of Michigan’s 83 Counties
See
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12150_12220-26945--,00.html
for more info.
|
Beaver Art,
done in cherry,
near Fort Custer National Cemetery
|
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Chief Noonday's Newsletter
Receive the Chief Noonday Chapter
newsletter via email. Contact Larry Pio at
nalcoman1@aol.com.
Please share your newsletter with a friend, and
tell someone about Chief Noonday and the NCT.
There are several ways to do it:
•
you can send the link to this page [
http://www.northcountrytrail.org/cnd/newsletter.htm
] by e-mail.
•
you can click on the link for the PDF copy at
the top of this page and e-mail the PDF file to
somebody, or
•
print out copies of the PDF version on your
home printer and share them.
As an added bonus, if you are in touch
with your "inner historian," archive resources
are available on our Web site:
•
Most of the chapter newsletters going back to 2000
are available by clicking on the link of your choice at
the bottom of the current Web newsletter (see below).
•
There is a wealth of information available in our
Paths Once Wandered and
Photos pages.
•
You can even search our Web site for specific
topics. See our
search page for instructions.
|
Thank you to those businesses that support our
chapter:
|
Lee’s Adventure Sports
311 W. Kilgore
Portage, MI 49002
www.leesports.com
(269) 381-7700
Sandhill Marketing Communications
1715 Glendale Blvd.
Kalamazoo
(269) 382-2561
|
Yankee Springs Outdoor Center
Long Lake and Chief Noonday Outdoor Centers
(269) 795-3856
Provides use of lodge for scheduled Chapter winter hikes
Mid-Lakes Mini Storage
11235 S. Wall Lake Rd., Delton
(269) 623-5005
Provides
storage for the Chief Noonday Tool Crib.
|
|
Katie & Christy’s. Midlakes
Screen-Printing,
Monogramming Active Wear ~ Tanning Salon ~ Lake Rentals,
Delton, MI.
Can
add Chief Noonday logo to your clothing.
http://www.mid-lakes.net/
http://www.michiganlakerentals.net/
For sample of their product line
click here.
|
Joining the North Country Trail
Association:
Interested in joining the
North Country Trail Association? The easiest way
is to go to the
national Web site and do it online. Memberships
start at $10 for students, and are $46 for a regular
membership. Your support is appreciated.
An Introductory
Rate for Your Friends:
If you are already a member of the North Country
Trail Association, you have a good opportunity for
introducing the North Country Trail to your friends.
There is a special reduced rate for the first year of a
membership when you sponsor a new member. The form
to use is included in the on-paper edition of this
Newsletter.
Membership dues help support our local
trail projects. More importantly our membership
numbers show Congress that there is support for the
trail, and this positively influences the projects they
fund.
Web sites:
The web site for the North Country Trail Association
is:
http://www.northcountrytrail.org/
The web site for the Chief Noonday Chapter is:
http://www.northcountrytrail.org/cnd/
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.
North Country Trail Association
Chief Noonday Newsletter
2409 Woody Noll
Portage, MI 49002
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