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Except as otherwise noted, all contents of this
Web site are Copyright
© Chief
Noonday
Chapter,
the North Country Trail Association.
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![[Chief Noonday's masthead]](images/cnd_mast2.JPG) |
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NEWS BRIEF: Dave Cornell, NCTA VP East and member of the Board of Directors, announces that on December 1 the Board appointed Larry Hawkins, Chief Noonday president, to a Search/selection committee charged with the responsibility of hiring the next Executive Director of the Association.
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 Six
intrepid
souls
hiked
the
Trail
for
the
After
Summerfest
Hike
on
the
Saturday
after
Labor
Day.
Joe
Higdon,
Larry
Hawkins
and
Ron
Sootsman
showed
up
on a
chilly
and rainy
Saturday
morning
to
hike
from
the
Peets
Road
trailhead
to
the
Chief
Noonday
Road
(M-179)
trailhead.
They
were
joined
by
three hardy
new
folk
for
the
hike,
and
luckily
the
rain
held
off
for
them.
Jerry
Pattok
had
the
trail
groomed
beautifully
for
the
occasion
including
brand new
painted
blazes
to
replace
the
old
plastic
blazes.
They
had
a
great walk,
good
conversation,
and
even
a
little
wildlife
as
they
startled
a ruffed
grouse
and
a
couple
of
sandhill
cranes
along
the
way.
Sheila's
background
in
flowers
was
a
welcome
addition
as
the
hikers
checked out
some
of
the
fall
wildflowers
along
the
way.
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 September's
Chapter
meeting
featured
some
special
guests,
not
all
of
whom
were
expected!
Matt
Rowbotham
(standing
with
Larry
Hawkins),
NCTA
cartographer
and
GIS
specialist,
attended
with
his
wife
Bridget
(in
red
jacket)
to
make
a
presentation
of
spanking
new
"You
Are
Here"
maps
he
has
been
preparing
for
placement
in
Chief
Noonday's
trail
kiosks.
The
new
maps
are
truly
impressive.
Plans
call
for
new
maps
to
be
placed
in
all
the
kiosks
in
Chief
Noonday's
section
of
the
Trail.
It
is
hoped
that
eventually
similar
maps
will
be
posted
along
the
entire
Trail
in
all
seven
states.
Matt
is
also
working
on
new
maps
for
the
Maps
page
of
Chief
Noonday's
Web
site,
which
will
include
smaller
maps
in
.pdf
format
which
hikers
will
be
able
to
download,
print,
and
take
with
them
to
the
Trail.
 Tom
Garnett
(left)
was
presented
by
Dave
Cornell
with
a
hand-carved
(appropriately
named)
"Old
Man"
walking
stick
as a
memento
of
his
distinguished
service
to
the
Chapter
as
president
and
member
of
the
board.
 A
surprise
visitor
to
the
meeting
was
Irene
Szabo,
member
of
NCTA's
board
of
directors
from
Mt.
Morris,
New
York,
past
president
of
the
Finger
Lakes
Trail
Conference
Board,
contributing
editor
to
the
North
Star,
chair
of
the
New
York
State
Trails
Council,
author
of
several
Finger
Lakes
Trail
guidebooks,
and
now
wearing
another
new
hat
as
interim
executive
director
of
the
North
Country
Trail
Association.
She
chats
here
with
current
Chapter
president,
Larry
Hawkins,
and
Chapter
immediate
past
president,
Tom
Garnett.
 Larry
Hawkins
made
presentations
of
1000
Volunteer
Hour
vests
from
the
U.
S.
Park
Service
to
two
members
who
could
not
attend
the
national
conference
in
Clarion,
Pennsylvania,
in
August
--
Larry
Pio
and
Charlie
Krammin.
Larry
and
Charlie
are
pictured
here
between
Dave
Cornell
and
Tom
Garnett,
who
had
already
received
their
1000
Volunteer
Hour
vests
at
the
conference.
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Our
monthly
workday
project,
this
month
in
the
Barry
State
Game
Area,
was
executed
with
dispatch
under
the
able
leadership
of
Steve
Hicks,
VP
for
Trail
Management,
who
was
joined
by
the
Brothers
Hawkins
(Larry
and
Mick),
Jim
Heaton,
and
Mat
Pryfogle, Summer
Camp
and
Year
Round
Program
Director
from
nearby
Circle Pines Center.
Working
on
the
stretch
of
Trail
from
McKibben
Road
to
Mullen
Road,
by
the
time
the
rest
of
the
crew
arrived
Steve
and
Mat had
already chainsawed
and
cleared
away
the
trees
that
had
fallen
across
the
Trail.
The
ensuing
team
effort
comprised
Steve
clearing
the
path
along
the
power
line
section
with
multiple
passes
of
his
lean
mean
mowing
machine,
while
the
rest
of
the
crew
worked
along
behind
with
loppers
and
Jim's
old
Craftsman™
handsaw
clearing
back
the
encroaching
brush,
particularly
autumn
olive
bushes,
and
exposing
the
path
to
freer
passage
and
the
Blue
Blazes
to
easier
view.
We
were
done
in
plenty
of
time
for
lunch.
Thanks
to
all
who
participated!
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 Fall
Color
Hike:
Although
we
were
probably
a
week
or
so
ahead
of
the
peak
of
our
color
season,
five
of
us
gathered
at
Kellogg
Forest
on
what
was
probably
the
last
beautiful,
warm
weekend
of
the
season.
Martha
Jones,
one
of
the
Chapter’s
oldest
members,
wins
the
prize
for
the
longest
drive,
having
come
all
the
way
from
her
home
in
Royal
Oak.
She
camped
out
at
Fort
Custer
Recreation
Area
Friday
night
to
be
there
bright
and
early
on
Saturday.
Joe
Higdon,
Ron
Sootsman,
Mick
and
Larry
Hawkins
filled
out
the
remainder
of
the
group.
We
carpooled
down
to
the
Augusta
Trailhead
where
we
admired
the
recently
installed
railswitch
that
Dr.
Hutchison
had
installed
in
the
parking
lot.
When
we
went
to
put
an
entry
in
the
Trail
Log,
we
discovered
that
an
industrious
woodpecker
had
turned
our
Trail
Log
box
into
a
birdhouse.
(There
are
pictures
in
the
photo
gallery.)
 We
hiked
the
nicely
groomed
trail
on
the
Hutchison
property
to
Kellogg
Forest
where
we
discovered
a
young
doe
trapped
in
the
barbed
wire
of
the
fence
along
the
south
edge
of
the
forest.
She
had
failed
to
clear
the
top
strand
and
had
both
hind
legs
twisted
in
the
barb
wire
and
fence
strands.
Joe
Higdon
held
and
comforted
the
deer
while
we
worked
at
opening
the
wires
to
release
her
legs.
Martha
sacrificed
her
walking
stick
to
the
project,
and
we
finally
freed
the
injured
doe.
Unfortunately,
both
hind
legs
were
severely
injured,
and
she
was
unable
to
use
them.
She
was
able
to
crawl
off
into
the
brush,
but
her
survival
is
doubtful.
We
finished
the
hike
in
the
hardwoods
and
pines
of
the
Kellogg
Forest,
inspected
the
Eagle
Scout
Bridge
and
the
covered
bridge,
and
finished
off
the
day
with
lunch.
Our
hikes
are
one
adventure
after
another,
and
we
invite
more
of
you
to
join
us.
Watch
for
information
on
the
Web
for
future
hikes.
Larry
Hawkins
(See
the
Photos
Page
for
more
pictures
from
the
hike.) |
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 October Workday: Saturday dawned cold and wet as we straggled into Kare’s in Augusta, but the ladies there greeted us with hot coffee and good cheer. John Morgan was the first to arrive and was well into his ham and eggs when Larry Hawkins, Ron Sootsman, Tom Garnett, Steve Hicks, Mick Hawkins and Jim  Heaton arrived. Tom Momenee joined us for breakfast but had commitments elsewhere for the rest of the morning.
We actually did a fair amount of business over breakfast, talked to a couple very interested in the Trail and left a stack of brochures at Kare’s before we left.
Steve Hicks has taken over the crown of chief cardiac stress tester from Joe Higdon as he had us carrying load after load of treated 4x6 timbers and 12 foot and sixteen foot 2x12s back through the woods to the Fort Custer wetlands (and, boy, they were wet!!!).
The picture below shows the work of our furry competition -- Castor canadensis -- more familiarly known as the North American beaver. The relentless engineering work by these critters is largely what keeps us coming back to Ft. Custer  and a few other places to build bridges and put in puncheons.
We worked in spitting rain until well after noon and placed many feet of puncheon before Steve called a halt to the work. By that time, Jim Heaton had us collecting triple our usual Saturday wages!
Since we'd planned this project during a dry spell, we discovered that we could have used a bit more lumber to really get the job done right -- not that any of us wanted to lug any more 2x12s back there. So that’s a project for another day!
Thanks to one and all for a wet job well done!
Larry
Hawkins
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 Volunteers needed in Lowell: Jennifer Tripp, Director of Development and Communications for the NCTA, has sent a request for volunteer help in the national office in Lowell. Because of our geographic proximity to Lowell, the Chief Noonday and West Michigan chapters would be the best sources for volunteers in Lowell. Jennifer says:
If getting out and working on the Trail is not your thing, volunteer in a different way!
The NCTA headquarters is looking for office volunteers to help out anytime Monday through Friday between 9am and 4 pm, scheduling is flexible.
Volunteer help is needed to talk with visitors about the fine points of the North Country Trail (where to go, what to see, what not to miss, local activities), help with Trail Shop orders, stuff mailings, and assist with data entry.
If you are interested in this exciting volunteer opportunity, please contact the office in Lowell or call toll free: 1-866-hikeNCT (445-3628) -- or make a local call in the Grand Rapids area: 616-897-5987.
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