FINGER LAKES TRAIL CONFERENCE
With characteristic irony, IRENE SZABO credits her involvement with the Finger Lakes and North Country Trails to a high-strung dog who was "so hyper he needed ritalin," she joked. Although as a girl her favorite place to be was Girl Scout camp, she had drifted away from outdoor pursuits as an adult. However she started walking again in the mid-1980's to exercise the high-energy dog. While on a ski weekend that featured more socializing than skiing she realized that walking the dog had made her need regular exercise. So outside she went and found a piece of trail bearing a FLT marker. The rest, she says, is history, and by 1987 she had her own section of trail to maintain. There isn't much that Irene hasn't done if it's related to the trail. She's held many offices on the FLTC Board, is on the NY State Trails Council, and is VP of the Finger Lakes Land Trust. She sponsors 19 miles of trail, and is a section coordinator for 16 volunteers. She was awarded the Vibram Volunteer of the Year award for NY and wrote three of the guidebooks for trail segments in western NY. She spends a lot of time working with landowners. Somewhere amongst all this she finds time for her regular job as a manufacturer's representative. Despite such a clear addiction to trail activities, Irene claims she can't quite put her finger on what it is that makes trails so important to her. She admits to being "drawn to the sight of some little pathway going off into the woods." She likes "snooping around" along the trail to find "mysterious things." The mysteries may be solved by learning new pieces of history such as sites of sawmills or schoolhouses. Sometimes the solutions involve botany lessons; for example to identify trees in the winter by their bark and buds rather than with the aid of leaves. She describes herself with a chuckle, as an "annoying perfectionist." She likes to see trail nicely built and maintained, and wants groups to respect the sections they are assigned to care for. Fixing sections, getting more miles off-road and improving the trail design give her great satisfaction. It's "tremendous fun," she says.
PENNSYLVANIA
Any attempt to feature DON and BRITA DORN separately would be impossible. They kept passing the phone back and forth and asking each other for the answers to my interview questions. What a testament to life partnership! And they are also a credit to the word "volunteer." Long time members of the Allegheny
Outdoor Club, they became acquainted with the North Country Trail when Glenn Oster asked Don to become State Coordinator for Pennsylvania. He held this position for about 3 years. Don is a retired Forester from the US Forest Service. Most of their trail work for the past 10 years has centered around helping hikers spot a car at the ends of the Allegheny National Forest and offering information about the
trail. Since the AOC offers a patch for completion of those 95 miles, there is good interest in taking this hike. So far 87 people have earned the patch. Brita keeps the records for this award, and answers letters from peoole who reauest information about the trail. She is also the treasurer for the AOC. Don says it is very satisfying to help people get started on their hikes. Another of their accomplishments has been to work wjth a landowner who has finally given permission for the NCT to cross his property so that hikers may connect the Allegheny NF with Cook Forest. Don and Brita kept insisting that they do very little, but it is my personal experience that they give freely of their time to needy hikers. Friends and I spent nearly an entire day with them when we hiked the ANF. They arranged a supply drop for us, fed us homemade pie, gave us much current info about the trail, and let us use their porch to sort our gear. Brita likes trails
because she is sure many people would never go into the woods if they had to find their way with only map and compass. Trails provide a more structured setting, so that people will experience nature. And she likes to help people have that experience. Many of us owe Don and Brita a loud and personal, "Thank you!"
NORTHWESTERN OHIO RAILS-TO-TRAILS ASSOCIATION
GENE MARKLEY calls himself the "face of the organization." Even when people don't know him personally, his time spent patrolling or working on the trail results in greetings such as "You're the rail-trail guy; I know that truck!" Gene showed up at a public meeting when the trail association was being formed, wanting to increase his volunteer activities. He soon found himself on the board, and now is the
Vice President. He has received grants to attend Rail-Trail conferences. As a group, NORTA received the state of Ohio Rails-to-Trails Conference Volunteer Award. He likes to bike, but says that as VP "(read slave driver and enforcement officer," he jokes) he's now mostly in his pick-up "with a cell phone in one hand and a chain saw in the other." NORTA owns 42 of the 63 miles of the Wabash Cannonball Trail,
which is concurrent with the NCT over some of its length. They are developing three additional miles. Gene strongly believes in rails-to-trails. He wants to see these corridors preserved for present and future activities. In the present they offer both recreational opportunities, and serve as mini-migratory and travel greenways for wildlife. Gene spends his work days as a senior bench technician doing electronics repairs. After work he's often out doing repairs to the trail or enforcing the "no motorized vehicles" postings. (Yeah, Gene!) But he sees his most important role in the trails community as that of a diplomat. He feels that his rural background helps him communicate with landowners along the corridor. He likes to work with them to solve problems and create solutions which can be sealed with a handshake. His advice? "When negotiating with people, never start off negatively, acting belligerently, or with your biggest argument, as it leaves you no where to go.." Thanks, Gene, for being willing to be a trails advocate on some of the front lines of the battle, landowner relations and rule enforcement!
CHIEF NOONDAY CHAPTER
"There is so much materialism in society, but that's not where I am," says BARB VAN DYKEN. "Trail activities offer me an alternative." She first heard about the NCT while hiking some of the Appalachian Trail about three years ago. Her enthusiasm found a hot-bed of possibilities in the busy Chief Noonday crew. She's their new Activities Chairperson and her first event will be to lead the Audubon Society on a North Country hike. Her association with various groups is one of the gifts Barb offers. In fact, the NCT will sport a covered bridge in Kellogg Forest because of Barb's contacts. She belongs to a society dedicated tc protecting the structure, but it needed to be moved from its present location. Where could it go? To our trail, says Barb! The designer has offered to help with the reconstruction at the new site. Barb told me that she doesn't let people forget promises like this. Another of Barb's recent responsibilities was to set up the interpretive sites for the chapter's National Trails Day event. Hikers could learn about such things as flowers or birds they might see at these stops. Also on her list is to adopt a section of trail as her own. Barb has strong feelings about the value of the trail. "You find so much of yourself when you walk," she affirms. She has a desire to say to her generation, her children, and her grandchildren, "We really do value wild lands, and we want to give you a gift, a legacy:" the opportunity to become "personally acquainted with nature." She finds it very exciting to be in on the ground level of development of a national trail. She echoes the sentiment of many of us; "It's a sweet place to be."
GRAND TRAVERSE HIKING CLUB
In February of 1994, ARLEN MATSON put an ad in the newspaper to see if there was any interest in forming a local chapter of the NCTA. 27 people showed up, and the club has grown from there! He was acting President of the club that first year, and then Trail Director. Even the existence of the trail, before the club, is owed in part to Arlen. He and Arden
Johnson spent many hours together building NCT miles. With previous experience in building ski trails, and tools he owned from a landscaping business, he was all set to go. Building trail is his "love." Arlen sees established trails as a means of wilderness preservation. The trail helps build a credible defense against developers who may claim the land is unused. He wants wilderness to be there for his grandchildren, and he already has 18 to share it with! Canoes or planes can take you into the wilderness, but "I know of no other way to enjoy the forest wilderness except by trails," Arlen says. But now the trail near Traverse City is built, and maintenance is the concern so Arlen has taken on his share of the 50 miles of trail that is the responsibility of the club. Retired from teaching 5th and 6th grade, the role of teacher is a comfortable one. He likes to train people in maintenance techniques. He enjoys sharing knowledge and introducing people to something new. He finds it especially rewarding to hear comments at the end of a day such as, "Did we ever enjoy that!" Arlen concludes that when he walks he is "at peace, my spirit is lifted, and I am grateful to God."
Traverse City Record Eagle article, July 2000, with more about the Traverse City Chapter and Arlen. Scroll down the page to find them.
HERITAGE CHAPTER
GARY TALSKY, like so many of our featured volunteers, has been enjoying the outdoors for
most of his life. He attended Philmont twice as a Boy Scout. He has hiked most of the Ice Age Trail, and Michigan's UP Lakeshore. Three years ago he was planning a sabbatical semester from his job as Instructor of Philosophy at Sacred Heart School of Theology. His brother suggested that they hike
through the Chequamegon National Forest. Thus Gary became acquainted with the North Country Trail. They did the hike, and raised pledges per mile to help complete the trail. He is now the Treasurer of the young Heritage Chapter. He also is intrigued by the technology of internet communication, and believes that this technical aspect is where he can make a real contribution. Communicating and promoting the trail to others is his goal. He is developing a web site for the Heritage Chapter as a resource for the trail community and other people who may be interested. He
wants to include links to help visitors to the area plan their hikes and enjoy the trail whether they might choose to backpack, or take advantage of local places to sleep and eat. Gary also is excited to be part
of a trail like the NCT that is new enough that he can help build it, not just to maintain it. He calls trails "nature's best health club." He notes that nature will treat everyone equally; "it will put your ego aside." Where people may be unfair or show favoritism, there is equality in the challenges offered on the trail. Gary likes to be a member of the team. He notes that everyone has a talent or gift to bring, and we need to work together.
HEADWATERS CHAPTER
DEL BJERKNESS says it's just part of his psyche to be a hiker. Norwegian parents brought him up in the tradition of walking and cross-country skiing, and Del has passed that on to his children. He has hiked on both sides of the Atlantic: in the Alps and Pyrenees, the AT and some of the PCT. He also has hiked extensively, about 600 miles, in Glacier NP. "Did you know," he asked me,"that fewer than 1% of the visitors to Glacier ever get out of their cars?" He believes that people need a mentor, someone who wants to walk and can teach them how. And that is a role in which Del now shines. Just one month after he retired from Concordia College he received a call asking him if he knew of the NCT. He did not, but quickly learned that it was only a half mile from his home! "Just 1,2,3 and I was appointed to the board," he chuckled. He served 6 years on the board, part of that time as VP. He says this was a "wonderful experience," to meet people from other parts of the trail. Del also helped get the permission for the NCT to
pass through Itasca Lake State Park. While he was still at Concordia he directed an international program called Learning Villages, which is immersion language teaching for children aged 7-17. He now brings all the wisdom from his personal and professional experience to the trail community. Hikers or trail workers come to immerse themselves in the Minnesota woods and Del is there with a large heart and home to help them on their way. Since the NCT is 250 miles north of Minneapolis, where many club members live, finding lodging and meals can be inhibiting to work crews. The Bjerkness home is open, and allows
folks to spend their time working on the trail. He has trained many Boy and Girl Scout groups, including a group of 85 from South America, in trail work. Del wants to pass along his enthusiasm and knowledge, and to teach young people the importance of trails.
Read about the Concordia Language Villages, where Del served as director before retiring.