January- March 2003 Issue

"How deep is the water, Mom?" One of my sons, when he was young, was obsessed with the depth of every body of water we saw. He thought I should be able to tell, by looking at the surface, how many feet of water would be above his head if he were standing on the bottom! I finally took refuge from such impossible questions in the premise that if you were swimming you only needed the top few feet and all those fathoms below you didn't matter. That concept works fine for swimming and answering childish questions, but sometimes depth is important. You would need the depth to calculate the volume of water-- important to know in a reservoir. If you were studying aquatic organisms the depth would give you important information into the types of life to expect. Depth would be important to know if you wanted to go scuba diving. If you were searching for a sunken vessel the depth of water would determine the type of equipment you would need. The deeper the water, the larger the treasure which might be hidden beneath the surface. And so on.... Of course there are tools to measure water depth (they just weren't available to a family casually driving by a lake in the car!)

What does this have to do with trail work, you ask? "Depth" has also come to mean diversity and duplication of talents; referring back to that hidden treasure analogy. A soccer or gymnastics team with depth can substitute someone of quality for a tired or injured athlete. A football squad with depth has not only the line, but special teams for kicking, receiving, etc. They don't count on only eleven players to do all the work. And a trail community needs such depth as well, diversity and duplication of talents.

Two of the featured volunteers this month bring some of those "special teams" talents to the playing field. The first is a study in "depth" himself! The point is, of course, that one person or ten or a hundred can not complete and maintain this great trail alone. But here are three staunch players on our team for you to meet.

ONONDAGA CHAPTER OF THE ADK


I needed some athletic prowess myself to twist DICK LIGHTCAP's arm hard enough to get him to agree to be featured. He doesn't think he's accomplished very much, but we disagree! Dick joined the ADK (Adirondack Mountain Club) in 1993 after his kids were grown. The Onondaga Chapter (ADK-ON) maintains 93 miles of the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) and the Onondaga branch which turns north, east of the Finger Lakes of New York. That state's omnipresent Howard Beye approached Dick about extending the Onondaga branch eastward to join the FLT to the Link Trail, a critical connection for the North Country Trail. And thus Dick became a supporter of the NCT as well. He has served on the ADK-ON Executive Committee for seven years and is also a trail steward. His grandkids have affectionately named his section "Poppy's Trail." He leads both easy and more challenging hikes to attract a variety of members. Also, he has taught several low-key courses on beginning hiking through adult education programs. He says that people often want to hike but don't know how to start. He urges people to "taste a wilderness atmosphere" without traveling far from home. He's been seen on local television promoting the trail, and speaking at public hearings on behalf of the trail. One of his favorite topics is making the trail accessible to all where that is appropriate, while preserving most of the route as a rugged footpath. He's also a history buff and researches sites of interest along the trail. Dick is a retired assistant school principal. His ability to "be ready for those kids on Monday morning" focused on trails. After trying many methods of relaxation he discovered that being outdoors, and hiking, was the only thing which rejuvenated him. "I don't know just what it is, but something affects and soothes you in the woods. It's not only the exercise but there's a psychological energizing as well," Dick observed. He finds it most satisfying to plan new trail. "I've learned to sense how a trail should be." He considers many factors: views, points of natural or historic interest, and ease of construction and maintenance as well. Here he reiterated his frustration with not being able to have miles of trail on the ground to show for his time, and tried to convince me to feature someone else. Another member aptly observed, "Dick is not one to draw attention to himself," but he coordinates the efforts to extend the Onondaga Trail to the Link Trail. The depth of Dick Lightcap's dedication and work are clear and it's good to remind ourselves that we don't just measure worth by miles of trail constructed.

NCTA HEADQUARTERS


GINNY WANTY is one of our "special teams" players. She is retired from middle school teaching and administration in Colorado. When she moved back to Michigan she contacted a friend, Margie Kindel (the NCTA's former Project Manager). Margie was looking for volunteers to help in the office and it soon became obvious that Ginny had many talents of value to the North Country Trail. Health issues have curtailed Ginny's ability to do much hiking, but those administrative skills were just lying dormant, waiting for a sunny spot in which to bloom. Ginny especially likes to solve problems and coordinate projects. One of her big accomplishments was the pulling together of the items in the Chapter President's notebook. Speaking as one of those who served both before and after the appearance of this notebook, I can attest to it's value. Having information, forms and policies ready at hand seems so obvious, yet they had previously not been collected in one place. Ginny also supervises the monthly mailings which go out to three members of each chapter with current membership and financial information. So the next time that 63 of you readers receive that envelope, be sure to thank Ginny! Another big project she is working on is the archiving of pictures and news clippings. So many of us best like to be cutting earth with a McLeod or lopping brush from the trail's edge, but clipping newsprint and maintaining that database of pictures is part of the depth of resources which can provide publicity, help recruit new members and maintain connections along our lengthy route. Ginny has also worked on the Diversity Plan and has been an editorial assistant for the North Star. She likes to learn new things, and was fascinated when she was asked to contact members of Congress for lobbying appointments. "It was an education to see how the political system works," she commented. Working with the headquarters' staff has been "a hoot!" She says the atmosphere has always been cheerful, even when so many people were crammed into the downtown Grand Rapids cracker-box of an office. She appreciates that everyone focuses on her abilities rather than the things she is no longer able to do. Ginny also has volunteered as a tour guide at the Blandford Nature Center, and as a docent at the Meijer Botanical Garden. And she's one of our vocal supporters as well, stating, "I value what the NCTA does, and I try to talk to others about the trail." Thanks, Ginny!

SUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL ASSOCIATION


JEREMY RIDLBAUER is another member of a "special team." His expertise is in collecting GPS data for the trail, and in fact that is his business. A few years ago when Nancy Odden was the SHTA director, she contacted him to help clear up a question about the route of the trail with a landowner. From there on his volunteer involvement has grown to the point where he is now hiking the entire 235 miles of the Superior Trail (the southern Arrowhead portion of the NCT in Minnesota), getting accurate readings from satellite positioning. The SHTA Director is currently Gayle Coyer, and they work closely together to make best use of the data Jeremy collects. There were places where they knew the current maps were inaccurate. There were other landowners who had questions about the trail's location. Information about features such as parking, water or other facilities of interest to hikers was not previously complete. Not only does the cartographer need this kind of data, but the SHT Guidebook is being updated with Jeremy's information as well. They hope to have complete data by the end of 2003. One of his favorite things to do is collect the data for sections of trail which are still being developed. The SHT is working on a route through Duluth, and also to extend the trail north to the Border Route in what is called the Hovland Section. Jeremy says he has been very impressed with the quality of the potential routes through Duluth. Despite the large metropolitan area, it is going to be possible for hikers to pass through the city by means of a pleasant, off-street trail. Jeremy lives in Grand Marais, MN, not exactly a bustling metropolis, yet he enjoys "escaping" to the trail, particularly to be away from the sounds of motorized vehicles. He wanted to be sure to thank us all. "Keep up the good work!" he exclaimed. Having easy access to a long-distance trail is important to him. He also commented that if he hadn't taken on the GPS project he might never have seen all of the SHT. "I'm likely to hike near home, or to go far away- to the East or West," he confessed, but those mid-distance trips would likely be passed over. When I asked him his favorite part of his participation he quickly replied with a sentiment many of us would also echo, "I like hiking; no question about it!"

So what is the depth of our team? The NCTA now has 2500 memberships- about one for every 2 miles of trail. Including Affiliates and their members there are several thousand more people supporting the NCT in one way or another. Acknowledging active volunteers is another way to measure our depth. Since it's beginning, this column has featured 86 volunteers, and we know there are dozens more worthy people waiting "on the bench." Did you notice that each of this month's volunteers were recruited by another trail person? Are you willing to ask your friends to become involved? Continuing the sports analogy begun in the introduction, we know that most athletic programs support active recruiting efforts. Or maybe we could think of this column as the "trading cards" of trail stars. Fans collect pictures and stats of their favorite players. Of course, many of our participants are shy of publicity, but we've captured a few of them here anyway. Sound silly?... maybe not. The more we get to know fellow volunteers across the length of the trail the better we can improve the team effort and increase the depth of our strengths. Whom do you know whose face should appear on one of our trading cards?

Contact me at 231-757-2205 or jhy@t-one.net to learn how to submit a volunteer for this feature.

Download a nomination form (a Word document)