Chief Noonday Chapter's Huge Cleanup Project of 2011

Jason Buckner, left, and Mary Rebert work to clear tree limbs blocking a path on the North County Trail near Battle Creek (photo by Aaron Ogg)

based on a news article in the Grand Rapids Press

As a result of a bad blowdown in May of 2011, the Chief Noonday Chapter has been working all year to clean up the North Country Trail through Kimball Pines.

Wind gusts between 75 and 100 miles per hour sheared the tops off dozens, if not hundreds, of trees during the Memorial Day weekend storm, and the entire character of the trail was changed. However, the volunteers were primarily concerned with making it hikeable once again.



This segment is on NCTA map MI-02

See Chief Noonday Chapter of the NCTA

Wisconsin Eagle Scout Clears NCT

based on a news story in the Northland News Center

Jonathon Gilbertson of Ashland, Wisconsin recently received his Eagle Scout award in a ceremony with two other boys. For his project Jonathan cleared the North Country Trail in one of the Chequamegon Forest's designated wilderness areas. (Could be Porcupine Lake or Rainbow Lake- the article did not specify)

"All the trees we cut out we used a cross cut saw and a hand saw. The brush was cut with little clippers and we had to haul it back by ourselves." said Gilbertson.

This segment is on NCTA map WI-02

See Chequamegon Chapter of the NCTA

24 Hours of the Chip Provides Premier Trail

NCTA volunteers Joe Chovan and Barb Pavek mowing during the 24 Hours of the Chip

if you like this article, click the Blip chiclet!
condensed from the Star of the North newsletter, Summer 2010

Barb Pavek’s dream of early hiking season maintenance in the Chippewa National Forest turned into an event of wondrous proportions. “24 Hours of the Chip” took place June 26-27. 2010, in the Chippewa National Forest (CNF), which is located between Walker and Remer, MN. The CNF manages about 72 miles of the North Country Trail.

Over the course of the two-day event, 25-30 volunteers completely cleared and mowed these miles of trail, helping to ensure that summer hikers would have an enjoyable trail experience.

The project was truly a joint venture. The National Park Service, through Volunteer Coordinator Dan Watson, provided personal protective equipment, and rewarded participants with a snappy bandana. Local businesses provided t-shirts, and their support is being duly noted by those who live nearby. The Walker Ranger District of the Forest Service made sure the volunteers had enough mowers, tools and gas. They also provided transportation to and from trailheads, and radios for communication

A central command post for check-in, rest time, lunch pick-up, and porta-johns was also maintained by the rangers. Free camping was provided for the workers.

Matt Davis, North Country Trail Association Regional Coordinator, helped with logistics Having never done anything like this before, it was difficult to know how long it would take to mow and clear sections of trail. When the variables of weather and trail conditions and various people were added in, it was amazing that things went so smoothly. Some groups finished earlier, some later than expected. Some mower breakdown issues occurred. But overall, the plan came together, and the schedule was relatively intact.

People came and went all day, both days. The trail was entirely mowed through the Chip with the exception of the few miles where logging was being done. Teams of 2-5 were assigned trail sections to mow, two mowers wide. Some went in front to clear fallen branches and other obstacles, while others pushed trimmer mowers. With two mowers, they did longer sections, tandem mowing. Smaller groups with one mower went out and back, doing shorter sections.

Tom Schackman, a CNF Ranger, commented that this is the earliest the trail had been completely mowed in the year. It’s like a walk in the park now. The plan is to make this an annual event and maintain the Chip a destination for a premier hike on the North Country Trail.

This segment is on NCTA map MN-09

See Star of the North Chapter of the NCTA

Border Route Trail Clearing Trips

trail work on the BRT (photo from the BRTA)

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a news release of the Border Route Trail Association

The "Big Blow" on July 4, 1999 wreaked havoc on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness by toppling trees along entire ridgelines and consequently had a big impact on hiking trails in the area. The Border Route Trail has been cleared of the deadfalls related to that storm, but as a consequence of the lack of a tree canopy, brush such as Alder, Poplar, Thimble, and Raspberry thrives around and in the trail bed. And of course, trees continue to fall on the trail.

Every year in the Spring and Fall, we welcome members and non-members alike, to join us to help maintain this gem of a trail. Non-mechanized trips using two-person cross-cut saws and nippers take place on the trail where it is inside the BWCAW. Mechanized trips utilizing chain saws and brush cutters take place on the other areas of the trail. Beginners and experienced people are welcome. If you don’t like the idea of running equipment, there is always a need for people to throw the cut brush and deadfalls off of the trail.

2010 Trips:
South Lake, May 6-9 or extend it to May 13 or May 16. The South Lake trip is planned to accommodate participants that wish to volunteer for more than a weekend. Thursday (6th) evening the group will drive up to the Rockwood Lodge and stay in a bunkhouse Thursday night. Friday they will hike in on the South Lake Trail clearing the wilderness section of the South Lake Trail on the way in. Camp will be set up on South Lake. Clearing will continue on the BRT with deadfall and brushing.

Partridge Lake, May 13-16. Thursday (13th) evening the group will drive up to the Rockwood Lodge and stay in a bunkhouse Thursday night. Friday they will canoe in to a campsite on Partridge Lake. Clearing on the BRT with deadfall and brushing.

Duncan Lake, May 13-16, and May 20-23. Thursday (13th) evening the group will drive up to the Rockwood Lodge and stay in a bunkhouse Thursday night. Friday they will canoe in to a campsite on Duncan Lake. Clearing on the BRT with deadfall and brushing.

trail work crew on the BRT (photo from the BRTA)

Gunflint, April 29- May 2, mechanized trip. We'll be clearing winter dead falls from the Gunflint Section of the BRT. You'll enjoy the unsurpassed scenics, great food, hot showers, and camaraderie that can't be beat. Scenic highlights will include Magnetic Rock, the Gunflint High Cliffs, the South Rim, and Bridal Falls on the BRT plus the magnificent stands of old growth cedar on the Brice-Breon Trail. This trip is open to both beginners and experienced hands.

Gunflint/ Otter Lake, April 29- May 9, mechanized trip. This trip will be a part of the Gunflint Cliffs trip for the first weekend and join the Pigeon River Cliffs trip for the second weekend. This trip will include reconnaissance of some possible new sections of trail.

Otter Lake, May 6-9. This trip leaves from the Roseville REI Thursday after work, driving up the North Shore to the lovely Otter Lake campsite on the east end of the BRT. Our work will focus on a dead-fall sweep of the entire 13.2 miles of the eastern end of the trail, with brushing as needed.

See Border Route Trail Association for complete details.

See the Kek, Clear Some Trail

2009 Kekekabic trail clearing trip (photo from the KTC)

if you like this article, click the Blip chiclet!
a news release of the Kekekabic Trail Club

The Kekekabic Trail Club has two open trail-clearing trips on the Kekekabic Trail (part of the northern edge of the Minnesota Arrowhead). Both are out of the Ely (Kawishiwi District) Forest Service Center. Typically, crews drive up and assemble the night before, staying at the new Forest Service Center, setting out early Friday morning, and paddling out of the Wilderness and driving home on Monday.

2009 Kekekabic trail clearing trip (photo from the KTC)

May 14-17 Canoe into Thomas Lake

May 21-24 Canoe into Parent Lake

To sign up, send email to mark.stange@uhc.com. Hurry, before they fill!

See Kerfoots Report Hikers Still on Kek
See Scouts Clear the Kekekabic

Help Create Spectacular Scenic Loop

Rose Lake and Rat Lake from the Rose Lake Cliffs (photo by Ed Morse)

if you like this article, click the Blip chiclet!
from Ed Solstad of the Border Route Trail Association

Join us in creating the most scenic loop trail in the Midwest.

From Tuesday, May 4th through Thursday, May 6th, we’ll be doing reconnaissance and possible initial layout for the newly proposed 2.5 mile trail connecting the South Lake and Caribou Rock Trails along the south side of Moss Lake. This proposed trail would create a loop route incorporating the spectacular Rose Lake Cliffs and Stairway Portage Falls on the Border Route Trail, the many scenic overlooks on the Caribou Rock Trail, plus the historic South Lake Trail built by the CCC in the 1930’s. It would without a doubt be the most scenic loop route in the entire Midwest.

This trip will be a part of the BRT Gunflint Cliffs maintenance trip for the first weekend and the Pigeon River Cliffs maintenance trip for the second weekend.

Thursday evening, April 29th - Sunday evening, May 9th

Lodging: Bunkhouse & Cabin at Gunflint Lodge, Car Camping at Otter Lake

Trip Cost: $120 (Consult trip coordinator for cost w/o Transportation or fewer days)

Difficulty Level: Be able to bushwhack 4 to 5 miles per day through thick woods, brush, and deadfall over semi-rugged terrain.

For more information, contact Ed Solstad

Surface Upgrade - NY Canal Way Trail Segment

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from the Central New York Chapter Newsletter, October 2009

The Canal Way Trail, Old Erie Canal State Park segment, is scheduled for a major upgrade of its stone dust surface and related needs, plus some information kiosks at key points that will provide both an overview of the trail segment and local historical information. A three sided kiosk is planned for installation in Canastota near the Canal Town Museum on land owned by the Canal Corporation.

Reportedly, the engineering specifications for the needed work were bid, with results that were at or below initial project cost estimates. Completion in 2010 is expected. The only concern could be a delay attributable to ongoing budget gap issues at the State level

Central New York Chapter

Border Route Maintenance - East

the Border Route Trail heads north from Otter Lake Rd. at the northern end of the Superior Hiking Trail (photo by JHY)

if you like this article, click the Blip chiclet!
from Ed Solstad, Mechanized Maintenance Coordinator, Border Route Trail Association

We're pleased to announce that all portions of the Pigeon River Cliffs section of the Border Route Trail from The SHT / BRT Otter Lk Rd Junction through to McFarland Lk have now received both a dead-fall and a brushing sweep between mid-May, 2009 and mid-September, 2009. All it needs now is more users to help keep it open. This is where all of you come in.

If you've avoided hiking the BRT because of the usually exaggerated reports of impenetrable brush and dead-falls every few feet, take heart. While it is still not up to Hennepin Park standards, we want to keep it that way on purpose. The Pigeon River Cliffs Section has many of the same characteristics as the BWCAW sections such as magnificent overlooks, stands of old growth forest, and solitude without having to deal with wilderness restrictions, permits, lack of road access, etc. We guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

Pigeon River Cliffs on the Border Route Trail (photo by JHY)

We highly recommend that you give it a try this fall while the recent maintenance is still fresh. If you can't make it out to hike this fall, consider joining one of the BRT maintenance trips next Spring.

Speaking of maintenance trips, we're planning a non-mechanized trip to the East Rose Lake Section on Oct. 2nd through the 5th. Contact Chris Fothergill at 651-454-7030 or csfothergill@gmail.com for further information. There are also two mechanized maintenance trips to the Gunflint Section on the weekends of Oct 3rd & 4th and Oct 16 through 18th. Contact Ed Solstad at 612-822-0569 or esolstad@pressenter.com.

We welcome anything that will help to keep this trail open and usable be it as simple as a getting out and taking a day-hike to one of the easily accessible overlooks to a longer overnight, or for the truely hardcore, a through-hike. What the is most in need of however is maintenance in the Wilderness Sections. One way of improving the situation would be to establish a network of interested people who actually live closer to the trail. Trying to run an adequate trail maintenance program from the Twin Cities is certainly not the most efficient way of doing things. If you can provide anything along the lines of sugestions, contacts, actual manpower, etc. pleas contact us. The trail thanks you. In the meantime, get out there and hike.

Border Route Trail
Contact Ed Solstad at 612-822-0569 or esolstad@pressenter.com.

Color Blindness and Trail Blazes

a properly painted North Country Trail blaze

excerpted from the Finger Lakes Trail e-group, Sept 7,8, 2009

Recently, on the Finger Lakes Trail e-group there was a discussion about trying to follow trails if one is color blind. Some of the branch trails of the FLT system are blazed in orange, and these blazes are nearly invisible to those who are red-green color blind. The problem primarily affects men, with somewhere between 5 and 7% of the population being unable to discern red and green. Other, much less common problems with color perception occur. About one-half of one percent of women are red-green color blind.

Many trails are marked with colors that contain large amounts of red or green pigment, so in the discussion that followed several people offered suggestions for how to see trail blazes when there are problems discerning colors. Three different fellows in the group admitted that they have difficulties with this, so the situation does come up.

Someone said that it is a problem for him to tell the FLT white-blazed main trail from the blue-blazed side trails. At a junction he’s never sure if he’s continuing on the main trail or headed for a campsite or water source.

Another person mentioned that in Europe sometimes blazes have stripes so that the colors can be seen. That doesn’t seem like a very good solution. It’s often hard enough to get trail maintainers who will keep a trail blazed with one color, let alone coming back when the paint is dry to add a stripe!

Another man said that he always hikes with a non-color blind friend.

Lynda Rummel, the Finger Lakes Trail Conference Director of Trail Quality offered several good ideas. First she identified two parts of the challenge: “picking out the manmade blazes from the natural blobs on the trees, and secondly, identifying the color of the blaze, once the blaze has been seen”

She offered an interesting aid for color blind hikers. She suggests getting several pieces of vinyl siding (or something similar), and cutting them into 2x6" rectangles, which is the size of an FLT, or North Country Trail, or Buckeye Trail blaze. Then paint each one with the official colors of the blazes in the areas where you hike. The local trail maintainer should be able to help you with this. When these dry, write on each one with a permanent marker what color it is.

When you are hiking you can hold these color swatches up to a blaze to see which shade is the better match.

Linda also suggested using other clues, which are good advice for anyone:

• At junctions, ask yourself, "Which trail has more use?" The main trail is likely to be well worn, where a side trail will be narrower and less compacted.
• If the blazes are not the precise rectangles they are supposed to be, is there some similarity between the wrong-ness of the blazes. Perhaps they tend to trail off down the tree. Noting such details can help a person tell a blaze from a blob.
• Become familiar with GPS and use it

On the other hand, trail maintainers can help by

• making sure that blazes have crisp corners (a rectangle is not a normal shape in the woods so it can be spotted)
• touching up often so the blazes are fresh and bright.
• Bbeing sure to paint over blazes on abandoned trail sections with black, gray or camo paint so that they really are gone.
• adding reassurance markers following junctions which may be disks, emblems or whatever symbol is preferred by the trail manager.

See Guide to Painting Trail Blazes

CNY Chapter Does Drainage Maintenance

Jill Borgstede and Mary Dineen begin work on a culvert inlet near Old County Road. Drainage here is compromised by improper runoff from the north section of the former Old County Road. (photo from the CNY newletter)

from the July newsletter of the Central New York Chapter of the NCTA, used with permission

The former Lehigh Valley RR branch line that connected Canastota and Cazenovia was built about 1871— most of the line was dependent on a complex culvert system, one that had three levels of culverts in some locations, to maintain system integrity. The section between the former Old County Road and adjacent to the trailhead on Oxbow Road has many culverts—including a number that the Chapter installed in 2003. West of Nelson Road, there are major drainage issues where the railroad was at the bottom of two drainages. Leaves, earth slides, and other debris clog the surface drainage— hence, the periodic need to perform clearings. Work was done on June 25th— we will be doing some follow-up work shortly.

Volunteers removed leaves and other debris from a ditch that is part of a drainage to the north. Leaves and other debris were moved off the trail. As soon as we get some good drying weather, we will use a member owned, highpowered backpack blower to clear a good share of the leaves away from crucial areas. Culvert openings were cleared with shovels.

We shall return again— the work is never-ending.

See Central New York Chapter of the NCTA

Sure I Can Paint Blazes, Just Give Me a Hammer!

by JHY

If you need a good painted blaze, just get a bigger hammer! Um...

Walking my trail section yesterday, I had to shake my head at this. Yes, I did it. Why? Actually the answer is simple. We replaced nail-up blazes on our section with painted ones. So there was a nail-up blaze here that I removed. But it was a good place for a new blaze, so I painted one in the same place.

But it does look a little strange!

See How To Paint Blazes for some help on the right way to mark the North Country Trail.

See you in a few days. I'm going hiking again.

Opportunities to Help Clean Up Ice Damage to SHT

from the Superior Hiking Trail Associaton

Our biggest task for maintenance on the North Shore for May and July will be to clear the SHT from the devestating ice storm that hit the trail in March. Volunteers can sign up to help on the following dates. From the meeting point, we will be creating crews of 2-3 people to go out with certified SHT chainsawyers to buck up trees and clear the trail.

You must pre-register in advance by the Thursday before each work date so we know how many people to expect. Email the SHTA Office at volunteer@shta.org or call at 218-834-2700 to sign up.

Participants should dress for work: wear sturdy boots and long sleeve pants and shirts. Bring hard hats, safety glasses, gloves and ear protection if you have them -- if not they will be provided. Bring a lunch and beverages. The day’s work should be done by 3:00-4:00.

Saturday, May 2nd and Sunday, May 3rd, 8:30 a.m.: Meet at the main building of the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland, Minnesota

Saturday, May 2nd and Sunday, May 3rd, 9:00 a.m.: A second group of trail clearers will meet at the Britton Peak trailhead parking lot and will concentrate on clearing the sections from Temperance River State Park to Lutsen.

Saturday, June 6 and/or Sunday June 7, National Trails Day: SHTA will be hosting free camping Friday the 5th, Saturday the 6th and Sunday the 7th at Tettegouche State Park and providing a free picnic supper on Saturday for all volunteers.

Duluth Maintenance Work Projects: Larry Sampson will be continuing as the Duluth Trail Maintenance Supervisor in 2009. Larry has several projects planned such as putting in small re-routes, adding steps to steep trail sections, and adding water bars to parts of the trail for erosion control. Larry has a small group of dedicated volunteers who help him out with projects, but he would like to increase his numbers of volunteers. If you would like to be on Larry’s volunteer email list, please email him at LBSampson@msn.com

Contact Gayle Coyer, Executive Director, SHTA.
See Coyer Views Ice Damage on SHT from the Air

Eight NCTA Volunteer Adventures - 2009

a workshop on how to build trail using natural rock

from the North Country Trail Association

Interested in having a meaningful time in the outdoors this summer? Love trails, but never thought much about how they got there, or who takes care of them? Volunteer Adventures may be just right for you!

The North Country Trail Association is planning eight different opportunities this summer to improve the trail, in different states.

The first one is coming right up, April 15-19, in Ohio. In partnership with the Buckeye Trail Association volunteers will build new trail in the Scioto Trail State Forest in the Appalachian foothills of south central Ohio. The original Scioto Trail was an Indian trail that followed the Scioto River from northern Ohio to the Kentucky hunting grounds. The trail was later used by settlers who came upriver from Portsmouth to the first capital of Ohio, Chillicothe. During this project we’ll have the opportunity to take a break and visit some nearby historic and prehistoric sites of international significance.

Next, May 16-20, in the Douglas County Forest of northwestern Wisconsin volunteers will build new trail near the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. The crew will be staying in a trail crew work camp situated beneath tall red pines. This 20 acre stand of pines is surrounded by over 4,000 acres of what is locally known as Pine Barrens. Essentially, this is a mix of grass and shrub prairie, which is managed for prairie loving species--primarily the Sharp Tail Grouse.

June 6-10, volunteers will work at McConnells Mill State Park, Pennsylvania. This project focuses on improving the trail with rock work along Slippery Rock Creek. The park encompasses 2,546 acres of the spectacular Slippery Rock Creek Gorge. Created by the draining of glacial lakes thousands of years ago, the gorge has steeps sides and the valley floor is littered with huge boulders and is a national natural landmark. A gristmill built in the 1800s is open for tours.

Trail rehabilitation in an area with steep glacial hills, waterfalls and scenic overlook will occur June 22-26 in Morgan Hill State Forest, New York. Morgan Hill State Forest is located in rural Central New York State south of Syracuse. It is a mixed hardwood and conifer forest with glacial ridges, waterfalls and valleys with steep slopes. It is one of the prettiest and most scenic parts of the Onondaga section of the Finger Lakes Trail and North Country Trail in NY

The Peter Wolfe Chapter of Michigan's western Upper Peninsula will host a crew June 25-29. The work site is in a varied area of pine plains, wetlands, small lakes, bedrock gorges, and rocky hills. Lake Superior is about ten miles away. Vegetation is diverse, with numerous pine, spruce, balsam fir, sugar maple and other hardwoods, wetland shrubs, blueberry, etc. Construction of a multi-span, 140-ft. bridge over a wetland and beaver pond, as well as construction of new NCT near the bridge site is the focus of this project.

Lonetree Wildlife Management Area is the largest wildlife management area in the State of North Dakota, is the headwaters of the Sheyenne River, and hosts 32 miles of the North Country Trail. Work will include mowing the trail, improving the trail signage and marking, and better defining the trail tread in places. The dates for this project are July 5-10.

Over 400,000 acres of the Chippewa National Forest are actually lakes and wetlands. Timberwolves, eagles, towering pines and vigorous aspen are just part of the picture. In fact, the Chippewa National Forest is home to the highest breeding population of Bald Eagles in the lower 48 Unites States! Visit the Chip August 24-28 and help with mowing the trail, improving the trail's signage and blazing, and better defining the trail tread in places.

September 17-21, a project near Marquette Michigan at the Little Garlic River is the final adventure of the year. Work would include constructing up to 5 miles of new trail by clearing debris, including some slash from logging operations, creating switchbacks and doing some benching up steep grades, developing the corridor and blazing.

See the North Country Trail Association Volunteer Adventures for more details.

Trail Clearing Opportunity on the Kek

from the Kekekabic Trail Club

Each spring, volunteer groups dedicate blocks of time to the difficult effort of clearing the trails of the Minnesota Arrowhead. Most of the trip leaders immediately filled their trips with individuals from prior trips and personal contacts All but two of the Kekekabic Trail Club Trips have already been filled for 2009. The remaining opportunities are:

May 22–25 (Drive up May 21 from Minneapolis)
NW section of the Pow Wow Trail, base camp on Horseshoe.
Contact Mark Stange 612-508-6695.]

May 29–June 2 (Drive up May 28 from Minneapolis)
Mid-western section of the Kek, starting some distance east of Disappointment, TBD based on another group's finish.
Contact Jason Johnson 651-645-7505

See Kekekabic Trail Club
See Spring BRT Clearing Schedule

Pettisville Ohio Students Help Spring Clean Buckeye / NC Trails

based on a news article in the Toledo Blade, "Pettisville local schools students take shine to history," by Janet Romaker, Mar 31, 2009

Each year students from Pettisville, Ohio schools spend a day doing service projects. Most of the effort goes to the historic Sauder Village in Archbold, Fulton County, in the northwest corner of Ohio. But just south of their county the concurrent Buckeye and North Country Trails come from the south to Defiance and take a sharp turn to the east on the towpath of the former Miami-Erie Canal.

Students asked if there was anything they could do to help the trail. The Buckeye folks recalled the good job that Pettisville students did two years ago and organized the group of 80 young people to clear portions of the towpath between Napoleon and Grand Rapids. "The previous work ethic of the students opened up the Buckeye Trail opportunity for us this year. We talked about that with the kids, the reason why that happened," teacher Mr. Reid said.

"As students see results of their hard work, "it gives them a sense of accomplishment and they are still learning," he added.

See Buckeye Trail Association

Wampum Says Thank You with Big Cleanup Day

some of the tires pulled from the woods (photo by Wampum Chapter)

submitted by Dave Brewer, co-trail work coordinator, Wampum Chapter

Removed from the woods over the course of the morning of March 28th were over 180 discarded tires, two couches, numerous other pieces of furniture including two television sets, hundreds of feet of canvass hose, a bathroom sink, and sixty garbage bags of assorted small trash items. It was one of the dirtiest trail work sessions that Chapter has ever conducted, with all of the volunteers becoming intimately familiar with what "tire mud" smells and looks like as it covers clothing, hands, and faces. But, as a result, the infamous "mosquitoes of Watt's Mill" will find a lot fewer breeding places this spring and summer.

As permission is granted for new sections of the North Country Trail to be built across public and private land and construction begins, illegal trash dumps are sometimes encountered. The Wampum Pennsylvania Chapter found itself looking at piles of garbage and dozens of discarded tires as it added three-tenths of a mile of new hiking trail through the woods at PA Gamelands 285 and the Dennis and Cathy Garrett property at Watt's Mill last summer and fall. To pay back for the gift of being able to take the trail off of a road walk and into the woods, the Chapter decided to do something about all of that trash littering the landscape.

a volunteer carries tires from the woods (photo by Wampum Chapter)

Saturday morning, sixteen volunteers from the Chapter, the Independence Conservancy, Pittsburghcares.org, and the local community spent four hours cleaning up that section of new trail, the hillside between it and Watt's Mill Road, and along the banks of the North Fork of Little Beaver Creek. Trash bags, work gloves, and safety equipment were provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation free of charge as the clean up was registered as a Great American Clean Up of PA event. PennDot is also picking up the trash that was retrieved from the woods and piled neatly along the road, and will haul it away free of charge.

At noon, after the troops were retrieved from the woods and hands and faces were cleaned somewhat, a light lunch was provided for all. The morning was capped off by a local resident stopping and thanking the group for all the hard work done to get the area cleaned up. A rewarding finish!

See more about the Wampum Chapter
See more pictures from the work day

Spring BRT Clearing Schedule

from Ed Solstad

The western portion of the Border Route Trail is likely to become an official segment of the North Country Trail when the Arrowhead Reroute is approved by Congress. The Border Route Trail Association in partnership with the US Forest Service announces the following clearing trips on the Border Route for 2009.

Destination	Dates	Type	Days	Cost
Wilderness Trips
McFarland Lake	May 7-10	Car Camp	3	$65
McFarland/ East Pike	May 7-10	Canoe In	3	$65
Pine/ Pike Ridge	May 14-18	Canoe In	4	$65
Pine/ Pike Ridge	May 14-25	Canoe In	11	$110
Pine/ Pike Ridge	May 21-25	Canoe In	4	$65
Clearwater East	May 14-17	Canoe In	3	$65
Clearwater Central	May 21-25	Canoe In	4	$65
Clearwater East	May 21-25	Canoe In	4	$65
Mechanized Trips
Otter Lake	May 7-10	Car Camp	3	$65
Otter Lake	May 7-17	Car Camp	10	$90
Otter Lake	May 14-17	Car Camp	3	$65

The tax-deductable trip fee covers transportation from the Twin Cities (MN), food, and group equipment including canoes and tools. Trips leave from the Twin Cities the evening of the listed start date and return the evening of the listed end date.

Mechanized trips use chain saws, power brush cutters and other tools on sections of the trail outside of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Wilderness trips use hand tools to work on the portions of the trail that are subject to the BWCAW regulations. Those wanting to use two-person saws or chain saws are required to attend a full day of Forest Service saw training on Saturday, April 18 or Sunday, April 19. The Forest Service Training is not a requirement for trip participation as most trail work is done with bow saws and brush cutting tools that can be used by all volunteers.

For more information visit the Border Route Trail Association web site or contact John Garbe or Ed Solstad.

See Border Route Trail Association
Contact John Garbe
Contact Ed Solstad

Dump Site in Wayne NF Removed

An Army reservist watches fellow soldiers remove trash from a large dump on the Forest.

excerpted from National Forest Success Stories "Military Assists the Wayne National Forest", by Pam Blackburn, used with permission

The Wayne National Forest found a new partner that brings a lot of muscle to the table - literally. The US Army Reserve 779th Engineering Company came on board as a new partner and took on two monumental tasks.

The Army Reserve had been looking for a real-world training area for their equipment operators. The Wayne National Forest, as with most forests, was looking for ways to accomplish more tasks with lower budgets each year. Although they were neighbors, neither had given much thought to what they could offer each other.

The first task was an illegal dump that, according to local accounts, had been on the Forest for 60 years or more. The dump also flowed over onto private land owned by an absentee owner. The Forest contacted the owner and obtained permission to access his land to remove the dump from his property also.

During that time, the Forest met with several local law enforcement agencies to target any new dumping at the site. From that effort, approximately 35 new cases were prosecuted. Days before the cleanup effort, the Forest spoke with local residents and landowners to inform them of the dump removal.

Several residents recalled the dump being burned over the years "when the trash would get too high." Other comments included thank you and promises to protect the work that the Forest had done.

The dump was adjacent to the North Country National Scenic Trail and an eyesore for the Marietta, Ohio, section. The runoff from the dump emptied into the Little Muskingum River. The Little Muskingum River is one of the five cleanest rivers in Ohio. In their Forest Plan, the Wayne said they would protect the Little Muskingum River.

As the cleanup effort began, the Forest had no idea what they were undertaking. By all estimates, the trash was 40-50 tons with many tires strewn throughout. When the excavator was removing the first layer, it was like a spring. All of the layers underneath expanded with the release of the weight of the top layer. Each time another layer was removed, more layers would appear.

By the end of the first day, it became apparent that this site had been severely underestimated. By the end of the first day, the Forest had filled all of the rolloff dumpsters that had been ordered. We had also removed 45 tires. By the end of the weekend, we had removed 75 tires and 60 tons of trash.

The second work weekend on this site occurred in October. The dump cleanup crew was in full swing. With six rolloff dumpsters on hand and a semi trailer provided by the Ohio EPA for tires, we were ready to make progress. At the close of the first day, it was apparent that we were going to be close to filling our rolloffs again.

Waste Management came through with a container switch-out on a Sunday morning. They had seen what we were doing and wanted to help however they could. By the end of the second work day, we had come close to accomplishing this huge task. Two small areas of trash remain and a few loose tires. After that, it's just stone placement and time for the land to heal itself. All but the last can be scheduled. Our part will occur in March.

All in all, we removed approximately 160 tons of trash and over 400 tires. (We lost count when we got the human chain working well.) We also were able to repair a trailhead access road, protect a watershed, work across boundaries with our neighbors, and find a new partner.

By the end of both of these projects, [the neighbors] shook each of our hands and thanked all of us for our work at the site. There were also many promises of protecting what we had done. The Army security detail that spent the night at the dump site said that a runner had come past them on the trail early in the morning and yelled out "thank you for cleaning up that mess" as she passed.

Superior Hiking Trail Reports 2008 Accomplishments

one of the many spectacular views to be had from the Superior Hiking Trail (photo by J Young)

extracted from the Superior Hiking Trail 2008 Annual Report

Although not 100% official yet, for all practical purposes the North Country Trail is concurrent with the Superior Hiking Trail along Lake Superior's north shore.

Gayle Coyer, SHT Association Executive Director reports, "We had a great season on the trail." On National Trails Day, June 7, the completion of 6.2 miles of new trail near Two Harbors was celebrated. Also completed were 8 miles of trail between Two Harbors and Duluth. Over 65 volunteers contributed almost 1000 hours of time to accomplish these tasks.

Bridges are an ongoing maintenance issue on the SHT due to narrow gorges with very high water at certain times of the year. Bridges at Mission Creek, Cascade Creek, and Indian Camp Creeks had to be replaced in 2008. A large rain event in June damaged a number of bridges, moved puncheon and felled trees. Cleanup from that storm took a great deal of time.

Ongoing maintenance of trails is always a time-consuming project. Volunteers performed maintenance and submitted inspection reports on 60 trail sections, 82 campsites and 48 trailheads.

Keep in mind that the SHT is 200 miles, and the overall NCT is 4600 miles. One can begin to get a sense of the scope of dedication and time involved in creating and maintaining this trail. The SHT has their inventory and work well-organized.

Coyer concluded, "I want to thank all of our members and friends. We really appreciate your support and look forward to another great year!"

See Minnesotans, Support the Arrowhead!

Kekekabic Trail Clearing Dec 13, 2008

from Martin Kubik, see all the pictures at BWAC on Smugmug

BWA Committee trail crew members met at the departure point on Snowbank Lake public landing. As on many trips, enthusiasm ran high early in the day. First, we conducted a map and compass training session.

a knee wrecker

First, a "knee wrecker". A knee wrecker is any treefall either high off the ground and/or so thick that a backpacker has to twist his/her body when climbing over. This type of strain can lead to knee injuries. Our job is to minimize the risk to hikers but cutting down treefalls like these. The Forest Service supplied cross-cut saws.

We passed through some areas of "backpacker's nightmare." Without tread and/or marking the clear cuts would be extremely difficult (read: "impossible") to navigate. Thankfully, flagging pointed the way.

sometimes the trail is easy to see in winter

Some segments of trail are very distinct and easy to follow in the winter. Some times the trail is much more obscure. After the day's work the crew headed out. It took us 2.5 hours of traveling in the dark to reach the public landing on Snowbank. We took the Kubik "shortcut" to Parent Lake, and aiming-off bearing to Snowbank portage in a blinding snow storm. The crew performed admirably under duress and we reached the landing at 7 pm.