Trail Development

1980's Trail Clearing at Camp Northland

2011 TRAIL CLEARING SCHEDULE

Sept. 8-11, Thursday – Sunday, Trail Clearing, Camp du Nord. Near Ely, MN.

Sept. 30 – Oct. 2, Friday – Sunday, *New Trip*
, Suomi Hills, North of Grand Rapids, MN

Oct. 18 - 21, Monday – Thursday (mid week), Trail Clearing, Gunflint Lodge.

Oct. 20-23, Thursday – Sunday, Trail Clearing, Banadad Trail in the BWCA along the Gunflint Trail.

Oct. 21 - 22, Friday - Saturday, Audobon Center, Sandstone, MN

Oct. 28 – Oct 30, Friday – Sunday , Trail Clearing, North Shore Lodges.

We hope to add one or two shorter trips. Keep an eye on the on - line club schedule.

See the September/October Loype or Current Activity Schedule for trip details.

Fall Trail Clearing Projects

Hard work, money, time and the coordinated efforts of many are needed to build and maintain both the Twin Cities Metro and outstate ski trails.

Trail clearing activities are a wonderful way to:

spend time in the woods in a most glorious season
make new friends and visit with old friends
give new members an opportunity to be introduced to the club and make friends before the ski season starts

For answers to questions regarding the North Star Trail Development Program see the Trail Development policy.

How to Sign Up for Trail Clearing

See the Current Activity Schedule for day trips and for details of overnight trips, including leader contact and sign-up information. Some trips have limited spaces so call the leader and mail them a Trip Reservation & Waiver Form to reserve your spot as soon as possible.

Funding Trail Work

Please donate to the Trail Fund when you join or renew your membership or mail a contribution to: NSSTC Trail Development Fund, PO Box 4275,

St Paul, MN 55104. Your donations are much needed to:

purchase and maintain bow saws, nippers, pulaskis, pole saws, and pry bars
purchase and maintain safety equipment for participants
purchase building supplies for shelters and bridges
reimburse gas money for carpools to work locations
support ski trail development through contributions to projects such as lights for night skiing and launching snow making at Wirth Park in Minneapolis.

Benefits of Donating to the Trail Fund or Joining a Work Crew

Enjoy a free fall weekend in the north woods. Resorts provide food and lodging for overnight trips (must be a NSSTC member to participate). The club provides food for day trips.

Take pleasure in the wonderful trail systems Minnesota and Wisconsin have to offer that are due in part to the NSSTC. The club's efforts can be enjoyed on the Vasaloppet trails, North End Ski Trail near Telemark, North Arm trails near Ely, Sunfish Lake system in Lake Elmo, Gunflint area trails, Chippewa and Superior National Forest trails, and many more.

Fall Trail Clearing: A Tradition of Our Cross Country Ski Club

Trail clearing has historically been an important mission of the North Star Ski Touring Club. In Minnesota we are able to enjoy cross country skiing on a beautiful system of trails because of the trail development work of the early North Star members.

Trail clearing is a great way to get involved and meet people in the club. It involves maintaining existing trail systems by trimming back underbrush and limbs and cutting down the occasional small trees that have encroached onto the trail. We use saws, pruners and other hand equipment supplied by the club. Trail clearing provides a valuable service and a feeling of accomplishment for having done something worthwhile.

On a weekend trip, we will typically spend six to eight hours working on the trails on Saturday and four hours on Sunday. Weekend lodging and meals are provided by the host resort or organization. The gas reimbursement policy this year is full per vehicle with three or more persons and half per vehicle with two people for the Camp Du Nord, Banadad and North Shore trips. The club will provide slightly less per vehiclefor the Sandstone trips.

Your trail clearing trip leaders are looking for eager participants to help continue this time-honored tradition of the club. Please review the schedule elsewhere in this newsletter and set aside some time to participate. Remember that most of these trips do fill, so please call the leader(s) soon to reserve your spot.