2009 TRAIL
CLEARING
SCHEDULE Sept. 17-20, Thursday – Sunday, Trail Clearing,
Camp du Nord. Near Ely, MN.
Sept. 25 –
26, Friday – Saturday, Audubon Center, Sandstone, MN.
Oct.
20-23, Monday – Thursday (mid
week), Trail Clearing,
Gunflint Lodge.
Oct.
22-25, Thursday –
Sunday, Trail Clearing, Banadad Trail in the BWCA along the Gunflint
Trail.
October 20-23, Monday – Thursday (mid
week), Trail Clearing,
Gunflint Lodge trails.
Oct. 30
– Nov 1, Friday – Sunday , Trail Clearing, North Shore
Lodges.
Nov. 7, Saturday, Club Service Project,
Eastern Metro (Tentative)
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.
For
ongoing monthly trail
maintenance on the Gateway Trail system, call Pam at
651-730-5899.
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 Time-Honored 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 way
of giving back for the many hours
of enjoyment we receive from
cross country skiing. 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.
The 2006 trail clearing
schedule includes many of the
same trips we have done in
the past, plus two new events. The schedule includes weekend trips to Camp
du Nord, National Forest
Lodge, the North Shore, and
the Audubon Center in Sandstone. We are also offering a more rugged,
challenging four-day trail
clearing trip to the Banadad
Trail north of Grand Marais, as well as a mid-week trip to Gunflint Lodge.
A one-day trip to
Kathio State Park and a 3-5
hour day outing at Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan (for buckthorn
removal) are also planned.
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 club has
$1100 allocated this season for gas reimbursement for those vehicles with
two or more people.
The gas reimbursement
policy this year is $40 per vehicle with three or more persons and $20 per
vehicle with two people
for the Camp Du Nord,
Banadad, National Forest Lodge and North Shore trips. The club will
provide $30 per vehicle with three
or more persons and $15 per
vehicle with two people for the Kathio and 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.
-
Larry Koehler, Trail
Development
|
|
|
|
|
