Hiking the North Country Trail from Big Lake
With all the heavy lifting out of the way on the five grant proposals I had been working on over the last several weeks and after putting in a 2,500 yard swim and dropping off the Copper Shores Community Health Foundation Small Grant proposal, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and headed down to Big Lake on the Baraga Plains with our friend Jennifer to hike the North Country Trail to put in some miles toward the #hike100nct challenge.
Fortunately there is cell phone service on this part of the trail as I was able to work with Lynn on some final items related to the MDNR Natural Resources Trust Fund and Recreation Passport grant proposals just ahead of the final submission in MiGrants. I was also able to knock out a letter of commitment I would provide for the Hancock Trails Club’s Visit Keweenaw Destination Development Grant. Nothing like a little multitasking on a hike!
You can see my GoPro video from the hike on this link to the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel:
Tuesday I would send a message to Bruce Moore with Highline (Atlantic Engineering Group) via LinkedIn to introduce myself and to bring him up to speed on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw initiative and seeking an update on their plans for bringing high-speed broadband to the portion of Chassell Township they secured in the RDOF auction. I also invited him to attend our remote worker networking in Chassell on Thursday evening. I would also turn out the minutes for the previous month’s planning commission meeting and get them circulated with the commission ahead of our meeting on Thursday evening after the remote worker networking event.
Wednesday we managed to miss out on a big snow opportunity that hammered the highlands of Baraga and Marquette counties with a couple feet of snow. It wasn’t a pleasant day here so I took advantage of it by completing the quarterly Spark Grant report.
Thursday, Ben Carrigan from MDOT provided a concrete apron design that we could utilize for our entry from US 41 to the Sturgeon River Launch. He also provided input on where we should locate the sign. A good part of Thursday would be spent getting the final details in place for the remote worker networking event at the Fire Hall. I would pick up beverages and pizzas in Houghton around getting an oil change for the truck.
The remote worker networking event provided a nice opportunity for a quarter of our Chassell remote workers to get together to meet one another and to learn about projects implemented and planned by the planning commission. The Chassell Lions Club and Chassell Women’s Club picked up prospective members from the event. We will likely plan an additional event soon as a large number of our remote workers were out of town for spring break.
The Planning Commission meeting was focused on updating the commission on the grant proposals that just went out, but we also heard from representatives of Sigma Rho Fraternity who asked us to consider limiting the number of fraternities to one. They indicated that such an arrangement is in place in Hancock which is something we will investigate.
After putting in a 2,500 yard swim on Friday morning, the remainder of the weekend would be focused on cleaning up the yard in preparation for the upcoming Airbnb season. Friday evening I would fire up the new sauna stove from Universal Metal Works. The low lake level made taking a plunge a bit more of a challenge. We actually have nothing but sand in our boat-slip right now. This must mean that Lake Superior must be down close to a foot and a half due to the dry, nearly snowless, winter and evaporation due to lack of ice.
By the end of the day on Saturday, I had all the winter debris raked from the yard.
On Sunday we met up with the hiking group at the nearby Sturgeon Sloughs for a figure-eight hike around the marsh.
You can see my GoPro video from the hike at this link to the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at this link:
Tonight, be sure to watch Discovering at 7:30 p.m. on WLUC TV 6 to learn about the building of the Chassell Historic Trail!
Do you embrace winter and have the ability to work remotely? Consider locating in the Keweenaw where you will find ubiquitous natural beauty, no congestion, and lower crime! Learn more by visiting Remote Workforce Keweenaw at https://remoteworkforcekeweenaw.com and learn about those making the decision to locate here by following the Remote Workforce Keweenaw Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RemoteWorkforceKeweenaw.