North Country Trail Twofer!

We had gotten away from working toward the North Country Trail’s Hike 100 Challenge, so we would change that by sandwiching our week with two hikes that would add nine more miles toward our total. This past Sunday, our hiking group would hike 5.96 miles (officially 5.6 miles) from South Laird Road, doing an out-and-back to the west with a turnaround at the Sturgeon River. This is the segment where Julie, Jennifer, and I had a bear cross our paths last year.

There is a good deal of variety on this segment as you start off hiking near a former CCC camp and a large beaver pond impoundment. In this area, we would come upon a boardwalk that will clearly be a future project.

After crossing through a fairly level forested area, the trail drops down to Boulder Creek. This stream crossing is very easy to do this time of year, but you should have a plan for how to stay dry if you intend to hike it in the spring or winter.

After crossing Boulder Creek, the trail enters into an older growth hemlock forest that is quite beautiful.

The trail includes a few climbs and descents as it works its way to the crossing at the Silver River.

After crossing the Forest Service Road near Silver Mountain, the trail descends to the Sturgeon River by way of a narrow ridge.

We would take a break at the bridge over the Sturgeon River where we would spot a large snapping turtle in the river.

You can see my GoPro video from the hike on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at this link:

I slept in on Monday morning instead of swimming in order to meet up with a contractor at the Chassell Heritage Center along with three other board members. I would spend time preparing for that evening’s township board meeting where I would report out for the planning commission.

Tuesday, I would start out by drafting the minutes from the April Hancock Trails Club board meeting and then Julie and I would go over to the Chassell Heritage Center where a good-sized group of our board would be present to clean the building for the upcoming season which for me involved a lot of mopping.

That evening, I would attend the Hancock Trails Club board meeting where we were bringing on three new board members, including Mare Grohowski, Brett Hauswirth, and Jesse Wiederhold. We would also elect officers, including me being re-elected as the board’s secretary.

Wednesday would start with a 2,500-yard swim at MTU and then I would meet up at Maasto Hiihto with fellow board members Mark Roberts and Nate Laakonen. Mark and I would remove silt fences and load out cedar that that had been cleared from the trail corridor from the construction of the 90-foot boardwalk and 24-foot bridge over Swedetown Creek. We would also permanently affix the bridge sign which we had propped up in the snow during the winter season.

Nate would use the mini excavator to remove stumps from the Creekside Connector Trail and to ditch along it. Upon returning home, I would cut grass ahead of our next guests’ arrival.

Thursday would be spent working on some of my deliverables from Tuesday’s Hancock Trails Club board meeting and meeting up at Centennial Park to discuss action items ahead of July’s Strawberry Festival. We would attend a 60th anniversary party that afternoon in Dollar Bay where I had some really interesting discussion with retired MTU professor Jim Pickens around the topics of finding a market for white pine, sturgeon, and trout fishing, but more about those discussions at another time.

I would then attend the Recreation Committee meeting where we would meet with Chassell resident Andrew Kemper about the discussion we have taking place with the MDNR about decking/railing the Pike River Bridge on the rail-trail. More on this discussion as we take additional steps.

I would run four miles on the rail-trail on Friday morning at an 8:41/mile pace instead of swimming. I had been laying off from running recently due to the wildfire smoke from Manitoba, but the conditions were much improved that morning. As I was getting close to wrapping up, I stopped to talk with our friend Mary who informed me that Dale Peterson had passed away downstate. Dale, who had stepped down last year from our planning commission, had been a big advocate for Chassell Township roads with the Houghton County Road Commission and a key person in the development of the township’s 5-year road plan along with its continuous monitoring. I enjoyed my working relationship with Dale and sincerely appreciated the acknowledgement he always showed me for my work on behalf of the township. He will be missed.

Julie and I would then drive down to the Baraga Plains to put in a 3.4-mile hike on the North Country Trail to the Plumbago Creek Bridge and back. The skies were a bit threatening at first, but the rain held off.

You can see my GoPro video from our hike on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at this link:

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! Not sure? Come UP for a workcation to check it out! Learn how at Visit Keweenaw at https://www.visitkeweenaw.com/plan/trip-ideas-itineraries/workcations/ Visit Remote Workforce Keweenaw at https://remoteworkforcekeweenaw.com. Learn about those making the decision to locate here by following the Remote Workforce Keweenaw Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RemoteWorkforceKeweenaw.