Events

The Jordan Valley 45° Chapter will be hosting a hike on June 21, 2025. We are starting summer with an out-of-chapter venture into the Grand Traverse Chapter’s section of the NCT. We will gather at 9:30am and head out by 10:00.

We will meet at the NCT crossing on Starvation Lake Rd. (mile marker 687.5.0), at the snowmobile parking lot just east of the trail crossing. From there we will hike about 7.0 miles south to Pickerel Lake (694.0, Pickerel Lake State Forest Campground). If 7 miles is a bit too far for you, we can post cars at the 4-mile mark on Twin Lake Rd. (691.0).

Trail Crossing on Starvation Lake Rd.
44.851619, -84.932345

See map and mile markers here.

The terrain is a nice mix of hills and level terrain, and all wooded. Along the way we will pass MacNeil Pond (688.25) and Eagle Lake (689.0).

Following the hike, lunch will be served at Ellen & Dave Whitehead’s on Little Twin Lake (Just a 3-mile drive from the hike’s end on Sunset Trail). Ellen will provide brats, hot dogs and baked beans. Please bring a dish to pass. Somehow, we will ferry people back to their cars.

As always, dress for the weather, bring water, snacks and a camera. Bring a friend but, if you can’t, one can be provided.

Questions? Call or text Bob Courtois at 248-212-6699 (put your name in the text so he knows who it is). For this hike, you can also call Ellen Whitehead at 231-350-9057.

The Jordan Valley 45° Chapter trail runs from Starvation Lake Rd. (near Mancelona) to Kipp Rd. in Harbor Springs, about 79 miles of awesome valleys, hills and wooded trail. Monthly hikes are usually on the 3rd Saturday of the month. (The Grand Traverse Chapter’s section of the NCT covers over 92 miles, beginning at Beers Rd., south Hodenpyl Dam, and continues northeast to Starvation Lake Rd.)