Our Stories
Trail scouting underway in Minnesota!
Taking advantage of a recent wave of relatively mild January weather, NCTA chapter volunteers are out and about scouting a lot of new trail in Minnesota!
Specifically, the Arrowhead Chapter has recently scouted new trail route southwest of Grand Rapids in Itasca County that is part of the Arrowhead Re-route. This route links up with a proposed re-route of the NCT within the Chippewa National Forest near Remer that branches off from the existing trail near Spring Lake and heads northeast toward Grand Rapids. They had earlier scouted and flagged some new trail route north of Grand Rapids on lands owned by the University of Minnesota and on lands owned by Arbo Township along the Prairie River. Some of this will be built later in 2010.
Elsewhere in Minnesota, volunteers with the Laurentian Lakes Chapter have been out scouting new trail route in and around Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge. Hopefully, part or all of this route will be built later in 2010 using Legacy Trail Grant funds. Tamarac will be an especially significant stretch of trail because of a combination of factors, including:
- The outstanding scenery, wild nature feel, and wildlife watching opportunities found within the Refuge are unsurpassed in the area.
- The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service doesn’t allow motorized vehicles so the normal conflicts we encounter with renegade ATV trails will be avoided. This allows hikers/snowshoers to find a rare thing – year round peace and quiet in the woods.
- The local staff of the Fish & Wildlife Service are very NCT friendly, have been very helpful in route development, and are willing to help the Laurentian Lakes Chapter build and maintain the NCT within the Refuge!
- Tamarac’s XC ski/hiking trails should be very suitable for the NCT route. They are not nearly as wide as other XC ski trails (e.g. in Itasca St. Park), offering a more primitive hiking experience.
Thanks to these NCTA volunteers for going out and laying the groundwork for expanding the NCT in Minnesota!