Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
THE WORK crew adds to the boardwalk near Great Conglomerate Falls visible in the background, on the Black River on May 10. The group included, from left: Char Morgan-Herron, Cal Kangas, Ric Olson and Dave Kauppi.
BLACK RIVER HARBOR - The Ni-Miikanaake Chapter of the North Country Trail turned out to build trail boardwalk along the Black River last May 10.
The group installed 16- and 12-foot lengths of lumber to extend a bridge over a steep, muddy segment of the trail. It added another 40 feet to the 16 feet installed last fall.
The work was done on the ravine-side, just above Great Conglomerate Falls in the Black River Harbor area.
Cal Kangas, Morgan Grasso, Ric Olson, Dave Kauppi, Char Morgan-Herron, Ken Nikula, Norman Bishop and Karl Jensen participated.
The group installed drainage tile and surveyed the nearby area for future projects.
The chapter brought its tool van and met in the Great Conglomerate Falls parking lot, then hiked to the site.
Kangas, chapter president, said, "The group was very happy that the weather turned out to be excellent right from the beginning. Working right next to the falls was a reminder of the beauty that the western end of the Upper Peninsula provides to hikers and sight-seers.
"We provided 40 feet of safe walking in an area that can be very challenging. Our next goal is to extend the walkway another 30 feet to return the viewers to an area that is supported by better soil structure," Kangas said.
"A big thank you for everyone who showed up to put in a hard day's work and returned to the parking lot (one mile-plus uphill with tools.) We will be willing to return soon, hopefully, for the completion of the walkway," he added.
The work last Wednesday was on the striking stretch of the trail that extends from the Black River Harbor parking lot to Copper Peak along the west side of the Black River.
"Plunging ravines and old hemlocks, maples and ironwoods make for a challenging deep-forest experience. On Wednesday, the trout lilies on the forest floor were in full bloom," Kangas said.
The North Country Trail extends 4,600 miles across the northern U.S., from North Dakota to Vermont.
The Ni-Miikanaake Chapter helps maintain the 55-mile segment in the westernmost U.P., from the Wisconsin border to M-64.
For more information, contact Kangas at [email protected] or [email protected].
