New two-mile section of the North Country Trail

NEGAUNEE TOWNSHIP -- The North Country National Scenic Trail spans 4,600 miles and passes through seven states from New York to North Dakota.  

Some new trailblazing is being done locally.  About 20 volunteers are spending their weekend sawing and chopping and raking so that a new two-mile stretch of the North Country Trail is ready for foot traffic.

"What we're doing this week is we're having what we call a Volunteer Adventure.  So we have people here from Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Lower Peninsula and, of course, here locally," said Bill Menke, the Regional Trail Coordinator.

The volunteers are all passionate about hiking and know their trails. 

Right now the North Country Trail stops around Little Garlic Falls, so that means hikers have to trek along County Road 502.

"And that's a very dusty, hot kind of route.  So we're trying to get them off of that road and into the woods where, of course, it's more beautiful, but also better hiking conditions obviously," Menke said.

The property actually belongs to the Plum Creek Timber Company, and the trailblazers have had nothing but cooperation from the owners since the project began.

Lorana Jinkerson is the President of the North Country Trail Hikers Chapter in Marquette.  She's in charge of the new trail construction.

"I have hiked all of our trail, all 120 miles that we have.  Plus I have hiked some other pieces in the U.P. and also in New York, North Dakota and Minnesota," said Jinkerson.

She can add two more miles to that total.  Lorana was my guide as we hiked over her new path on Thursday. 

The volunteers hope to finish the new two-mile stretch by Tuesday morning, then it will officially be part of the North Country National Scenic Trail.