Project to connect trails to be celebrated

BY DENNIS CHASE
dchase@record-eagle.com

June 04, 2009 07:15 am

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TRAVERSE CITY -- It was three years in the works, but a spur now connects the Vasa trail system to the North Country Trail.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the occasion is planned for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Guernsey Lake Campground.

The spur provides users a 27-mile trail through state forest from the Vasa trail head to Kalkaska.

"We're calling that segment the Traverse City to Kalkaska trail," said Dick Naperala, a trail coordinator for the Grand Traverse Hiking Club.

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, a trail advocate, will join representatives from the Grand Traverse Hiking Club (GTHC), North Country Trail Association (NCTA), Traverse Area Recreational Trail (TART) and the Kalkaska Area Recreational Trail (KART) at the National Trails Day event.

Those four groups worked together to link a network that now extends from Suttons Bay to Kalkaska.

"This (spur) connects all the big trail systems in our area," said John Heiam, president of the Hiking Club.

"We're bringing people and communities together," added Naperala,

Heiam said the Hiking Club began work on the spur after completing a trail project in the Mesick area. The big hurdle was securing approval from the DNR.

Heiam said he's hopeful the trail will be put to good use by hikers and mountain bikers.

"It will probably take awhile for people to discover it," he said.

The segment also includes a re-route near Kalkaska, where a developer granted an easement through private property, Heiam said.

Following Saturday's ribbon-cutting, Heiam will lead an hour-long hike while Jay Warren will lead a bike ride. A pot-luck picnic is planned for 11:30 a.m. at the boat launch. Those attending are asked to bring a dish to pass. The Hiking Club will provide hot dogs.

Veteran hiker and author M.J. Eberhart will be part of the festivities. Eberhart is in the process of thru-hiking the North Country Trail, which extends from North Dakota to upstate New York. Eberhart, known as the Nimblewill Nomad, started his hike on March 22 and has been working his way east. He's expected to reach Kalkaska today.