You could call him Pathfinder, and like the legendary figure of colonial times he spends much of his time on the trail.
Arlen Matson, local retired grade school teacher, has been involved in much -- if not all -- of the labor building 90 miles of the North Country Trail that bisects the Grand Traverse region.
"I started working on the North Country Trail (NCT) back in the mid-1980s before the Grand Traverse Hiking Club (GTHC) was even formed," said Matson, who is the club's administrative trails coordinator.
"I saw an article on the newly proposed hiking trail, which said they needed help in establishing the trail through Michigan. They were looking for local people to help build and maintain the trail, and that was before clubs were formed to take over portions of the NCT and perform the task.
"I contacted them, and a fellow showed up on my door step offering to teach me how to build trails and care for them. He was elated that I had landscaping tools, which was a hobby of mine.
"Off we went," he laughed, "but thankfully, it wasn't long before the club concept came along. We started out as individuals, but a club maintaining portions of the trail made a lot of sense. Out club maintains around 90 miles of the trail."
Originally, the NCT followed not only scenic woodland trails and two-tracks, but was also routed along roads when private property would have to be crossed. As much as possible the trail followed state and federal land corridors to stay off roads, but that wasn't always possible. The push has been to get the trail off roads.
"Nobody likes hiking along a road, especially if you're on a multi-day hike along the trail," Matson pointed out. "You like scenic woodlands, lakes, rivers to hike along; a place that's peaceful and quiet. You're out to get away from civilization, and it's been our goal to make sure that the portion of trail we maintain meets those criteria."
It's been a labor of love for the avid hiker who has put in an incredible number of hours over the last 20 years working and helping to develop this national scenic trail in our portion of the Wolverine State.
The total trail, which runs from the Adirondacks in New York to Lake Sakakawea State Park in North Dakota, will be around 4,500 miles when it's completed. Michigan with around 1,000 of those miles covering both peninsulas has the most trail miles of any state.
Matson wouldn't venture a guess on the total number of hours he's put on the trail over the years, saying only, "It would probably be astounding to even me."
The GTHC just completed rerouting a section of the trail this summer near Mesick to get it off long stretches of county roads. The new section of trail goes from the Marilla Road trailhead down to Woodpecker Creek, just below the Hodenpyl Dam, and then follows the edge of the beautiful Hodenpyl Pond as it lazily backs up to M-115 a little over six miles north of the dam. The reroute was built on Consumers Energy land, which has been a proactive supporter of the NCT. It will not be open to mountain bikes since it is on private land.
The new section of trail, following the irregular edge of the pond, is around eight miles of hiking. It's a beautiful trek of fairly easy hiking -- no large hills or deep ravines to cross like you would find hiking the old section of trail north of Marilla Road. There are many great views along the pond of the hardwood and pine studded hills that rise above the far shore. The tall Yuma hills that tower over the village of Mesick to the south can be easily seen. Fall colors will be outstanding along this new section of trail. On calm, sunny days the mirror-like surface of the pond, reflecting the colors, should be astounding. It will be a visual delight.
To get this new section of trail cut into the landscape and blazed as well as constructing two foot bridges to cross creeks and wetlands and build two information kiosks, required something like 1,400 hours of work by trail crews, headed up by Matson and Dick Naperala, according to club president John Heiam.
"They did an astounding amount of work this spring and summer to get this new section completed in time for the fall color season," he said. "At times they would have 20 to 25 people helping build the new trail and bridges, and they worked right through the rainy periods. It's a big volunteer task."
And this was a typical summer for Matson and the trail crew. Over the last few years they have rerouted other various portions of the trail to get it off roads and the horseback riding Shore-to-Shore Trail, which makes a lousy hiking trail.
Of the 90 miles of trail overseen by the GTHC there's only about two miles or less of paved road left to follow. It's all been rerouted to scenic woodland corridors with much of it following the scenic Manistee River Valley. East of Mesick the trail meanders along tall bluffs overlooking the river valley offering panoramic views of up to 20 and 30 miles.
Thank goodness for someone like Matson and the many other local volunteers that has put in endless hours making this section of trail one of the crown jewels along the cross-country hiking pathway.
Like the legendary Pathfinder figure in James Fennimore Cooper's masterpiece, Matson's contributions will be long remembered by generations of future hikers.
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