Environment

North Country Trail hikers set 100-mile centennial goal

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By KEVIN DUFFY
Capital News Service
LANSING — Joan Young of Scottville is a frequent hiker on the seven-state North Country National Scenic Trail. Soon, she’ll have a special patch to show for it. Young, who over the years has logged every one of the trail’s 4,600 miles, is participating this year in a 100-mile hike challenge sponsored by the North Country Trail Association, headquartered in Lowell. The challenge marks the National Park Service’s centennial and will reward those who complete it with a commemorative patch. “I already have nine miles on the trail for 2016,” Young said last month.

Environment

924-mile trek tracks cross-state trail plan

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By NICHOLAS BLASKOWSKI
Capital News Service
LANSING – Chris Hillier of Taylor is on a hike of historic proportions. The former Army medic and current cardiovascular technologist said he’s logged more than 6,000 miles of hiking since 2011, mostly across Michigan. His new journey takes him from Belle Isle in Detroit to Ironwood, a Western Upper Peninsula city bordering Wisconsin. The 924-mile hike will make Taylor the first to tackle the trail route proposed by Gov. Rick Snyder last November. The plan, to be funded in part from the Natural Resource Trust Fund, would connect existing pathways – about 70 percent of the route – with new trails to showcase the state’s waterways, diverse forests and wildlife.