Voices from the Trail

Rendezvous on the Raquette

As we admired the sprawling view down Long Lake toward Round Island, I looked around the parking lot and did some mental math: nine paddlers, with an average age of 12, all cramming their gear into dry bags and saying…

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NFCT auction supports stewardship, programs for 740 miles of waterways

This fall, paddlers and outdoor enthusiasts have a chance to bid on amazing experiences and gear, for a good cause: supporting Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) stewardship and programming. NFCT’s online auction will take place Nov. 14 to Dec. 1….

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Dream job

I spent quite a bit of my free time last winter applying for internships. I thought I had my summer planned in Minnesota — until I found the posting for a GIS intern with the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. It…

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In good company

Trailwork is teamwork. Just about every stone step I placed this summer weighs more than I do. I learned this lesson early on, after an attempt to move a stone solo deposited the rock in the opposite direction of where…

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Making magnificent maps

This summer was a truly extraordinary, applicable, and often difficult experience. Never before had I camped out for any longer than a week at a time. Going two whole months without a bed was challenging! However, to be able to…

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135,000 pounds

135,000 pounds. That’s my calculation of how many pounds of stone, timber, and gravel our stewardship crew and its partners moved, installed, and fretted over this summer.  Physics tells us that work is “a measure of energy transfer that occurs…

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Grateful for landowners who support public access

Some of the best outdoor adventures rely on the right mix of public and private lands. The board and staff of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail are eternally grateful to our landowner partners in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New…

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