In 1980, Congress authorized the North Country Trail as a National Scenic Trail, officially adding it to the ranks of other great American footpaths including the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail. But the trail’s story started long before all of this.
In the early 1970s, the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation (within the Department of the Interior) drafted a feasibility study for the trail: Was it possible and if so, where? They tasked Tom Gilbert with managing meetings for public presentation of the study. He became deeply involved in the route planning and was eventually named the first National Park Service (NPS) Superintendent of the North Country Trail.
Bill Menke worked with the U.S. Forest Service at the time the trail was authorized. He later worked with the NPS, then the North Country Trail Association. Along the way, Menke proved he had a knack for consistent trail management. He took the lead on developing standards – guidance and training – on how to build and maintain the North Country Trail.
In 2022, these two founding fathers of sorts sat down to record a conversation about their shared experience of helping to create the North Country Trail. You can stream the interview at northcountrytrail.org/storycorps.
New York hosts nearly 700 miles of the North Country National Scenic Trail (NCNST), the longest of the 11 National Scenic Trails in the United States, winding 4,800 miles across eight states from North Dakota to Vermont. Trail users are treated to a wide variety of landscapes, including wilderness, prairie, wetlands, mountains, farmland, and urban communities.
The NCNST is an official unit of the National Park System. The National Park Service manages the trail in collaboration with its nonprofit partner, the North Country Trail Association, and the volunteers who build and maintain the trail. Learn more at northcountrytrail.org.
StoryCorps Studios is an independent nonprofit whose mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. StoryCorps conversations are often featured on National Public Radio (NPR), and are preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress: the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered. Stories from the North Country Trail community are included in this collection. Learn more at storycorps.org.
Photo: William Menke and Thomas Gilbert (StoryCorps Archive).
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