Hiking for Mother Nature
Hiking for Mother Nature
| CAPTION: Layla Aslani/Daily Mining Gazette Tom Cook takes a break from his 460-mile hike at the Lake Linden Campground Friday. Cook, of downstate Owosso, is hiking across the Upper Peninsula to raise money for the Nature Conservancy. |
By LAYLA ASLANI, DMG Writer
LAKE LINDEN — A Nature Conservancy Trustee is doing more than just attending meetings — he is walking 460 miles across the Upper Peninsula to raise money for the organization.
Tom Cook, a resident of Owosso, Mich., began his hike at the Mackinac Bridge June 29 and will conclude it in Copper Harbor at the end of this week.
The hike passes through numerous scenic locations such as Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, the Hiawatha National Forest and the Huron Mountains.
On Friday, Cook was in Chassell, from which he and a friend then kayaked to Lake Linden. The rest of his journey will take him through three Nature Conservancy preserves; Bete Grise, Helmut & Candis Stern Preserve, and Mary MacDonald Preserve in addition to Gay, Eagle Harbor and Copper Harbor.
On Cook’s Web site, people can look at photos and read blog entries that chronicle his journey. Cook updates the site by calling in entries or by having his laptop brought to him by his wife or friends from downstate when they join him for portions of the hike once a week.
Also on the Web site, people can make donations in the amount of 10 cents a mile, 50 cents a mile or one dollar a mile. Another option available is to name an amount.
Before the trip started, Cook had raised $7,000 and he hopes to reach his goal of $10,000 in the near future.
Cook said one thing he has learned from the hike is the value of perseverance.
“I’ve learned if you really want to accomplish something and if you plan for it and have determination, you’ll do it,” he said.
Cook is not a stranger to hiking in the U.P. He has done trips in the Porcupine Mountains, Pictured Rocks and Isle Royale, but not as often as he would have liked, which is one of his reasons for the trek.
Besides raising money, the walk is to increase awareness of the Nature Conservancy’s work in the U.P.
“They (the Nature Conservancy) think of the Upper Peninsula as a community place, but they also understand the economy and culture,” he said.
As an example, Cook cited the Northern Great Lakes Forest Project, which is a joint project between the Nature Conservancy, the State of Michigan, the Forestland Group, and multiple foundations and individuals who provide funding for the project. The project protects 271,000 acres of forest that runs from Tahquamenon Falls State Park to Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park. The public has access to the land and forestry will continue in a manner that will maintain the land’s ecological integrity.
“I think they’re really doing a great job,” Cook said of the project. “The Nature Conservancy seems to be the group that can really look at the big picture of the Upper Peninsula. They think about preserving the land in a working economical way.”
Although Cook is enjoying the hike, he will be glad when he reaches the end.
“I’m eager to be done,” he said. “It’s been a very great trip, but it’s been a long trip. I certainly don’t regret coming on the trip, but I’m excited about accomplishing what I set out to do.”
For more information, visit Tom Cook’s Superior Adventure Web site at http://web.mac.com/tomcook.cff or Michigan’s chapter of the Nature Conservancy at www.nature.org/michigan.
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