From the earliest days of The Cisco Land Trust, obstacles seemed to encumber every move. False starts at Buck Lake, the Baltimore River, Drone Lake and the swamplands of the Presque Isle nearly broke the spirit of these otherwise spirited nomads. Thanks to a pioneering sense of determination, however, we plodded onward until the miraculous discovery of the Cisco Branch. When Dave Marut took his first steps onto the CLT tundra on February 1st, 2003, he fell in love at first sight.

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After years of dreaming of the northwoods and pining over pages 96-97 of the Michigan Gazeteer, my first glimpses of the Cisco Branch in early February were stunning.