The first “Top-Trail” as an official partner of the North South Trail.

20. February 2023

The first “Top-Trail” as an official partner of the North South Trail.

One year ago, something happened that we from the North South Trail Initiative didn’t expect so soon.

On February 4, 2022, the Region Hannover and the “Naturpark Steinhuder Meer” granted official permission for flagging the North South Trail.

Exactly one week later, we received another email that we were equally delighted about. The responsible project coordinator of the TOP TRAIL OF GERMANY dem „Heidschnuckenweg“, Ms. Vogt from the Landkreis Harburg, responded in a wonderfully friendly email that, from the perspective of the responsible parties, there is generally no objection to a cooperation between the Heidschnuckenweg and the NST.

However, this would need to be discussed internally.

Two more months passed, and on April 21, 2022, we received the official approval from the Landkreis Harburg and all parties involved in the Heidschnuckenweg that we are allowed to display the logo of the North-South Trail alongside the official HSW logos.

This permission is subject to some conditions, which we are more than happy to fulfill. After all, it’s not every day that you get a partner like the responsible parties of the Heidschnuckenweg. For example, the NST logos are to be placed on insert signs, which will then be inserted into the existing signposts of the Heidschnuckenweg. For the entire route of the Heidschnuckenweg, about 250 of these insert signs are needed, spread across a total of 223 kilometers of hiking trails.

Since none of us could afford the estimated cost of around 1,200 euros “out of pocket,” Soulboy spontaneously launched a crowdfunding campaign.
Thanks to the support of many backers, the required amount was raised over the course of the past year, allowing us to commission the “Max Jacob Schilderfabrik GmbH” with the production of the needed signs in January 2023. (Fun fact: Even this contact was arranged by Ms. Vogt from the Landkreis Harburg.)

The newly produced signs for the Heidschnuckenweg

After the specifications were coordinated with Max Jacob Schilderfabrik, the signs were produced and delivered at the beginning of February to the NST trail warden and trail angel “Hobble”. He reached out to several trail angels along the Heidschnuckenweg to inquire if they would assist with the signage.
As a result, a total of four trail angels and NST enthusiasts volunteered and offered their support. It’s really wonderful how an initiative by like-minded individuals can work!

“Monarch Falter” (Anne), “Sheriff Meyer” (Sven), “Dr. Action” (Jens), and “Fix_und_Foxi” (Fabian) will now hike their respective sections of the Heidschnuckenweg in the coming weeks and months, attaching the signs along the way. Thank you for that!

The first signs were then attached to the trail markers of the Heidschnuckenweg on February 20, 2023, as can be seen in the attached photos.