Ice Age Trail Alliance
Chippewa Moraine Chapter
Ice Age Trail Dispatch
November 2020
Attend The Chapter Annual Meeting Virtually on Monday, Nov. 16, at 6:30 p.m.
Our chapter’s Annual Meeting will be held online this year on Monday, Nov. 16, beginning at 6:30 p.m. We hope everyone can attend and take part in hearing about the chapter activities, plans for the next year, approve a budget, and elect new officers.
In order to attend, you need to register to get the Zoom link. By now, you have likely used Zoom (or someone in your household has), so you should be good to go. But if you have never done it, we are happy to help you get on board. Please send an email to chapter@iatchippewa.org and provide a time for us to call and help out.
The annual meeting is open to all, but voting requires current IATA membership. If you would like to attend, please request your Zoom link.
Shortly before the meeting we’ll provide the reports to those who have registered so we can spend our time answering your questions.
Register by Nov. 8 for the Regional Rally
The annual Regional Rally is also going to be a virtual affair, and will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 6 p.m. Now that you’re a whiz at Zoom meetings, you can give it another go. For this meeting you have to pre-register in order to be given the Zoom login information, and you need to do that by Sunday, Nov. 8. Pre-register at this link: Register NOW
This event will be an excellent opportunity for new members to learn what it takes to create a world-class hiking trail and get involved locally. It will be a fantastic way for chapter leaders and seasoned members to celebrate the IATA accomplishments of 2020 and look ahead to 2021.
A New Look For Volunteer Hours Reporting
We welcome Libby Stupak as our new Volunteer Hours Coordinator. She’ll be looking for your records of volunteer hours every quarter. In order to make her job easier and make sure your hours are recorded, please follow these steps.
1. All regular volunteers should keep a personal log of their hours. There are two ways to do this: on paper or on your computer. For most people, printing the paper form will be the way to start. Download your Individual Hours Log here: Word format | Excel format.
2. You do not need to record your hours on your personal log sheet if you have signed in on an event sign-in form, or witnessed Jerry adding your name to his event log form.
3. If your personal log sheet is empty at the end of the quarter, just roll it over to the next quarter. If you’ve made entries, then send or give the sheet to Libby Stupak (stupakls@hotmail.com). You may wish to transfer the entries to an electronic form and email it, or scan it and email the scan. These reports should be sent in on the first of October, January, April, and July. (Mark it on your calendar or reminders. Note that the deadlines on the forms are the chapter deadlines, not yours!)
If you can’t print out your form, let us know so we can get some paper copies to you.
Monty the Mammoth Was A Hit In Cornell
Lots of people enjoyed meeting Monty in Cornell to kick off the Mammoth Challenge. Cornell was one of the 13 Ice Age Trail Communities featured in the Mammoth Hike Challenge. Many hikers took part in the Challenge and helped celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail by hiking 40 miles on the trail AND visiting three of our Trail Communities.
Firth Lake, Kim’s Crossing, Picnic Lake Updated
As a Last Hurrah for the season, the intrepid maintenance team led by Maintenance Coordinator Jerry Sazama performed another round of magic on the Firth Lake boardwalk, giving it a new lease on life. Chief magician Bruce France supervised the project, along with building a new bench at Kim’s Crossing (shown above). Also, ongoing work to relocate the trail and bridge continued at Picnic Lake. All in all, an active collection of improvements recorded to wind down the season. Kudos to all who endured the limitations of the pandemic to keep the trail in good shape for those who found it a refuge during the storm.
Thoughts Till Spring
The Alliance won’t be having a winter rendezvous, and the spring annual conference will be all-virtual; our chapter snowshoe hike likely won’t happen either. But who could have imagined that a pandemic would shut down so much of our chapter work, yet inspire so many to enjoy the fruit of all our hard work.
The trail teaches us that change is constant and there’s always another calendar shot around the next bend. The glacial topography is at once ancient, yet in the scheme of things, quite recent. Trail structures and trail routes come and go, and so do volunteers. We treasure them all for the time and talent and friendship they share with us. As do I treasure all I have come to know during my time as chapter coordinator, which is now winding down. Thank you for all your support and guidance during the past many years, and to those who take the hiking poles to continue the journey. My best to them on their journey, and may it be as rewarding as it has been for me.
See you on the trail,
Richard Smith
Chippewa Moraine Chapter Chair
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The Ice Age Trail
A Walk Through Time