Ice Age Trail UPDATE
Late May 2013
National Trails Day Hike Planned for Saturday, June 1
June 1 is National Trails Day and we've celebrated in a variety of ways over the years. This year we plan to continue a tradition of venturing out to enjoy another chapter's section of trail. It's a chance to see some new territory that we often overlook, being focused on our own backyard.
Our destination this year is the Blue Hills, and a 4.5 mile hike between Hwys F & O and Stout Road, north of Weyerhaeuser. It's part of the Northern Blue Hills Segment, and is found on Atlas Map 11f and described on p. 309 of the 2011 Companion Guide. At the beginning, we follow a ridge above Devils Creek, and later cross the creek several times on foot bridges. There's a large wetland and a heron rookery.
After our hike, we'll have worked up an appetite to stop at a locally popular diner in Bruce which features pizza and other good things, so no lunch is needed for this trip. You will need water, a snack, and insect repellent.
We plan to meet at 8:30 AM at the Chippewa Moraine Interpretive Center and car pool from there. Registration is not required, but it's always helpful to know if you are planning on coming. Just drop an email to chapter@iatchippewa.org to let us know.
We're looking forward to this visit to nearby Rusk County and a chance to see one of the best sections in the Blue Hills, and hope you can join us to celebrate National Trails Day.
Blue Hills Trailbuilding Project Help Needed
The Blue Hills Chapter is hosting a Mobile Skills Crew weekend event at the Murphy Dam Recreation Area to do more work on an outstanding section of trail built over the past few years. The trail event is Thursday through Sunday, June 13-16. There's a variety of opportunities to help out, including everything from trail building to greeting to cooking, and our sister chapter to the north is in need of as many helpers as possible due to the limited number of local volunteers available to the chapter. A variety of duties are requested of the hosting chapter, so our help is especially appreciated with these tasks.
Contact Fred Nash, nashfd@uwec.edu or 715 353-2948 if you are interested in more information or to volunteer for one of these hosting assignments. Registration for the event in general takes place at http://mobileskills.iceagetrail.org/blue-hills-segment.
It's a good opportunity for us all to participate in a "dry run" for our own Mobile Skills Crew event, which we will host at Camp Nawakwa on September 11-15.
Fred is hosting us on our National Trails Day hike on June 1, so you can learn from him there how you can help.