Ice Age Trail Dispatch
July 2014
Annual Potluck and Meeting At Chippewa Moraine on Monday, June 21
Hard to believe, but summer is half over (and it hasn’t started), so it is time for our annual chapter Potluck Picnic and Meeting at the Chippewa Moraine. The event begins promptly with dining al fresco at 6 PM on the terrace of the Obey Interpretive Center on Hwy M near New Auburn.
Bring a dish to contribute, your own beverage, and your own plates and utensils. It’s a potluck, so be sure and be there before 6 to set out your contribution!
After dinner, we’ll have a brief conversation about what’s been happening and what’s coming up. Bring your calendars!
This is a great opportunity to get together informally, share stories of our summer adventures, and enjoy the spectacular mid-summer view from atop the Interpretive Center ice-walled lake plain. Don’t miss it.
Coming Up: Corridor Planning Open Houses
The corridor planning process for selecting a route for the trail from Cornell to Taylor County is proceeding well. The finishing touches are being placed on the various reports and analyses, but one important benchmark comes up in August: another round of public open houses. You may recall the first open houses last July in Cornell and Stanley, and this will be a similar pair of events. We have a great speaker lined up—the mayor of St Croix Falls will talk about the impact of the trail on communities in its path—and we’ve added a look-n-see hike for participants at Cornell.
Here’s the schedule:
Saturday, Aug. 2 — Cornell Open House — Hike at 10, Open house from 12-3 — Cornell High School
Thursday, Aug. 7 — Stanley Open House — Open house from 5-8 — Stanley High School
You’re invited to attend the events, especially if you live near the respective locations. There’s room for volunteer greeters at both events, as well as hike guides at Cornell. We may also need to shuttle hikers from the high school to the CC parking lot, so drivers are especially needed! Interested? Email us.
Shirts, Sweatshirts, Hats, Trail Guidebooks
We’ve got all the items you need for wearing, gift giving, way-finding. A fresh stock has arrived and your sizes and colors are most likely available. Have you seen the women’s T’s? Have you refreshed your Ice Age Trail Atlas with the new edition? (Tip: the new edition is cheaper because it snaps into your old map binder, or you can buy a binder of your choice. If you do, get one with a clear envelope on the front and back to insert the covers of the Atlas, and you’ll never mistake it for the scrapbook!)
All this cool stuff is available today at the Obey Interpretive Center. You can browse at the Potluck Picnic. The Interpretive Center is open 8-4, Tuesday - Sunday.
PS: Sales of this cool stuff provides nearly all of the money in our chapter budget.
State of the Trail
We have not received any notices of trail obstructions or other issues as a result of the rather extreme rainfall this summer, but there are areas where the trail is wetter than normal or standing water where it is rarely seen. We’ve done some repairs on the Firth lake boardwalk, and some mowing, but plan for possible wet spots, aggressive growth, and plenty of mosquitos. Interestingly, if your poison is deerflies, they are in short supply (so far) this summer, so boogie on!
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