Ice Age Trail Alliance
Chippewa Moraine Chapter
Ice Age Trail Dispatch
April 2016
Join An Early Clean Sweep On April 2
Don’t forget our early spring kick-off event this Saturday, April 2, the trail clean-sweep!
We will get the trail shipshape for spring hiking and especially the Chippewa 50K UltraMarathon. The trail run happens on April 23. As always, it is great to have lots of hands to cover as much ground as possible on clean up day, so we really look forward to seeing you. It’s not all that difficult work, so it’s a great opportunity for people of all skill levels. We will pick up branches, do a bit of spot pruning, cut up some larger downed branches and trees, and clean up any debris that may have blown in over the winter. It’s also a great chance to survey the trail and determine future maintenance needs.
If you can join us, meet at the Obey Interpretive Center at the Chippewa Moraine new New Auburn at 9 AM, and we'll head out to our work location. Wear long sleeves and pants, sturdy work shoes, be prepared for ticks, and bring work gloves, water, lunch, and a snack.
For this date, please confirm your intent to attend the workday so we can plan for you and make your time worthwhile and productive by emailing Tony Schuster.
Annual IATA Conference & Member Meeting, April 7-10!
Even if you don’t plan to attend the full conference, you can always attend the annual members meeting, 1:30 - 4 PM on Saturday, April 9. Hear the Alliance annual review and vote on board members. You can read about it in Mammoth Tales. It’s in Rothschild at the Stoney Creek Hotel & Conference Center.
With Spring Comes the Annual Outdoor Expo!
The semi-annual Midwest Outdoor Adventure Expo comes on April 22-24 this year. As always, our chapter staffs the show on Sunday, which is April 24 this year. If you’d like to be part of the fun, please let us know. Just email the chapter.
Sunday Hikes Resume on May 1
It’s May Day and the spring wildflowers are blooming, so plan to come to the first 2016 Sunday Hike. We’ll meet at 1 PM on Sunday afternoon, May 1, at the Hwy CC parking lot north of Cornell. The flowers should be blooming (hooray), and the ticks should be jumping (bah), so come prepared! Bug repellent, water, a snack, and long pants, long socks, and sleeves would be a good plan. JoAnn Parks will facilitate the group, so you can contact her if you have questions.
May Trail Improvement Day Planned For Saturday May 14
Our May Trail Improvement Day will occur on Saturday, May 14, and will be focused on the east end of the trail. Watch for our May newsletter for more details.
If you can join us, we will meet at the Hwy CC Parking Area north of Cornell at 9 AM, and we'll head out to our work location. Wear long sleeves and pants, sturdy work shoes, be prepared for ticks and mosquitos, and bring work gloves, water, lunch, and a snack.
Please confirm your intent to attend the workday so we can plan for you and make your time worthwhile and productive by emailing Jerry Sazama.
Trail Building and Maintenance Work Planned for Taylor County in May
On May 18-22, the IATA Mobile Skills Crew swings into full operation in nearby Taylor County to target a neglected section of trail. It’s not so far, and a great opportunity to pick up some state-of-the-art trail maintenance techniques and skills. This is the project that your votes last fall got funded by Michelobe Ultra. Does that get your attention? For more information and a registration link, check here.
Where to Find IATA and Chapter Event Information
The go-to place to find current information about all our chapter events as well as IATA events everywhere is the calendar at the IATA website, www.iceagetrail.org. The Calendar link is at the upper right corner of the page, or bookmark www.iceagetrail.org/events/. To find our chapter-specific events, either choose Chippewa Moraine from the dropdown menu under Event Category and click the “Find Events” button, or just bookmark this page:
Chippewa Moraine Chapter Events
See you on the trail,
Richard Smith
Chippewa Moraine Chapter Chair
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The Ice Age Trail
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