Ice Age Trail Alliance
Chippewa Moraine Chapter
Ice Age Trail Dispatch
August 2020
Earn the Apple National Park Anniversary Challenge!
If you have an Apple Watch, you will certainly want celebrate by walking 1 mile this Sunday, August 30, the 104th birthday of the National Park Service. But where better to walk (or run, or hike, or wheelchair) your mile (or more) than on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, one of Wisconsin’s own National Parks?
If you make the effort, you’ll be handsomely rewarded with the award on your Apple Watch, along with an iMessage animated sticker.
Mark your calendar and plan to do it; the weather looks great!
The Mammoth Hike Challenge is Coming To Cornell Area in October!
Cornell will be one of the epicentae (plural of epicenter, right?) for the Mammoth Hike Challenge, coming in October. It is a way for all to 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.
The IAT became a National Scenic Trail by an Act of Congress which was signed on October 3, 1980 by President Jimmy Carter. More than a milestone, it elevated the IAT from a local project to the national stage, in the same breath as the universally recognized Appalachian Trail. In addition, the support of the National Park Service and continued funding support by Congress made universal standards and route acquisition possible.
The Mammoth Challenge is designed to direct hikers to not only get out and enjoy the trail, but to do discover new sections they may not have visited. Organized around Trail Communities, it makes good on the promise to the 13 communities that joining with the IATA in a partnership to promote and support the trail will bring new visitors to their communities as well.
To make the whole thing fun and exciting, a smartphone app has been developed as your guide to the experience. It not only highlights some of the interesting points along the trail (and literally lets you know as you are hiking), but it identifies a number of quirky and interesting points to check out in the trail community. In addition, you may find a special contest, or coupon to a local business.
The amount of information packed into the Cornell area section of the app is formidable, and Cornell Trail Community coordinator Vicki Christianson has done a superb job with her team of packing the app with information about the trail and the community. It will be a like having a personal guide along on your adventure!
You’ll get a limited edition patch celebrating the 40th anniversary and a certificate for completing the project. You have the whole month to work on it. You can sign up as an individual, family, or team! Once you sign up, you’ll get access to the mobile app and itineraries and travel information to enrich your trip.
Registration is OPEN for this FREE challenge: https://www.iceagetrail.org/mammoth-hike-challenge/
And learn more about our 13 Ice Age Trail Communities HERE.
Highway CC Kiosk Gets A Facelift!
The Highway CC Kiosk got a much overdue facelift, led by Vicki Christianson and JoAnn Parks. Motivated by the Mammoth Hike Challenge (see above), they re-stained the kiosk and replaced the faded and worn out maps and information with new maps and interpretive material, which should welcome and enlighten our visitors, and help trail users navigate the detour route west to the Firth Lake area.
Coping With High Water At Picnic Lake
Trail projects have resumed this summer under the direction of the Trail Maintenance Coordinator Jerry Sazama, including mowing, work on the storage garage and site, removal and storage of the bridge at Kim’s Crossing, removal and storage of some tent platforms from Camp Nawakwa, and temporary fixes to the Picnic lake bridge and some trail reroutes to bypass high water there. Crews are generally small and dispersed.
Trail Maintenance Opportunities: Call Jerry at (715) 723-6955, or email sazfam@aol.com.
See you on the trail,
Richard Smith
Chippewa Moraine Chapter Chair
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The Ice Age Trail
A Walk Through Time