Ice Age Trail Alliance
Chippewa Moraine Chapter
Ice Age Trail Dispatch
July 2022
Chapter Picnic at the Mill Yard Park - July 18th
Our annual Picnic and Chapter Meeting will be held at Mill Yard Park by the pavilion. This is a great time to get together with others from our chapter. We will be providing pizza from Moonridge Brew Pub and Pizza in Cornell. Please bring your own beverages. Bring camp chairs so we can sit close to the river if the weather is lovely. There will be a very short chapter meeting after supper to share current news. Feel free to bring your canoe or kayak if you’d like to take a paddle on the Chippewa River after the meeting. It’s a beautiful spot to watch the sun go down.
Please contact Vicki Christianson at chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org if you plan to attend. This will help us with the headcount for how many pizzas to order.
Solstice Hike with Girl Scouts at Camp Nawakwa
Last year’s Solstice Hike was canceled due to severe weather, but this year the weather was beautiful! The Chippewa Moraine Chapter partnered with the Girl Scouts to hold an evening hike at Camp Nawakwa on June 21st. The Girl Scout leadership handled the registration and location, while the Chippewa Moraine Chapter provided volunteers to lead the hike around Picnic Lake. After the hike, the girls got to go swimming at the camp waterfront with Sherry Jasper acting as a lifeguard. Thank you to Richard Smith, JoAnn Parks, and Barb Flom for serving as hike leaders.
We have also had chapter volunteers leading hikes at the Obey Center as part of Think Outside. Barb Leetzow led a hike for the Fall Creek 4th graders in early June as part of their visit to the Obey Center. Jerry Sazama led a hike for 7th and 8th Graders at Straight Lake State Park earlier this summer. Let me know if you have led a hike for 4th graders for the Think Outside program.
First Sunday Hike for AUGUST 7th
Together, Let’s walk to help the homeless veterans in OUR community.
For our First Sunday Hike in August, we will be partnering with the Bohemian Lodge on Sunday, August 7th. The Bohemian Lodge is sponsoring the hike to raise funds for homeless veterans. Hikers are asked to make a freewill donation to the Bohemian Lodge for their fundraiser. The hike will be held on the beautiful Chippewa River segment. Hikers should meet at the CC parking lot by 11:00 a.m. Wear good hiking shoes or sturdy tennis shoes. Long pants tucked into your socks are recommended as protection from ticks. We hope you will join us for this hike to support our local homeless veterans.
If you plan to hike with us, contact JoAnn Parks at jjjparks123@gmail.com. Hope to see you there.
Warrior Expedition Thru-Hikers
Warrior Expeditions: Warriors Hike Program is a non-profit outdoor therapy program that supports veterans transitioning from their military service by hiking all 1,200 miles of the Ice Age Trail. The Chippewa Moraine Chapter has been asked to sponsor a group of 3 Veterans as they hike across the state of Wisconsin beginning in June. Our chapter voted to provide a hotel room and dinner at Dylan’s Dairy. We will also provide laundry service. The Cornell American Legion is onboard with us. They will sponsor the Warrior Hikers with breakfast at Sam’s Place. We are sponsoring Timothy Amerine (US Army-deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan) from Wrightstown, WI, Michael Bruggink (US Army-deployed to Iraq) from Sheboygan, WI, and Gregory Skyles (US Navy-deployed to Iraq) from Buckley, WA. They will begin their hike in June at the Western Terminus.
UPDATE: Gregory Skyles from WA dropped out of the adventure due to family issues. The other two hikers started out at the western terminus but ran into problems with blisters early on. They took a couple of days off to heal up and came to the decision that they would reverse their plans and start from the Eastern terminus instead. This means that we anticipate them arriving sometime in August. Look for an update in the August newsletter
Trail Work Day - Blue Hills - Tuesday, July 19th
For our July Trail Work Day, we will be heading up to Rusk County to help the Blue Hills Chapter with their trail maintenance. This is an annual project to support our neighboring chapter to the north. We will be meeting at the Obey Center between 7:00 and 8:00 and will get done about mid-afternoon. If you are interested in joining us for this trail improvement project, please contact Jerry Sazama at sazfam@aol.com. We will contact any volunteers who sign up to give them the exact meeting time as soon as that has been set. Hope to see you there!
If you would like to participate in this project, but do not have a Volunteer Agreement yet, please see the information below to get your Volunteer Agreement. You don’t need trail work experience to participate. We usually work in teams of three, and newcomers can be paired with experienced volunteers. It’s a great opportunity to learn. Plan to wear sturdy shoes or boots, long pants (tucked into wool socks), long-sleeved shirts, and a hat. Bring a pair of work gloves. (If you don’t have any, we have a supply of gloves). Bring water and some snacks and lunch.
Volunteers Needed - Mobile Skills Crew - Rice Lake Preserve
July 13-17, 2022
Have you ever thought about volunteering on a Mobile Skills Crew Project? Now is your chance! Don’t be fooled by the name, this project is not near Rice Lake, WI. The Rice Lake Preserve is south of Hatley, WI (@20 miles east of Wausau). The MSC crew will be building a 900-foot boardwalk over a white cedar bog and a DCA (dispersed camping area) on a one-mile segment. We have 3 DCAs on our list for this fall, and the Firth Lake Boardwalk next year, so this would be a great opportunity to learn how it's done.
To read more about this MSC project, go to https://www.iceagetrail.org/event/trailbuilding-rice-lake-preserve-marathon-county/ You can select which dates you want to participate. There is a camping area for camping overnight.
Volunteer Agreements - New Volunteers & Renewals
All new volunteers need to have a completed Volunteer Agreement for the National Park Service in order to participate in our trail improvement days or to volunteer at events. They have a new form on the Alliance Website. All members that already have a Volunteer Agreement are asked to fill out this new updated form if your form was received prior to January 2022. Thank you to those of you who have taken care of this already.
To access the new Volunteer Agreement, here is the link: https://www.iceagetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/Packet-Individual-301a-exp-10_2024.pdf. Please fill out the fillable form and email it to Daniel_Watson@nps.gov.
NOTE: The fillable boxes are on everything except the signature line. You can fill in the rest of the document and then print it off. Sign and then scan your document and save it to your computer. Then send it to Dan Watson as an attachment. Or simply mail the signed document via snail mail. Dan’s address is on the directions page that comes with the form. Another option: Dan says you can type your signature in the date box next to your signature line.
When you send in the Volunteer Agreement to Dan Watson, he will sign it and return it to you. Please print a copy for yourself or save it in your files. Email me at chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org to let me know that you have received your new signed Volunteer Agreement.
2022 Chapter Events - Come join us on our chapter hikes and trail work days!
We have the following events on our calendar for 2022. Come join us for our hikes, meetings, and trail work events!
July 18: Chapter Meeting and Picnic at Millyard Park in Cornell
July 19: Trail Work Day in the Blue Hills
August 7: First Sunday Hike - Location Change: Chippewa River Segment.
We are partnering with BetterLife Lodge 141 (Bohemian Hall).
They are holding a hike to benefit homeless veterans.
August 20: Trail Maintenance Day
September 4: First Sunday Hike - Chippewa Moraine Segment
September 17: Trail Maintenance Day
September 19: Chapter Meeting and Pizza Party
October 1: Parade of Colors Hike - Chippewa Moraine Segment - with shuttles
October 8: Mammoth Challenge Hike - Chippewa River Segment
October 15: Trail Maintenance Day
November 21: Annual Chapter Meeting 6:30
See you on the trail!
Vicki Christianson
Chippewa Moraine Chapter Coordinator
chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org
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The Ice Age Trail
A Walk Through Time