Ice Age Trail Alliance
Chippewa Moraine Chapter
Ice Age Trail Dispatch
May 2022
CHAPTER MEETING: MAY 16 - IN PERSON
The Chapter Meeting will be held May 16th at 6:30 at the Cornell City Office. The Cornell City Office is located on the corner of 3rd and Main Street. The meeting room entrance is on 3rd Street. If you plan to attend the meeting, please contact Vicki Christianson at chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org. Masks are recommended.
WILD FLOWER HIKE - SUNDAY MAY 1ST - STILL ON!
Despite predictions of rain, 6 hikers participated in the Wild Flower Hike on the Chippewa River Segment on May 1st. Flowers were beginning to bloom along the trail, and water levels were high in the gully and the Krank Preserve creek. The rain held off for the whole hike, and everyone had a great time. Welcome to our new chapter member, Marty Prince, who filled out a membership application at the hike.
Outdoor Edventure - Ice Age Trail Booth a Big Success
Cornell held their annual Outdoor Edventure event at the Mill Yard Park on Sunday, April 24th. Pat and Julie Kosher worked at our Ice Age Trail booth. Besides sharing information about the Ice Age Trail, they helped children to decorate a walking stick. Our booth was very popular. Julie and Pat had a long line of kids who were excited to decorate a walking stick provided by the chapter. Hopefully they and their families will take their walking sticks out for a walk on one of our trails. Maps were available for families. Thanks to trail workers who helped to collect walking sticks for the event during our work days.
Trail Work Day - Dumke Lake-Ice Walled Lake Plain May 21st
Our Chapter Trail Work Day for May is on Saturday, May 21st on the Chippewa Moraine Segment. We will be working on improving the view shed at the bench overlooking Dumke Lake (located at the camera icon on the map above). The white areas on the map there show the location of an ice-walled lake plain. We are looking for a big crew of people to help clear the brush and small trees that are blocking the view of Dumke Lake, as well as the trail through brush on the ice-walled lake plain.
Thank you to all the volunteers that have renewed their Volunteer Agreements this year, and especially to all the new volunteers that have filled out Volunteer Agreements for the first time. We would love to meet you at this trail event and get to know your trail work interests and skills! If you are interested in volunteering for this trail work day, please RSVP to Vicki Christianson at chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org to get on the crew list. We will be meeting at the Obey Center at 8am on Saturday, May 21st. Hope to see everyone there!
IAT-U: Crew Leader Training - June 9-12
The Alliance is holding an Ice Age Trail University event at the Iola Winter Sports Club in Iola, WI. Participants will learn the four-step tread construction and how to teach it to others, risk management practices, team building, and safe and effective use of hand tools and trail assessment techniques. This course is for new crew leader applicants and is an excellent refresher course for those with crew leader experience.
If you are interested in knowing more about this event, click on this link for the IAT-U Crew Leader Training: https://mailchi.mp/iceagetrail/2022-crew-leadership-training-announcement?e=612cc08959 Register by May 20.
MSC Trailbuilding Event: Rib Lake Segment May 18-May 22
The Mobile Skills Crew is holding a trailbuilding Event on the Rib Lake Segment in Taylor County May 18-22. They will be building four brand-new miles of Ice Age Trail. This is the first phase focusing on corridor clearing to prepare for more work in September. This is an excellent project to get acquainted with trailbuilding basics. You do not need experience to participate. The Mobile Skills Crew will teach volunteers how to build trail. You can participate in some or all the days of the event.
If you are interested in participating in this event, more information is available at this MSC link: https://mailchi.mp/iceagetrail/2022-rib-lake-may-project-announcement?e=612cc08959 Register by May 11.
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 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.
If you are a new volunteer, please read the following documents before signing the agreement:
Cover letter from Eric Gabriel NPS https://www.iceagetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/Final-Cover-Letter_Eric.pdf
IATA Volunteer Risk Assessment Tool https://www.iceagetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/Final-IATR-VIP-Risk-Assessment-Tool-002.pdf
Covid19HA https://www.iceagetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/Final-COVID19-JHA-v2.pdf
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!
May 1: First Sunday Hike on the Chippewa River Segment
May 4: Natural Resources Foundation Hike (For NRF members only)
May 16: Chapter Meeting 6:30
May 21: Trail Maintenance Day
June 4: National Trails Day Hike - Harwood Lakes Segment
June 18: Trail Maintenance Day
June 21: Solstice Hike with Girl Scouts at Camp Nawakwa
July 18: Chapter Meeting and Picnic at Millyard Park in Cornell
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