Ice Age Trail Alliance
Chippewa Moraine Chapter
Ice Age Trail Dispatch
November 2022
Chapter Annual Meeting and Elections: November 21
The Chippewa Moraine Chapter of the Ice Age Trail will hold their chapter meeting on Monday, November 21 from 5:30-7:00 at the Chippewa Falls Public Library. Join us to learn about all the work that has been accomplished in our chapter this year, and what is on board for 2023. We will be holding elections for the following officers: Secretary, Trail Maintenance Coordinator, and Vice Chair (Assistant Coordinator). These will be for two year terms.
We have one position open for the Assistant Coordinator. This person would work with the Chapter Coordinator on the office work side of things, such as the monthly newsletter, postings on the Ice Age Trail website, and committees. The Assistant Coordinator would step in if the Chapter Coordinator was unavailable. If you are interested in serving the chapter in this capacity, please contact Libby Stupak at: stupakls@hotmail.com
Volunteer RAMP UP - November 9th - Virtual
The Volunteer RAMP UP, formerly known as the Regional Rally, will take place virtually on November 9th from 6-8 pm. Join the Alliance for this event and learn about what has gone on this year throughout the trail and get a sneak peak at next year’s trail building season. You will also meet some new staff at the Alliance, including the new Executive Director (a familiar face to many).
You can register for the event on the Alliance website. After you register, you will receive an agenda and link for the event in your email closer to the event.
https://www.iceagetrail.org/event/iat-u-virtual-2022-volunteer-ramp-up/
50 year old Firth Lake Boardwalk
New Boardwalk at Firth Lake
The Chippewa Moraine Chapter of the Ice Age Trail has completed the Firth Lake Boardwalk. In September, the volunteers prepared the trail from the Firth Lake parking lot to the old boardwalk, and cleared vegetation for a 20’ wide strip along the route of the new boardwalk. The first two weeks of October had crews busy at the Brunet Island State Park garage. The lumber was dropped off and crews got to work building 100 frames. All the cut ends of boards were treated to prevent rot. Our team of carpenters built the 24’ span bridge on site where the creek flows out of the lake at the beaver dam. Finally, the volunteers hauled all the lumber and pans to the site and laid them out along the route of the new boardwalk.
October 17-21, crews of about 25-30 volunteers per day worked from 8am-4pm to build the boardwalk. Working out from both ends of the bridge, pans and posts were set. Headers were mounted on the posts. Then 8’ frames were set in place. Next came the deck boards. On Tuesday, we created 3 bump outs to allow groups pass each other along the long boardwalk. Posts were added to the boardwalk for the handrail. By the end of the day, the west bound section had all of its deck boards in place. On Wednesday handrails and kick rails were installed on the finished deck portions. At the very end of the day, a cheer went up as the last deck board was installed at the eastern end. Thursday, work continued on the handrails and kick rails. By afternoon we shifted gears to removing the old boardwalk. Two sawyers started at the east end and cut the boardwalk into manageable pieces. These were hauled down the boardwalk on dollies and wheelbarrows to the west end, and loaded onto a trailer which hauled them to the large dumpsters at the parking lot. On Friday we continued the removal of the old boardwalk and completed the task by noon.
A big thank you to all of our members who volunteered their time and muscle to complete this project. It is amazing that our crew was able to complete 737 feet of boardwalk with handrails, bump outs, and kick rail in 3 1/2 days + I day to remove the old boardwalk. The majority of the crew were members of our chapter, many of whom are experienced with MSC projects around the state. We also had MSC volunteers from other chapters participating. A thank you also to volunteers from the Blue Hills Chapter who came to work on the project.
If you have time for a hike, stop out at Firth Lake and check out the new boardwalk.
October Hikes: Parade of Colors + Hike and Meet Monty + the Mammoth Challenge
We had great turnouts at the Parade of Colors Hike on October 1st and the Hike and Meet Monty Event on October 8th. Thank you to the volunteers who brought baked goods and shuttled hikers for the Parade of Colors. Thanks to the volunteers who helped lead the hike on the Chippewa River Segment.
Over 7,000 people signed up for the Mammoth Challenge, and a lot of them came to Chippewa County to hike. If you participated in the Mammoth Challenge and completed your 42 miles and your 3 trail communities, be sure to turn in your challenge completion form. The deadline is November 15th. You should have gotten the form in your email. If not, you can find the form on the Alliance website: https://www.iceagetrail.org/mammoth-hike-challenge/mammoth-hike-challenge-completion-form/
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.
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.
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