Ice Age Trail Alliance
Chippewa Moraine Chapter
Ice Age Trail Dispatch
February 2023
Candlelight Ski and Snowshoe at Brunet Island State Park FEB. 11
The Cornell Area Betterment Association and the Lion’s Club is holding their annual Candlelight Ski and Snowshoe Event at Brunet Island State Park on Saturday, February 11th. They invite you to join them for winter activities at the beach area pavilion. Enjoy sledding down the beach hill from 3:00-5:00pm. From 5:00-7:00pm, strap on your skis or snowshoes for a beautiful candlelight ski and snowshoe around the perimeter of the park (about 2 miles). The trail will be groomed for hiking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. Candlelight lanterns are placed along the trail to light your way. The fireplaces will be stoked, and hot refreshments and hot dogs will be waiting to warm you! Cross country skis and snowshoes will be available if you do not have your own. The event is weather and snow permitting. No pets allowed. You can call the park office at (715)-239-6888 for trail conditions.
Girl Scout Snowshoe Hike at Camp Nawakwa - Saturday, Feb. 25
We are looking for volunteers to help lead a hike with Girl Scouts at Camp Nawakwa on Saturday, Feb. 25th. We will lead a hike starting at the Chalet at Camp Nawakwa at 1:00. The hike will travel across the hilltop before traveling around Picnic Lake. This will take us past Heyde House and the Horse Trail before joining up with the Ice Age Trail on the west side of the lake. Our hike will take us over the bridge at the south end of the lake. When we get to the steep hill on the east side of the lake, we will walk on the lake along the eastern shoreline ending at the beach. From there we will hike up to the flats and then back up to the Chalet.
If we get significant snowfall prior to the event, we will need to retrack the trail. In this case the volunteers would arrive at 10:00 to hike the trail and pack it down. Volunteers can have lunch afterwards at the Chalet before the hike event. If re-tracking the trail is not necessary, volunteers can arrive at 12:30.
If you are interested in volunteering at this event, please contact Vicki Christianson at chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org.
NOTE: Please notice that the date has changed from Feb. 18th to Feb. 25th
Thousand Miler Happy Hour Series - ZOOM - FEB. 7TH SESSION
The Ice Age Trail Alliance is offering this series of Zoom meetings which are part of their Virtual IAT-University program.
Grab a beverage of your choice and a comfy chair. Settle in for entertaining and inspiring tales by recent Thousand Milers. They’ll share their adventures along the trail, favorite segments, meaningful Trail Angel interactions, encounters with wild animals, and much more. This three part series features a panel of segment hikers, thru hikers, and family friendly hikers. Along with lots of photos and short stories, these armchair sessions will have you considering where you’d like to explore next and are the perfect way to stay connected to the Trail during the cold winter months.
Schedule (each session is 6:30-8:00):
February 7, 2023: Thru Hikers
March 7, 2023: Family Friendly Hikers
To register and for more information, visit: https://bit.ly/3hS19Mb
Mobile Skills Crew 2023 Events
Have you thought about getting involved with MSC (Mobile Skills Crew) projects? The MSC calendar has been set and there are projects going on all over the state in 2023. Attending an event is a great way to learn about trail building, invasive species removal, and building structures such as boardwalk and bridges. Experience is not a requirement. It’s terrific on-the-job training. Information on the events is available on the Ice Age Trail Website. Check it out at: https://www.iceagetrail.org/our-work/trail-building-maintenance/msc-program/
Note: While the full calendar is posted, not all the details have been included yet. The page should be completed in the next couple of weeks.
Feb. 3-4 Cross Plains-Mammoth Back (Invasive Species Removal)
Feb. 9-10 Gibraltar Rock (Cedar Removal)
Apr. 27-30 Rib Lake (Trail Building)
May 17-22 Rib Lake (Trail Building)
June 8-11 John Muir Park (IAT-University: Crew Leader Training)
June 21-25 Storrs Lake
July 12-16 John Muir Park (IAT-University)
Aug. 9-13 Iola Ski Hill & Emmons Creek (Trail Building)
Sept. 6-10 Sturgeon Bay (Trail Building)
Sept, 26-Oct. 1 Rib Lake (Trail Building and Celebration)
Oct. 18-22 Cross Plains
Chippewa Moraine Chapter partnering with Blue Hills
At the Chippewa Moraine Annual Meeting in November, we voted to increase our assistance on trail maintenance on the Blue Hills segments. We have been working on the Blue Hills in August. We are now adding a second team project in the spring. The first week of May, the Blue Hills will be having a sawyer/swamper group clearing up the damage to the trails from the storms this winter. The tentative dates will be May 4-6.
The Blue Hills will also have monthly trail maintenance days on June 28, August 2, and September 21. We will post information on registering for these events the month prior to each event.
Time to Renew Your Volunteer Agreement
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.
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 Please note the large box at the bottom of the first page of the new Volunteer Agreement. Dan Watson has provided links and videos for volunteers to look at.
NOTE: Fill in all the required boxes. The fillable boxes are on everything except the signature line. You can type your name and date in the date box next to the signature line. Save the document to your computer and then send it to Dan Watson as an attachment. Or print off your completed document, sign it, and mail it to Dan Watson Dan’s address is on the directions page that comes with the form.
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.
Chapter Calendar 2023
These are our annual events. Watch for additions and changes (in red) to this calendar in the monthly newsletters. One addition will be additional trail work days with Blue Hills. There will be two large crew trail work days (Spring/Fall). We will also post monthly Blue Hills work days which individuals can chose to attend. Our trail building project on the Chippewa Moraine Segment by Horseshoe Lake will be announced in the newsletters prior to the event.
Feb 11 Candlelight Ski andSnowshoe Event - Brunet Island State Park
Feb. 25 Snowshoe Hike with Girl Scouts
Mar. 20 Chapter Meeting
April 15 Monthly Trail Maintenance
April 17 Special Event with the Chippewa Valley Group of the Sierra Club- Save the Date! More info to come!
April 22 Adventure North 50K
April 20-24 Annual IATA Conference in Sheboygan
May 4-6 Sawyer/Swamper/Lopper Crew - Blue Hills
May 7 First Sunday Hike - Chippewa River
May 10 Mayflower Hike with Natural Resources Foundation - Chippewa River
May 15 Chapter Meeting
May 20 Trail Maintenance Day
June 3 National Trails Day Hike - Harwood Lakes
June 17 Monthly Trail Maintenance
June 20 Solstice Hike with Girl Scouts
June 28 Blue Hills Trail Maintenance Day
July 17 Chapter Picnic at Mill Yard Park, Cornell
August 2 Blue Hills Trail Maintenance Day
Aug. 6 First Sunday Hike
Aug. 19 Trail Maintenance Day
Sept. 3 First Sunday Hike
Sept. 16 Trail Maintenance Day
September 21 Blue Hills Trail Maintenance Day
Oct. - All Month: Mammoth Hike Challenge
Oct. 7 Parade of Colors Hike - Chippewa Moraine
Oct. 14 Hike and Meet Monty- Chippewa River
Oct. 21 Trail Maintenance Day
Nov. 20 Annual Chapter Meeting
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