The Chippewa Moraine Segment will be the target for the Saturday, July 6th, trail maintenance day. Focus will include the Dumke Lake view-shed and the trail reroute on Horseshoe Lake west of Town Line Rd. We will clear brush from the view-shed, and repair trail damage on the reroute.

Bring water and snacks. Wear long sleeves, pants, boots, work gloves, and socks you can tuck your pants legs into. Ticks are out there. Mosquitos abound, so a head net is highly recommended. There is no third Saturday maintenance day in July, so this is it.

We hope to see you there. If you are planning to attend the workday, please email Jerry Sazama (sazfam@aol.com) to register. The crew will meet at 8:00 am. at the Obey Center. It is important that you register for the event because we need a head count to organize our groups and to determine the number and kinds of tools that we need to bring.

NOTE: If you are not already on our trail crew (with a Volunteer Agreement-see below), consider joining our trail crew this year. There is something special about building and maintaining the trail. You will never look at the trail with the same eyes again after participating in a work project and learning what it takes to keep our trails in top condition.

Cory Wiese, Chapter Coordinator for the Blue Hills, is holding a chapter Trail Maintenance Day on Saturday, July 13th. This will be a mowing and brush clearing project. Our chapter supports the Blue Hills with trail maintenance work.

If you are able to attend this work day, please contact Cory Wiese at cory.wiese@claconnect.com to register.

Crew members will meet at Murphy Flowage County Park at 8:30. This is located on County F about 15 miles north of Weyerhaeuser, WI.

Bring water and snacks. Wear long sleeves, pants, boots, work gloves, and socks you can tuck your pants legs into. Ticks are out there. Mosquitos abound, so a head net is highly recommended.

Register TODAY for our Chapter Meeting and Picnic on Monday, July 15. The picnic will start at 5:30 p.m., with a short meeting following that. We will provide pizza and plates. Attendees should bring their own choice of beverage. Bring a lawn chair so that we can sit close to the shoreline. This will be a great opportunity to try out the new paved pathway along the river and enjoy all the river views. The pathway is the route through the Mill Yard Park for the new Cornell IAT segment. Come at 5:00 for the river walk, which continues along the Chippewa River all the way to the boat landing.

If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Vicki Christianson at (chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org) by July 10th. We need an accurate count to determine how many pizzas to order. Hope to see you there.

These are our annual events.  Watch for information on upcoming events and additions (in red) to this calendar in the monthly newsletters.  

July 6 Chapter Maintenance Day - Chippewa Moraine Segment
July 13 Blue Hills Trail Maintenance Day - Murphy Flowage County Park
July 15           Chapter Meeting and Picnic - Mill Yard Park
Aug. 4             First Sunday Hike 1:00  Obey Center
Aug. 17           Trail Maintenance Day
Sept. 1           First Sunday Hike  1:00  Harwood
Sept. 16         Chapter Meeting
Sept. 21         Trail Maintenance Day
Oct. 5 Parade of Colors Hike - 9-11  Obey Center
Oct. 19           Trail Maintenance Day
Nov. 18           Chapter Annual Meeting

The annual Summer Solstice Hike at Our Nawakwa on June 20th had a nice mix of ages, including some young families. Many of them were first-time Ice Age Trail hikers, and they were inspired to hike some more IAT. We hiked around the lake and finished hiking up Mount Baldy to enjoy the sunset. The view from Mount Baldy is fabulous, even on a cloudy day. It is the 2nd highest point in Chippewa County (after Flambeau Mountain to the northeast).

A great crew of Chippewa Moraine Chapter volunteers installed a new 75-foot-long bridge at Lake Wissota State Park.  The bridge includes a scenic bench.  The Lake Wissota staff and Friends of Lake Wissota State Park are thrilled with this bridge that replaces an old bridge.  The new bridge is located just beyond the swimming beach on the Beaver Meadow Nature Trail.  

With crews of 7-14 people per day, the bridge was completed in 5 days. Norm Card and Bruce France headed the project and spent 4 days over the past 8 months on lay-out, planning, and prep work.  

Our chapter greatly appreciates the knowledge, skill, and leadership that Bruce and Norm share with our chapter. A big thank you goes out to the crew members who volunteered their time and skill for this project.

A big welcome to the new volunteers who participated on this project. We look forward to working with you in the future.  Welcome to our chapter.

Monty the Mammoth, the mascot for the Ice Age Trail, appeared in the Independence Day Parade in Cornell, Wisconsin. Monty got a ride from Cross Plains from hiker Shawn Ramsey, a Thousand Miler Wannabe. Thanks for being Monty's Trail Angel!

Local Ice Age Trail hikers from Cornell joined Monty in the parade and handed out granola bars to kids along the parade route. One even brought her walking stick that she decorated at our Hike and Meet Monty event last October. We gave out 400 granola bars with our chapter contact information.

It was great to demonstrate that the trail is here for local people, too, and not just for visitors from other parts of the state.

The calendar is out for IATA trail projects for 2024. Go to https://www.iceagetrail.org/our-work/trail-building-maintenance/ice-age-trail-crew/ for information on the upcoming trail events.

July 17-21 Holy Hill Segment
July 17-21 Plover River Segment
July 30-Aug. 2 Maintenance Sweep - Lincoln County
Aug. 14-18 Plover River Segment

As of July 1, fifty three of our chapter volunteers have renewed their volunteer agreements. Thank you very much for keeping up to date with your agreement. We could not achieve as much to maintain our beautiful trail segments without your help. If you have not renewed yet, please check your 2023 agreement to see when you are due to renew. You need to renew 1 year minus one day from the date the NPS signed and dated your agreement.

All volunteers need to have a completed Volunteer Agreement for the National Park Service each year in order to participate in our trail improvement days or to volunteer at events. There is 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-IATR-Staff_508.pdf. Please fill out the fillable form and email it to iatr_vip_ice_age_trail@nps.gov

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 NPS as an attachment. Or print off your completed document, sign it, and mail it to the NPS. The email address is on the directions page that comes with the form.

When you send in the Volunteer Agreement to NPS, they will sign it and return it to you. Please print a copy for yourself or save it in your files. Email us at chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org to let us know that you have received your new signed Volunteer Agreement.