Spring wildflowers highlight the First Sunday hike on the Chippewa River Segment on Sunday, May 4th. Please arrive at 12:45 p.m. to check in. The hike will begin at 1:00 p.m. Registration (and parking) is at the trailhead on Hwy CC: 23778 County Highway CC, Cornell. The total hike is 3.8 miles.

The start of May is the perfect time to hike the Chippewa River Segment. The spring ephemerals carpet the forest floor…. Blood Root, Marsh Marigolds, Anemone, Hepatica, Spring Beauties, Meadow Rue, Trillium, Trout Lilies, and Horsetail Ferns to name a few. The Chippewa River Segment travels high above the Chippewa River with views of Brunet Island State Park. It then crosses County CC and enters the Krank Preserve where you travel up and down hills and cross a creek. Continuing on we circle around Perch Lake which is a kettle lake, and then come out at County Z. After a short rest, we retrace our steps and return to the parking lot on County CC.

Register for the hike via email. We need several hike assistants for this hike. (Enjoy the hike and earn volunteer hours at the same time!)

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR TRAIL MAINTENANCE DAY - APRIL 12TH

Our first trail maintenance day of 2025 is Saturday, April 12. (For this month only, we are switching from our normal third Saturday of the month.)

Volunteers will meet at the Obey Center at 9:00 and work on trail tread between the 267th Ave Trailhead and the Obey Center.

Please contact Ann Hansen at shansena@bloomer.net to register for this work day. She needs to know how many are coming so that she knows how many tools to bring. Ann Hansen is our new trail coordinator for the chapter. She would love to meet and get to know the newer Volunteer Agreement holders.

Some of our crew will be at the Alliance Conference, so if you are not going to the conference, we'd love to have you at the work day.

You do not need to have trail experience to volunteer on the trail. It's a "learn on the job" kind of work. If you do not have a volunteer agreement with the National Park Service, but would like to join our volunteer family, look down below for the link to sign up. There is a page of directions to help you.



VOLUNTEER AT OUTDOOR ED-VENTURE - SUNDAY, APRIL 27 at CORNELL MILL YARD PARK

Outdoor Ed-venture is an annual event for kids and their families. It is held on the last Sunday of April every year. Families come down to the Mill Yard Park pavilion to learn about outdoor activities and various service groups. It's the perfect fit for the Ice Age Trail. This year, Pat and Julie and I are not available to do the event. We do have the displays and maps, etc. We also have an Ice Age Trail Bingo game for the kids with poker chips to mark their cards. We also provide granola bars for anyone who gets a BINGO. (Everyone plays until they get a BINGO.) The only thing we don't have is 2 people to work the booth. One talks with parents about the trail, the other runs the BINGO game. The event runs from 11:00 - 1:30. Booth set up is at 10:15.

Please consider working at our booth. It is fun interacting with the kids. We are trying to get local families out on the trails. Our display has a list of our planned hikes you can promote. If you are interested in working at the event, please contact Vicki at: chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org as soon as possible.


COMING IN MAY:

Blue Hills Dreamer Route - May 14-18

Mark this one on your calendar and register on the Ice Age Trail website https://www.iceagetrail.org/event/ice-age-trail-crew-blue-hills-segment/.

Let's help our friends in the Blue Hills and be a part of this wonderful new segment. You don't have to sign up for the full event. You can sign up for just the days you want or are available.

Learn more about building new trail and structures at the Blue Hills and other events this season.

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

April 12: Trail Maintenance Day
April 10-13: Annual IATA Conference - Stevens Point

May 4: First Sunday Hike - Chippewa River Segment
May 13-18: Blue Hills Dreamer Route Project
May 17: Trail Maintenance Day
May 19: Chapter Meeting

June 7: National Trails Day Hike
June 9 & 10: First Aid Training with Lisa Szela (sign up for 1 day - 2 sessions)
June 20: Solistice Hike with Our Nawakwa (includes sunset hike up Mt. Baldy)
June 21: Trail Maintenance Day

July 12: Cornell Floatilla (Possible Paddle and Hike Event)
July 21: Chapter Picnic at Mill Yard Park

August 3: First Sunday Hike (Out and back Obey to 267th)
August 16: Trail Maintenance Day

September 7: First Sunday Hike - Harwood Lakes
September 15: Chapter Meeting
September 20: Trail Maintenance Day

October 1-31: Mammoth 45 Hiking Challenge
October 4: Parade of Colors Hike - Obey Center
October 11: Hike and Meet Monty - Chippewa River Segment/Cornell Visitor Center
October 18: Trail Maintenance Day

November 17: Annual Chapter Meeting

Cornell is one of the Ice Age Trail Alliance's official Ice Age Trail Communities. This year, the IATA Conference in Stevens Point featured a new event space for Trail Communities to inform hikers about their services.

Cornell's City Administrator, Dave DeJongh, and CABA representative, Kristine Hemenway, each had a booth in the Cornell exhibit. They provided information about the businesses, services, events, and activities available for hikers in Cornell. Cornell is unique in that 90% of the businesses are right on the trail route through town, and the rest are only a block or two off the trail.

A large map (warning: 5mb) was created to display the trail route and the location of the services offered along it in Cornell. We will continue to use it to inform hikers of what's available.

The Chippewa Moraine Chapter has had an Ice Age Trail exhibit at the Stout Wellness Fair in Menomonie for several years. Hiking is good for the body, mind, and soul. This year’s fair was April 2.

Pat Kosher and Vicki Christianson represented IATA this year and talked to many people, some who knew about the trail and some who didn't. Many people expressed an interest in starting to hike the trail, and we were able to share chapter contact information so that they could get more information about our segments.

Prior to the event, Pat and Julie helped to refresh our display board with new information and updated photos featuring members of our current trail crew.

Look for our new display at future events, and volunteer to help share your enthusiasm and knowledge of the trail with future trail users and prospective volunteers. A future opportunity is Ed-Venture in Cornell on April 27.