The Chippewa Moraine Chapter will hold its September chapter meeting at the Chippewa County Courthouse, Room 5, on Monday, September 16th at 5:30 p.m. Room 5 is in the basement at the Courthouse. Enter at the door by the parking lot. Take the elevator to the lower level. Turn right out of the elevator, then turn left at the hallway intersection. Go until you reach the corner. The room is on the right.

Saturday, September 21st, is our September trail maintenance day, and we hope to see you there. Jerry has a lot of jobs on his trail wish list, so the more, the merrier. If you plan to attend the work day, please email Jerry Sazama at sazfam@aol.com to register.

The crew will meet at 8:00 a.m. 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. Wear long pants and long sleeves. Wear sturdy boots and socks long enough to tuck your pants into. Wear gloves and a hat with a brim to shade your eyes from the bright sun. Bring plenty of water and a snack or two.

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. Thank you, and welcome to our new trail crew members. We hope to see you at our September work day.

Along the Parade of Colors Route

Saturday, October 5th, is our Annual Parade of Colors Hike. At this annual hike, we offer shuttles of 2, 4, 5, or 6 miles. Hikers choose the distance that they want to hike. They leave their cars at the Obey Center, and shuttlers take them to their start point. They hike back to the Obey Center, where their car awaits them. The first Saturday in October brings us fall colors in all their glory. It is a beautiful time to hike this kettle lake filled segment.

We will need at least a dozen volunteers for this event. We need several people to run the registration table. They help people select the hike they want and fill out the shuttle form. We need 10 drivers to shuttle hikers to their start points. You will be provided a map of the start points. Colored flags mark the different roads and the trail access points you take to shuttle people to their hikes. (Note: If you want to hike the trail, we can shuttle you for a hike at 11:00 a.m.)

The shuttling occurs at the David Obey Ice Age Trail Interpretive Center from 9:00-11:00 a.m. Volunteers should be there by 8:30 to get things set up.

If you are willing to shuttle, please mark your calendar now. To register to volunteer, contact Vicki Christianson at chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org.

Note: This event coincides with the Trail Crew Project in the Blue Hills (a multi-day event). If you plan to work on the Blue Hills project, please consider reserving Saturday morning for the Parade of Colors Hike. It is very important that we have enough shuttlers for this popular and well-attended event.