Ice Age Trail Alliance
Chippewa Moraine Chapter
Ice Age Trail Dispatch
April 2022
Last Chance to Register for the 2022 Annual Conference
April 1st is your last chance to register for the conference. The Alliance is holding the Annual Conference in Stevens Point, April 21-24. You can register on the Ice Age Trail Alliance website: https://www.iceagetrail.org/annual-conference/ . They are hosting hikes and speakers each day during the event. The keynote speaker is Jennifer Pharr Davis, a record setting hiker who was featured in the 2020 IMAX film, “Into America’s Wild”. She served on the President’s Council for Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. They will also be featuring “Breaking Trail”, the documentary of Emily Ford’s winter through hike. Registration is open.
First Sunday Hike - Chippewa River Segment - May 1
The wildflowers beckon along the beautiful Chippewa River segment of the Ice Age Trail. Come join us for a springtime Sunday afternoon hike on May 1st. The impact of the river is evident, creating a more striking display of spring flowers on this segment than any other Chippewa County IAT segment. Hikers will meet at the IAT trailhead parking lot 2 miles north of Highway 64 on County CC at 1:00. On our out-and-back hike, we will ramble along the Chippewa River, through the Krank Preserve, and across Brunet Island State Park land to County Z, before turning around and hiking back. This is a 3.8 mile out-and-back. Bring along water and be prepared for ticks. Some sections may be wet or muddy. The hike will be led by JoAnn Parks and Vicki Christianson.
Please RSVP to let us know if you plan to attend. Contact Vicki Christianson at chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org.
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April 9th - Trail Work Day - Harwood Lakes
We will be having our first Trail Work Day on April 9th. This is a date change voted on at the March Chapter Meeting. (The previous date of April 16th is on Easter weekend.) We will be focusing on the Harwood segment in preparation for the Adventure North - Chippewa 50K. An area of special focus will be this section of the trail at the west end of last year’s clear cut. The forest road past Kim’s Crossing was graded by the county, but this section of former wooded trail was not. A single tread pathway was created on the right side, but the remainder is rough and uneven. We would like to widen the tread and remove softwood roots before they send up shoots. We are hoping for a good turnout for this project. If you plan to attend the work day, please contact Vicki Christianson at chippewamorainechapter@iceagetrail.org . Hope to see you there. Volunteers will meet at the Obey Center at 8:00 a.m. before heading to the trail. Bring along water and be prepared for ticks. You need to have a signed Volunteer Agreement to participate. (See below for instructions on acquiring a Volunteer Agreement.)
Volunteer Hours Are Due
Volunteers who turn in an Individual Hours page should turn in their hours to Libby Stupak at stupakls@hotmail.com no later than April 5th. Be sure to add up your hours in each column. Thank you in advance for turning this in promptly.
“Chip Off the Old Moraine"
Our committee has been meeting to plan for a hiking patch for the Chippewa Moraine Chapter. In February, we met to plan out the brochure for the patch program. In March, we worked on an informational page for hikers. At the March Chapter Meeting, we voted on the Patch Slogan. A last minute entry was the winner: “Chip Off the Old Moraine”. It is a creative play on the idiom “Chip off the Old Block” that hints at our chapter name of Chippewa Moraine.
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.
If you are a new volunteer, please read the following documents before signing the agreement:
Cover letter from Eric Gabriel NPS https://www.iceagetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/Final-Cover-Letter_Eric.pdf
IATA Volunteer Risk Assessment Tool https://www.iceagetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/Final-IATR-VIP-Risk-Assessment-Tool-002.pdf
Covid19HA https://www.iceagetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/Final-COVID19-JHA-v2.pdf
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.
2022 Chapter Events - Come join us on our chapter hikes and trail work days!
We have the following events on our calendar for 2022. Come join us for our hikes, meetings, and trail work events!
April 9: Spring Trail Clean-up
April 21-24: IATA Annual Conference in Stevens Point
April 23: Adventure North 50K
May 1: First Sunday Hike on the Chippewa River Segment
May 4: Natural Resources Foundation Hike (For NRF members only)
May 16: Chapter Meeting 6:30
May 21: Trail Maintenance Day
June 4: National Trails Day Hike - Harwood Lakes Segment
June 18: Trail Maintenance Day
June 21: Solstice Hike with Girl Scouts at Camp Nawakwa
July 18: Chapter Meeting and Picnic at Millyard Park in Cornell
August 7: First Sunday Hike - Location Change: Chippewa River Segment.
We are partnering with BetterLife Lodge 141 (Bohemian Hall). They are holding a hike to benefit homeless veterans.
August 20: Trail Maintenance Day
September 4: First Sunday Hike - Chippewa Moraine Segment
September 17: Trail Maintenance Day
September 19: Chapter Meeting and Pizza Party
October 1: Parade of Colors Hike - Chippewa Moraine Segment - with shuttles
October 8: Mammoth Challenge Hike - Chippewa River Segment
October 15: Trail Maintenance Day
November 21: Annual Chapter Meeting 6:30
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