Working Together, Impressive Results

Ice Age Trail Alliance, Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Taylor County MSC 2016

Photo credit: Dave Caliebe – Wood Lake graced by a Bald Eagle and two Trumpeter swans.

Taylor County, sculpted by the powerful forces of glacial ice, is known for its undulating, hummocky terrain and smooth-as-glass kettle lakes reflecting sky and clouds, is already beautiful, and last week, it just got more attractive.

A 104 volunteers with a shared vision of making the Ice Age Trail the best it can be, accomplished a phenomenal amount of Trail improvements on three of the seven Trail segments in Taylor County over the course of 7 days and 3,100 hours of effort.

Ice Age Trail Alliance, Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Taylor County MSC

Photo credit: David Caliebe – Volunteers focused on constructing one of three boardwalks.

It is everyday folks, like you and me, who roll up their sleeves, slip on work gloves and get in the wild, the heat, and rain to build and maintain the Ice Age Trail.

It is completely impressive what ordinary people can get done when they are committed to working together.

Ice Age Trail Alliance, Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Taylor County MSC

Photo credit: Stephanie Eastwood – Two volunteers carefully construct a puncheon.

Consider these numbers:

560 feet of wood structures were constructed including 3 boardwalks, a clear span bridge, and 2 puncheons;

1,600 feet of hard-won tread;

90 feet of rock retaining walls;

1 mile of trail signage upgrades; and

1 mile of road walk eliminated!!

Combined, THREE Ice Age Trail segments were SIGNIFICANTLY improved, helping hikers keep their bearings and feet dry.

To better grasp the scope of this project, you may check out the map of the completed project here.

To see additional photos from the week-long project, check out our Facebook album here.

Special Thanks:

  • Michelob ULTRA–and you for voting!–for generous financial support;
  • REI for continued financial support;
  • New Vision Wilderness for their steadfast help throughout the Chequamegon and Taylor County;
  • Tim Vetter of the USFS for working shoulder to shoulder with us in the National Forest;
  • The Town of Grover for providing our Chequamegon National Forest base camp, and Taylor County Forest & Recreation Department for base camp at Wood Lake and support for the project on county lands; and
  • The High Point Chapter for pre-assembly work before the project.

Next Up:

A humdinger of an event takes place August 17-21 in Sauk County, near Devil’s Lake State Park.

We’re building a ½-mile of Trail, constructing a bridge and boardwalk totaling 150 feet and maintaining the Mobile Skills Crew mantra of “Educate and Empower” with trainings conducted at Ice Age Trail-University (IAT-U) sessions.

To top it off, a satellite crew will finish up rockwork on Gibraltar Rock.

Learn more about the training courses offered and register today.

Once again, Volunteers, we offer you a hearty, heart-felt THANK YOU!

See you on the Trail!