A volunteer helps build a brand new portion of the Ice Age Trail on the Cross Plains Ice Age Interpretive Site Thursday on the second day of the five-day Mobile Skills Crew event. (Photo by Cameron Gillie-www.aroundwisco.com)
165 volunteers over the course of 3,751 hours helped create audacious, sustainable, inspiring results!
The physical highlights – sandstone outcrops, windswept views for miles, a glacial story carved in stone, timber retaining walls, a 48-ft Bridge, two elevated boardwalks, and thousands of feet of artfully crafted trail wending harmoniously with and across the landscape – will surely be appreciated for generations to come.
Less apparent are the quiet keys to success; your dedication, your selfless teamwork, and the way in which you cheerfully stuck with what must have felt, at times, like thankless, but no less important, tasks.
Thank you! We are grateful for all you did to create a masterful new section of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail!
As we head into the July 4th weekend, there is much to celebrate! Bring your friends and family out to this new section of Trail and show them what a force for good and a collaborative spirit can create!
Download a Project Outcomes map to get a better sense of where the progress is being made for this multi-year project.
The new 48-foot bridge spanning Wilkie Gorge and its team of builders.
Special Thanks to:
- Ed Spoon and Bob Kaspar for embracing long and sometimes stressful hours as Crew Leader Managers;
- Al Sulzer and the kitchen crew for providing three substantial meals a day;
- Casey Fitzrandolph for his presentation on winning the Gold Medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics;
- Delta Beer Lab, for volunteering, and supplying a keg of delicious ale, and for naming the IATA as their non-profit partner for June;
- Dane County for providing funding and long-term commitment to the Ice Age National Scenic Trail through a Dane County Capital Infrastructure grant.
- National Park Service for providing a staging area and lumber storage;
- Plastic Ingenuity for providing a picturesque base camp location;
- 16 Crew Leaders who ably led, inspired, and educated fellow volunteers;
- Tom Wise, Dave Lonsdorf, Ed Spoon, and the Dane County Chapter for hundreds and hundreds of pre-project hours reading the project site, sharing knowledge, and providing leadership;
- Cameron Gillie for media outreach and dynamic photojournalism, visit him at ThePinHoleThing.com or Facebook.com/aroundwisco/;
- Operation Fresh Start staff and participants for 6 days of hard work ahead of and during the event.
NEXT UP:
Please join us at Ice Age Trail University – where we learn new and sharpen existing skills – July 18-21, near the village of Merrimac and Devil’s Lake State Park, in Sauk County. Course descriptions, schedule, and registration are here. Classes are filling fast – register soon to secure your seat!
Generous Sponsors of the 2019 Mobile Skills Crew Trailbuilding Season include:
NOTE: Sitka Salmon Shares is offering all Ice Age Trail enthusiasts and trailbuilders a $25.00 discount on your purchase of a salmon or seafood share. They’ll donate $25.00 to our award-winning Mobile Skills Crew program.
NOTE: This program made possible by a grant from the National Park Foundation through generous support of the Coca-Cola Company.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |