Chicken Fat, named for the enormous amounts of fried chicken he ate while hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2014, caught up to Beauchamp on July 25. They walked 30 miles together and camped in the Dispersed Camping Area along the Table Bluff Segment. They were talking and laughing like long-time friends when they reached the Ice Age Trail Alliance headquarters.
At the Alliance’s recent IAT-U: Trail Skills event at John Muir Park in Marquette Co., an Alliance staff member chatted with Priscilla about what inspires her, her Thousand-Miler journey, and why she volunteers.
That’s at least the reason Jake Braun decided to thru-hike.
“Planning for a thru-hike of the Ice Age Trail kept me going,” she says. It was what she thought about when she was really sick.
If you didn’t get a chance to say hi, let us introduce you.
There’s only one hot dog shirt like that, so we can confidently say that you caught a glimpse of the one and only Dosu Kinuta!
Dosu is a thru-hiker from New Hampshire currently attempting to set the Fastest Known Time (FKT) for a self-supported thru-hike on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. Continue reading
Arlette graciously took some time from her busy hiking schedule to answer our questions. Read on to hear from this inspiring long-distance hiker and dollmaker from the Netherlands.
Knowing many aspiring Thousand-Milers merely tolerate road miles and other hikers eschew them entirely, I devote this essay to the joy of hiking connectors, hoping to inspire an appreciation for the miles marked not by yellow blazes but by white stripes.
My year on the Ice Age Trail helped me to leave a spirit crushing path. During my newbie trail days, someone had told me that there was magic on the trail. I was intrigued, but I also thought it was cliche–something cool to say about trail hiking. But as my miles added up, this magic began to reveal itself.
The new route of the Slinger Segment replaces a previous 0.7-mile road walk with a new 0.9-mile section of Ice Age Trail connecting the Slinger Segment to the Cedar Lakes Segment. The scenic trail corridor passes through Slinger’s Community Park and continues north along wetlands adjacent to Little Switzerland Ski Area. Continue reading
From the first, I was amazed at how each step seemed to leave the urban world behind. I thought how pleasant it would be to explore a few segments, but I really wasn’t hooked (yet). I bought the IAT Guidebook and Atlas. I enjoyed the mental exercise of planning my hikes. I would review the Guidebook and then map out my route. Since I was a solo hiker, I parked the car, biked one way on public roads and then walked the Trail back to my car.
Due to the impact of Dane County COVID-19 Order #10, staffing at the Ice Age Trail Alliance headquarters is limited. As such, our headquarters will be CLOSED to the public until further notice.
Welcome to those of you who recently joined our Ice Age Trail Alliance community, and thank you to those who renewed your membership. The Ice Age Trail Alliance witnessed an unprecedented number of Trail enthusiasts joining in 2020! To date, we welcomed 625 new members, compared with 311 at this same point last year, while our renewal rate remained as healthy as ever. We’re now more than 4,300 members strong, an increase of about 30% over the past decade. Continue reading
• Served the Ice Age Trail for at least 20 years.
• Markedly elevated public awareness of the Trail.
• Secured significant funding.
• Significantly advanced the IATA’s mission in some other way.
We’ve hit our group-size limit for this event. We hope you’ll join us next time!
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Join us for a 4-day backpacking trip in one of the most pristine sections of the Ice Age Trail – the Chequamegon National Forest. This outing is a collaboration of the Ice Age Trail Alliance and the Verona Ice Age Trail Community.
Dates: Monday, September 18th – Thursday, September 21, 2017 (departing at 7:30 a.m. from the Old County Road PB park & ride in Verona) Continue reading
It’s official! Luke Kloberdanz, Director of Outreach and Education for the Ice Age Trail Alliance, looks on as Greg Buckley, Two Rivers City Manager, and Justin Nickels, Manitowoc Mayor, cut the ribbon designating their cities as official Trail Communities. These attractive signs will grace the entrances to each city. Photo by Dolly McNulty.
Manitowoc and Two Rivers, we’re thrilled to have you join the Ice Age Trail Community family!
Hikers! Take a look at our Trail Communities for ways to appreciate the towns you’re hiking through. The Manitowoc and Two Rivers area have the only segments of Trail that put your toes into Lake Michigan waters. You’ll find maps of the Trail (and area segments) making it easy for you to follow the path as it winds through each city. There’s plenty of suggestions, too, for how to extend your stay in a fun and memorable way. Oh, and don’t forget to hit the Washington House for an ice cream sundae. After all, the first sundae in the world was made there!
