Chippewa Moraine Chapter -
Ice Age Trail Alliance

At the Chapter's Annual Membership Meeting on Monday, January 18, the chapter members voted to adopt the revised bylaws. They now need final review by the IATA board on Sat. 1/23/10. The members also approved a budget, after making some adjustments based on valuable member suggestions at the meeting. If you wish to see a copy of the Budget, contact the Chapter Coordinator. The Bylaws are available here.

Through-hiker Chet Anderson passed through Chippewa County on July 17-19 and left some thankful comments about the trail and Rod Gont from the Visitor Center. Here's what he had to say:

"I had been walking on a nice mowed trail for a long time. About a half hour before dark I met Rod who was walking home on the trail. He worked at the visitor center and was the one who mowed the trail as a volunteer. Rod explained how to obtain water at the center when it was closed and about the campsite coming up (some campsites were easy to miss). Rod said, “See you in the morning.” I said that I’m on the trail before 6:00 a.m. and would probably miss him. I arrived at the center just after 6:00 the next morning as he drove in and opened up for the day. It was super to have access to the restrooms and hot water. Hats’ off to a dedicated and very kind individual!"

If you are interested in his entire journal, you can view it here: Gray Ghost Ice Age Trail Journal. (It's easier to read if you just download the PDF.)

The 245th Ave Detour on the Firth Lake segment is a little shorter today. A team surveyed the area and located a route through the woods that cuts off 1/2 mile of road walking, and enables walking 1.4 miles through the woods instead. 

Some might think it not a good bargain, and if you prefer, you can just walk on the road. But be warned: the 1.4 mile trail is very scenic, featuring a long boardwalk across a beaver dam that's quite tall to begin with. Other interesting plants seen along the trail include trailing arbutus, with its soft pink flowers with delightful aroma in the spring. In one spot a rather large glacial erratic sits alongside the trail.

One side benefit of the new section: you can now walk a 1.4 mile trail plus 0.5 mile road walk for a 1.9 mile circle hike. 

The section is just east of Hwy E. 

The road walk from the Hwy E trailhead near Camp Nawakwa to the next trail entrance going east to Firth Lake is 1.82 miles. Follow Hwy E 0.9 mi south to 245th Ave, then east on 245th Ave 0.92 mi to the temporary trail entrance. Download and print the detour route map here.

There are lots of trails and loops to choose from at the Chippewa Moraine Ice Age Reserve, and the Ice Age Trail is just one of them. Most of them incorporate part of the Ice Age Trail and then loop back using a different route to make a loop. Try them all! Download the map and take it along, or pick one up at the Visitor Center.