Chippewa Moraine Chapter IAPTF

November Trail Dispatch

Chapter Meeting, Monday, Nov. 19

A trail slide presentation, a piece of pie, and a discussion of what’s next on our plate. All these and more will be featured at the next chapter meeting, this coming Monday, Nov. 19, at 6:30 PM at the Chippewa Falls Public Library. (Note the earlier start time).

By popular request, we’ll preview the IAPTF slide-show which tells in words and pictures the story of the trail and the community that builds, maintains, and supports it (that would be YOU). We’ll be looking for venues to take this story out to the community.

Cal Kraemer, our trail maintainer extraordinaire and winner of last year’s In The Mud award, has chosen to share his celebratory Main St Pie with all who come. Don’t miss the pie and a chance to thank Cal for his hard work. (Got an idea for our 2007 In The Mud award winner? Bring it along!)

It’s time to look at calendars past and future, and decide what our full plate of events will be next year. We’ll review how things went this year and decide what worked and didn’t, and what we want to do next year.

Our plans are firming up for our participation in the Outdoor Expo and Nov. 18. Nancy and Tony Schuster, Renee Fontaine-Ebel, and Pat McKearn and Richard Smith will be on hand to share our knowledge and enthusiasm.

If you are interested, we could still use help on Saturday helping our friends from Superior Lobe Chapter. Another option is to go on Thursday and Friday and help with setting up the show. Our efforts with set-up directly reduce our cost for the exhibit space. If either of these options appeals to you, call Richard (715 967-2164) or email chapter@iatchippewa.org.

Those who can’t make it on our trail work days or on our chapter hikes miss out on one of the most rewarding aspects of the work: meeting real-live trail users and learning how much they appreciate our efforts. Our groups have had these experiences more and more often lately, and you should share in the reward, even though you can’t experience the “high” directly by being there.

Donna Pachaud and Richard Smith, while working together to clear downed branches and trees off the trail on a beautiful September workday, encountered two different backpacking groups, both made up of mostly out-of-state hikers. One was a scout group, the other a group of young men. All taking advantage of a beautiful fall weekend to get out and experience the Ice Age Trail on a weekend backpack outing.

A few weeks earlier, on one of our “First Sunday” hikes, JoAnn Parks, Kevin Hutchinson, and Richard Smith encountered another group, consisting of two young families from Minnesota and Iowa joining to celebrate a birthday together by backpacking on our section of the trail.

The rewards are numerous for getting out ourselves and enjoying and working on the trail, but the satisfaction index increases exponentially when we encounter groups taking advantage of the work we do. Please remember that whatever you do to support our efforts to build, maintain, and support the trail pay off, whether you yourself get to see first-hand the enthusiasm in the eyes of the users or not.

But nothing tops getting to see the families and kids appreciating the trail yourself, while you’re on-the-job.

On workdays in August and September, the boardwalk crew of Tony Schuster, Dave Rasmussen, Jim Brenner, JoAnn Parks, and Richard Smith, with a lot of help from Rod Gont, installed the “repurposed” boardwalk donated by Beaver Creek Reserve (salvaged by Tony Schuster). The final project was designed to handle current and expected needs, but remain flexible enough to handle whatever the pesky beavers throw at us (and I don’t mean mud). Tony and Dave, in particular, put in a great number of hours and commitment to seeing this project through. Rod Gont put in a lot of advance time getting materials and board walk sections into place and excess removed, as well as getting our tools and equipment into place on the work days. Thanks to everyone who helped on this major project.

Enjoy dry feet as you walk through this section of trail. Some photos from phase 1 are on our web site <http://www.greendarner.com/ChippewaMoraine/chapternews/mudbrook_boardwalk_shaping_.html>.

This is a great time to hike on the trail, enjoying long, open views of distant lakes and glacial topography. Take the opportunity to visit a section you’ve only seen “in leaf”, and you’ll experience it as though through an MRI.

Be aware of hunting seasons, however.

• The Ice Age Trail is officially “closed” during Gun Deer Season, Saturday Nov. 17- Sunday Nov. 25. If you must be out, use appropriate safety precautions, including orange clothing.
• Muzzleloader Deer Season: Nov. 26-Dec. 5
• Special Antlerless Deer Season: Dec. 6-9
  

Brenda Rederer advises that orange vests may be picked up at the Chippewa Moraine Visitor Center, and encourages their use, including on dogs. She says muzzleloaders are very infrequent, and the December deer weekend doesn’t see a lot of hunters in this area. She says small game hunters tend more to use the recently cutover areas of the county forest than more mature areas as are typical in the Chippewa Moraine. It’s a good idea to check with the visitor center before going out on a hike during this period. Their phone is 715 967-2800.

With these precautions in mind, don’t hesitate to find a time or place to enjoy the trail if you hear the call! With the exception of the gun deer seasons, most of the risk is in driving to the trailhead.

Thanks for all you do to support the Ice Age Trail.