2020 reawakened a love of the outdoors in many Wisconsinites. A perfect distillation of this excitement came from our Waterville Gap Campaign to help get the Trail off of a dangerous road walk in Waukesha County. The call to action went out in July of 2020, and by September we had exceeded our fundraising goal. In an astonishing show of grassroots philanthropy, the project was funded and purchased in under five months, and the new Trail opened in just over a year.
Over the course of four and a half days, and 1,900 volunteer hours, 97 volunteers along Waterville Road blasted through invasive species, created a delightful sittin’ circle under a young oak, and cut tread to move the trail on to newly purchased easements. Additionally, crews revitalized existing trail by building a beautiful boardwalk, constructing short reroutes to eliminate erosion and upgraded the existing Trail so it’s almost like new. Hikers were already out taking advantage of this much safer route by Sunday afternoon! Whether you donated time, funds, or both, you have our sincerest thanks.
To everyone who helped make this event a success, a special thanks to:
- Prairie Springs: The Paul Fleckenstein Trust
- Preserve at Hunters Lake Homeowners Association
- The Friends & Family of Spencer Hicks for their donation of a beautiful memorial bench, to be installed later this fall.
- The hundreds of individual donors who helped meet the match.
- Anne Korman & Colton Kelly for providing a place to set up basecamp, and their support throughout the project.
- Sheri Ritz and her crew for homemade evening meals and packed breakfasts all week. They didn’t reheat any brats. Not even once.
- Dave Wedl for work site access through his property.
- Cyle Firnrohr for her support of the trail, and for allowing access and parking through her property
- Special thanks to Pat Witkowski and the Milwaukee/Waukesha County Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance for all of their time, commitment, and hard work.
The success of these projects was made possible through funding from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Friends Grant.
97 Volunteers
1,900 Volunteer Hours
425 total feet of boardwalk
0.9 miles of Trail
Up Next:
October 4 – October 9, Ringle Segment, Marathon County (Registration open.)
After five years of hard work, the re-imagined, Ringle Segment is nearing completion! Join us October 4-9 to participate in the final trailbuilding event through the beautiful landscape east of Wausau. In addition, we’re throwing a party on Saturday, October 9 to celebrate the grand opening on this amazing segment. Join us!
See our full schedule upcoming events here: 2021 Reconnect Events.
Generous Sponsors of the 2021 Mobile Skills Crew Trailbuilding Season include:
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