A Road Walk Becomes a Walk in the Woods!

The final MSC Trailbuilding project for 2023 in Cross Plains brought a record number of volunteers and service hours.

The five-day trailbuilding project from October 18 – October 22 along the Cross Plains Segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail ticked a lot of boxes: Enthusiastic volunteers, great weather, even better food, vibrant autumn color, an evening watching UW-Madison’s women’s volleyball on the big screen (literally), and pumpkin carving! As a bonus, volunteers built 3.1 miles of tread, including a 0.6-mile white-blazed loop trail.

“It was great to end the 2023 Trailbuilding Season on such a high note!” said Dave Caliebe, Trail Program Manager for the Ice Age Trail Alliance. “This project had a record number of volunteers (268), service hours (4,776), and the best weather for working out in the field. As a result, we built the most tread of any project this year. And frankly, we couldn’t have done it without our volunteer crew leaders who capably managed newbies and seasoned trailbuilders alike.”

“There were a lot of new faces on the various crews,” agreed Chad DuChateau, the Alliance’s Director of Trail Operations. “I enjoyed talking with people curious about the entire process.” DuChateau added, “Our crew leaders taught trailbuilding techniques to folks who had never wielded a pick mattock or a McCleod before.”

“This well-planned and even-better-executed trailbuilding event demonstrated the strength in partnership,” said Eric Gabriel, Superintendent, National Park Service – Ice Age National Scenic Trail. “Alliance volunteers built seamless, cohesive Trail across two properties: land owned by the National Park Service and the Department of Natural Resources.”

“Twenty-five years after I first met with landowner, Frank McNutt, about selling his property and seventeen years after the first approval was given to construct this new section of Ice Age Trail, I was thrilled for Trail construction to begin,” said Andrew Hanson, Partnerships Liaison, Wisconsin State Parks, about the new Trail across DNR land. “Many thanks to the Ice Age Trail Alliance and volunteers for their efforts!”

Gabriel echoed Hanson’s sentiments, explaining that in 2002, the National Park Service had also purchased land for the Ice Age Trail. Yet, this event was the first Trail construction project there. “I can only express heartfelt gratitude and sincere thanks to all the volunteers and partners who participated in this effort.”

The project successfully eliminated a dangerous road walk while creating a yellow-blazed path through lovely forested terrain.

Special Thanks To:

• The National Park Service and the Department of Natural Resources for allowing the Ice Age National Scenic Trail to cross their land.
• Eric Gabriel, Superintendent, National Park Service – Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Katherine Frauen, Outdoor Recreation Planner-Trail Manager, National Park Service – Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Andrew Hanson, Partnerships Liaison, Wisconsin State Parks, and Mike Ring, Facilities and Lands Specialist – Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, for their collaborative efforts to host brand-new miles of Ice Age Trail on their properties.
• Andrew Bent, Dane County Chapter Representative for his long-standing dream for this project, onsite assistance, and his fellow Dane County Chapter members for supplying crew members and plenty of breakfast breads and desserts.
• Crew Leader Managers: Tami Wiese, Doug Galaszewski, and Jerry Sazama, and the 25 volunteer crew leaders for capably leading newbies and experienced trailbuilders, alike.
• Marilynn Chohaney, Camp Chef, and her team of cooks who created Wednesday evening’s lasagna dinner and Saturday’s Thai squash curry meal, while accommodating various dietary requirements.
• Rick Esser and Plastic Ingenuity for providing a spacious hill-top basecamp perfect for watching the sun rise and set each day, including a shelter with electricity!
• Cross Plains Lions Club for lending their grilling expertise on Thursday, and serving up delicious brats and burgers. (Brett Humphries, Cathy Barman, Doc Esser, Rick Esser, and Mike Kalvin.)
• REI – Madison for providing much looked-forward-to morning and afternoon snacks and two snack wagons to haul all the goodies.
• Crossroads Coffeehouse for providing a warm and cozy location to enjoy a macaroni and cheese dinner along with entertainment. AND providing FREE ice cream.
• The Village of Cross Plains for offering warm showers at the Cross Plains Fire Station and providing picnic tables for Friday night’s dinner.
• Dane County Parks for allowing our volunteers to park on their property, creating an ease of access for a 3.5-mile long project.
• Team Rubicon – a veteran-led humanitarian organization – for bringing a crew to learn about trailbuilding as a staff teamwork exercise.
• Debbie Ingham for rallying her UW Credit Union coworkers and bringing a couple crews worth of people out for two days.
• The two Boy Scout Troops who joined us, bringing plenty of enthusiasm; local Troop 146 and a Troop from Iowa led by Pete Englund.
• Lodi Valley, Dane County, and Waukesha/Milwaukee County Chapter for loaning their trailbuilding tools to the project to accommodate the high number of volunteers each day.
• Morgan Sallie, a representative from Representative Mark Pocan’s office, who came to the project site for a tour.
• Richelle Andrae, Dane County Supervisor, District 11, who worked Saturday afternoon, learning all about creating tread from Dave Lonsdorf.

See the great press we got for the event!