History, Hemlocks, and Hummocks: Wood Lake Has Them All

By Robert “Bob” Rusch

On September 26, 2020, a captivating 3.6-mile hiking trail, the Wood Lake Loop, opened in Wisconsin’s Northwoods. This trail offers a scenic outdoor experience and a fascinating learning opportunity. Along the loop, you’ll find fifteen interpretive signs that highlight geological and historical sites, with a special focus on the area’s early logging history. These points of interest enrich the hiking experience and foster a deeper connection between the community and its public land.

Enjoy the peaceful forest setting as you walk the loop that circles Wood Lake, a spring-fed 67-acre body of water. The Wood Lake Segment of the Ice Age Trail follows the loop trail’s western and southern portions. The white-blazed northern part of the loop, known as the Camp 4 Trail, highlights the historic Logging Camp 4 site, which was in operation from 1906 to 1910.

Hikers may access the loop trail from the Wood Lake County Park, which hosts a boat landing, picnic and swimming areas, rustic camping, drinking water, and restrooms.

The Taylor County Forestry Department brought this loop trail to life with its partners, the Ice Age Trail Alliance and the Rib Lake Historical Society LLC. The first step toward creating this walking path began in 2016 when County Forester Jake Walsiak came across unnatural, curving earthen ridges. Thinking them strange and curious, he contracted Bob Rusch, manager of the Rib Lake Historical Society. Bob studied the site and explained how the three-foot-high ridges came to be. 1906, as the Rib Lake Lumber Company was extending its logging railroad, the crew building the right of way encountered a hill. As the laborers used horse-pulled carts or “slushers” to excavate the railroad grade, the equipment left the ridges of earth behind.

Bob shared photos depicting workers using slushers as they built State Highway 13 in the 1920s. He also mentioned that the Historical Society had over 10,000 photographs in its online collection. The images included pictures of men peeling hemlock bark for the tannery, log drives on Wood Creek, and thousands of logs floating in Wood Lake. They also portrayed the Rib Lake Lumber Company’s Shay locomotive at Camp 4, which operated from 1906 to 1973. The idea was born: Use these photographs to illustrate local historical events along the Ice Age Trail.

Jake Walsiak worked with his county forestry committee, which unanimously approved funding for the signs. The Alliance wrote an informative explanation of high-relief hummocky topography and provided an attending color illustration. High Point Chapter Co-Coordinators, Butch Clendenning and Buzz Meyer, organized a group of hardworking volunteers, including Abby Barten and Jennifer Medina-Gray. They hauled signs and posts, dug post holes, and erected them. In September 2020, the Chapter hosted an inaugural hike of the Wood Lake Loop Trail as part of its dedication.