Intense Heat Fails to Wilt Good Spirits

Storrs Lake Segment MSC
June 21-25, 2023

To combat the intense 90-plus-degree heat, project hosts – the Rock County Chapter – provided buckets of iced beverages and handed out cooling towels to each participant. Small pop-up tents offered important (but minimal!) shade during lunch breaks. And crews guzzled gallons of Gatorade.

Nonetheless, 51 stalwart volunteers donated 1,181 service hours to build an 856-foot boardwalk during the 5-day MSC project.

Sweltering temperatures and congenial volunteers welcomed MSC newcomers like Mayor Anissa Welch of Milton, an Ice Age Trail Community. An avid hiker, she relished the opportunity to learn more about trailbuilding. Representative Scott L. Johnson, Assembly District 33, didn’t let the heat dampen his enthusiasm either. He joined a crew setting frames and screwing down deck boards.

“Our volunteers are kind and generous people, but they were especially thoughtful throughout this project,” said Riley Dupee, Field Operations Specialist for the Alliance. “Crew leaders made sure their teams took plenty of breaks while crew members checked in with each other, ensuring everyone was drinking enough water.“

Project Outcomes:  

• 51 volunteers donated 1,181 service hours.
• An 856-foot boardwalk will now keep boots dry along the segment.
• Volunteers stayed healthy and hydrated despite the heat!

Special thanks to:

• The Rock County Chapter members (and friends from nearby chapters) for their pre-project frame-building event on Tuesday, June 20; refreshing cold lunches; ice, cooling towels, and Gatorade.
• Dave Keber for the use of his property for lumber staging.
• Mike and Jen Soergel for the use of their driveway to access the staged lumber.
• Annissa Welch, Mayor of Milton, and Representative Scott L. Johnson, Assembly District 33, for their interest in and support of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.
• Skip and Wendy Drew for letting us turn their property into the project’s base camp: pitching tents and using their kitchen for cooking an evening meal. (Skip was instrumental in the creation of the Storrs Lake Segment.)
• The Gathering Place for providing a fantastic venue, out of the heat, for an evening meal.