Crew comes together to build Ice Age trail bridge

Trail volunteers work with Forest Service, New Vision Wilderness for project

Starting on July 7, a number of volunteers traveled to the Jerry Lake Segment of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail to come together and build a new structure that crosses over Sailor Creek.

The project site was located about five miles north of where County Highway M intersects with Sailor Creek Rd in the Jerry Lake Segment of the Ice Age Trail, which stretches 15.2 miles from County Highway E to Sailor Creek Rd. Organized by the Ice Age Trail Alliance, the project was planned to last for four days and have over twenty people working on it.

The Ice Age National Scenic Trail is a 1,200 mile long footpath that covers the state of Wisconsin. It is one of eleven national scenic trails and is managed and maintained by the National Park Service, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Ice Age Trail Alliance.

The project site is located in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, and because of this, the United States Forest Service funded the project and provided materials and the design. The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest contains 49 miles of the Ice Age Trail.

When the snow melts in the spring time, the water level of the creek would rise to the point that the current bridge would be submerged, which is why the Alliance and the Forest Service decided to build a 24-foot-long bridge going over the creek with over 100 feet of boardwalk leading up to it. The bridge is expected to last 50 years.

Patrick Gleissner, the Alliance’s field operation coordinator, said that this project was structured a little differently than usual since the Forest Service was involved. Normally Gleissner would be responsible for a lot of the planning and layout of the projects, including getting permits and putting together maps for the project. However, he said that for this specific project, he didn’t have to do his usual responsibilities because the Forest Service put together most of the preparations for the project, including having an engineer design the bridge and boardwalk.

Gleissner explained that he spent a lot of time on this project making sure everyone had the proper tools and supplies needed. Before stepping into this position last August, Gleissner volunteered regularly. He explained that he fell in love with the Ice Age Trail after he and his girlfriend backpacked the trail for 52 days and now being the field operation coordinator, it’s almost like his dream job.

“There’s value in the trail,” said Gleissner.

There were about 25 volunteers working on the project that came from all across the state. Milwaukee, Ladysmith, Whitewater, and Waukesha were just some of the towns that people were traveling from. Buzz Meyer, the volunteer chapter coordinator for the Alliance’s High Point Chapter, explained that some volunteers were retired and had the time to volunteer while others took off of work to be able to assist with the project. For some of the Alliance’s past projects, they have gotten volunteers from New York, Chicago, and other out-of-state areas.

This was a very small project compared to other projects the Alliance has done. Some projects can have as many as 60 to 150 volunteers throughout the duration of the project.

The trail program manager, Dave Caliebe, explained that they had a wide variety of volunteers, from new volunteers and long-time ones to members of the Board of Directors. Meyer said that some of the volunteers have never used tools before so this was a learning experience for them.

The project initially got underway on June 29 when Meyer, Caliebe, Gleissner, and the Ice Age Trail Alliance intern came out to the site to build the abutments of the bridge, which connects the deck of a bridge to the ground.

Both Caliebe and Meyer said that they were ahead of schedule with the bridge. One of the volunteers noted that this project was much more organized than some of the past projects he’s helped with, which played a big part in the group’s effi ciency.

Caliebe has been with the Alliance for eight years and recently took on the trail program manager position. He started volunteering in 2005, so his experience has helped him learn what works best when it comes to managing projects and organizing volunteers. “Things are going great. It helps when you have people who know what they’re doing, volunteers who know what they’re doing,” said Caliebe.

The project was advertised on the Alliance’s website as a state-wide event, bringing in people from all across the state. Many of the volunteers camped at Lake Kathryn during the duration of the project.

New Vision Wilderness Therapy, which provides youth mental health services through wilderness therapy programs, also provided a number of young volunteers as a part of their program. Meyer said that it was nice to have the children there to help as it gave them a sense of responsibility and accomplishment.

Pam Smith of Mosinee was one of the volunteers working on the project. She has been hiking on the Ice Age Trail since 2015, and then in 2018, she decided to make a commitment to the trail by helping to make it better and has been volunteering with the Alliance ever since. Throughout the years that she’s been using the trail and volunteering, she’s been around the entirety of the trail 3.5 times. Smith said that she likes that personal accomplishment that volunteering gives her.

John Kolbe was one of the Board of Directors members that worked on the bridge. He has been with the Alliance for ten years and has quite often helped with projects over the years. He said that since retiring in 2019, he has been volunteering enough to have it be a full-time job. Kolbe explained that there are three reasons why he enjoys volunteering.

“One is the significant accomplishments we generate in a very short period of time,” said Kolbe.

He also stated that he appreciates the fact that these projects bring together a group of people from all over the state with different perspectives and give them one goal to work towards together. Conserving the land and the trail for future generations is another benefit from volunteering, said Kolbe.

Meyer said that one of the goals with fixing the bridge is to draw more people to the trip by improving it.