The Return to Jerry Lake

We returned to the Jerry Lake segment of the Ice Age Trail for the second Mobile Skills Crew (MSC) event there of the year.   Located in the heart of the Chequamegon National Forest between Medford and Gilman in Taylor County, the Jerry Lake segment is Wisconsin wilderness at it’s best.  In May, we constructed a 67-foot bridge and new tread on the north side of the Yellow River, but now we tackled the south side.  This was the first MSC trail building event since June and that one was easy by MSC standards, with minimal cross slope and light soil that was easy to work with, so it was good to be back at Jerry Lake with the hummocky terrain and enough rocks to sink a ship. 

Folks started arriving Wednesday to get camp set up and walk around the project area.  I showed up in the evening and got talking to Chet and Sharon ‘til after midnight.  Chet finished the Pacific Crest Trail earlier this year and also hiked around Isle Royale, with the Superior Trail on the docket in a few weeks, followed by the Border Route Trail later in the fall (this is what Chet calls a “light” year).  Hikers can talk a lot so we ended up the last ones awake.  It’s always great to have a chance to chat with Chet and Sharon.  Good people.  Enough with the talking, we had trail to build!

An overcast Thursday kept temperatures cooler and granted good lighting for any photographers in our midst.  Crews were assigned at the tool trailers in the field and we began our walk in.  We could’ve taken a shortcut, but decided on walking the section we had constructed in May.  How well it walked and looked months later impressed me.  Coming back to a section you had constructed before is a great learning experience as you can see what worked and what needs a little improvement.  A good trail builder is always learning (and that’s why I’m not one).  One of the reasons it may have looked so good presented itself at the bridge, the Yellow River was reduced to a trickle.  The lack of rain dried out the Northwoods (and Wisconsin) and never tested our trail work and plumbing features.  It was crazy how low the “river” was.

May

August

We crossed the bridge and crews dropped off as they reached their assigned sections, well most of the crews anyways.  My crew stopped at section 8, while Cowboy’s crew went to section 6.  Hmm, why wasn’t someone working in section 7?  Section 6 was a bruiser of a section with two climbing turns and multiple rock walls so I figured they wanted to get a head start on the especially difficult section.  Well it turns out Cowboy was just following Rich, who decided to stop in 6 instead of 7.  People should know to not follow Rich because you might end up at the Merrimac Ferry. 

Rich slacking off again

Work began in earnest on the relatively flat sections (Cowboy’s not included) with trees grubbed out and the top layer of duff removed.  After getting through the organic mat, the trail became cupped in places because of the lack of topography.  We were unsure how deep to go, but Tim came through and said “deeper!” so deeper we went. 

Deeper!

I had a great crew with Sharon, Chet, Melissa, Sloop John B, locals Joe and Dennis, along with Larry as my Assistant Crew Leader.  I always enjoy having Sharon on my crew because I don’t have to leave my crew and walk to another section to bug her.  It was Melissa’s first project so I was trying to teach her the basics of 4-step, which can be hard on flat trail.  I’m not sure if she actually learned anything, but the projects I had her working turned out great.  We took our time and by the end of the day, felt pretty good about the trail we constructed, whether Tim would okay it was another story.

My crew hard at work

Throughout the day, we checked the progress on Section 6 and the work they were doing (this wasn’t really on our own volition as members of my crew had been enlisted as rock mules for their rock wall).  There was a lack of quality rock in the area, even though the soil was littered with them, they were just too small, and so each suitable rock entailed a longer haul.  At quitting time, the rock wall and climbing turns were off to great starts, ready to be finished off the next day.

Elsewhere on the trail, Jennifer led her crew through another of the tricky flat sections.  I’d wander over to confab with her about the best way to go about things and bribe her with candy and chocolate (I always enjoy anything she gives me from her garden).  She introduced a new word into our lexicon on Thursday – “swaling” defined as the art of constructing a swale (it will fit in nicely alongside hydrologically invisible).  I like it!

Jennifer not in a swaling mood

Bill, B-Funk and others worked with a group of kids from New Vision Wilderness building trail closer to the bridge.  New Vision Wilderness is an organization that takes youth with various problems into the woods for weeks at a time, never coming out.  We first worked with them at the May project and they enjoyed the work and thought it was good for the kids so they brought them back again.  Time spent in the woods can cure a lot of what ails people these days, like stress and emotional problems.  There are a lot of adults who would be helped by doing what these kids were doing.

Old Moneybags Luke showed up at the end of the day to harass the volunteers but also provide a great service at the parking area, cold beer and whiskey.  A few of us enjoyed a Happy Heron Pale Ale or two as the whiskey bottle was passed around.  A great way to end the day! 

After dinner it was revealed that it was Tim’s birthday, he hadn’t leaked the news during the day, but he was the one giving out gifts.  In celebration of the 10^th anniversary of the Mobile Skills Crew program, the Ice Age Trail Alliance made shirts to give the volunteers with all the projects listed.  It’s an impressive slate, and a nifty shirt to boot.

With the shirts handed out, a few of us slinked away to go through Tyler’s pack.  Tyler is hiking the Ice Age Trail from St. Croix to Baraboo and happened to be in the area while MSC was in town.  This seems to be a theme this year as thru-hiker Paul walked into the Hartman Creek project and John, who was biking across the country, was at the Jerry Lake project in May.  There were 7 thru-hikers at the project with Tim, John, Sharon, Chet, Tom, Luke and myself, quite the collection as there are only about 20 thru-hikers total.  Tim and John were preoccupied with work details so the rest of us helped Tyler lighten his load.  The big problem was his tent, as it weighed around 8 pounds, about 6 or 7 pounds more than a good ultralight tent.  They went through all his belonging telling him to toss out the rain pants, pack cover, extra clothes, and soap.  He brought out his metal spoon and was told to ditch that for a lighter one, but Chet chimed in “You’re going to want the stronger spoon when eating a pint of ice cream.”  Sounds like Chet’s had his share of ice cream along the trail.  I felt ashamed as the other thru-hikers tore apart Tyler’s pack.  His pack was already smaller than mine and they took out a bunch more.  He accepted their verdict while I winced as I saw cherished items tossed away.  I’ve never felt so inadequate or out of place in my life (that’s probably not true).  Tyler was glad for the help and hopefully he can move a little quicker and easier down the trail with the lighter pack.

Tyler getting the shakedown

Since it was Tim’s birthday, Luke and I thought we should head over to the P-Town Saloon to celebrate, but Tim wasn’t having any of it.  Jo and my boss Brigit heard the conversation and jumped at the chance to do a little outreach with the locals.  I’m not positive, but I think our campsite for the Jerry Lake project may be the closest to a bar for an MSC event the last few years.  We made it to P-Town in time to watch the Packers put the finishing touches on a preseason victory.  Like any good townie bar, they had a shake a day, which was up to $2300.  Now that’s something worth spending a buck for.  The rules change depending on the bar so the house rules here was one roll needing a natural 5 of a kind for half the pot - $1150.  We all got into the game, failing, with Jo coming the closest with a 4 of a kind.  We enjoyed the beers and conversation before heading back to camp.

Quotes from the project:

“It’s never smelled this bad” – Leah

“I live a good, clean, moral life, but I’m trying to change.  Pray for me.”  – Disco Dan

“You were making noises from your mouth” – Thelma to Gail

Friday morning brought a bit of rain, but the thirsty soil quickly drank it up, eliminating any evidence of the shower.  Crews were again divvied up at the tool trailers and we set off, this time taking the shortcut.  My crew was decidedly greener than the day before, but that just means I have to talk more (others call this “teaching”).  A group of New Vision Wilderness girls joined us, with half getting the short straw and ending up my crew.  I got Gail, and newbies Dave and Dennis going and focused my attention on turning the girls into trail building machines (or at least keep them entertained).  Their leader had lead trail crews out west, so I figured she’d be a pro, but her crews had been building half-bench trail, which doesn’t cut it on the Ice Age Trail.  We go full bench! 

Tim making sure we're going full bench

I steered the girls through CUSSing the tools and got them hammering away at the trail.  At first, they were tentative trying to chop roots and grub out stumps, but after a while they realized it’s okay to swing hard to get through that root (I decided my technique of getting mad and swearing at the stump wasn’t the best fit for these girls). 

One of the girls pointed to a tool and asked if that was a pick. 

“Is that the tool here that would work best for picking your nose?” I responded.

“You don’t really pick your nose with that, do you?” she asked in disbelief.

I picked up the tool and brought it up to my nose and said, “If it’s a big one I do.” 

Oh, it was going to be a good day.

My boss working hard

We had worked for an hour or so when I called the first water break.  One of the New Vision girls complained that we had been only working a short time.  I told them “Rule #1 on my crew:  No complaining about water breaks!”  I even brought candy for the first time all year so there was a reason for a break other than drinking water.

Out of the five crews, three had crew leaders named Dave (and my crew had another Dave for good measure).  You had to be specific when calling for a Dave over the radio.  There’s Cowboy Dave (or David), Lonsdorf (who has a great story about losing his pants on the AT), and myself, the Cut.

After lunch, all the New Vision girls on my crew disappeared.  I must’ve done a good job in the morning to drive them away.  While they were missing, Dave and I started hammering away at the last 50 feet of section going up hill.  Dave had hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and attempted the Continental Divide Trail this spring, but left the trail after dealing with huge snow in the north.  Sharon and Ruth from Cowboy’s crew had pity on me and pitched in to help.  The girls eventually showed up and got back to work.  Being an excellent crew leader, I waited until the hottest part of the day to work on the exposed hillside.  It got pretty warm in the sun and water breaks were more frequent in the afternoon. 

Sharon showing pity for my crew

A chainsaw crew of Jo, Disco Dan and the Groove Train (Sounds like the makings a great band name...in the 70's at least), moved along the trail corridor cutting back logs that the timber company had marked to harvest, being careful to measure and cut the logs to lengths specified by the company.  The salvage harvest was supposed to have been completed by our project, but that was not the case, so we wanted to leave as little work for the timber company within the trail corridor in order to minimize disturbance by the big logging machines.

She's a chainsaw woman!

Cowboy finished tricky section 6 shortly after lunch and headed over to start section 00, meaning all the sections were either finished or being worked on.  Awesome.  Moneybags Luke spent the afternoon making rock cairns, a more useful line of work for him than trail building.  His crew had the other half of the New Vision girls who ended up leaving him in the afternoon and joining my crew. 

Luke's hard work

I was a bit concerned about our water situation as the day wore on and supplies diminished.  Someone had gone back for water, but never returned.  John and Luke both stopped over to steal some water because they had ran out.  With the project area so remote, it was difficult to get water back there.  We managed and finished the day strong (and perhaps a bit thirsty).

John making sure the rock wall is up to standard

The funniest part of the day was at the end when one of the New Vision leaders pulled me aside and made the absurd claim that I was a “great positive male role model.”  I laughed pretty heartily at that, but it really was a treat working with the girls.  We got our section done and had fun doing it.

On the way back to the tool trailers we came across the work Rich and B-Funk had done near the campsite overlooking the South Fork of the Yellow River.  They had successfully bridged a drainage with two big slabs of hemlock (If you want something done, sic Rich and B-Funk on it, they always do fantastic work).  This task didn’t get completed at the May project here, but now it adds another beautiful piece to the Jerry Lake Segment. 

Rich and B-Funk's new puncheon

It was the end of August and whispers of yellow and orange were beginning to creep into the conversation in the Northwoods.  In a few short weeks, those whispers will turn into a full-throated chorus as the forest comes ablaze in its Autumnal peak. 

When walking through the Chequamegon, it’s hard to believe this was all clear-cut a Century ago.  After the forests were removed (forests are a hindrance to progress right?), farmers moved in and quickly realized the soil was too poor to cultivate crops.  This barren wasteland became the Chequamegon National Forest after the Government started buying up abandoned lots.  The CCC came in the 1930’s and 40’s, planting trees and trying to rehab the devastation wrought by the lumber barons.  That’s the landscape you see today, a young forest slowly maturing into a later succession ecosystem of hemlock and pine.  This is mostly a vain exercise as forests today are managed for lumber and game wildlife species, ignoring the benefits of old growth stands (do we manage any forests for old growth?) and the diversity of life that accompany them (not to mention the wonderment of kids walking amongst towering white pine whose trunks are wider than what 4 kids can wrap their interlocked arms around).

Back at camp, Thelma was busy preparing dinner (it was Friday so dinner was either ham and cheesy potatoes or pork and potatoes) as the folks from the field cleaned up.  The new head of the Chequamegon NF, had stopped by and dropped off tokens so people could shower at a nearby campground (who needs a shower when a lake is readily available?).  I stopped by my car to take off my boots and decompress via sitting on the ground while drinking a beer, when soon enough a crowd had gathered to do the same thing.  Gail and Cowboy and Jennifer brought over a few beers, as did others and soon enough the community beer cooler was stocked well.  It was like the old story about the stone soup where a person said they would make a soup with a stone and soon enough others were bringing spare ingredients, turning an empty pot with a stone into a delicious soup, only in the case of MSC, it’s a cooler with ice instead of a stone and a bountiful selection of beer instead of a soup.  The dinner bell rang, spoiling our party.  Dinner was pork and potatoes.

Work left to do for Saturday

While the campfire scene got started, groups of people congregated under the big top, playing Farkle, Cribbage and other games (Kevin was the big Farkle winner).  Chet took Tyler under his wing, giving him some useful tips for the rest of his hike.  At the campfire, Jo brought out a wine bottle she had turned into a piece of art.  I’m not an art-maker (more like a fart maker!...wow, that was a bad one.  Sorry), so I’m not sure how she created the stained glass effect around the entire bottle (She even included a tree with a yellow blaze on the bottle).  To top it off, Jo cut a hole in the bottom and stuck a few LED lights inside to bring the artwork to life.  Pretty cool.  Leah finally showed up, late, after I told her a bunch of people would be up around the campfire.  All that remained of the campfire crowd was Chuck and myself and I was battling the sandman pretty hard.  I sucked it up and had a few more beers.  Matt eventually showed up too, with one of his patented late-night arrivals.

A host of volunteers left Friday evening and Saturday morning, leaving a smallish crew to tackle the rest of the project.  There were only 5 sections left to be completed Saturday, but they were some of the toughest, with heavy cross slope and some goofy drainages.  Crews were going to have their work cut out for them, but with folks like Lisa and Jim and Debbie (you know, Debbie.  Tall Debbie?  No, Debbie Debbie) the work was going to get finished.  With picks hammering away at the cross slope, McLeod’s cleaning up the duff and soil and rock bars moving the final rocks into place, the tread was completed by mid-afternoon.  This has been a common theme at MSC projects recently – running out of work early on Saturday.  That happens when a program has been around for 10 years, training people around the state to build National Scenic Trail quality tread, keeps growing and is able to bite off ever larger projects.  The streak of Mobile Skills Crew projects running out of work will end at the September project where a 2.7-mile bruiser awaits in Marathon County.

Brad trying to hurt himself so he doesn't have to go into the field

Well I lied, there’s always work to do in the Chequamegon as crews headed out Sunday to upgrade signage and brush back the encroaching forest.  The Jerry Lake projects this year hopefully will act as a stepping-stone to improve the entire trail through the Chequamegon.  It’s a beauty how wonderful the trail is to walk through stately hemlocks, along creeks and rivers and high up on the eskers – all without getting your feet wet.  Trail construction has come a long way in the past 50 years and perhaps it’s time to upgrade the Ice Age Trail in the Chequamegon into a showcase section.  It won’t be easy, but the payoff is worth it.