Jerry Lake Aug. 23-26

Jerry Lake Aug. 23-26, a set on Flickr.

My pictures from the August Jerry Lake MSC project are up!

A Bridge to Somewhere: Jerry Lake MSC Project

The dust had yet to settle from the Montrose project when the MSC trailers were hauled up to Chequamegon National Forest in Taylor County for the Jerry Lake project.  This project little resembled the one we left a week earlier at Montrose.  Whereas Montrose had heavy cross slope with bucket after bucket of dirt and duff (not to mention all the invasive species removal and prairie restoration), Jerry Lake had a 67-foot long bridge and light cross slope while meandering alongside the Yellow River. 

I arrived with Brad Sunday afternoon to get a start on things.  It was going to be a long, yet fun week.  Theresa had arrived the day before to get some hiking in.  Bob and Jen showed up and Tim rounded out the Sunday night crew.  The water in the campground had failed a test so we went the next obvious place for water – the P-Town Saloon and Grill (I’ve heard it called the P-Town Tap and P-Town Inn so I’m not sure what the official local name is).  Tim, Bob and I headed over there for “reconnaissance” to find out the feasibility of getting water from there.  Tim seemed to be a regular and water was provided as fast as you can say, “I’ll have another pitcher of PBR”.

Monday the gathered crew went about assembling base camp.  Who would’ve thought so much discussion was needed to decide where picnic tables were to be placed.  The big top was erected, kitchen organized and firewood collected.  The day before, local chapter member Dennis had dispersed two trailer loads of firewood amongst the eight campsites, the only problem being we weren’t staying in the campground but the field down the road.  We went about re-gathering the wood and bringing it back to camp. 

With camp rounding into shape, we headed out to the worksite to drop off the tool trailers and begin to shuttle equipment to the bridge site.  Gene offered up his ATV and trailer to help with the shuttle.  The US Forest Service had put in an access road to get back to the bridge site and timber salvage area and we figured we could just drive down that.  We were mistaken.  Mud permeated the road in places, forcing us to bushwhack a route for the ATV (and volunteers walking).  Two hours later we finally reached the bridge. 

For this project, we teamed up with the American Hiking Society (AHS) to bring volunteers from around the country to help construct the Ice Age Trail (The AHS runs a pretty good racket by charging people to volunteer and then not giving any of that money to the host trail organization.  That’s why the AHS volunteers are a little dismayed when they learn MSC events are free).  Frankie was the point person for this and helped bring in people from Colorado, North Carolina, Minnesota and Wisconsin.  They showed up in time for dinner (sounds about right).  Thelma wasn’t arriving until later that night so she talked one of her friends into to driving over to bring us stew.  That Thelma is always looking out for us!

Thelma's car with the groceries

Tuesday the project officially began.  The bridgework started in earnest with Rich leading the crew of locals and a few of the AHS folks.  The rest of us attacked the tread in the sections next to the bridge.  We were joined by folks from New Vision Wilderness, an organization that takes troubled youths into the woods for weeks or months at times to try and turn their lives around.  Stumps were grubbed out and a small rock wall or two were knocked out by lunch.  We were moving right along.

The key to building sustainable trail in the Chequamegon is to read which way the water flows off the hummocks.  We weren’t dealing with the big watersheds we are used to, but micro watersheds that encompassed only a few feet or yards.  All the tricks were pulled out to make sure the water wouldn’t sit and collect on the trail.  Trenches were dug, eyebrows removed (not our own, but the trail’s) and rock was used to reinforce drainages.  These techniques and more were used as we fought to use as much high ground as we could to keep the trail dry.

By the end of the day, we had finished a couple hundred feet of tread and got a great start on another couple hundred.  The bridge that started the day bare, with only the stringers in place, now resembled a whale skeleton with the 4x4 upright posts in place.  We sat around and were amazed at how much work was accomplished.  It was only Tuesday.

It kinda looks like a whale skeleton.  Right?

A few of the MSCers took vacation days to take in the longer project and get away to the Northwoods.  Fluff wanted to take a day off from vacation to get some hiking in and explore the area so she asked Brad if she could take Wednesday off.  Brad promptly responded with a “DENIED!” smashing his hand onto the table for added effect.  Exactly how volunteer are we?

On Wednesday beautiful weather was bountiful and so were the volunteers.  42 Medford middle and high school students joined the fray as our numbers swelled to over 100 (this is why Brad denied Fluff Wednesday off).  That’s just plain crazy for a Wednesday.  Some of the students worked at rehabbing the existing crossing of the Yellow River by removing the boards lying across and pulling out the stones that had been placed to help hikers feet stay dry.  The rest of the students worked at corridor clearing so the tread crews could come and just start hammering away. 

The old Yellow River crossing

Meanwhile at the bridge site, the final 4x4 uprights were installed and the decking began to cover the stringers.  Nothing was small about this bridge (except for the hardware) as the deck boards were a full 3 inches thick by 12 inches wide and 5 feet long.  They were heavy to say the least.  To fit the deck boards around the posts, they had to be cut out with a chainsaw and I somehow got that job.  My skills making precision cuts with the chainsaw are lacking (My technique of measuring once and cutting twice may not have been the best way).  AHS volunteers Dick and Jill, along with local Joe, worked placing the decking.  It took a little bit to figure out the best way to accomplish this with the boards being so thick and lag bolts being a bit on the small side.  The first person to snap a lag bolt had to buy everyone beer and Jill was the lucky winner (I’m not sure she ever paid up this debt.  She bought a 6er later in the week but drank the whole thing herself)! 

The bridge stringers were 67-foot glulam beams.  The beams were formed by mating 2x8 boards together into a 67-foot length and then stacked 20 high and glued together.  The resulting beams are lighter than steel and have a higher tensile strength.  Glulam was invented in Europe in the 19^th Century and made its way to the US in 1934.  The first structure utilizing glulam in the US was in Madison at the USFS Wood Products Lab and is still in use today (If you ever get a chance to tour this facility, I’d recommend it.  The variety of products created from wood is quite amazing [and you can go inside that glulam building]).

When the Forest Service placed the stringers, they cut down a few trees to make room and decided that it was fine for them to lay in river right by the bridge.  Not only did it look terrible, but also it was damming up the river and during high water could collect other trees and debris, threatening the bridge.  We had to find a way to get the trees out of the water.  Now this is a job I can do!  I sloshed through the water with the chainsaw, cutting the trees into movable sections.  It was awesome.  I have a new GoPro 2 video camera that is waterproof and made for outdoor sports so I thought this was the perfect time to try it out.  I sawed a bit with the camera strapped to my helmet and then I took it off and set it underwater while I cut a log.  It didn’t turn out too bad for my first day with the camera.  

Before

After

It was nice at the end of the day, after spending all day at the bridge, to walk back to the vehicles and see all the work the other crews had accomplished.  Wollmer did some excellent rockwork leading up to the campsite overlooking the river, B-Funk and the Groove Train led crews that pounded out a ton of new tread.  There sure was a lot of work completed and it was only Wednesday.

While waiting for dinner, Gail brought out a crossword puzzle (a Sunday crossword at that, although not a New York Times Sunday) that soon consumed a few of us.  It’s funny how excited you get when one of the big answers is figured out (Ahh!  “Champagne promise!”).  Eventually the completed crossword was tossed into the fire.

On Thursday, Fluff and Theresa took the AHS folks on a gallivanting trip around Taylor County visiting Hemlock Esker, Jerry Lake, Mondeaux Lodge for fried cheese curds (it was the first time ever having them for most of the out-of-staters), Timm’s Hill, and the house with all the chainsaws in the yard.  Everyone had fun exploring the Northwoods and taking a day off from volunteering. 

I had taken this picture years ago, but couldn't remember where.  Now I know it's Taylor County!

The rest of us real volunteers headed back to the field to continue the bridge and trail reroute.  Barbara went back to the section that would not die, 13 (dun, dun dun).  I got to finish the chainsaw work at the bridge.  It was a lot of fun cutting and hauling the logs out of the river (not to mention, how much better it looked).  Rich went about digging the holes for the boardwalk approaches to the bridge (The Forest Service engineers felt an 8-foot long ramp that rose 4-feet was a good idea.  The Ice Age Trail has higher standards than that!).  Looking at the ground, this looked like an unenviable task, but the reality was not as daunting.  The boulders and rocks never presented themselves and holes went in relatively easy.   Gary showed up and began working on the railings for the bridge.  Everything was coming together.  

Again, walking back from the bridge at the end of the day gave us a great view of the work accomplished.  One section in particular stood out.  An ugly and treacherous crossing of a seasonal drainage had been cleared up, turning into a beautiful rock crossing.  I guessed that Wollmer was the culprit crew leader and sure enough, he was.  Fantastic work all around and it was only Thursday.

Thelma pulled a few tricks and tweaked her standard repertoire of food.  Chicken is a constant pillar on her menu, but making it chicken and gravy was a great change of pace (not to mention it was excellent!).

Before Wollmer

After Wollmer

Like a Tour de France rider getting a blood transfusion to give him the power to win the stage, new blood arrived Thursday night to rejuvenate the wearied workers who had been there for a few days already (Though our blood doping was more on the legal side).  Rita, Craig, Rod, Matt and the Hoofers, Rin, Ruth, Jo, Leah and a host of others joined the fray (talk about some heavy hitters).

Quotes from the week:

“Yes, I realize you have to read the clues before filling in the crossword”  - Me

“A good crew leader brings candy for their crew, but I don’t have any edible candy for you.  All I can supply is eye candy.”  - Me

“I gotta go find something to do” – Me as a crew leader

“You don’t even have to talk to enjoy yourself…well that came out wrong” – Me

(Hmmm not a good quote week for me)

“Don’t fluck with Fluff” – Wollmer

 “My rear end makes wide turns too” – Fluff

“You must’n been born ‘bout ‘62” – Alabama to Cliff

“You’re a closet awesome guy” – Fluff about Chuck

“Who said that?” – Fluff after I repeated the quote later

“I got underwear older than you” – Cliff

“I’ve been cursing for a long time” – Fluff

“I have tater snuffles” – Fluff

“Randy forced me into the chair” – Fluff

“Whoa!  Red Flag!” – Leah

“If I don’t see you in the morning, goodnight” - Cliff

Friday saw a push to finish the tread work on the north side of the river.  It’s great to be working in section 00 when work started in section 16.   I was finally pulled from the bridge and had to actually “work” at section 00.  On one hand, it’s nice to be working so close to the trailers, but on the other hand, this is the first section of trail people encounter of the MSC project.  It sets the stage for all the work that follows.  Being wholly incapable of working on this debut section, my crew was littered with powerhouses designed to architect a successful section.  First and foremost, 2012 Spirit Stick Award Winner Craig was enlisted to ensure a superb section.  Among those joining him were, AHS volunteer Robin, newbie Lance, newbie Kevin from the bachelor party (yes, there was a bachelor party at the event) and the indomitable Sloop John B.  Through perseverance (and “suggestions” from Tim), the section turned out admirably. 

The morning round-up

Hauling lumber back to the bridge site

Matt live tweeting (kids and their technology)

Meanwhile in section 01, Jo and her crew tackled a tricky section through the roots and duff of an area populated with stately hemlocks.  The light filtered through the hemlocks casting the crew in majestic light like only hemlocks can do.  Early morning light spackles the forest floor in shades of brilliance, but afternoon light streaming through the trees just looks different.  It almost ruins the beauty of the forest (at least for a photographer).  Hemlocks resist this degradation and hold onto the sublime beauty of sunlight no matter the time of day (this is another reason hemlocks are in my top 2 of favorite trees).  

The rest of the crews were spread out working on new tread or touching up tread begun the day before.  With bucket in hand, Rich continued milking the bridge.  Section 13 was finally dealt a deathblow and moved to the “completed” side.  This sucker was started right after lunch on Tuesday and took over 3 days to complete.  I’m not an MSC historian, but this has to be the longest a section has been worked on ever at an MSC project (not including big bridges and boardwalks). 

Leah found this left in her pack from Montrose

By the end of the day, the tread was in good shape over the length of the project area, Kevin (from the bachelor party) had dug his first posthole, and Clipboard Crary had even accomplished a little work and it was only Friday. 

The crews streamed in and tools were cleaned, oiled and put away.  We weren’t sure what Saturday had in store for us as we waited for rides back to camp.  Folks with vehicles kept leaving with full cars and eventually it was down to Jill and I as we waited for Tim.  He was checking over all our work and had the keys to the last vehicle left.  With a little time to waste, I introduced her to whiskey (she may be a late bloomer, but she wasn’t afraid of a few nippers).  Tim showed up shortly thereafter and on the way back to camp, the vehicle directed us to the P-Town Saloon (that’s odd….).

The hard work of the previous 4 days paid off as crews shifted to the south side of the Yellow River to install a temporary route so hikers would be able to use the new bridge and tread until the project was finished in August.  The south side was a veritable disaster area from a windstorm the previous year.  Our job was to not only open a temporary route through the lowlands, but also clear the future route through the timber harvest area to delineate the Ice Age Trail corridor.  The temporary route turned out to be an easy achievement.  Twenty volunteers walked the route with handsaws and loppers, clearing any obstruction out of the way.  The last few folks literally dragged their feet and clearly defined the trail.  There are not many miles in the Chequamegon as well built as the temporary route. 

Jill doing her Atlas impression 

Brad led the crew through the future route and made short work of the task.  Randy “Cliff” arrived in the morning to lend his puns and experience to the project.  A crew was detached to touch up and finesse the trail constructed earlier in the week.  Rod and I continued our chainsaw work by working on the trail south to the next road crossing.  Fred let a crew brushing back this corridor and assessing future trail needs.  Rod and I met up with Fred’s crew, which made for a great time to take a break.  I was commenting to Jeri how ticks were surprisingly scarce this project when I found a deer tick embedded in my gut.  Fantastic!

Rich milked the bridge to exhaustion and ended with a sight to see in the middle of the Chequamegon.  This will be a landmark for every hiker for the next 30-40 years (I wonder if Rich takes pride in the great accomplishments he oversees along the IAT.  He always does great work that is admired by everyone but does he appreciate it?  I would guess modesty is a trait engrained in him). 

Making sure the bridge worked

The wizened veterans looking over their work

People sauntered back to the tool trailers and vehicles, enjoying the work of the week.  With the work over, it was time to celebrate and enjoy the beautiful May weather.

Dr. Wario?

After dinner, we circled up and passed along our highlights from the previous week.  Alabama John thanked everyone for the hospitality and invited us down to the Appalachian Trail and the hostel right outside of Washington DC where he sets up shop for a few months a year.  John was good people.  He was biking across the country and happened to see the yellow “Ice Age Trail Event” sign and decided to stop in.  He had a meal shortly thereafter and ended up staying for 3 days.  Awesome.  

The AHS folks received t-shirts and bandanas along with some other garb from AHS and the IAT.  The campfire commenced with Cliff bringing out his La-Z-Boy and guitar to officially get the evening started.  A bottle of Sheep Dip, an old MSC Saturday Night companion, was brought out (purists will tell you that it isn’t the same Sheep Dip as it used to be) and passed around the campfire. 

We had been given a reprieve of Cliff’s campfire routine so far this year, but Jerry Lake saw the return of the same songs we’ve heard many, many, many times before (Although not hearing them for so long made them seem a little less stale).  Alabama John turned out to be a kindred spirit with Cliff as they joined together to work through Cliff’s repository of old country songs (Here’s where John, in his southern drawl, said “You must’n been born ‘bout ‘62”).  Laughter punctured the air as everyone relaxed and let loose knowing the work was done and no crews were going into the field on Sunday (some may have let loose more than others…Fluff?).  The Bachelor party headed over to P-Town to amp it up a bit, while the rest of us had Cliff as an amplifier. 

Morning broke with a headache for me and the debut of PJ Sundays for everyone!  With the work done, we thought everyone should show up to Sunday breakfast in his or her PJ’s.  I think there were 3 of us in our PJ’s so I’ll take that as a rousing success and a building block for future PJ Sundays.  There actually was a little work left in the field, as Gene had to take the last few loads of scrap lumber from the bridge site.  I volunteered to join him because I wanted to take a few more pictures and walk the segment with the GoPro 2 on my head (I have all these ideas on how to use it to promote the trail, or at least make a cool video for the Rendezvous in February.  Whether any of them come to fruition is another story).  

GoPro pic

GoPro pic of the bridge (duh!)

We had not had a project without rain since the Gibraltar project in October of 2010 and we made it through a whole week in the Chequamegon without rain, until Sunday morning that is.  While Gene was making a run with a load of scrap, I waited on the bridge listening to Nature.  The sounds of volunteers talking and clanging picks and McCloeds against the glacial till disappeared, replaced with birds chirping, the wind blowing through the trees and a rumbling in distance.  Ah peaceful.  Wait, that’s thunder on its way.  Crap.  Gene arrived and we loaded up the last of the scrap lumber and headed back, hurrying to beat the impending storm.  Of course, we failed as the deluge inundated us as we loaded his truck.  Soaked.  Well it wouldn’t be an MSC project without rain.  We made it back to base camp to find everything put away and the last lingerers hanging around. 

Getting back to “civilization” after spending a week camping and working in the Chequamegon without internet or a reason to use the cell phone, you realize how much of your life is filled with nonsense.  The hours wasted in front of the TV or perusing the Internet add up quickly.  I came “home” and realized I hadn’t missed anything, but being home, I realized I missed something, the woods.  Sitting silently along the Yellow River while nature happened around me was beautiful.  Happiness comes in different forms with different people.  Keeping up with Hollywood gossip is entertaining for many people, but I’ll take the entertainment gleaned from watching a pileated woodpecker rip a tree apart looking for insects or a river moving slowly by, carrying with it many stories from its journey downhill.  What’s more important in life than peace of mind?

The Jerry Lake project may not have been a milestone for work accomplished or volunteers participating, but it set the stage for the Chequamegon National Forest to become a signature hike of the Ice Age Trail.  Camping is plentiful (and legal!) along the nearly 30 miles of uninterrupted trail in the Forest.  With pointed reroutes and trail upgrades, the Chequamegon will become a hiking mecca; opening the Northwoods to hikers of all ability to explore the beauty of a forest floor covered in trilliums, hemlocks coveting the days sunlight and water flowing through, and at times, resting, amongst the flora and fauna making up Wisconsin’s only National Forest.