Janesville MSC Preview

The IATA Mobile Skills Crew descends once again on Janesville and the Devil’s Staircase Segment. This time we will not only be reinforcing the rockwork that was constructed in 2007, but also moving across the road and begin work on brand new trail. The new trail will start knocking down the 20-mile road walk that currently exists from the end of the Devil’s Staircase segment in Janesville to the Sugar River Trail in Albany. Last year when I hiked through here, I thought too highly of my internal GPS and declined to look at the directions, and led myself into a soybean field. The new trail will make it harder for people like me to lose their way.

The Devil’s Staircase segment is unlike any other along the Ice Age Trail. The trail is pinched between the Rock River and sandstone bluffs that try to push you into the water. It’s quite the sight, especially when you realize that you are still in Janesville. The closest you get to repeating these features is at Potawatomi State Park as you leave the terminus and walk along Lake Michigan with a muted ledge holding you in.

No souls will be sold as we do battle with the devil(s staircase) so come and join us in Janesville Sept. 15-18. Sign up here. If you have an itch for writing, let me know because I will only be at the project during the day on Friday. You can write the recap for the project! Otherwise, I'll be forced to wing it from secondhand rumors. If trail building or writing is not your thing, you can always get a good hair cut while in Janesville!

TL&D April 27 - May 1

TL&D April 27 - May 1, a set on Flickr.

Pics from the first MSC event of the year, the Trail Layout and Design Workshop!

Tuscobia May 11-15 2011

Tuscobia May 11-15 2011, a set on Flickr.

Pictures from the first trailbuilding project of 2011! Turns out I really enjoy pictures of campfires, which was a good thing at this project with how cold it was with the bitter wind battering us.