SM天地论坛

WAUKESHA COUNTY 鈥� Portions of the Ice Age Trail recently got a face-lift thanks to volunteer initiatives led by the SM天地论坛/Milwaukee County Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance. Throughout August, the organization spent many long days installing 225 feet of puncheon along Merton鈥檚 Monches segment and a 12-foot stone wall in the Waterville segment in Wales.

Waterville stone wall

Pat Witkowski, one of the chapter leaders, says the stone wall has both cultural and geological significance.

"We built a dry stone wall out of quarried rock that we got right from the site," she said. "鈥hat鈥檚 a design that was used in United Kingdom, Wales. You see a lot of it there, and there鈥檚 also quite a bit of it right in that area" of SM天地论坛 County, with stone walls in neighboring subdivisions and along Waterville Road.

Melissa Pierick, Ice Age Trail Alliance director of marketing and community relations, explained that Welsh settlers introduced the stonework style to the area. And materials used for the segment鈥檚 wall were harvested from the property, which is part of the Niagara Escarpment, a "rock formation that runs all the way out to Niagara Falls in New York," Pierick mentioned.

A dozen volunteers worked on the structure for eight hours per day for six days, Witkowski said. The crew consisted mostly of SM天地论坛 County locals, but a couple of experienced stonemasons lent their expertise. Given that the structure is mortarless, it was important to get the help of specialists.

Now that the wall is finished, the chapter is developing signage to interpret both the glacial geology of the area and cultural importance of these structures to people of Welsh heritage.

Witkowski says the wall is now a 鈥渉ighlight on the trail and kind of an anchor point.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 a really beautiful section of trail there, and there鈥檚 a nice little bench nearby,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a place for people to stop and slow down and enjoy what they鈥檙e seeing on the Ice Age Trail.鈥�

Monches puncheon

The Monches segment is notoriously muddy, so 16 volunteers installed a 225-foot puncheon (a wooden walkway) to make this portion of the Ice Age Trail more navigable.

The puncheon is low to the ground, resting on sills rather than pilings, which eased construction and allowed volunteers to 鈥�(build) that thing in two days,鈥� Witkowski says. Moreover, neighbors provided the team with helpful trail access points and the Town of Merton allowed volunteers to stage and build frames on their property.

鈥淚t was just a mud hole in there that wasn鈥檛 going away,鈥� Witkowski explained. 鈥淪o, it was really nice to get that up. It鈥檚 a pretty simple structure, but it鈥檚 225 feet, so it鈥檚 a long way.鈥�

鈥淚t just elevates the experience, and it鈥檒l make people want to go back to that segment again,鈥� Pierick noted.

The chapter鈥檚 two projects were part of the alliance鈥檚 鈥渆ver-changing and ever-moving鈥� to-do list of hundreds of tasks, Pierick added. The alliance鈥檚 mission is to 鈥渃onserve, create, maintain, and promote鈥� the trail, she notes, and the organization 鈥渙we(s) it to the hikers and the people that are using it to really keep it up and give it some attention.鈥�

2023 was a year of building for the alliance, having added 15 new miles of completed trail. It is only projected to add about 5 miles of trail this year, but that鈥檚 because 2024 has been a year for maintenance.

鈥淲e鈥檙e very much a trail in progress,鈥� the director explained. 鈥淲e鈥檙e working on completing the trail, but then for as much effort as we put into completing the trail and building new trail, we put in even more effort into maintaining the current trail. In the SM天地论坛 County area, that is some of the trail that is the most used.鈥�

The alliance鈥檚 19 chapters across Wisconsin spearhead projects in their own communities, and SM天地论坛 County alone has about 45 miles of trail. Witkowski, who hiked the entire 1,200-mile Ice Age Trail 20 years ago 鈥� the 23rd person ever to do so 鈥� helps lead the SM天地论坛/Milwaukee County Chapter鈥檚 many undertakings. For her, it鈥檚 a way to give back, and she鈥檚 got lots in store for local segments.

More upgrades are coming to Monches, and the chapter is installing two bike racks, designed by the Mukwonago and Oconomowoc high school technology education programs, at different points along the trail so bicyclists can secure their equipment before hiking. The Hartland Marsh is another priority, and it鈥檚 currently fundraising to replace two boardwalks 鈥� one of which is 325 feet long and the other is nearly 1,000.

But regardless of where you hike 鈥� near stone walls in Wales, along Merton鈥檚 puncheon, through Hartland鈥檚 wetland, or across one of the more than 50 structures maintained by the chapter in SM天地论坛 County 鈥� Witkowski is glad that the community is making use of this free, scenic recreational resource. And for those who haven鈥檛 yet explored the Ice Age Trail, she鈥檚 got a word of advice: 鈥淛ust get out there and hike the trail. Enjoy it.鈥�

Visit to donate to the Hartland Marsh project and to learn more about the Ice Age Trail Alliance SM天地论坛/Milwaukee County Chapter.