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NEWS | Bayfield Area Trails |
 Before and after images of the work completed on the Striped Skunk trail in the Big Ravine trail system.
The gravel was placed in locations that have been consistently muddy and difficult to traverse late into the spring season. Trail users will recognize these locations where impermeable clay soils and lack of drainage on flat terrain cause the water to pool and stand for extended periods. These conditions were especially prevalent during this year’s extremely wet spring and after the June 19th flood event. In the muddiest spots, volunteers installed heavy-duty landscape fabric to keep the gravel from sinking in. In addition, small berms and drainage ditches were added to divert water off of the trail and minimize potential erosion of the trail tread. Four boardwalks were moved from the Striped Skunk Trail and relocated to extend existing boardwalks in key locations. It was a huge team effort!
Although we hope that the 2024 very wet spring conditions and the June 19th flood event were relatively uncommon occurrences, we hope that these trail improvements will make the trails more usable under such conditions in the future.
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Thanks go to the volunteers re-opening this trail: Fred Clark, John Ipsen, Kate Kitchell, and Jen Maytum, who worked under Mattson’s leadership.
Check out the trail. It’s easy walking. You’ll be refreshed by the tranquility of Pikes Creek which is just beginning to reflect this season’s famous fall hardwood colors.  We are launching the Bayfield Area Trails Economic impact study trail user surveys. We need your help. Trails! Hiking, XC skiing, snowshoeing, biking …. presumably trails in the Bayfield Peninsula are valuable and attract people to the area to visit and live.
We need volunteers: If you’re not the type to run a chainsaw, swing an ax, or build rock steps, this is an excellent opportunity to support Bayfield Area Trails. We are looking for folks who are willing to sign up for 2-hour shifts at a trailhead where they will greet trail users, conduct a short interview, and enter interview results into a database via a personal tablet or phone. Volunteers will receive training and will be provided name tags and a Bayfield Area Trails ball cap to identify them as trail volunteers. Volunteers will have lots of flexibility to sign up when times are convenient for them; and they may choose to work with another person or alone. Timing: We plan to conduct the first volunteer training the week after Labor Day and to start trail surveys by September 15th. Sign up here: If you are interested in possibly volunteering, please sign up here. We will invite you to the training and give you a chance to give it a try! Please sign up via this link.
 At 9 am on Friday August 16th, Nan Fey, Bob Feyen, Neil Howk, John Ipsen, Kate Kitchell, Ted May, and Kris Wegerson met at the Mount Ashwabay parking lot to work on the Upper Pileated Woodpecker connector trail between the Jolly Long Link and the Ashwabay parking lot.    Kate, Neil, Nan, John and Kris removed rocks from a portion of the trail where Bayfield County plans to bring in machinery to mulch the trail surface in early September. This will be followed by Doug Olson’s handiwork to install rock in a drainage that crosses the trail and to elevate the trail surface and create drainage to make the trail fully passable prior to the end of the season.    Ted and Bob worked on stabilizing a footbridge that was impacted by flooding earlier this summer. Neil, Nan, and Kate hauled rocks from the creek bed to armor the streambank around the bridge. Ted, Kate, Kris, John, and Bob also dug some water bars across the trail on the slope leading down to the bridge to prevent erosion from heavy runoff and foot traffic. Ted, John, Kris, and Neil returned on Saturday August 17th to install steps/water bars on the Pileated Woodpecker Trail just south of the spur trail to Chickadee Point. They installed 15 steps along the switchbacks on the steepest part of the trail. Additional steps are still needed, but these new ones should help divert water from running down the trail as well as create steps for trail users where the clay soils can create slippery conditions when wet or icy.
Although the trail remains closed at the Red Dam gate behind the Les Voigt Fish Hatchery, it can be accessed from Mount Ashwabay as it connects to the Jolly Long Trail that ultimately leads to the Jerry Jolly Trail network from Star Route. This work puts us several steps closer to having a full trail connection between the fish hatchery and Mt. Ashwabay. Stay tuned for more progress!  Ten volunteers tackled several tasks in the Big Ravine on Friday August 2nd and Saturday August 3rd to repair damage after the June 19th flood and to make the trails more sustainable. On Friday August 2nd, volunteers took on three projects along the Gil Larsen and Pine Bluff Trails. The lower Gil Larsen Trail was widened and moved away from the edge where the creek was undercutting the bank. A timber was set along the trail to guide hikers away from the edge.
Bill Bieganek refurbished a section of rock armoring in the trail where runoff had destabilized the rocks and washed away the soil. His experience with building lots of mountain bike trails was especially helpful. Gene Lemmenes worked on the cable steps at the top of the trail by filling in rocks and dirt where the steps were starting to become unstable. Other finishing touches completed by the crew included resetting rock steps, stabilizing the trail edge with rocks, cutting the backslope in a few locations to reestablish a wider trail tread, and raking leaves off of the trail to enable hikers to use the entire trail width. Hemlock Heights looks almost new again! Thank you volunteers!
 Big Ravine Headwaters Wood Chipping Project One BAT volunteer who chipped in on our recent wood chip project was Chris Nybo, a second-grade teacher in Ventura, California! Huh? How did Chris get to be a member of the Bayfield Area Trails wheel barrow brigade? Originally from Red Wing, Minnesota, and later Duluth and the North Shore, Chris is a kayaker and a skier, and has been familiar with the Bayfield area for a long time. When he bought property here in 2005, he became a regular visitor during summer vacations from school.
“Now I’m just a part-timer in Bayfield,” Chris said, “and living and working mostly in California. But I look forward to when I can be much more than a part-time observer, and support the good stuff that’s already been happening.”
Wow! We agree with everything you said, Chris! And we especially look forward to when you’re more than a part-timer in Bayfield—ready to spread chips with another wheelbarrow brigade!!  Jeff Nelson, Sue Aiken, & Mark Frazer create a water diversion. The Brownstone Trail took several hits during our major rain event on June 18-19th between Blue Wing Bay Road and the Box Steps beside Wild Rice Retreat. Shortly after the storm, Sean Reagan used his tractor and front-end loader for a great initial repair to the washed-out gullies on the steep slope that meets with Blue Wing Bay Road. Next a group of us got together to plan further repairs and water diversions for this section of trail to lower the risk of future washouts.
Mark was especially helpful and provided his ATV and trailer to haul water and equipment, so that we could better compact the gravel we had re-shaped. We built nine gradual angled diversions and filled in gullies with scavenged gravel.
Chris Nybo, who had biked to the work site, gave the diversions his mountain bike seal of approval! By the box steps, we raked displaced gravel and weeded. We worked efficiently in a couple of teams, and what we budgeted for two mornings only required one, so Saturday became a play day. The trail is looking more resilient to precipitation events. We’ll see how the area fares in the next big storm or spring runoff. Thanks, all you great volunteers! 
Standard work days will be scheduled on Friday & Saturday mornings, 9 am to noon, during the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weeks of each month:
More details on project locations & tasks will come soon; and will be posted the Monday prior via Facebook and Instagram. Come out and lend a hand!   NOTE: All images in this post can be enlarged by clicking. Bayfield Area Trails committee members, volunteers, and newcomers to the Bayfield Peninsula’s trails community, celebrated five years of Bayfield Area Trails activities! The celebration took place at the Les Voigt State Fish Hatchery, and at the Big Ravine Headwaters, during World Trails Weekend, June 1st and 2nd. The celebration included a wide range of programs, starting with early bird walks, followed by a talk on the Pikes Creek watershed, field season updates from Bayfield Area Trails committee members, highlights of volunteer opportunities, and a wrap up dedication of the new pond overlook platform and trails at the Big Ravine Headwaters. Despite the downpour, 55 trails enthusiasts attended the Saturday celebration, including 15 new volunteers.
The Best Food & Coffee!
Round Robin Field Season Reports
Here are some more of our fantastic presenters. Click images to enlarge.
Calling All Volunteers!
Launching the Bayfield Peninsula Trails PlanThe Trails Celebration marked the launch of a planning effort to develop a comprehensive, long-term, & sustainable Bayfield Peninsula trails plan and a strategy. Bayfield Area Trails Committee Chair Kate Kitchell introduced this year-long effort, calling on participants to provide their suggestions for improving existing trails. Recommendations were also requested for potential new trails. The goal is to create a Peninsula-wide silent sports trails network.
Hover/tap the image carousel below for navigation & viewing options. The plan will be supported by a technical assistance grant from the National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program and a grant from the Apostle Islands Area Community Fund. BAT Committee members, stationed at tables around the tent, discussed maps and gathered ideas from attendees. This was just the beginning of the process. Community members will have more opportunities to provide input and review progress during the planning process.
There's Lots Going on at the Hatchery
Below are images from the Hatchery tour conducted by Darren Miller, Operations Supervisor of the Les Voigt and Brule Hatcheries for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Hover/tap the image carousel below for navigation & viewing options. Wrap Up with the Big Ravine Headwaters Dedication CelebrationIn Sunday afternoon’s sunshine, a couple dozen supporters gathered at the Headwaters pond overlook platform to say thanks to all who made a dream become a reality. Erika Lang from Landmark Conservancy emceed the gathering. She gave special recognition to Ed Rabideaux for leaving a lasting legacy by selling the 10-acre parcel for conservation and public enjoyment.
Tom Gordon, previous Town of Bayfield Board Chair, reflected on how working together with public and private partners is a fantastic way to get things done. Glenn Guntenspergen from the Biodiversity Fund, one of the grantors, reminded everyone how places like the Headwaters connect people with the natural world and inspire land stewardship. To wrap up the weekend celebration, the banner was cut to a round of cheers and applause! Hooray for all!! Hover/tap the image carousel below for navigation & viewing options. Trail Note:We originally planned to dedicate the Pileated Woodpecker trail as well. However, access from the Les Voigt Hatchery remains closed beyond the Red Dam gate.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bayfield County, and private landowners are working to determine property boundaries and options for re-establishing access. Thank you for respecting the closure. BUT…the trail can be accessed from Mt. Ashwabay and will be much improved after volunteers finish the corridor that was cleared last fall. Volunteer recruitment for that project will start in mid-July. Come on out and help! 
THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!!A small army of fabulous volunteers made the 2024 Bayfield Area Trails Celebration possible!!
 Mary & Jen create a new tread.
A short segment of the West Rim Trail was also re-routed to avoid a seep that had created slippery conditions and caused people to widen the trail by going around the bad spot. All of these improvements not only make the walking experience more pleasant, they also resolve drainage and erosion issues so that the trails are more sustainable and easier to maintain over time. Since these trails are on City of Bayfield property, the City Parks and Recreation Committee provided funding for boardwalk materials. Let’s give a shout out to Mike Kinnee, John Ipsen, Mary Ledin, Jen Crump, Jon Crump, Anna Stocksdale, Kate Kitchell, and Sue Aiken for racking up a total of 56 hours of volunteer time!! They also brought their own tools including mattocks, pulaskis, Rogue hoes, McLeods, circular saws, screw guns, loppers, hand saws, shovels, rakes, and sledges to the party. Mary Ledin’s multi-component battery-powered weed trimmer and brush saw was the biggest hit! So many tools to choose from! Come on out and join the fun on our next project on the Upper Pileated Woodpecker Trail in July and August. Stay tuned for details and sign up for our mailing list! |
