Stabilizing the Brownstone Trail and Maintaining Drainage Ditches

John, Doug, Neil, Steve, Gerry, and Kris all ready to rock and roll!

Friday June 27, John Ipson and Kris Wegerson rallied a small group of volunteers including Gerry Miller, Mark Frazer, Doug Welty, and Neil Howk to improve conditions on the Brownstone Trail between Blue Wing Bay Road and the box steps leading down to the old railroad right-of-way. 

Sharing ideas about how to approach the project.

A storm last summer washed out the trail where it crossed the road and eroded the slope leading down to the road. The project got off to a bit of a hectic start with the delivery of a large black culvert laid off to the side of Blue Wing Bay Road and five yards of gravel at the end of the road. Mark Frazer’s skid-steer was ready to help haul the gravel to the trail, but shortly after 9 am, Dan Maki arrived with an excavator to install the culvert along the road at the base of the slope. 

Mark Frazer in the skid-steer and Gerry Miller work on the culvert.

​During the culvert installation, John, Kris, Jerry, Doug and Neil worked on cleaning out and restoring the water diversion channels that were added to the trail after last year’s storm. 

John and Gerry work on water diversion channel.

Doug and Gerry tamping the edge of a water diversion channel.

​Kris and Doug also began raking gravel and improving conditions on the box steps. Once the culvert was installed, Mark helped cover it with the skid-steer, then began hauling gravel to the sloped section of the trail above the road.
John, Gerry and Neil worked on spreading and tamping down the gravel while reestablishing the water bars on the slope.

You cant ever have too much tamping!

Mark dispersed the dirt that was removed to install the culvert and separated rocks from the material that he, Gerry and Neil used to armor the ends of the new culvert. Mark then used a roller, loaned by Dan Maki, to smooth out tracks on the road and compress the gravel placed on the trail. The diversion ditches, new compacted gravel, and the new culvert should make this section of trail more stable during heavy rain and runoff as well as more durable to foot and bike traffic. 

On Saturday June 28, John and Kris along with volunteers Doug Welty, Gerry Miller, Steve Vircsik, Gene Lemmenes, Neil Howk, Bob Feyen, and Rich Metcalfe met at the end of Chequamegon Road to work on the Brownstone Trail near the Wild Rice Resort. They raked leaves from and deepened drainage ditches, cut back vegetation along the trail, and cleared debris from the box culverts in the trail.

All of that work will ensure effective drainage of water off of the trail so it does not erode and it can be traveled during wet periods.