A moraine is a ridge that formed at the leading edge of the glacier after it stopped or stagnated.”

Chippewa Moraine Chapter Coordinator Vicki Christianson

The Chippewa Moraine Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance will be present at the September town board meeting, seeking to advance the Ice Age Trail. More specifically they seek passage across the Yellow River around the area of the County S bridge.
Envisioned in the 1950s by Ray Zillmer, the Ice Age Trail is a statewide 1,150 mile footpath following the leading edge of the last glacier as it made its way through Wisconsin some 16,000 to 10,000 years ago. Descending from Canada and carving out both hills (called hummocks) and lakes (called kettles) along what is called the terminal moraine (ridge marking southernmost glacier boundary), the glaciers forever changed the landscape of Wisconsin.
Seeking to showcase this history, Zillmer founded the Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation, known today as the Ice Age Trail Alliance. Nine reserve units were later formed throughout the state in areas with significant glacial landscape, including the Chippewa Moraine Reserve Unit in 1974. The Ice Age Trail was first established in Chippewa County 51 years ago, or six years before the Trail became a National Scenic Trail. Glacial features found in Chippewa County include moraines, eskers, kettle lakes, and ice-walled lake plains, appearing today as ice-free, high flat top hills. The Trail still has gaps, with the September town board meeting aimed at bridging these, starting with a crossing on the Yellow River. Chippewa Moraine Chapter Coordinator Vicki Christianson shared more on glacial geography, the group’s name and the reason for the planned September town board visit.
“A moraine is a ridge that formed at the leading edge of the glacier after it stopped or stagnated,” she said of glacial features. “As the glacier began to melt, water and glacial till flowed off the front of the glacier forming a ridge. The Chippewa Moraine is the ridge that formed as water and till flowed off the glacier in Chippewa County. It is about 5 miles wide north to south, and runs east/west from Hwy. 40 to Cornell. The Chippewa Moraine Segment, which includes the David R. Obey Ice Age Trail Interpretive Center on County M near Hwy. 40, and the Harwood Lakes Segment are on the Chippewa Moraine.
“Chippewa Moraine also refers to our chapter of the Ice Age Trail. The Ice Age Trail is divided into chapters primarily by counties. Each chapter maintains the trails in their county. Our chapter has about 28 miles of trail from Cornell west to Hwy. 40 and County M. We also have about 35 miles of connecting roads. There is five miles of road walk at the west end of the Chippewa Moraine Segment on the way to Weyerhauser. East of Cornell, there is 28 miles of suggested connecting road ending at Otter Lake and the County Line at County H. This connecting road travels through Town of Estella, Town of Arnold, and Town of Colburn.
“Currently, there is a suggested connecting road route of 44 miles from the Cornell Segment to the Lake Eleven Segment in Taylor County (the trailhead is just west of the junction of Hwy. 64 and County F north of Lublin,” she said. “Some 28 miles of the route is in Chippewa County ending at Otter Lake. The remainder of the road walk is in Taylor County. This route crosses the Yellow River bridge on County S just north of 150th Avenue. The Yellow River Crossing is the only place within our approved corridor for the trail to cross the river.”
The trail crossing for the Yellow River is being sought on land owned by Chippewa County, helping to advance the Ice Age Trail vision.