A Postcard from the Moss: June 2025
Trailbuilding on National Trails Day!
I love sending postcards when I travel, so once a month I share photos with a postcard-length blurb about a place I’ve recently visited.
Did you visit a trail yesterday? The first Saturday of June is National Trails Day, an annual event organized by the American Hiking Society that is celebrated with hikes and volunteer events. If you’re looking to make outdoorsy friends1, this is one of the prime weekends for finding a group hike in your area since many parks and outdoor organizations offer National Trails Day events .
I marked the occasion by volunteering at an Ice Age Trail Crew event for four days where I helped build a new trail segment in the northeastern part of Wisconsin!
Camping in the Northwoods is always lovely and Camp Susan was no exception! We were tucked between two lakes, so the soundtrack for the week included frogs and loons, in addition to barred owls and one particularly loud robin that began singing right next to my tent each morning at 4:25am.
Part of my week was spent exploring a boulder train—a collection of boulders left in a river-like array by the glaciers—to plan out a future stonework project. Our task was to find a path across the rocks that would allow hikers to get up close while minimizing the disruption to the boulder train. I’m beyond excited about the design we came up with!
Since the boulder train is one of the standout features of the Moraine Outwash Preserve, many of the other crews stopped by to see what we were working on. On Saturday evening, I had three separate conversations where people asked me whether I had gotten the chance to see the boulder train that day. All three were shocked to discover that I had been the one who had given them a tour of our proposed flag line earlier in the day. I had taken a shower after the work day and none of them recognized me without my muddy overalls, baseball cap, and dirt on my face!
All in all, a pretty great way to celebrate National Trails Day!
How to visit:
Though the new Moraine Outwash segment of the Ice Age Trail is now open for hikers, the current route is not the final iteration of the yellow blazed trail. There will be several more projects to finish building out the trail system on the Moraine Outwash Preserve, including the stonework in and around the boulder train.
One of the best parts of volunteering is getting a behind-the-scenes look at these interesting outdoor spaces! Not sure where how to get involved? Each of the 11 National Scenic Trails has a nonprofit trail organization associated with it, as do many other trails, such as the Superior Hiking Trail and the Foothills Trail (both of which I hope to hike end-to-end in the near future). The National Park Service runs the Volunteers-in-Parks program for the 433 units it oversees and state and county parks often have a “Friends of” group that are run by volunteers. For those willing to spend a bit of money, Volunteer Vacations by the American Hiking Society offer opportunities across the United States.
How Do I Make Friends Outdoors?
This week’s question was submitted anonymously:
"None of my friends are interesting in camping and I’m too nervous to go alone. You’ve written about making friends by volunteering, but the one time I went to a park clean up, I was the only person there who wasn’t retired. Anywhere else I can meet people who might invite me to go hiking and camping with them?"
I would definitely second your point about volunteering! I have seen some amazing places as a North Country Trail volunteering for the Peter Wolfe Chapter. You also get the opportunity to associate with like-minded people who are extremely cool!
I learned something new today! Boulder trains. I have seen one in Minnesota but didn't know there was a name for it or how it came to be. Thank you. 😌