Cameron Gillie
Jo Ellarson, creating a rock wall on the Ice Age Trail: “I just like women to know they can.”
“Trailtessa” might sound like the name of a heroine in a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, but it is not. It’s a program from the Ice Age Trail Alliance designed to encourage women to get on trails.
“There are barriers that pop up,” says Lysianne Unruh, communications coordinator for the Ice Age Trail. Many women don’t feel safe in remote areas by themselves, which can make exploring the Ice Age Trail a problem — even segments within an easy distance of Madison.
Trailtessa, started with a grant from REI, is a series of events designed to introduce women to the outdoors in new and different ways, says Unruh — from a hike on Dane County’s Table Bluff segment followed by a farm-to-table dinner cooked by Jamie Hoang of Sujeo, to a girl-centered hike and crown-making event near Two Rivers called “Be a Nature Princess.”
Amy Lord, a trail volunteer who recently came on staff as outreach and education manager, participated in the Table Bluff hike and a Verona-area Trailtessa trail run. “I got excited by the organized events,” says Lord. “Sometimes it’s intimidating to go on your own.” At events, “the comfort level is there. Women can meet new people and form new friendships.”
The next Trailtessa event will take place Saturday, Jan. 20, at the Steenbock Preserve, a section of trail near Merrimac, high on a hill overlooking the Wisconsin River. It will introduce women to trail building and maintenance, too often seen as a male purview.
When men take the lead, “it’s sometimes easier for women not to try,” says Jo Ellarson, administrative assistant at Ice Age Trail headquarters who is also a lover of tools and a chainsaw-certified trail volunteer. “I don’t think it’s critical that we have more women sawyers,” says Ellarson, “I just like women to know they can.”
Trailtessa participants will use loppers and handsaws to remove the gnarly lower branches of the invasive red cedar, while Ellarson and others will cut the trees with chainsaws. Women inspired by Ellarson’s example can train for chainsaw certification this summer. But the message is not just about power tools and clearing invasives; it extends to involving more women in trail creation, building boardwalks and creating rock walls.
A bonfire for cleared brush will be an added attraction on Saturday, as is lunch, to be cooked over the fire. The results of the clearing can be seen the next hilltop over, where the red cedars have been eradicated and the trail meanders through restored prairie.
The Jan. 20 event is at capacity, but to join the waiting list, call the Ice Age Trail at 608-798-4453. Upcoming Trailtessa events include winter hiking at Straight Lake in Polk County Feb. 3, a three-day backpacking trip in Chippewa County April 27-29, hiking and yoga at the Kewaskum Segment in Washington County May 13, and more. See iceagetrail.org/trailtessa-force-of-nature for details.