At this location, the landscape drops to the east from the outwash terrace plain at 1207 feet to 1178 feet, the level of the Brill River floodplain, a drop of 29 feet. This steeper slope is the ancient river-bank or 'scarp'.
The higher elevation outwash surface was deposited by braided streams flowing south from both the Chippewa and Superior Lobes of the glacier. As the ice retreated north, the braids of the stream merged into what we now see as the single channel of the Brill River, which eroded its bed to the current level.
The glacial outwash plain, west-to-east between the St. Croix moraine and the Mikana sub-lobe moraine, is 7.25 miles across at this point.
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Ice Age National Scenic Trail (IAT): The Ice Age Trail, a 1,100 plus-mile footpath across Wisconsin, traces the terminal edge of the last great Wisconsin glacier of the Ice Age. The glacial features found along its length offer an educational showplace of worldwide significance illustrating how the massive glaciers shaped the landscape. That, the beauty found along its entire length, and the unique opportunities for outdoor recreation, led to its establishment in 1980. The Ice Age Trail, managed by the National Park Service, is one of just eleven trails with such a designation in the nation.
Rail & Trail History: The 14.5-mile route of the Ice Age Trail between Haugen and Birchwood is on or next to three abandoned railroad corridors: 1) the main Spooner-Altoona Line of the Omaha; 2) the Omaha's Tuscobia Line; and, 3) the Soo Line Railroad's Blueberry Line. When the Tuscobia was abandoned in 1965, Hulda Hilfiker, who owned and operated a cheese factory south of Haugen with her husband Ernest, organized a group of citizens and urged then Governor Warren Knowles to give . . ." .. approval for a very worthwhile project. . . to be used as a scenic and historic trail, which could be enjoyed by nature-loving hikers, horse-back riders, snow-sledders and bicyclists, and would be a definite asset to the area." The State of Wisconsin acquired the 74-mile rail corridor, from Haugen to Park Falls, in November, 1966 for $20,000.
Tuscobia - The Name: The term 'Tuscobia' has a somewhat uncertain origin. Earlier spellings from the 1888 and 1903 Barron County Platbooks include tescobial and tescobia. The Ojibwa language uses the root 'tess'or 'tessa' as part of a larger word or phrase, all pertaining to being level' or 'flat.' This relates well to the terrain of the outwash plain here and the accepted meaning of Tuscobia: 'a flat or level place'.
Superior Lobe Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance: The local Superior Lobe Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance is an all-volunteer organization whose members are dedicated to maintaining, promoting, building, signing, protecting, and hiking along this trail segment.
Trail Management: Management of the trail is shared by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. National Park Service, and the Ice Age Trail Alliance, Inc. For a fuller explanation of the roles and responsibilities, see www.iceagetrail.org.
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Sources: Geology of the Ice Age National Scenic Rrail by David M. Mickelson, Louis J. Maher Jr., and Susan L. Simpson AND the Intperetive Guide to the Tuscobia Segment of the Ice Age Trail from the Superior Lobe of the Ice Age Trail. Permission to use content and pictures from the interpretive guide from Sue Greenway, IATA Superior Lobe Chapter President.
Permission for this earthcache has been granted by Roy Kenast at the WI DNR.
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To complete the earthcache, you must send answers to these to the cache owner:
1. What is the slope of the ancient river bank?
2. What is the slope of the railroad grade at it's steepest?
3. Does the Tuscobia Trail have the same slope as the surrounding landscape in relation to the slope? Why or why not?