The level plain just to the north was once the bottom of a lake first formed in a depression on top of the glacier. Meltwaters flowing on top of the glacier (supra-glacial streams) deposited clay, silt, and sand sediments in these lakes. When the glacier melted, the level lake bottom settled in place, becoming the 'lake plain' of today. Today this glacial feature is used as pasture and productive farmland. You are viewing a very smal portion of the lake plain from this POl.
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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: 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, 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. Estimate the elevation difference between where you are standing and the top of the ice-walled lake plain in the field to the north?
2. What is the slope from the ice-walled lake plain deposit down to the surrounding landscape?
3. Post a photo of you or your GPSr here! (optional)