Events
Upper Midwest Blue Blaze Academy Volunteer Training
The Upper Midwest Blue Blaze Academy is a combined crew leadership and trail skills training for volunteers, hosted by the NCTA Brule-St. Croix Chapter, Border Route Trail Association, and Superior Hiking Trail Association.
The event runs Thursday, September 17 through Sunday, September 20, 2026. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are full days of training. The location is the Solon Springs Community Center in Solon Springs, Wisconsin. Free camping is available in the nearby area.
Featured instructors include rockwork with Willie Bittner of Great Lakes Trailbuilders; crew leadership with Kim Frederick of Chinook Associates, LLC; and trail analysis with Tim Malzhan of Trail Eyes, LLC. View the full event schedule and draft course listing and descriptions for additional details.
Optional extensions:
- You are invited to extend your training experience and use what you learned by joining the Wisconsin Roving Trail Crew (aka “the Rovers”) the week of September 21-25 as they work on building a new North Country Trail segment with the Brule-St. Croix Chapter. The worksite is only 10 miles south of Superior and the crew will camp together nearby. They will be building new trail from County Road W heading east (map). Meals, tools, and free group camping are provided. For more info, contact Rovers crew leader Brad Stewart at rovers@northcountrytrail.
org. - We will also offer a Crosscut Saw Maintenance training with Dan Duweke, J45° Chapter & Nick Anderson, U.S. Forest Service-retired in the Solon Springs area on Monday & Tuesday following the training.
