Fundraiser raises money for trail work

By ZACHARY MARANO

zmarano@yourdailyglobe.com

Ironwood Township - Today is the last day to register for the Wolverine Winter Challenge, so there is still time to sign up and participate for a chance to win door prizes. The challenge will end on Saturday.

Participants can choose to snowshoe one or all five of the snowshoe trails, ski 10k of any groomed trail or fat tire bike one groomed snowmobile trail on the Wolverine Nordic Ski Trails in Ironwood Township. For each trail completed or after completing the 10k ski, the participant gets an entry in the drawing for door prizes, for a maximum of seven entries.

There is also a team challenge, where teams of five or more members can earn points for their team by the total number of trails they have completed. Team members will receive a partial refund on their registration fee and get the chance to take home the newly designed Wolverine Winter Challenge trophy.

As part of the Wolverine Nordic Ski Club's goal to encourage physical fitness while continuing to social distance, there will be no gatherings for this event. Instead, participants will record their progress online. Registrants can participate any time through Saturday.

All the trails can be completed at one time or on different days, but each individual trail should be completed within a single day.

The ski may be done in parts and reported all 10k have been completed. The event is not a race, so it is not necessary to keep time while using the trails.

Door prizes donated to the ski club by local businesses will be mailed to participants after a drawing on the last day of the event. For the door prize list, see wolverinenordic.com.

All the proceeds raised by this event will go toward the ski club's re-opening the Ottawa loop, which is located between the Ironwood Aspirus Hospital and Ottawa National Forest Headquarters and approximately 1.6k long. This trail has been closed for at least 20 years because of problems with mud and water. The ski club plans to install culverts and bridges to make the trail usable again.