Tents and trailers marked the arrival of volunteers on the UW-Baraboo/Sauk County campus Wednesday afternoon. People from across the state are in Baraboo this week to create a path to Devil's Lake State Park starting from the campus.

Building of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail around campus and through downtown Baraboo is expected to wrap up Sunday to coincide with the university's 40th anniversary party, which includes a walk on the new trail.

The Ice Age Trail Park and Trail Foundation, the group supporting the trail effort, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Tim Malzhan, field coordinator for the foundation, encouraged volunteers to come help and enjoy the fruits of labor on Sunday.

"If you come help us and volunteer to build the path by (the campus), you'll probably never look at trails in the same way again," Malzhan said during a lecture series on campus last week.

Malzhan said for every mile of the 1,000-mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail throughout Wisconsin, about 100 hours of time are spent on planning.

"In this case, that 100 hours is thrown out the window," Malzhan said.

This is the first time the trail will go through a University of Wisconsin campus, requiring more work because of heavy traffic. Already, Malzhan said, there is a lot of foot traffic from students using the campus disc golf course or exploring the woods around campus.

"We're going to build it big, build it bad, because there's going to be a lot of use," Malzhan said. "This opens up a more direct path to future generations, and that's exciting."

The entire area covered by the project is roughly five miles. Signs also will be installed this week in Baraboo to mark a sidewalk trail through the city that connects to the constructed UW-Baraboo portion. Volunteers will be instrumental in accomplishing all the required work on time and maintaining the trail after it is done.

About 200 volunteers signed up for the project - some of them coming from the foundation's approximately 3,000-member network. Malzhan anticipated more would likely show up on-site to volunteer.

Students are being encouraged by UW-B/SC to volunteer, and Jack Young Middle School students will also be visiting the work site to learn as the trail progresses.

Lorraine Lange, Baraboo Hills chapter coordinator for the foundation, said volunteers can come to the campus any time to get involved, but they should be able to commit to at least two hours of work.

A statewide group of volunteers known as the Mobile Skills Crew likely will conquer the toughest work of trail building, leaving volunteers to install sign posts, drag brush, haul dirt and remove invasive plants.

A neighbor of the campus, Neal Meier, became a Mobile Skills Crew member with his wife after he retired from farming. He said he joined because he loves the environment, and was impressed by the expertise of the crew reconstructing a path at Devil's Lake State Park.

"They have pages of notes for every foot of the trail. On the section of trail we did, we moved at a pace of about two feet an hour, and that was just one day. This just blew my mind," Meier said.

Bill Welch, an active volunteer, cooking a curried squash soup for camping volunteers on Thursday, said he initially got involved with the Ice Age Foundation when he was new to Lodi, looking to meet people, and a trail was being built nearby. Since then, he said he has been hooked.

In a letter, Baraboo City Administrator Ed Geick urges property owners who live near the trail to interact with the new path. It will extend from the Baraboo Riverwalk to Berkley Boulevard and Connie Road, where the trail starts at the campus.

"We are looking forward to creating a footpath near your home. … We are sure you will enjoy the opportunity to go for an early morning or evening walk through the woods behind campus in your own neighborhood," Geick wrote.

Eric Sherman of the Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation said a ridge "studded with quartzite and graced with mature oak and shag bark hickory," helps make the trail view around the campus memorable. This is in addition to a vista overlooking the Baraboo Hills, a pond in the woods and natural vegetation clear of invasive species.

The Ice Age Trail is one of eight trails in the National Trails System. It was established by Congress in 1980 to tell the story of Wisconsin's glacial past. About 500 miles of the giant S-shaped path through Wisconsin still needs to be constructed, and the rest of the trail out of the Baraboo area will be focused on next year, Malzhan said.

Citizens looking to explore the trail for the first time are invited to the UW-B/SC 40th Anniversary celebration at noon on Sunday. In addition to an opportunity to explore the trail, citizens can also tour the campus, see art shows, live music and attend "mini-classes" by faculty.

At the anniversary event, citizens will also be able to find out more about UW-Baraboo's proposed "green" dormitory, which among other things, features a place for long-distance hikers to rest.