The Lure of Walking

THE LURE OF WALKING

Wednesday, January 10, 2007 (Napanee Beaver)

Friday, January 12, 2007 (Picton Gazette)

Nipper has become famous. She turned up last year on the cover of a prominent trail brochure.

Nipper is our Sheltie/Terrier dog and the photo was one that I had taken some years ago at Sheffield Conservation Area, just south of Kaladar. The group I had with me, along with my dog, were enjoying a well deserved rest half way along the rugged hiking trail near the east end of Haley Lake. The photo is part of a collage that appears on the Shield To Shore County Trails brochure, designed to publicize a number of local hiking and biking opportunities. In the photo, Nipper, as usual, was looking for handouts as we enjoyed a snack.

County Trails talks about many of the areas in Lennox and Addington County, appealing mainly to bicyclists, but also offering up a potpourri of side trips to other areas like Sheffield Conservation Area, Bon Echo Provincial Park as well as museums and other historic sites. Much of the brochure’s content can be found at www.countytrails.com .

It is encouraging to see the current interest in outdoor activities involving hiking, bicycling, canoeing and paddling. Interpretive hikes and other outdoor events which I conduct have just been posted on my own website, and registrations are arriving already, although many of the events themselves don’t get under way until late April. Almost daily, I receive e-mail inquiries about places to go in the Quinte area for the purpose of hiking and bicycling.

On January 23^rd, I will be speaking to the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists about a 52-km trail in Prince Edward County that my wife and I have walked twice, called the Millennium Trail. This former CN railway bed stretches from Carrying Place to Picton and the walk across the county was so inspirational that I put together a Power Point presentation about the flora and fauna and the history that we found during our cross country trek. The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. at the Bloomfield Town Hall. Just last week, my wife and I, and our now famous dog, began a repeat of that walk, covering some seven km in the Gardenville area along the shore of Weller’s Bay. We will continue working our way toward Picton while conditions are suitable, finishing up this coming spring and summer. Along the way, we hope to meet another Picton couple who are doing the same thing as they make their way from Picton to Carrying Place. In an e-mail from them several days ago, it was learned they were now in the Consecon area and hoped to finish sometime this month.

While the disappearance of trains along these same routes is regrettable, these multi-use pathways have become very popular among bikers, hikers, ATVers and snowmobilers. Another similar trail I have walked is the Trail of Two Lakes, another abandoned railway line that runs parallel to Highway 62 at Madoc. Last year, my wife and I explored another trail that runs from Strathcona to Smith’s Falls, a distance of over 100 km.

Unsupportive residents who claim these trails are seldom used by hikers need only open their eyes before 10:00 a.m. in the morning, for that is when we meet the avid outdoor enthusiasts – the hikers with their dogs and the bikers. We always make it a point to begin our walks on these trails shortly after daybreak. It is the best time of the day to walk when the air at this time of the year is crisp, and wildlife plentiful. Last week, my wife and I came across several wildlife species including fox, coyote and deer. Black-capped chickadees accompanied us along several stretches that passed through wooded areas, and in the distance we could hear the diagnostic wing whistles of goldeneye ducks as they headed toward their morning feed in Weller’s Bay.

Those interested in hiking and learning a bit about both the natural and human history of the areas we visit, can find details of events in which I am involved by accessing my website at www.naturestuff.net. By looking under EVENTS from the menu on the home page, you will find a number of hikes and other events coming up this year that is sure to satisfy varied tastes, from a full day hike at Sandbanks Provincial Park, and a number of short hikes incorporated into a bus tour in Algonquin Park, to a popular series of Monday evening hikes running from May through August that has been operating since 1996. Included also are about a half dozen full day interpretive hikes and canoe paddles as we continue to celebrate this renewed interest in physical exercise and insatiable appetite to learn about the things around us.

Humourist, environmentalist and misanthropic author Edward Abbey, once said, “There is this to be said for walking: It’s the one mode of human locomotion by which a man proceeds on his own two feet, upright, erect, as a man should be, not squatting on his rear haunches like a frog.” Certainly a profound message that one girl could use who I saw near Massassauga Point some weeks ago taking her small dog for a walk while she rode on an ATV!