Mt Dufour & around Horne Lake 2025 04 10

 Ever eager for a new, alternate route challenge, nine hikers unanimously said  'Yes, let's do it' ... even after being told that it would begin by snowshoeing up Mt. Dufour and would involve a hike through the Sheriff Creek trails and then around Horne Lake.  So it was that plans for hiking the snowmachine trail north of the Quirke tailings was put on hold again.  Climbing up the Family run on Mount Dufour was not easy but all proved up to the task with multiple breaks,  except, of course, for Janie, who automatically kicks into high gear when faced with a hill and stops for nothing!   With a final good rest at the top, we began our exploration of the  trail that would connect us to the ridge overlooking Horne Lake island. Certainly not a trail we do often, it was quite delightful and was, quite literally, all downhill from here!   We pushed on, down the back side of the mountain, towards the Sheriff Creek area making tracks through relatively untouched snow! - in April!... Beautiful!  The blue trail along the base of the mountain took us to the bridge connecting us with the snowmachine trail which eventually brought us back to our cars. Safe to say this was definitely a Thursday hike!  Many were looking forward to a nice long rest at home - or maybe a nap?

Pics for this hike on CdeB FB pg  For Apr 10th 2025

Panel mine road walk 2025 04 15

 The day started out gloomy and dreary. Our collective mood was not improved with the intermittent snow showers on our way to the meeting spot at Scotiabank parking area.

None the less, the  decision to brave the road walk along Panel Mine Rd was made and off we went! 

As we started out from the yellow gates at Panel Mine , we encountered another familiar face from our summer  trail clearing adventures. We had a nice chat before heading to our lunch site at the Serpent River Bridge, a scant 4 km distant! 

Our contest today was looking for water birds like loons and ducks, or mammals like beaver and  otter.

About 2 km along one hiker saw 2 Canada Geese. It might have been the Loch Ness Monster for all the rest of us could discern!! However, his earnest enthusiasm swayed our decision in his favor. Another hiker saw a loon in the same part of the Serpent River. It was  visible to others so, she was also given 

credit ! 

Prizes were awarded at lunch where, 2 Canada Geese were seen by all 11 of us. We each got a chocolate Easter Egg with our 2 Eagle eyed members receiving 3 each.

Recent brush clearing by Hydro crews has pushed the tree line further from the road . This has allowed for hundreds of poplar saplings to spring up 7 ft in height. This is just 2 years after the larger trees were cleared away.

 West wind blew, chasing away the clouds and letting the sun peek through once in a while.  

We enjoyed lunch break while leaning  against the guardrails  on the Serpent River Bridge. Some of us checked out the beaver lodge that had been extended during a dry season when the water was low. Or, maybe the kids moved back home? Not sure.

We stopped to check the exposed 

lava on the north side of the road.

A few mini waterfalls were also seen. 

A good hike with good company. 

Thanks to Dave Adams for being Sweep!!

The distance was 8. 4 km. Or, a hop, skip and a looong crawl.

Photos

Serpent city 2025 04 13

 Seven seasoned strollers spent early

Sunday afternoon in Serpent City..

Photos

Special hike Sun Apr 13th 2025 04 12

 Meet at Scotia bank at Noon... 2-3 hr easy hike along Serpent river rd, view the falls and railway bridge area...Jean Guy will lead this hike

Denison mine rd 2025 04 12

  Nine nimble people ( nimbletons?)

enjoyed the hike along Denison Mine Rd. It was clear of snow all the way to the Denidon House Gate. 

Along the way we reminisced over hikes we had made on the Mine property over the years. 

There were common mergansers on the Serpent River A grouse was stealthily picking its way through the birches.  One sharp eyed hiker spotted a turkey vulture. She won a cup of hot chocolate for pointing out the first turkey vulture of our spring hiking season.  Some people are just lucky!

Several older tracks  were visible in the snow.   It was fun to guess what animals had left those tracks: moose, or wolf, or maybe lynx?  

A former club member met us while walking his dog . Good to see  him. We also met another hiker near the bird feeders. 

Denison Mine Rd was quite busy with traffic . This reminded us to stay close to the left hand side of the road. 

The sun, mild temperatures and pleasant companions  made for a lovely mid April outing!

Thanks to Renee and Janey for sharing Sweep duties.

6 kilometers , 9 hikers and a dog named Charlie!

Photos

Upcoming out of town hike 2025 04 12

 I try to give a few weeks notice for any out of town hikes coming up so for those who may be interested, take note ( Thurs May 1st )... If conditions are right, this will be a hike to Mt Victoria with a side trip to check out the serpent river rapids ( not the usual area you may be familiar with) which should have a great flow. Since this is an out of town hike don't plan to be back till approx 330pm. Water/snack proper hiking footwear & extra socks, hiking poles, and light rain gear are all recommended. Though there is no climbing per say there is some scrambling in a few areas, this is not geared to beginner hikers and is similar in nature to a (Cougar Mtn, Mt Belvedere, Bolger lake) type of hike, car pooling is highly recommended as there is limited space to park. Rain date will be Fri May 2nd.

Todays hike cancelled 2025 04 07

 Due to weather

Todays Apr 3rd morning and afternoon hikes cancelled 2025 04 03

 Due to weather conditions

Tues TBA 2025 04 01

 What a glorious day! Seven hikers collaborated on a TBA hike plan without knowing what trail conditions to expect ... and it couldn't have worked out any better! We headed out from the snow dump area behind Washington Cres. towards Esten Lake thinking that at least there is a snowmachine trail to take advantage of and snowshoes wouldn't be needed.  Conditions were pretty good under beautiful blue skies, although the loud crunching ensured wildlife sightings would be unlikely.  We hadn't made it very far when an alternate route presented itself - the Bear Bait Trail!  A unanimous group decision to get into the bush sent us in a new direction.  Onward and upward!  On our way to the infamous erratic, Mark began wandering off trail and seemingly floated over the crusty landscape, inspiring all of us to do the same.  What a wonderful feeling - not only were no snowshoes needed, but neither was a trail!  Unlimited exploration was now possible and, after consulting his Gaia,  Keith gave us a few options to consider.  Hector Lake became our new destination and we happily found our way there with Keith's expert guidance.  The only tough part of the hike was at the perimeter of the lake where we began to break through the crust.  Our theory on that was that not enough freezing rain had made it to the ground to create the needed thick layer on top of the snow.  After a particularly creative group photo and a wonderful snack in full sun, we wandered, in scatter formation, back to the beginning of the Bear Bait Trail, totally enthralled with this unique experience.  Wish you all could have been there! 

Photos

Red Pine trails 2025 03 27

 Today's hike was a magical mystery tour through the Red Pine Trail. Music was supplied by pine siskins, chickadees, nuthatches, and Canada geese. They are baaaaack!

A volunteer trail keeper told us that some Trumpeter swans and Snow  geese had been on the river last week.

We did not use snowshoes , but the ski poles helped us with our balance and grip as we navigated the steep uphill climbs. 

We cut through the red pine trail past the first set of bird feeders at the boulders. Then we were off across the main trail to the Rapids

 and then up the hill to the erratic. Another trail led us back down to the main trail again to another trail through more red pines.

 A fox had been listening for mice under the snow cover and must have found its  quarry!  Moose may have been wandering the trails a while ago.  Large depressions in the trail were seen here and there which  led us to that conclusion.

The water at the upper rapids was

 running fast but, we decided it was too breezy to have lunch there.

We returned to the lower Rapids and enjoyed a relaxed  lunch with chickadees and pine siskins refusing to pose for photos or take seeds from outstretched hands.

A relaxed hike for a Thursday morning but, sometimes we need that. It was the  calm before the predicted storm this weekend. 

Ten hikers finished a distance of 

5.5 km .  Enough time was left in the day  for shopping, or visiting, or appointments, and then napping in the afternoon. 

Photos