A group of 12 tackled Helen's Trail (off Stanrock Road east of Gander Lake) on Tuesday, 19th. Oct. The trail was named in memory of Helen Ohler a few years ago, as she was one of the members who spent quite a bit of time clearing it after years of disuse. It is an old trappers trail that heads north through scenic, heavily wooded country, with small ravines gradually rising to a high and open ridge north of two small lakes north of Gander Lake. The trail then turns west and descends on the ridge into wooded country again until reaching a bog that is sometimes impassable due to higher water. Our intrepid group crossed the bog, it was only "fairly wet" and we continued to a picnic spot at the west end of one of the aforementioned small lakes, near where it flows into Cinder Lake. This section of the trail needs clearing and has probably not been used since we were there sometime last year.
When we named the trail after Helen, we put a sign at each end, attached to a tree. The one on the west end disappeared last year and we assumed someone had taken it - for what reason, who knows? The sign was found by Grant on this hike and it was obvious who had removed it. See the picture above. You can see the claw marks and teeth punctures at the bottom. I guess the bear thought it would be tasty!
