The Ministik Bird Sanctuary in the Beaver Hills Biosphere is one of the gems in the Waskahegan Trail system. On this hike, the group started from Spilstead Road and walked to Horseshoe Lake.
A perennial highlight of this hike is the muskeg patch. It’s a sensitive area that we step through very carefully as we try not to crush the rich layer of moss. A new treat this year was getting a glimpse of the striking dense pink spikes of the water smartweed (Polygonum amphibium), a plant that can grow either in land or water, as its Latin name suggests.
Ministik Muskeg 
Water Smarweed
On this particular hike we were delighted to be walking with Dylan Reade, the Oscar-nominated cameraman behind some of the great IMAX films (“Fires of Kuwait”, “Flight of the Butterflies”, “Dinosaurs Alive”, to name a few). Dylan is currently producing a series of videos for the Beaver Hills Biosphere website. In an email correspondence, Dylan said, “I am particularly interested in Ministik since a portion of the sanctuary intersects with a route that Joseph Tyrell took through the Beaver Hills in 1886—which I am also covering in an upcoming episode.”
We look forward to seeing what Dylan captured on this hike!
Many thanks to Johanna for leading the hike, to Helen and Lee for scouting it, and to Trail Maintenance who cleared the way. You can find more photos on Flickr.
