Attendance was light for the Wanisan hike, as it also happened to be Mother’s Day. It was a beautiful spring day with the early greens all around. With the shade of the trees and the breeze, we did not get too hot.
One outstanding thing was how very much the water has receded in the wetlands. Some lakes were dried up.
On the trail we saw violets, strawberry and saskatoon blossoms, a water calla lily, wild sarsaparilla and cattails.
We heard a white-throated sparrow, a sora and gulls. We also saw a red-necked grebe and a blue-winged teal. Using the Merlin app, we were able to identify the sora by sound.
The butterflies are everywhere—we saw a swallowtail butterfly, spring azure butterflies and cabbage white butterflies.
There were e-bikers as well.
Our destination was the nice Meadow Shelter, complete with tables for lunch, and toilets. We met joggers, another Waskahegan hiker, a fourth Waskahegan hiker and four hikers with dogs. One dog had chewed through his leash, so we were able to assist with safety-pins.
On the way back, we stopped at the Wanisan shelter. It was outfitted with with chairs, cooking tri-pod, cooking utensils, golf balls, etc.
The quality and condition of the Waskahegan boardwalks was impressive as usual.
Thanks to John for scouting and leading the hike. You can see all the photos on Flickr.
