JoAnne Burek

Fourteen people came out on a mid-afternoon to hike the north end of the Ministik Bird Sanctuary. The 7 km hike started at the north access to the area and covered the Waskahegan section of the trail.

We had a short pause near the Berg stopover, but we didn’t linger long. Like many afternoons in Alberta, a thunderstorm was rolling in . It would arrive in just a few hours.

The highlight of the hike was the alternate route—the trail managed by Nature Conservancy of Canada. This lovely deviation was full of surprises.

In the midst of the forest was a lovely pond with water calla finishing their bloom. It was like an Alberta version of Monet’s garden at Giverny. There was also a patch of spotted coral orchid in full bloom.

Thanks to Delaney for scouting and leading the hike and to Trail Maintenance for keeping our trail clear. You can find more photos on Flickr.

Where we’re hiking next

Thirteen people came out to hike the trail from the old Duhamel campground going west to Fidler’s Monument.

The trail has a tremendous variety of landscapes, starting with an old spruce forest. Unlike most forests on the Waskehagen Trail, this one lets in much dappled light to support a vast green undergrowth of ferns, mosses, bunchberries, strawberries, and raspberry and elderberry bushes.

Coming out of the forest, we arrived at a pond that was formerly a gravel quarry. With its backdrop of spruce trees, one would expect to see a moose here standing in the water. We always stop at this pond to linger a while on the way back.

Another point of interest is the oxbow lake, formerly part of the Battle River, but cut off from it with continuing erosion and silt deposits at the bow’s ends.

As you would expect in the middle of June, the flowers were abundant. These included columbines, shooting stars, buffalo bean, prickly rose, lungworts, and Solomon’s seal. At the monument, a tree swallow protectively blocked the hole in its nesting box.

Thanks to Elizabeth and Lee for scouting and leading the hike, to Trail Maintenance who put in a lot work to clear the trail, and to the landowners for their continuing support. You can see all the photos on Flickr.

Discover where we’re hiking next.