JoAnne Burek

Twelve people came out for a fall hike in the Ministik Bird Sanctuary and the Berg-Triple B Ponds trail. You could tell it was early fall. A kaleidoscope of yellow and orange foliage clung to the bushes, while freshly-fallen aspen leaves carpeted the ground.

Days earlier, a trail maintenance crew had just spent the longest workday this year clearing the trail of deadfall like this.

On the road to the Triple B Ponds, we passed a pond with ducks, including buffleheads.

 
On the way back from lunch, the sun suddenly broke out, producing a brilliant reflection on one of Ministik’s larger beaver ponds. We stopped to watch as three industrious muskrats paddled silently in the water, creating smooth ripples that intersected like chemtrails in the sky.

The total hike was just under 10 km.

For more photos, see our Flickr page.

How odd to be swishing through the snow just one day after the first day of fall.
The second day of autumn and we are already hiking in the white stuff. The seven of us got to try out the effectiveness of our gaiters, the quality of the waterproofing or our gear, and our strategies for eating lunch outside.

Trappers Lake is famous for its curious cows. But an important rule of trail etiquette is that you do not interact with the farmer’s animals, and so we rushed along as quickly as we could while snapping photos.

As we approached Elk Island Park, a noisy flock of snow geese passed overhead. We crossed over the fence, saw a bison in the distance, and then continued to the beaver pond where we sat on the logs for our lunch.

We returned to our cars and drove to the Ross Creek orphaned section, a romantic leafy trail that lies between the creek and a cultivated field. The first part of the trail runs through an old maple grove.

The day started out cold, but it got warmer by the hour—typical weather for an autumn hike. For more photos, visit our Flickr album.