Ministik Williams Lake to Fire Tower hike

Seventeen people came out on a beautiful blue-sky day to hike the Ministik trail south.

We paused to admire Williams Lake. Its water shimmered under the September blue sky. We’ve been noticing that the leaves on the trees have not yet started to turn colour, and it’s already September 10.

This trail has two landmarks of interest.

The first, of course, is the old firetower. This is where we stopped for lunch.

The second landmark was new to most of us. It’s likely you won’t see unless you know to look for it across the field. It’s the chimney of an old cabin, at least a hundred years old. In the wintertime, Skidooers create a track to it.

Thanks to Helen for scouting and leading the hike and to trail maintenance for keeping the trail clear. You can find more photos on Flickr.

Where we’re going next.

Mirror Lake to Camrose Ski Club Hike

With rain threatening, but not materializing, 10 hikers set off around Mirror Lake in Camrose, to start the almost 10km hike. We took advantage of the great paved pathway system in this beautiful area, to avoid being eaten alive. With the wind’s help, we managed to do just that.

Due to all the recent rain, the various greens of the gently rolling hills are very lush and rich looking.

On the north side of the lake we were treated to the sight of two does and a very young fawn, just 25m away from us. For a few minutes, they ran around (especially the little one) and were completely unafraid.

Soon after, we saw 3 swimming pelicans, as well as many blackbirds and a few purple martins.

Then, while lunching at the ski lodge, we spotted another deer on the opposite slope. A good wildlife day!

At the hike’s conclusion several of the group stopped in the visitors’ center, and some even found their way to the ice cream vendor.

The temperature and conditions ended up being just about perfect for this long-awaited restarting of our regularly scheduled hikes.

It was great seeing everyone again. You can see all the photos in our Flickr album.

Where we’re going next.