Hike at Crests of Kennisis Trail

Well, today could not be missed! No rain, beautiful sun but not too hot! John and I took advantage of the day and decided to go for a hike. We headed out to the historic log chute between Hall's Lake and Hawk Lake (see winter photos in a previous blog), and had lunch at a picnic table. The water levels in the area this year are astoundingly low, and the Kennisis River between the lakes - which is usually fast moving, loud and beautiful, was rocks and mud in a lot of places. It was truly quite sad - no kids are tubing into Hall's Lake this year! After lunch we crossed the dam and headed along the "Crests of Kennisis Trail" - a 5km trail (up hill both ways - or so it seemed!) that leads you up and along a ridge high above the Kennisis River. As it was our first hike of the season, and we are not seasoned hikers, we didn't make it all the way, but we did make it to the first viewing point, past the beaver pond. It was spectacular and took about 45 minutes to get there. We then swung our exhausted bodies around and headed back. Lots of mosquitoes, lots of sunshine and an incredibly peaceful, beautiful forest. Sometimes we had to just stop and listen to the silence - an extraordinary day! I wonder what trail we shall try next????

Friends of Rail Trail AGM

This Sunday evening I attended the first ever AGM for Friends of the Rail Trail. It was well-attended and held in our Chairpersons home, Pamela Marsales. Pamela reported on the past year's activities, including Sunday Rambles, education, access, nature and history. One key factor this year is the group's impact on local business. The report listed how many local businesses and organizations were affected by post-walk luncheons, visits by participants to art studios, farms, and non-profit locations. It was an impressive list and membership with FoRT is also growing substantially, with $5.00 per person being the deal of a life time! There are some great upcoming events, including a canoe trip/lunch along the Burnt River (July 13th) - FREE! I will post a complete list of upcoming events within the next few days.

Wild About Nature Gala

Friday, May 28 I got to go to my first ever Gala! The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust held it's annual Gala - a fundraising event to support the Trust, and an opportunity to celebrate Haliburton County's "Enviro-Heroes". The evening was titled "Wild About Nature". Money was raised through silent auctions, raffles and a loonie auction and the Minden Community Centre was packed! There was a fabulous buffet catered by Bonnie View Inn and The Wild Orchid. There were five awards given. Under the section of Business - The Haliburton Highlands Water Trails was recognized for "developing a set of far-reaching education, outreach and stewardship initiatives". Under Education, the Haliburton-Muskoka Children's Water Festival and Friends of Ecological and Environmental Learning were rewarded. In Stewardship, Jerry Walker, a well-known Haliburton County man and business man was noted for his extensive work with Ducks Unlimited and tireless efforts mapping and identifying wetlands in Haliburton County. In the section of Arts, Mary Anne Barkhouse and Michael Belmore, local yet far known multi-disciplinary artists were awarded. Their work has been and is being displayed in museums such as The Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Toronto Sculpture Garden, University of Western Ontario and The Smithsonian's National Museum of the America Indian. For the division of Health, Sue Shikaze won for her vision and dedication to projects such as Share the Road, and the cycling coalition. Sue's vision for a healthy and active community is pushing us forward!

It was a great evening and I wish I had attended before! Good music, good food - great people! It was very inspiring to get to meet even more of Haliburton County's extraordinary human resources!