Friends of the Rail Trail (FoRT)

Here is a photo of the 2009/2010 Executive for FoRT - a group committed to promoting the use of the County's Rail Trail for hiking, cycling, group outings and it's historical value and corridor to nature. At our last meeting in February, we finalized the brochure for the Rambles walks throughout the Spring - these are great. Each walk starts at a different location on the trail, it is a relaxed pace -just a chance to get out, see a different part of the trail and enjoy! There will be brochures throughout the County at different locations, including our REMAX office in Haliburton, and they will be listed in the Community Events columns of the local papers. The Exec committee consist of (from left to right), Front row: Ute Wright, Secretary; Pamela Marsales, Chair. Back row: Wendy Wilkins, Vice-Chair; and myself, Terry Carr, Treasurer.

Well - another excursion! Christine and I are determined to see as much as we can from a winter perspective! On Wednesday we drove to the Hawk River Log Chute - a log chute that was used by loggers and is still in perfect condition today! There are 3 different spots along Little Hawk Lake Road to pull over and picnic or just enjoy the fast-moving river. It is also a popular spot for tubing into Hall's Lake - you come out near the public beach. We started at the end of the road, but the Hawk Lake Marine and moved down to the dam and log chute. This is also an excellent place to access a couple of the hiking trails in the region - well maintained and marked with a kiosk for information and maps. The weather was gorgeous - warm, but very cloudy and we took our time walking around. As the water rushed from the dam into the log chute there was a neat effect on the side of the chute. The water had created a see-through ice wall where you could see the water rushing behind - something that was impossible to catch on camera. We took 140 photos! The rock face on the far side had incredible growths, ice formations and unlimited photo opps - we could have spent hours there. A funny moment when I started to slip on a trail - grabbed a tree branch, and the tree branch broke - I took the whole branch with me to the bottom of the trail - it seems I have more than enough padding of my own to break the fall! We stopped and took a few photos of Hall's Lake on our way home as the clouds grew darker by the minute.

I am trying to create photo albums at the side of my blog but so far am failing - I have posted a question for help in the discussion forum but no answers yet! In the meantime, here are just a few!

I am soooo confused! My original intent for this blog was an opportunity for my daughter and I to share some of our adventures in Haliburton County and to log our quest to check out every part of it! Now I am finding that as I attend a meeting, visit a show, attend an event, I want to run back and type up what I saw/heard or learned. This is definitely a departure from it's original intent. Since Christine is probably the only one who follows my blog anyway, I guess I might as well continue!

Yesterday I visited the Rails' End Gallery as Sheila Ziman told me there was a show by Joe Smith, a West Guilford photographer and camera collector. I am a lover of photography (my childhood dream was to become a wildlife photographer and work for National Geographic!), and this particular exhibit especially caught my eye as the photographs were done by pinhole cameras. When I was 12 I bought a book on how to develop photographs, and how to make your own camera. I made a pinhole camera with a small caredboard box, and developed the photos in my laundry room! Joe's photos are quite unique, several are in black and white and some are in hues of blue, yellow or red. The pinhole camera gives soft edges and a grainy look to the photograph - you would swear they were taken shortly after photography was first born! To top it off, Joe used local places that are easily recognizable. I travel all over the County as a real estate agent, and I recognized the locations of many of the photos such as the Beech Lake farm house, the Gelert Lambs 'n Ivy/Smokehouse business (a must visit on County Road 1 for all visitors to the area!), and St. Peter's Church at Maple and Beech Lakes - another beautiful place to visit! Yesterday was also the Frost Festival in Haliburton, and as I walked up the steps to the Rails' End Gallery there was an amazing smell - hot apple cider, and I hear the Beaver Tails were excellent!

By the way - if anyone other than Christine is checking out this blog from time to time - please sign up as a follower! It doesn't commit you to anything, it's free, only takes a moment - but it let's me know that once in a while, someone else might be reading!

Yesterday I met with Sheila Ziman and Barrie Martin from the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust to see how I can participate and help the organization. I am going to be doing some database work for them, pulling all their information together and organizing it so they can easily keep in contact with their membership. The goal right now is to get as much done as possible in preparation for their annual Gala in May. It sounds like a long time, but nomination forms for their Enviro-Hero awards must go out soon, then invitations, ....so the push is on! If anyone reading this knows of an indvidual, a couple or a business or organization that could be considered an Enviro-Heroe, please contact them!

Barrie Martin is an intriguing man whom I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet. Barrie was one of the original organizers of Trails and Tours. He worked for the Frost Centre for many years before taking on the trails and tours challenge. Barrie also currently owns an Outdoor Adventure business where he takes people on organized hiking/camping/cycling/canoeing trips throughout the county. He will even create personalized tours based on a person's interests - a great idea and perfect timing as Haliburton County gets more and more known for it's outdoor quest opportunities! I hope I can help this amazing group, even just a bit!

Tomorrow I am looking forward to a phone call from Sheila Ziman, Chair of the Haliburton County Land Trust. We are going to talk about a way that I may be able to contribute, in a volunteer capacity, to the Land Trust. The HC Land Trust is a non-profit, non-governmental registered charity and it's mission is to protect the natural heritage of Haliburton County for future generations. They have been working on some exciting projects in the past, including the acquisition of an island on Kennisis Lake and just recently, a large re-forested acreage outside of the community of Gelert. Their "species at risk" monitoring programme truly has caught my eye. To find out more info on this group you can check out their website at http://www.haliburtonlandtrust.ca/. I am not sure how I can help with my limited abilities, but am game for any suggestions Sheila may have tomorrow! I also think it would complement my involvement with Friends of the Rail Trail quite nicely.

Ritchie Falls - January 2010

While Christine was home over the Christmas Holidays we couldn't resist some winter photography after a beautiful snowfall. If you haven't been to Ritchie Falls, it is about 10 minutes out of Haliburton off County Road 1 (Gelert Rd.). At the Community of Lochlin, follow Ritchie Falls Road to the end. It was a challenge through the deep snow - not your typical time to see the Falls, but well worth it. It was a freezing cold day, but once we started slogging through the deep snow, we soon forgot how cold it was. Hanging from the bridge was a swing rope that had an amazing ice bell swaying from the bottom. The spray off the rapids had created a perfect "bell" that swung freely - it was quite amazing how it formed. The area was magical - a little tricky at the water's edge as you cannot see the rock ledges and were they end, so we were extra careful. When the snow melts there is lots of great rocks that offer picnic areas or places to peacefully sit and watch the beautiful water rushing by.

Canoe Trip October 2009

Well, my daughter Christine and I have finally started our adventures that we have talked about forever! In October we went on a one-day canoe trip (to break in our skills). First we got a great Water Trails map from the Frost Centre, then we were off! We started at Margaret's Lake, just south of The Leslie Frost Centre on Highway 35. The lake was beautiful - we entered into a bay and headed north through a narrows that became very shallow, but well-marked. As we entered into the larger part of the lake we headed West to find the portage into Little Margaret Lake. We realized later that we did not go far enough into the marshy area, and didn't find the portage, so we came back out and pulled up on a large rock for lunch. It was an incredibly sunny October day and getting warmer by the minute -we couldn't have asked for better! After lunch we headed north again and followed the edge of the lake, circling around to the other side until we found the portage to Dan Lake. As an "older", out-of-shape person, with a borrowed, heavy canoe - this was an experience! The portage was 338 metres in length - not super long, but lots of rocks, roots and twists. Dan Lake is a very small, pretty lake - you start out in a sea of dead trees then open up into the lake. We checked out each provincial campsite along the way and tried not to miss a thing! Next was a portage to McEwen Lake - a short and easy 124 metres. McEwen Lake was gorgeous with some rock cuts and great camping sites. At the far end of the lake we stopped for a break (photos enclosed), checked out the park's "facilities", and headed home the same way we came. The whole trip took about 5 hours. We poked along and didn't rush, but it was a fabulous day! We are mapping out our next route for Spring - looking at the Water Trails map, we have hundreds of trips to take - never duplicating a route!!