I joined the bicycle ride on Saturday August 24th. Our leader George Cantin decided not to tackle cycling up Windy Hill so we (Richard, Rick, George, Anne and I) cycled on the G2G to the Maitland River and then back to Goderich. There was a lovely Mountain Ash loaded with red berries, which are a favourite food of Robins and Cedar waxwings. I noticed that the trees planted by the Maitland Trail crew were virtually all in excellent shape thanks to the watering by volunteers, especially Brian McCulloch and Roger Goddard. The trees planted by the G2G crew near Westmount Line did not fare as well. I saw many silver maples but no conifers. We also saw a couple of Guinea fowl wander across the trail, despite the trail being a very busy place with over 30 other cyclists out.
When looking for any signs of butterflies, I have noticed quite a lot of other insects. One was a golden-eyed lacewing. The larvae are very effective predators on aphids, spider mites, etc. Another interesting looking insect is a goldenrod soldier beetle. They feed primarily on pollen and nectar of flowers but may also eat small insects such as caterpillars. The one I saw was on a thistle.
Thyra at first thought that a bird had pooped onto my shirt drying on the line. However, on closer inspection it turned out to be a caterpillar of a Rose Hooktip moth. One thing I have noticed when hiking is that moths appear earlier than butterflies, and most of them take short flights and land underneath leaves. The most common butterflies, Cabbage Whites and Clouded Sulphurs, usually take very long flights and are often hard to photograph because when they land it is often well off the trail.
I have found that trail conditions are generally good with very little mud, the only problem being the occasional windfall. These have occurred despite not having any great storms. However, when I hiked on Wednesday morning August 27th in the Maitland Woods I noticed the overnight wind caused a lot of branches to fall across the trail, most of which were quite small. I managed to clear the trail, but I don’t know what damage was done to the other area trails.
Notes:
TRAIL from Cherrydale Road (20km) to Nature Conservancy property (25km) has been reopened. Dog owners are reminded that their dog must be on a leash.
Thursday September 5th 8.30 am the LIFE hikes are restarting. Helen Lobb will lead a hike on the Varna trails. For information contact Cheryl Phillips at cphillips@onecarwesupport.ca or 1-877-502-8277 ext. 2011. Hikers must update their information file at ONE CARE Intake Dept. at 1-844-482-7800 before attending the first hike.
Friday September 6th 4pm - 6pm The official Opening of the Blyth G2G tunnel under County Road 25.
Saturday September 7th 10am 11.30am Walk the Millennium Trail Level 2 leisurely pace. This is a hike along the banks of the Maitland River on the east side of Goderich. For more information on where to meet up and to confirm your attendance, please contact Hugh McGregor at 519 955-6318.
Sunday September 8th 10 am noon. Bicycle ride on the G2G from Auburn to Blyth and return with Sally Brodie. Meet by the microwave tower in Auburn. For more information and to confirm your attendance, please contact Sally Brodie by texting 226 378-1648. This is a Level 1, moderate pace bike ride
Maitland Trail Association‘s El Camino on Saturday September 21st and 22nd is sold out.
All participants taking part in the Maitland Trail events should sign the waiver for 2024, preferably the online version.
Tuesday Trompers meet at 9 a.m. on Tuesday to hike for about an hour. If you wish to be on this email list, send an email to mta@maitlandtrail.ca
Midweek Hikers hike for 1 ½ to 2 hours on Wednesdays or Thursdays, contact Patrick Capper.
Both groups meet at 9 a.m. and are open to non-members provided they sign the MTA On-line waiver.
If you have questions or something of interest for Trail Talk email me Patrick Capper at pcapper99@gmail.com.
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