Trail Talk 374 - July 29, 2025

I joined the Maitland Trail Association bicycle outing at Macgregor Provincial Park on Sunday July 20^th. Don Andrews led the group of eleven, on what I found were very confusing intersecting trails, without losing anyone.  As usual the highlight was the stop near the end for ice cream.

The Tuesday Trompers have been having great participation recently, helped by the incentive of a member hosting the group for snacks and drinks afterwards. Two recent outings have included walks along the beach, which had the advantage of not having to worry about mosquito bites. I have found that the Hullett trails including the Sugar Bush ones can have an annoying number of biting insects. 

On my way back from Stratford, I stopped for a hike on the West Perth Thames Nature Trail. It was a sunny and calm afternoon. On the pond behind the dam, I saw a person paddling a boat with an open umbrella, that was something I had never seen before.   This reminded me of how often I see something I don’t recognize and then find out after posting a photo on iNaturalist.   iNaturalist has a free site, where you can upload your photographs and it comes up with some statement such as “We are pretty sure this is in the genus- Here are our top suggestions.” Sometimes they are not confident, then experts will agree with the one you pick or suggest an alternative. iNaturalist welcome donations.  New sightings include a least flycatcher, wormwood wallflower and glandular globe-thistles at the Auburn end of the Maitland Trail, Dog-vomit slime mold in the Hullett Sugar Bush, tall blue lettuce at Bannockburn Tract, American Germander in the Nature Conservancy and a Sweet Cherry tree in our garden.

The Maitland Trail at 80918 Sharpes Creek Line is now closed due to work on the planned southward expansion of a gravel pit. A reroute has been completed which heads south soon after the trail crosses Bishop’s Road and comes out on Sharpes Creek Line about 1.7 km further south. Then there is a short portion on Sharpes Creek Line before heading east near a large solar panel, then through a forest and along the east edge of a field before rejoining the existing trail. This adds about 2 km to the length of the Maitland Trail. Anyone parking on Sharpes Creek Line should park on the East side of the road so as not to obstruct the view of drivers entering the road from the West side.

Sometimes there is not room for all the photos with Trail Talk, but they are available on the Maitland Trail Association website blog.

The Menesetung Bridge across the Maitland River at Goderich is now closed to pedestrians and cyclists until an expected completion date in November. Registration for the Maitland Camino on Sept 20-21 is closed.

Sharpes Creek Line is closed between Bishop’s Road and Londesboro road for culvert work.

Saturday August 9^th 10 -11 am BRVTA shore clean up at Bayfield River Flats

Saturday August 9^th 8.30 -9.30 pm a BRVTA organized night hike at Bannockburn with Cassie Greidanus of ABCA

Saturday August 23^rd 10-11am BRVTA hike at Naftel’s Creek Conservation Area

Saturday August 23^rd 10am-12.30 pm Bike ride at Inverhuron with Don Andrews

If you were too late to join the Maitland Camino and want to hike the whole Maitland Trail, you may want to join 4 days of Hiking from August 29^th to September 1^st to hike the trail. See MTA website events calendar for more info.

Tuesday Trompers meet at 9 a.m. on Tuesday to hike for about an hour. If you wish to be on this email list, complete the form and sign waiver on the MTA website.

Midweek hikers meet at 9 a.m. and hike for 1 ½ to 2 hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact Patrick Capper at pcapper99@gmail.com.