Winter is finally here with a decent amount of snow and some cold temperatures, and I see that some skier have already been out.

Correction – in Trail talk 202 I mentioned the new Huron County guide which has 38 not 398 trails listed.

With the snow having arrived, if you are considering purchasing a pair of snow shoes, I recommend that you find ones that have fasteners are easy to put on and adjust.  It is very unpleasant to fiddle about with bindings when it is very cold.  Having purchased a pair make sure you try them out in the backyard or some where you can have a short test run to find the correct adjustments.  You don’t want to set out on a long snow shoe and have to keep stopping to adjust your bindings, especially if there are other people with you.

On Monday January 10th the Lobb trail had been well packed but there was a lot of ice on the trail.  Fortunately on that day the patches of smooth ice were not very slippery. The later snowfall made for good hiking on Wednesday.

The trails on January 6th, 7th and 8th were a winter wonderland, with snow coating the trees and making for pleasant hiking before the cold snap on following  Monday and Tuesday.

On January 13th nine “Uneven” hikers went on the Maitland Trail at the Auburn end including some trails in the Robertson Track making for an outing of just over one and half hours.

I earlier commented on the lack of deer tracks but recently this changed, especially on the Maitland trail between 25km and 29 km there were only short sections where I could not see deer tracks.

Notes:

The Hullett blue trail from the parking lot at 80602 will have some logging activity between January 11th and March 31st. If there is a red flag flying there is no access to the trails from the parking lot at 80602 Wildlife Line. There is also logging at Wawanosh Nature Centre which closes the trails starting on Jan 4th .  There is also some logging on the Maitland Trail at about 32-32.8 km

For details phone 519-482-7011

While outdoor gathering are now limited to ten people (Until at least January 26th) the Tuesday Tromper’s hikes are on hold.

The Falls Reserve is closed until the end of May, except for the Maitland Trail’s main trail with white blazes and the blue blazed trail.  This is due to work on installing a new septic system.

Uneven Hikers hike for 1 ½ to 2 hours on Wednesdays or Thursdays, contact Patrick Capper. Both groups meet at 9 a.m.

If you have questions or something of interest for Trail Talk email me Patrick Capper at pcapper99@gmail.com.