Trail Talk: Finding surprises along Huron County’s trails; orchids, fungus, turtles and more

Beet Berry.

Although I have been hiking trails in Huron County for 20 years, I can still be surprised.

Recently I saw an unfamiliar bright red plant at the side of the trail, a beet berry, also called strawberry blite.

Another surprise was seeing a snapping turtle on a trail where I had never seen one, I also saw two snapping turtles on the Hullett trails, which is where I have seen them in previous years.

Last year I did not see a single Hemlock Varnish Shelf fungus, so I was glad that this year they were back in the usual places on some hemlock logs. This fungus is considered inedible, but the slugs seem to be enjoying it.

A new orchid for me was some Shining Ladies’ Tresses, at Bannockburn Tract.  This plant is like the Great Plains Ladies Tresses I had seen at Hullett in September.

Showy Lady’s Slipper orchids are quite reliable, blooming in mid-June at Hullett.

There was a great turnout of 24 Tuesday Trompers, most of whom came out on June 16 to see the orchids. This year one of the orchids had three blossoms.

I recently learnt from reading the book ‘The Orchid Thief’ by Susan Orlean, that most orchids, other than Lady Slippers, can be cloned.

One day there may be little interest while the next day there may be much more to see.  On my Hullett walk one day I only saw a few Little Wood Satyr and Hobomok skipper butterflies, and on the next day with similar weather I also saw three Tiger Swallowtails, two Monarchs and several Crescent butterflies.   

I am not often bothered by mosquitoes, so it was quite a surprise when hiking the Maitland Trail at the Auburn end on June 13 to be accompanied by quite a swarm of them.

On other hikes before and after this, in places such as Hullett, I hardly saw any mosquitoes.

Another interesting thing was on Wednesday, when we were just about to hike the Hullett Sugar Bush, a man came up and said there was a horse on the lam, and if we should see it, we should call the police.  We never saw any sign of the horse.

On Thursday we hiked the new extension of the Maitland Trail on the West side of Sharpes Creek Line. The heavy rain the previous night had caused the creek just south of Bishop’s Road to be in flood mode, so only hikers with long legs could cross on the step stones.

This heavy rain caused the Maitland River to rise so part of the Maitland Trail might have become flooded.

I was reading an article by Darby Saxbe about the brain benefits of being a parent. Men with two or three children had an estimated brain age of 0.6 to 0.7 years younger than their childless peers.

That is like the brain benefits associated with exercising for 2.5 hours per week. This is an example of the increasing amount of evidence about the many benefits of regular exercise.

NOTES:

The Maitland Trail between Londesboro Road and Little Lakes Road remains closed due to a landslide.

September 22- 23 Maitland Camino is getting close to being fully booked.

EVENTS:

Saturday, June 27 at 11a.m. Mindfulness Walk and Forest Therapy - Meet at the Millenium Trail in Goderich, Nelson Street entrance. Designed for those who want the benefits of meditation but prefer to move.

We’ll be moving slowly and silently together for 20 minutes to the first river lookout where we’ll stop to chat about the benefits of mindfulness and forest therapy, enjoy the beautiful vistas of the Maitland River, and head back to the entrance - maybe hug a tree on the way out.

Please leave your pets at home; dogs are already very zen.

For more information and to confirm your attendance, please contact Tanya at redroofrecovery@gmail.com or text 519-616-3636. This is a level 1, slow paced meditative walk.

Saturday, June 28 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Cycle Pinery Provincial Park - Meet at Lampton Heritage Museum.  For more information and to confirm your attendance, please contact Don Andrews at 519-530-9019 call or text. This is a level 1 beginner bike ride.

Wednesday, July 1 at 6 a.m. Welcome to Canada Day Sunrise Walk - We will start at the picnic shelter at St. Christopher’s Beach and walk over the Menesetung Bridge, with its always interesting vista, to Tiger Dunlop’s Tomb and then return for breakfast (muffins, cheese, fruit, tea, coffee and juice supplied.

Please bring your own mug.

For more information and to confirm your attendance, please contact either Faye at 519-524-2070 or Wendy at 519-525-6976. Please note that you must register for this hike and sign the MTA Waiver before participating. This is a level 1, leisurely paced hike

Saturday, July 4 from 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Hike the Maitland Trail (Auburn) and Robertson Forestry Tract - Meet at the bottom of Bridge Road in Auburn. This section does not have any significant hills, but meanders along the Maitland River.

For information and to confirm your attendance, please contact.

For more information and to confirm your attendance, please contact Susan Ethelston at susan.ethelston@gmail.com. This is a level 1-moderate to brisk paced hike.

Sunday, July 5 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Cycle Inverhuron Provincial Park.

For more information and to confirm your attendance, please contact Don Andrews at 519-530-9019 call or text.

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 meet at 9 a.m. and hike for 1.5 to 2 hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact Patrick Capper at pcapper99@gmail.com

LIFE hikers meet every Friday for a hike of about 1.5 hours, with a choice of pace, striders moving a little faster than the strollers.  The hikes now start at 9a.m. and can be joined through ONE CARE.