The Couchiching Conservancy is offering a number of self-guided events that can be downloaded at any time throughout the year – mostly related to hiking, birding, and nature. They are free to download, you just need to register at the links on the conservancy website.
– Conservancy Trails 101: Download this digital download from The Couchiching Conservancy to get all the details on some of the trails that the Conservancy manages (in Orillia, Severn, Carden, and more!). https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/523888042237.
– Experience the Wildlands Road Trip: Did you see that? Was it a Great Blue Heron? Or maybe it was a Belted Kingfisher!? You never know what you will discover in the Black River Wildlands, just outside of Orillia. https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/615212927427
Kudos to Diane Reid McConkey for being the first recipient of the new “50 Hikes in 1 Year” badge. Diane is a new hiker, who joined the Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc. in December 2022, and set herself a goal of doing 50 hikes in 2023… but she already surpassed this goal, and is well on her way to reaching 100 hikes in 1 calendar year. Today, she mentioned that her newfound love for snowshoeing sped up her attempt to reach 50… and 100 hikes in 2023. Well done, Diane! Kudos also to all the other hikers who have already done 50 or 100 hikes this year.
Further to our April 6 post, the logging operations in the Brentwood Tract have been completed and that section of the trail is open for hikers. Enjoy!
At the Annual General Meeting on May 9, the Volunteer and Trail Maintenance Awards were announced for 2023.
Volunteer of the Year– IRENE BELL
This year we recognize Irene Bell for her contributions to the Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc.
Back in 2014, she and Shirl McArthur formed a 2 women’s team to take over the Club Presidency of the Wasaga Beach Ganaraska Hiking Trail club, but in the last few years, Irene continued on her own until 2022.
She not only made sure the Wasaga Beach section of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail was in good shape, but with her volunteers they created a new route along the Collingwood to Barrie rail trail. She made sure there was a hiking schedule for members and organized many local social activities for club members.
As the president of the local Wasaga Beach club, she attended the board meetings of the GHTA Inc. for the last 9 years and contributed valued input to our discussions. She also acted as the GHTA rep to Ontario Nature, and as such was GHTA’s sounding board on all things nature related.
Well done Irene! We herewith would like to show our appreciation by presenting you with the Volunteer of the Year Award for 2023. Thank you for your past contributions. Irene, we all enjoyed working with you, you are an excellent ambassador for hiking, and we wish you all the best for the future.
Trail Maintenance Club Award– PINE RIDGE
Following a Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc board decision in the fall of 2022 that the building of bridges is now allowed, the Pine Ridge Club of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc is among the first to implement the new policy and is therefore being nominated for building new bridges over tributaries of the Ganaraska River:
On December 2, 2022, 5 Pine Ridge Hiking Club members (Jimmy Edwards, Stan Muldoon, Jay Sherwin, John Ambler and bridge designer Ted Van Netten) installed a new 20′ bridge between 4th and 5th lines of Hope Township, at km 12, on the property of Gord and Judy Austin.
A further 2 bridges are currently being built at km 8. This project is being spearheaded by property owners Bill and Penny Harris with several PRHC members contributing numerous hours of volunteer labour. We are also appreciative of a $1730 donation from an anonymous donor to fund the bridge.
The section of the GHTA trail from the junction of the railway line and Brentwood Road (44.35386, -79.96300) to the junction Concession 3 and the railway tracks (44.35384, -7996378) follows an abandoned railway line. Railway ties and considerably overgrowth of shrubs tangled with vines makes numerous sections of this portion of trail very difficult to hike.
Maintenance of this section of trail is planned for the future, with the County of Simcoe considering transformation of the abandoned railway line into a multi-use trail (hopefully in the not-too distant future).
This trail section remains open for use, but the Mad River team wants hikers to be aware of the difficult hiking conditions.
In the Pine Ridge section of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail, between km 31 and km 39 in the Ganaraska Forest, there still are a number of fallen trees due to storm damage. Ganaraska Regional Forest staff will be clearing this area in the near future. Until that happens, Ganaraska Hiking Trail volunteers are not allowed to do regular trail maintenance and refresh the blazes, which may cause some confusion with navigating the Ganaraska Hiking Trail in that part of the Ganaraska Forest.
Logging operations have started up once again in Simcoe County Forest Strachan Tract, completing work that could not be done during the winter. The notice from the county forestry organization states “We have a contractor starting up in the Strachan Tract (Oro-Medonte) today. This is a continuation of a cut to complete areas that were inaccessible in the winter. Following this, they will be crossing over Bass Lake Sideroad into the North section of Strachan to complete that cut”. Until further notice please avoid the area and obey all posted signage.
Note that logging has started in the SW corner of the Brentwood Forest, through which the Ganaraska Hiking Trail runs near Glencairn. During logging, hikers are expected to comply with the No Entry signs. Thanks!
Ganaraska related: · 21-09-024 – Rathburn Tract – Logging operations have been completed, wood is still on site. · 21-11-028 – Strachan Tract – Logging operations have been completed, wood is still on site and there is a small portion of wood left needing to be cut once the snow has melted. · 22-07-018 – Orrock Creek S – Logging operations have been completed. Other: · 21-07-013 – Train & Stephens Tracts – Logging operations have been completed, trucking of wood is ongoing. · 21-11-027 – Pilkie Tract – Logging operations have been completed. This was a very quick operation as majority of the cut was completed in the summer. · 22-03-003 – Hendrie Tract – Logging operations have been completed. · 22-07-017 – Hendrie Tract – Logging operations have begun this week in the Southwest section of the Hendrie Tract. · 22-07-020 – Wright Tract – Logging operations have been completed. Another quick cut to complete an operation that started in the summer. · 22-11-030 – Orr Lake Tract – Logging operations have been completed, there is still wood in the parking lot that will be removed shortly.
