Last week 12 people came out to hike the Pipestone Creek section eastward from Highway 814 to the skinny pasture in the field past the bridge. It was another warm sunny day, much like we’ve had all of September.

The trail passes through a few different types of forest. We strolled through shady dark forests with swatches of mossy undergrowth. And we stepped through dappled forests of tall poplar and birch, set among bushes and bogs and patches of horsetails and coral striped orchids. Pick any forest – they all look rich and lush from this year’s supply of abundant and frequent rainfall.

Here’s the Pipestone in dappled shade just west of the bridge. The aquatic plants in the foreground are one of the arrowheads (Sagittaria).

Thanks to Lee for scouting and leading the hike and to trail maintenance for all their efforts, and to the landowners for their continuing permission. You can find all the photos on Flickr.

Where we’re going next.

Seventeen people came out on a beautiful blue-sky day to hike the Ministik trail south.

We paused to admire Williams Lake. Its water shimmered under the September blue sky. We’ve been noticing that the leaves on the trees have not yet started to turn colour, and it’s already September 10.

This trail has two landmarks of interest.

The first, of course, is the old firetower. This is where we stopped for lunch.

The second landmark was new to most of us. It’s likely you won’t see unless you know to look for it across the field. It’s the chimney of an old cabin, at least a hundred years old. In the wintertime, Skidooers create a track to it.