Mother nature gifted us with a dream winter. For the Toronto Bruce Trail Club that led to five super fun, sold-out ski and snowshoe daytrips and an awesome long weekend in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. We visited Highlands Nordic and Arrowhead Provincial Park twice, and Horseshoe Resort once. At Highlands skiers floated through the forest on expertly groomed trails while enjoying views of Georgian Bay. Some snowshoers had fun making fresh tracks on the Bruce Trail, while others discovered Highlands’ magical trails.
At Arrowhead we added ice skating to our winter adventures and finished the day toasting marshmallows and making s’mores by the fire. On the trip home there was lots of happy chatter as we shared snacks. Thanks to everyone who brought treats. While the skiers explored the trails in the beautiful Copeland Forest at Horseshoe, the snowshoers had an amazing wilderness adventure with Roland Mark and George Lennon at McCrae Lake Conservation Reserve. A huge thank you to all the hike leaders who made these trips possible.
I was thrilled to see some new faces on every trip. A special thank you to Shaya Petroff for collecting trail fees each week, and for encouraging new, young skiers to join us. Thanks to his efforts, a group of happy students from the University of Waterloo joined us on one of our trips to Highlands.
Our long weekend in Magog was unforgettable. The town’s walkability and charm, along with its many cafés, restaurants, brasseries and boutiques, ice skating trail, waterfront promenade, and nearby wetland, meant there was something for everyone. The many trail side chalets in the Parc national du Mont-Orford made skiing and snowshoeing fun even on a cold, blustery, super snowy Sunday.
The season was not without its challenges. From ongoing issues with the registration system, to a late bus and wild ride with an inexperienced driver in Arrowhead, to dealing with a bus cancellation in French while skiing in a blizzard.
The fantastic ski conditions and smiling faces made all the work worthwhile. My regrets: no party at Scenic Caves, the season ended too soon, and we lost some long-time members to the Outdoor Club of East York. We couldn’t support Scenic Caves because the snowshoers told me they didn’t think it was good value. I limited the season to only five daytrips at the request of the TBTC Board of Directors.
Active winters are the best winters. I’m so lucky I got to ski my heart out with new and old friends. As of March 29, I’m still skiing!
I hope everyone who came out loved their snow days.
- Courtesy, Martina Furrer