Trails

once time moved gently in this land of lakes rivers and forests here the Indians paddled traceless Li and blazed intricate trails along the lay of the land they were always moving surviving being true to their nomadic ways when the Europeans arrived to this new world as they called it they followed the Indians trails and in time develop trails of their own but these trails followed a straight line and were built for speed and profit [Music] [Music] today as you travel along modern highways sealed from the outside world in your automobile it's easy to lose touch with the land and the many ways you can enjoy appreciate and learn from it when the rumble of the highway fades behind you ahead lies nothing but the forest offering a chance to relive the old ways of travel in the remains of a wilderness which once entirely covered this land [Music] and every spring I feel the tone don't stop some my shoulder and every trip another rip my pack is getting older first two times are always worst my feet are the first to complain after I'm broken in we're in my summer skin but I go again I get along I can face [Music] the first step in making a trail is to take a contour map and draw a route on it showing the lakes that you would like to hit the next step is to take aerial photographs of the area study them to see if the route that you've planned on your contour map is feasible the next step of course is to gloat to the area with your flagging tape flag group you desire ReWalk that route change it manually if you think it needs it and then go through and cut through that you've chosen where you cut the route will depend on the terrain you're going through whether it's thick brush open rock or a light hemlock type of forest campsites usually are close to water and in a nice open area with a good ground covering and an open Rock for a fireplace when we're building a new trail we try to utilize any portions of old trails that may come across it may be an old loggers road or it may be a trappers portage that he's used before sort of grown in and we'll just recut it out railroad track rotting ties rustic steel patches and grass lifeline of hundreds for so [Music] worn out and broken from the we know the lone lifeline of hundreds for so [Music] years so many years [Music] their story around every Bend every Hill cargoes is carried and the cargoes it spilled no longer raid of the week [Music] the occasional traveler is all [Music] after so many years it's fantastic to wander along those trails with the right equipment and the proper instruction I feel I can go almost anywhere and at any time of the year [Music] when we're driving long distances we always try to start for a while for a bit of a hike feels good to get off the highway our families walk many parts of the Bruce trail the gana Raska the old porcupine and the Rideau as well as those now Gong Qin park and Killarney for me trails are exciting because I feel a sense of exploration and discovery bit like being a little kid again I guess [Music] understand when you're looking through glass you can feel feel the land [Music]