Blog for the Westman WIlderness Club

Bert and Judy, Scotty and Di, and Arthur and Shirley met in the parking lot of the Epinette trail system on Saturday for a hike/campout at cabin 3.  We shared the trail with 3 zillion mosquitoes, which some of us managed to fend off with healthy(?) doses of insect repellent.  The mosquito coils did little to keep the swarms at bay as we cooked supper, but the deet made it bearable for some of us.  Shortly before dark, Jackie and her nephew Josh and Dover showed up.  Fourteen year-old Josh was very impressed with his Aunt’s penchant for outdoor living (I think he was quoted as saying, “Auntie Jackie, I don’t think this was such a good idea”) but he gamely assisted with the supper preparations, accepting the offer of a repellent that was a little more effective than the citronella they wore coming in.

After supper, Bert (bare-legged and armed-that means sans cloth or mosquito repellent) headed out to meet Fred, who had left Winnipeg at 6 pm on his bicycle.  Shortly thereafter, Fred strolled into camp, swatting fiercely (His loving wife  hadn’t even  left him the citronella as he requested).   Fred had taken the old trail, somewhat shorter but quickly getting overgrown and minus the bridges.  We were all impressed to see Bert saunter back half an hour later, totally oblivious to the blood stains and welts that covered every inch of his legs.

No sitting up shooting the breeze till all hours this night.  We were all tucked away well before midnight—all that is, except Dover, who didn’t quite know what to make of the howling coyotes (we didn’t quite know what to make of his snoring, once he did settle down).   Saturday morning, we woke to clear skies and a light breeze, and—miracle of miracles—no mosquitoes.

Arthur and Shirley lead a hike from the Discovery Center starting at 4:30 this afternoon. Also in the group were Ginger, Agnes and myself.

Although the skies were very ominous we hiked to First Street, across the bridge, through the East end of Brandon back across the Eighth Street Bridge to Eleanor Kidd Park. Arthur did allow us a 5 minute washroom break and a couple of minutes to look at the beautiful flower gardens before heading back to the Discovery Center.

Much of the Park area is now flooded making the pedestrian bridge inaccessible.

Thanks Arthur and Shirley. We all enjoyed the hike as well as the continual conversation.

Brian

The WWC had another successful hike around the southeast corner of the RMNP. Grace was camping at the farm site, and Di and Scotty joined her camping for eve. Ginger, Agnes and prospective member Dana joined Grace and Di, for a hike west of the “farm” in the afternoon.

The sun was bright and hot, but a fresh breeze kept us cool , and mosquitoes at bay for the first part. Later on, the clouds were threatening, and the wind quieted down, but luckily, the storm went around us, and the mosquitoes were still not bad. We kept mostly to the back road area to have the most enjoyable experience possible considering the conditions of the year, and we were not disappointed!  We walked about 6-700 feet in elevation to the west, so walking eastward we took in the occasional view of the countryside. The road meanders around a ravine, and the shale slides  and lush greenery create a picturesque scene.

A great way to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon!

Grace