Grand Manan Trails
Annual Newsletter #19
October 2011
| TRAILS
UPDATE 2011
- Bob Stone Because of the wet weather in the spring, Anne and Jessie were not able to begin the trails as early as usual, and the continuing rain meant that they weren't able to complete them until mid to late June. In addition, it was an extremely bad year for blow-downs. Consequently, Anne spent 78 hours, and Jessie 84 in completing the maintenance, to a total of 162 hours. Keep in mind that, if we ever missed one year of maintenance, it would be hard to believe what shape the trails would be in. A good example was the trail on the northern side of Ross Island. Three years ago a work party spent a day clearing that trail. We had heard this past year that it was becoming very difficult to follow, and decided to concentrate on it again this year. Six of us and Jessie spent six hours making the trail once again passable.  We are finding that there are a number of places on the trails where the present reality differs from the trails booklet description. This is particularly true of the inland trails, which have been affected by logging and ATVs. Therefore, we will be introducing a major revision to the trails booklet, with a different cover and revised descriptions where necessary. We are also hoping to be able to produce a French edition, if we can gain access to government assistance for some of the costs. We have been assured that we will be surprised at the number of visitors who would prefer a French version. What you see in the accompanying photo is the new cover. Do you recognize the setting? If not, there's a hike for you next year. The answer is on page eight. Again we have been very fortunate with the summer volunteer work of our trails adopters. This has been a bad year for blackberry bushes, and brambles of many sorts. It is difficult to keep up with them, but our volunteers have put in many hours trying to stay ahead of them. Laura Buckley continues to host our annual fund raiser in October, which is our single largest source of funds. This year, the dinner raised $1465, the largest total yet. That, combined with the sale of the trails booklets and your generous donations, allows us to finance the maintenance. We contributed $2000 to the Lighthouse Keepers Society (sic Swallowtail Keepers Society), to be used for the restoration of the grounds and buildings at Swallowtail. They are a doing marvellous job in that project. As I mentioned last year, we are able to carry out the maintenance of the trails without any public funding, thanks to your generous support. HIKING -- A NEW EXPERIENCE - Helen Daggett As I sit here on the cliff listening to the scolding of the mother peregrine falcon circling over the amazing blue water, my senses are bombarded by the beautiful sights, scenes and smells all around me. I wonder why hiking has always been so far down my priority list. My "away " friends can't believe I have never been to Eel Brook before and I have lived on Grand Manan all my life. Last year my sisters and I decided to t  ake our
first hike to Hay Point and we had a great day eating our lunch by the
ocean and are planning another hike this
year. I'm sure most island folks have not given much thought to this
activity either and have also missed the hidden beauty all around us.
Perhaps it is because we are too busy working and taking care of our
families, but what a great family day this could be. We usually don't
appreciate what we have right
around us so I would highly recommend this free dose of health for
body, mind and soul. Kudos to the many volunteers who keep the trails
open for others to enjoy and also to Larry Small for organizing the
group hikes. Happy hiking everyone. Helen,
sitting on the Cronk bench on Seven Days Work,
looking out towards Eel Brook Beach and Ashburton Head Helen, born in Woodwards Cove, has lived in Seal Cove for most of her life. The following is a letter we received this summer from a Grand Manan visitor. "Dear Bob and Committee: Here is a small cheque to help you maintain the trails that we enjoy and appreciate so very much on each of our visits to Grand Manan. This last trip (May 27-30), we walked from Southwest Head to Deep Cove via Hay Point and Bradford Cove. Hay Point was particularly peaceful and lovely. It is our pleasure to send this cheque along in support of your hard work, and look forward to making annual contributions in the future." WHALE COVE. Greg and Nancy McHone  Whale Cove once had a small wharf and some fish sheds, and it was an alternative landing area for people coming by small boat from the mainland, as it was an easy walk to the village in North Head. It also has a large cobble beach, with a pond and marsh behind it. The Red Point Fault runs beneath the western beach, so that the west side of the cove has Mesozoic basalts, and on the east is much older meta-basalt and schist. A boat ramp is maintained for the fishermen, and access is easy. Turn north on to Whale Cove Rd. in North Head, drive to the end, and as always, be sure to park where you do not restrict the right of way of any of the people who use the dories there. Most of the beach cobbles are basalt, but there is a good mix of glacial stones, with jasper and others types as well. Walk slowly, as the footing is unsteady on these stones. Notice how, as you go eastward, the proportion of the stones of younger basalt to older types gets smaller.  There is nothing to prevent you from finding artifacts such as tools made by the First Nations natives. After all, Passamaquoddy people spent their summers on the island for many centuries, right up to the 1940's. This basalt cobble in the photo looks like a pounding tool, but, in fact, the indented grooves are naturally eroded bands of coarser, softer basalt called "segregation sheets". We are often asked about odd-shaped rocks that people find. Almost always they are shaped that way because some of their featues erode more easily than others, and not by an unusual property or origin. That doesn't mean you should not haul it home to become a garden trophy! Some prized shapes are ones that can be made into an inukshuk, or a sculptural human form of natural stones. Nancy and Greg McHone are geologists who now live on Grand Manan. They are the authors of various books on geology. This article is taken from "The McHones' Guide to Grand Manan Stones". They can be reached at stones2gems@earth2geologists.net. A BENCH FOR THE TRAIL - Joan Fellows  The following is a description by trail adopter Joan Fellows of the placement of a new bench on the trail. This article first appeared in the Facebook group "Friends of Grand Manan Trails". You might find this Facebook group informative and interesting. The
famous Big Head birch
The 'Big Head Bench' is now sitting nicely in the meadow between Big Head and Pandora's Head, at the back of the island. Eight intrepid trekkers (Bob and Judy Stone, Nils and Linda Kling, Bob Demaline, Joan Fellows, Gary Greenley and Milo Smienk) left the parking area on Bradford Cove Road at 9 am in the morning, carrying the bench pieces. The weather was perfect for hiking as we followed the orange trail, and then connected to the red  coastal trail, heading north. We enjoyed the sights along
the way, including the buoy cabin, the Big Head Birch, and some amazing
views looking back at Hay Point, and looking forward toward Big Head.
Once at the Big Head meadow the bench went together quickly and we
enjoyed our lunch in comfort. We even saw an eagle soaring between the
two Heads. We returned via Bradford Cove and had an excellent view of
the Bradford Cove Weir. The trek took 5 hours in total and we were
tired by the time we arrived back at the parking area. But what a great
day! The Big Head Bench now sits waiting to provide comfort and a
superb panoramic view to our island hikers. Gary, Bob, Milo, and Nils putting the bench together. It had been carried out in sections. Linda,
Judy, Nils, Milo, and Joan (in horizontal position), testing the bench
for weight capacity. It passed the test.
A ROSS ISLAND HIKE - Judy Stone We had an opportunity to act as tour guides when the New Brunswick Federation of Naturalists held their annual "Festival of Nature" on Grand Manan on Labour Day weekend. The organizers had contacted Bob early in the year requesting suggestions and leadership for an interpretive hike. Since we are not knowledgeable about flora and fauna, we suggested Ross Island and the Grand Harbour Light as a good destination when the tide was right. Twenty intrepid nature lovers managed the Thoroughfare crossing at 8:30 a.m. and we learned a lot from them as they discussed plants and studied the bird population while making their way to the gravestone of William Ross, son of an early settler, and then to the remains of the lighthouse.   Margaret Harris, daughter of Winnifred and Percy Harvey, had spent five years there as a child and was the special attraction on this excursion. Her reminiscences about growing up as a "Lighhouse Kid" were fascinating and she answered the many questions about the original structure, the added kitchen and the everyday details of household life. Penny, her sister, who was unable to join us, had once commented that she felt really badly when her bedroom fell off the house and Margaret acknowledged that it was difficult to visit the site of so many happy memories, now that it was in such dilapidated condition. Many thanks for making this a memorable trip for the visitors and for us, Margaret. We have made that pilgrimage many times, but now have a greater sense of the Light in its heyday.  Margaret is
second from left, in the red jacketGRAND MANAN HIKERS - Larry Small Grand Manan Hikers only managed six hikes this summer, due to a seemingly endless string of damp, cold Sundays. Our first hike of the season was to Eel Brook beach,where some of us built a four foot tall beachrock monument. On a hike to Hay Point, 80+ year old Barbara Brown joined us as far as Bradford Cove Pond, a place she`d always wanted to see. New on our itinerary this year was the Dark Harbour "Seawall Crawl", always an interesting place. More recently, on Sept 11 we hiked from the Whistle to Ashburton Head. It was our smallest group to date,with many islanders attending the funeral of one of our young soldiers. As we looked out at the beautiful,calm blue day, it was difficult to imagine a world that could also be so violent and troubled. Looking down at Eel Brook beach, we could see that the monument we built in  June was
still intact. Winters and nor`easters will soon put the stones back in
their proper places. Two of my grand-daughters, Caelan and Marissa,
were with me on this hike, and it is very satisfying to see an
appreciation of nature growing in them. I happened to look at a
calendar a few days later and saw that this Sept. 11 was also National
Grandparents' day...fitting. So this summer is behind us, and we're
hoping for a slightly drier 2012...See you on the trails, and thank you
for tending them so well.Adele
Peacock, Austin Green, Linda Kling, the Otises, Laurel Hinsdale
 Caelan Green and Marissa Charters For more information about the hikes and hikers, visit and/or join their Facebook group Grand Manan Hikers. ODE TO ANNE AND JESSIE - Joan Fellows
Net Point - Fredonna Dean and Joanne Ingalls and family Hole in the Wall to Whale Cove- Marilyn and Peter Cronk Whale Cove to Eel Brook Beach- Adele Peacock , Janice and Allison Naves Ashburton Head to the Whistle- Bill and Liz Edgar Whistle to Indian Beach- Joanne and Mike Ingalls Dark Harbour to Western Head - Debbie and Olivia Charters, Patti Davidson Tatton’s Corners to Money Cove (yellow trail)- Marilyn and Peter Cronk King Street to Sloop Cove- Sidney and Barbara Guptill Big Head to Bradford’s Cove- Joan Fellows and Bob Demaline Bradford’s Cove to Bradford’s Pond- Cecilia Bowden Bradford’s Pond to Southwest Head- Sheldon and Shirley Cook South West Head to Southern Beach - Alex and Dyanne Frame Southern Beach to Lower Flock of Sheep- Jane and Laird Sloan Lower Flock of Sheep to Frames’ property- Alex and Dyanne Frame Frames’ property to end of trail- Janice and Ed David Ross Island- Jackie Foote, Nils and Linda Kling Above Dark Harbour- Janna Gatta At large: Joel Frantzman, Judy Stone, Maude Hunter, Nadine McInnis and Tim Fairbairn Overall trails maintenance: Anne Mitchell and Jessie James Signs: Carmen and Pete Roberts Treasurer: Bob Stone Trails Booklet: edited by Bob Stone Pins: Cecilia Bowden Newsletter: Frances Hodge and Bob Stone Many thanks to retired adopters Ginnie and George Riseborough, and Ineka and Jan deVries Volunteer “Trail Adopters” look after specific trails, monitoring work needed and carrying out light maintenance. The commitment of time is not onerous. All tools and materials can be supplied from our inventory and 90% of the work done simply involves a pair of hand clippers to combat intrusive growth. Keeping us informed on current trail conditions is probably the main contribution. Let us know if you would be interested in helping out. DONORS:
If you wish to be included on the mailing list, give a donation, receive the newsletter by email, comment on trail conditions, observations (Ex: natural history, cultural, aesthetic, etc.) or suggestions to improve the trails, please write to: FRIENDS OF GRAND
MANAN TRAILS
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c/o Bob Stone 51 Red Point Road, Grand Manan, NB E5G 4J1 rstone@nb.sympatico.ca Web: www.grandmananNB.com |
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Introduction | -1993- | -1994- | -1995- | -1996- | -1997- | -1998- | -1999- -2000- | -2001- | -2002- | -2003- | -2004- | -2005- | -2006- | -2007- | -2008- | -2009- | -2010- | -2011- Newsletter Archives (PDF): | 2003 PDF (321KB) | 2004 PDF (216KB) THE GRAND MANAN TRAILS PIN  The idea that we
should identify ourselves with a distinctive logo originated with one
of the Island’s scout leaders in 1993. When contacted, long time
“Friend” O. K. Schenk promptly designed a sew-on crest which was later
transformed into a lapel pin. Mr. Schenk’s beautiful watercolors are
well known to Islanders and are included in some of our Island Museum’s
displays.The design depicts “a hard white shape symbolizing the Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) which is common during the summer, and always a source of pleasure”. The background colour is a dark forest green and the white flower-center (or berries) a bright red. First offered for sale in 1994 as a crest and now as a pin, they have become our principal fund raising activity. They are sold for $5.00 each, without profit to the sellers, by a number of GMTA members. They are available at the following places: Island Arts, Marathon Inn, Shorecrest Lodge, Whale Cove Cottages, Grand Manan Museum, Harrington Cove Cottages. Thanks to all of them.
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