Come Walk With Us on the Trans Canada Trail (TCT)

Today was a gorgeous, warm, sunny, fall day that took us straight back into the landscape of Newfoundland. It made us realize both how quickly time flies, and how far we've come since taking our leave of The Rock. We began the day by walking out of Powerview and into the neighbouring community of Pine Falls. This amalgamated town was created as a paper mill town in the 1920's. The mill was originally owned by the Manitoba Pulp and Paper Company, then the Abitibi Paper Company, the Pine Falls Paper Group, and finally Tembec, who shut down the mill in 1998.  Adjacent to Pine Falls are lands occupied by the Sagkeeng First Nation . The Sagkeeng Reserve, which was once called Fort Alexander, is located at the North and South shores of the mouth of the Winnipeg River. In the Ojibwe language the name 'sagkeeng' means 'at the outlet' and 'winnipi' means 'murky waters.' Some members of this Anishinabee First Nation are descended from the ancient co...

Today did not turn out the way we imagined it would, but that isn't really an unusual occurrence while on the Trans Canada Trail. It all began fairly well, with a short walk down the edge of a wide, flat gravel road. The skies were mostly overcast, but occasional breaks in the clouds provided moving bands of sunshine that set the fall foliage on either side of us aglow.  We soon arrived at the trail head for the Blueberry Rock Hiking Trails. Our route through the network of trail loops was around 1 km, and it took us up a lovely piece of exposed shield to a lookout point, complete with a wooden lookout tower. There were two sets of campsites along the route, with benches, fires pits, and garbage cans. However, due to the higher elevation there was no access to water.  We enjoyed the forested loop, feeling like we were back in a very tiny patch of the Whiteshell Provincial Park. Since leaving Pinawa, the landscape has become much flatter and more open, with only ver...