Concessions and Canola : Millet to Wetaskiwin

The extremely long and hot day yesterday took its toll on us, so we decided to begin today with a bit of a treat in an effort to regain some energy.  In the cooler hours of the morning we did a small walking tour of Millet to find some of its historic buildings.  Along the way we stopped to enjoy a few of the beautifully painted murals that are scattered around town that show scenes from Millet's past.  Then came the treat - we ended the tour with a delicious breakfast of eggs, toast, potatoes, and coffee at the Old Bank Café.  Although this gave us a later start, it was worth every bite! 

We headed back to the Pipestone Motel and Campground to pack up our gear, and then headed back out into the countryside once again.  For the first 10 km or so the Trans Canada Trail followed a winding paved road bordered by luxurious homes and ranches located on large properties with huge old trees and acres of perfectly mowed lawn. 

We didn't spot a lot of wildlife in this stretch, apart from American Robins, Red-winged Blackbirds, Song Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, and Black-billed Magpies, but many homes had horses in their front yards.  A young beige colt was galloping in circles in its enclosure, clearly ready for some attention and action.  A bit farther along an elegant mare wearing a zebra patterned blanket companionably walked the length of her fence beside us.  We even spotted a group of llamas grazing in a large grassy paddock, with a group of caramel coloured chickens nearby. 

As we walked we noticed many signs for different estates with properties of various sizes available for sale and development.  As someone who grew up on the outskirts of Toronto, I never thought of what the word 'subdivision' meant.  Obviously, it refers to a larger piece of land that has been subdivided up into smaller properties. Around Toronto all the homes in a subdivision are built simultaneously according to four or five designs.  It is interesting to see how they are built here - one home at a time, with each residence being unique and situated on a parcel of former agricultural land which has been ‘sub-divided’ up.  While this was interesting to see, it made us wonder what the consequences of losing fertile farmland or pastureland to residential areas will be in the long run. 

As the morning progressed it was clear we were walking through a wealthy area, and partway along we passed the turnoff to the Pipestone Links Golf and CountryClub.  Like many things in this region it is named after Pipestone Creek, which is a waterway that originates east of Pigeon Lake and flows east into the Battle River just east of Wetaskiwin. 

About halfway to Wetaskiwin the paved road became a gravel range road.  Right before this happened a very elegant lady pulled over and asked what we were doing.  It turned out Isabel was part of the Volkssport Association of Alberta, a club that holds organized walks about three times a week in this province. Volkssport is an international organization, so whether you want to walk locally, around your own province, across the country, or around the world, they have support available.  This sounds like a fantastic resource, and we were incredibly grateful to Isabel for stopping, sharing this invaluable information, and offering us any help we needed.  She had even heard of the Trans Canada Trail, and described the sections of it she knew about in the area while also highlighting that the actual pathways were quite distant from one another in this region. 

As we continued past the end of the pavement and onto the gravel range road the landscape became more rural once again.  We found ourselves walking among a patchwork of lush green grain fields, bright yellow squares of canola, light green patches of peas, and pastures that presented a subtle mix of rusty reds, ochre, light sea green, and bright green grasses.  Old barns and the occasional newer building dotted the landscape.  It was peaceful and beautiful, apart from the rising heat of the sun and the clouds of dust that enveloped us from the passing cars and trucks. 

As we approached the community of Wetaskiwin we stopped beside a small pond that was inhabited by Black Terns who looked for all the world like they were fishing.  A couple of Blue-winged Teals were swimming among the cattails as well, and the loud calls of a pair of Killdeer pierced the air.  It was a refreshing bit of bird life to perk up our spirits for the last push through the heat haze.  

When we reached the edge of Wetaskiwin we could see highway 2A across the field beside us.  Even late on a Saturday morning the traffic was non-stop and extremely high speed.  Tomorrow we have a 37 km walk down that highway, and even from this perspective, it is obvious that highway 2A is no place to trek safely.  Multiple pedestrians have been hit and killed along this stretch of road in the past couple of years, making us decidedly unenthusiastic about walking it next. 

Wetaskiwin is a city of about 12,500 people, and it is located at the spot where a large battle took place between the Cree and Blackfoot First Nations.  Its name comes from the word 'Wee-tas-ki-win-spatinow,' which means 'place where peace was made.'  In 1890, when the Calgary and Edmonton Railway was built it became a whistle-stop on the line, which was known as Siding 16.  In 1892, when the area was officially surveyed, it was renamed to commemorate the battle. 

 

 

Today the town offers all the modern amenities, as well as quite a few attractions.  On our walk into town we passed the iconic water tower, which is one of the oldest ones in Canada.  The 42 m high structure has towered over Wetaskiwin since 1909, and it still holds 454,609 litres of water.  The town also boasts three museums and an Aviation Hall of Fame, although at the tail end of a hike in the punishing heat, and with a large and very active thunderstorm bearing down on us, we did not explore any of these offerings.  

As we made our way through town we noticed that many of the pickup trucks were sporting flags.  Some displayed Alberta and Canada, while others flew Canada and Treaty 6 flags.  Treaty 6 was signed on August 23, 1876 at Fort Carleton, Saskatchewan and covers an area stretching from western Alberta, through Saskatchewan, and into Manitoba.  Treaty 6 land is inhabited by 50 First Nations, the residents of Edmonton and Saskatoon, as well as many others in the larger towns and communities of south-central Alberta and Saskatchewan.

After waiting out the rain we walked the Trans Canada Trail loop in town around By-the-Lake-Park.  A beautiful, winding paved cycling trail curved around the small lake and wetland, featuring benches and information plaques along the way.  The trail took us past cattail marsh, an open pond, stands of trembling aspen, areas of open field, a large park pavilion with a fountain outside, and a kids' playground. It was very beautiful, and we could hear a group of waterfowl having a noisy disagreement out on the pond.  Above us was a dramatic sky, with rays of golden light from the setting sun breaking through storm clouds, a faint rainbow showing against a dark bank of cloud, and in the opposite direction patches of blue sky.

The one catch was that we walked the loop at dusk, as another huge thunderstorm was approaching, and the mosquitoes were so thick that we basically jogged around the trail with arms flapping like mad people.  Sean patiently stopped to take photos in the fading daylight, but there was no way I was stopping.

I caught glimpses of Black Terns, a truly enormous American White Pelican whose reflection mirrored it almost perfectly in the still pond water, and a group of Red-breasted Mergansers.  The bubbly notes of a Gray Catbird and a Song Sparrow sounded from the bushes, but everything else was lost to the buzzing and whining of mosquitos.  Evidently not the best conditions and time of day for a hike through a marsh in shorts and a thin t-shirt! 

Today ended with a beautiful stretch of trail. Tomorrow will begin and end on a very busy section of highway which we have been warned multiple times is an incredibly dangerous route to walk by local trail groups.  We can't help but find the prospect terrifying, but as always, we are trying to stay positive and in the moment.

 

See you on the trail!

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