South on the Victoria Trail : Waskatenau to Redwater

Today marked a change in several ways.  Since entering Alberta we have been walking more or less westward, and we are now nearly 300 km west of the Saskatchewan border.  If the Trans Canada Trail had continued going west, in approximately 450 km we would cross into BC.  Instead, today we turned south, and with a brief westerly turn in Edmonton we will walk approximately 699.3 km to Calgary before resuming our way towards the Pacific Coast. 

In addition to changing direction, we also left Alberta's Iron Horse Trail behind, and returned to road walking.  Perhaps most difficult of all, we seem to have left the relatively cool temperatures of the past few weeks behind, trading them in for hot, humid, summer days. 

We left Waskatenau around 7:30 am and soon found ourselves walking through a misty, foggy, magical feeling morning under overcast skies.  Old wooden barns and outbuildings stood quietly in lush green fields that were accented by yellow flowers.  As we approached the North Saskatchewan River valley the lines of dark trees, and the contours of the rolling fields gently disappeared into the mist in soft layers. 

The hard packed gravel road we followed out of Waskatenau was part of the historic Victoria Trail, which is the oldest road in Alberta that is still in regular use.  This route, which runs alongside the banks of the North Saskatchewan River, was first used by First Nations in the area. 

 

Fort Gerry, Winnipeg 2020

Later it became part of the 1,450 km long Carleton Trail, which linked Fort Garry (Winnipeg) with Fort Edmonton (Edmonton).  The section of the Carleton Trail that linked the Victoria Settlement with Fort Edmonton was known as the Victoria Trail.  We took our first steps on the Carleton Trail when we entered into Winnipeg in 2020. 

The Carleton Trail was the main transportation route to the northwest during the early 19th century. It was used by Métis freighters, Hudson's Bay Company employees, and the earliest European settlers.  The main mode of transportation was by Red River Ox Cart, and the journey from Winnipeg to Edmonton would have taken about two months. The trail lost much of its importance when the Canadian Pacific Railway was constructed across the southern prairies in the late 1880s.  

We followed the trail heading down hill towards the North Saskatchewan River, descending what we soon learned was called Elsey's Hill.  An interpretive sign at the bottom of the wooded slope indicated that Mrs Elizabeth Elsey registered her homestead at the bottom of the hill in 1908, and between 1910 and 1916 ran a 'stopping place' where travellers could feed and water their horses, have a meal, or stay overnight.  Her son Ara helped run the homestead, and in 1931 he married Libbie Loyd, who was in the first graduating class at the University of Alberta. Over the years many vehicles slid down the hill on the snow and mud, crossing the Victoria Trail and ending up on the Elsey homestead.  So, the hill became known as Elsey's Hill. 

As our route and the Victoria Trail continued we passed the remains of a homestead along a forested road.  A few kilometres later we crossed the highway beside the spot where the Waskatenau Ferry Crossing used to be.  After that we followed a winding road that traced the contours of the North Saskatchewan River.  It was a peaceful, treed road, with very little traffic, which made for very pleasant walking.  

As we made our way along we passed numbered markers for the Victoria Trail, and soon realized that it is possible to download free instructions for a self-guided driving tour of the trail, which provides information on the points of historic interest along the route.  Over the course of the day we would find more than 17 of marked locations of historic significance transforming this dusty quiet road into quite an education for us. 

One of these points of interest was a place known as 'The Elbow', which marked the most northern point on the North Saskatchewan River.  This beautiful spot used to be a stopping point for travellers.  An interpretive sign at the place showed a photograph taken in 1871 for Sir Sandford Fleming, who was sent to survey the North West Territories and British Columbia. It showed an old camp, complete with Red River Carts, a Buffalo Skin Lodge, and men wearing beaver skin hats. 

As we continued down the winding road, on foot and pushing our own carts, we couldn't help but feel a sense of connection with the early travellers on the Victoria Trail (or at least their oxen).  I suspect the excellent road we were following was exponentially easier to navigate than the wheel-swallowing mud and ruts the early travellers must have encountered.   Perhaps one of the benefits of venturing these concessions during a very warm day is that the roads are as solid as concrete rather than full  of thick mud. 

A short distance later a break in the trees revealed the incredibly wide, deep, and fast flowing chocolate brown waters of the North Saskatchewan River.  A group of about six enormous American White Pelicans were flying along its length, skimming along just inches above the surface of the water.  At a bend in the river a large flock of Franklin's Gulls was circling and fishing. 

For much of the morning we followed the winding trail along the river as it wove across the landscape.  At one point we turned north and began boxing along on straight gravel range roads.  Rolling pastures and fields of row crops surrounded us, and sounds of Black-billed Magpies, Cedar Waxwings, Clay-coloured, Savannah, and Song Sparrows, and Blue Jays filled the air. It was very peaceful, but the sun had burned through the mist and was beginning to warm up the humid morning. 

As we followed the gravel roads we could see the long, narrow fields of lush green hay, bright yellow canola, and darker green row crops stretching out down to the river.  These long fields were evidence of the Métis farms that once bordered the Victoria Trail.  Not until Ukrainian settlers arrived in the area in the 1870s did the larger concession lots typical of the British survey system begin to get cleared and farmed.   

At Myrtle Creek, which was a small treed stream running noisily through the fields and forests we found ourselves being inspected by a herd of very curious cows and calves.  They came trotting across the field, gathering along the fence to stare at us, then suddenly thought better of it, turned, and thundered off in a single flowing movement. 

After climbing a rather steep hill up out of the creek we came to a road junction where the Victoria Trail markers pointed left down the road, while the Trans Canada Trail app pointed straight ahead, into a farmer's field.  Since the TCT isn't marked in any way out here on the roadways, we decided to follow the Victoria Trail, which joined up with our route in another concession and the TCT once again in any case.  

As the day progressed it turned into a very hot, bright, sunny afternoon.  As we followed the long, straight, gravel roads the heat shimmered ahead of us, creating a mirage.  On either side of us were rolling hills and pastures, broken up by patches of forest and small wetlands. We passed one farm that had a very long row of old combines (maybe 30 of them) lining its driveway.  At another farm a curious herd of beautiful dark brown horses came to look at us. 

Eventually we found ourselves skirting around the edge of the Redwater Provincial Recreation Area.  This very large area is a mix of rolling sand dunes covered in Jack pines, small wetlands and marshes, and forested areas.  It is evidently a popular place for off-highway vehicle (OHV or ATV) riders, with many sandy trails throughout.  Hunting is also permitted, as well as hiking and geocaching.  As we skirted the edge we saw quite a few trucks towing ATVs and heading in to the access points.  

We took several breaks along the edge of the park, sheltering from the hot sun under the pines, and taking refuge from the truly astounding number of carnivorous horse/deer flies that were circling us on the road in this section. As we slowly made our way along the tree-lined road we noticed that the ditches on either side of us were full of water, and in one small pond we spotted an American Coot with a herd of fuzzy, red-headed babies in tow. 

We had hoped to wild camp in Redwater Provincial Park but each time we settled down to rest we would be quickly met by ATVers.  While very friendly it became obvious to us that staying here inconspicuously would be challenging amid all the activity in the park.  As such we decided to walk off trail to a nearby community for the evening. 

By late afternoon we found ourselves coming level with Redwater, a larger community in 'Alberta's Industrial Heartland.'  The town site was registered in 1906, and a small farming community developed in the area, which got a post office in 1907.  In 1948 oil was discovered in the area, and in 1949 Redwater was incorporated as a village.  In 1951 it became a town when its population grew from 160 people to over 1000 within the year.  In the coming years it prospered and developed very quickly. 

Redwater is now home to the World's Largest Oil Derrick. It is located in a large central park with a Legacy Interpretive Centre that provides information on the history of the town and oil discovery in its area.  We are now less than 100 km northeast of Edmonton, and tomorrow the trail will take us through more of Alberta's Industrial Heartland.

For tonight we have found a place to settle down, rest our bodies and strive to catch up with our postings. 

See you on the trail!

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