The woods were alive with the sound of hikers Nov. 7, as the Up West Trail Fest kicked off the first of what it hopes will be an annual event.
The hike covered four trails and more than 20 kilometres in western P.E.I.
“We had an absolute fabulous day,” said volunteer leader Jo-Anne Wallace.
The hikers began at Foxley River, with a six-kilometre hike covering MacDonald River Trail and the Foxley River Demo Woodlot. Then the group headed to Trout River in Coleman for another seven kilometres. Next was the forestry property in Forestview to hike six more kilometres and finally, a quick 2.3-kilometre trial in Mill River.
Participants brought a bagged lunch for a picnic at the David Biggar Memorial Interpretive Centre.
“It was a gorgeous day, everybody got to sit around and enjoy,” said Wallace.
The weekend extravaganza saw good weather and even greater participation – 50 hikers, the maximum allowed under pandemic guidelines, turned out for the fest.
“One of the benefits (of COVID-19) if there are any benefits, is the amount of outdoor recreation that’s happening,” said Wallace. “People are wanting to get out and do things.”
The epic weekend hike grew out of a weekly hiking endeavour called Get to Know Western Region Hiking Trails, said Wallace.
“It was great, we had about 20 women that came every Tuesday evening. We went to different places, and most of them had never been on any of these trails before,” she said.
“They wanted to get outside, they had no idea about these trails, they absolutely loved the beauty of them and absolutely the exercise. Great adventures. And then it was the camaraderie that was being built in the group. Anybody can easily go out for a walk if they want, but once you get a group going ... we’re all feeling good about it.
After each hike, Wallace posted photos of the trials and the locations to the Go WestPEI Facebook page.
“Then I’d hear about other people going. That was the whole goal, not just for the group that was walking and hiking with us, it’s the whole community.”
What can we possibly say about the Upwest Hike Fest... it was an amazing day of hiking, meeting old and making new...
Posted by Go WestPei on Sunday, 8 November 2020
Mike Salter, president of Island Trails, has noticed an uptick in activity on trails Islandwide.
“Everybody can still social distance, but be out – separated but together,” said Salter. “We’ve seen since the start of the pandemic, our trails have been used like never before.”
He’s in talks to develop some more trails in western P.E.I. and he’s seen the truth in the saying “if you build it, they will come.”
“There’s a hunger for trails, people like to be outside,” he said. “It’s a great thing. It’s great for their physical fitness (and) mental health.”
Alison Jenkins is a local journalism initiative reporter, a position funded by the federal government.