Adventure on the Manitou Trail

It was Sunday morning and a day trip to Calabogie and the Manitou trail sounded good. A Google search resulted in a trail map, and the Weather Network site forecast mixed skies with only a chance of light showers.

We had some difficulty finding the trailhead, but a couple of locals directed us. The trail was heavily covered with downed leaves which hid rocks and small stumps. But after stumbling along for a few minutes we caught onto giving the trail surface the attention it need. The trail was up and down and all around, and even with good periods of sun, we lost our sense of direction and needed to rely solely on the trail markers.

The planned destination was the Red Arrow Lookout. From the map’s scale it should’ve only been about 2 to 3 kms. However, after an hour on the trail and no signs of the Lookout, we knew there was a problem. There were a number of possibilities and we had a number of options.

The plan we chose was to carry on until 1:00 pm, at which time we’d turn back even if we hadn’t reached the Lookout. By 1:05, there was still no Lookout, so we turned around. Within a couple of minutes we met some other hikers who were familiar with the trail. They indicated we were just 10 minutes or so short of the Lookout, so we turned again and made the final leg to the Lookout with confidence. The view wasn’t spectacular, but was worth the venture.

We backtracked the trail and met two more couples on their way in. It was nice to see other people enjoying the trail and it getting well used.

Upon getting back to the trailhead and orienting ourselves to highway 508, it became apparent the trailhead had probably been moved about 1.2 kms since the map was prepared. That had led to our first problem locating the parking area and also the second problem in estimating the hiking distance to the Lookout.

Our objectives were to get some exercise, fresh air and have an adventure. As it turned out, we even realized a sense of adventure thanks to the map error.

Forgiving theTownship of Greater Madawaska for the outdated map on the internet, our compliments go to them and local volunteers for their support to the Manitou trail system. Well done.