Alvar trail at Callaghan's Rapids Conservation Area

I decided to visit Callaghan's Rapids Conservation Area today. The Christmas holidays aren't my favourite time of year, and it's been a bleak, almost snowless December so far. Visiting the woods and river always lightens my mood and spirit, and this walk was no exception. As it was overcast, there was no reason to take a walk where there was more possible sunlight exposure, so I chose the back trail, or as I'll now call it, the alvar trail.

Last winter Doug and Marc took me for my first snowshoe hike on this trail. I've previously walked it annually by myself for several decades, and I'm sure most years there have been no other hikers, as the trail was gradually being overgrown and obscured by brush and dead fall trees. There was still a trace of the one recent light snowfall, and the temp was below freezing last night. The first test was to see if the large puddle at the start of the trail was frozen. A large dead fall tree from the many climate change windstorms blocked the start of the trail, so clambering around the tree meant I was able to avoid the puddle, frozen or not.

The walk was counter clockwise, while usually I walk it clockwise, starting by the rapids. Marc had chain sawed several large dead falls to clear the trail, and I used my trusty maple walking stick to knock dead limbs off some others. Marc has helpfully cleared a short trail to the alvar which we visited last winter, as I wasn't sure of its exact location. An alvar is a rocky, swampish patch of barren land in the middle of thick surrounding pines and hardwoods. It's maybe one or two acres in a circular shape. A fox's delicate trail led the way when I entered the alvar, and I stood at the far side and reminisced about last year's visit. On the way back to the main trail I carved my shaman sign on a tree for future reference, a silly habit like the soldiers who scribbled "Kilroy was here" during World War Two.

The visible trail ends just before reaching the Crowe River bend, and I had to go cross country for a few hundred yards through a field of thorny scrub. I reached the haunted den woods, with underground streams and caves everywhere. It's always dangerous going through this rocky and hilly section, with dozens of sinkholes as well as many small den caves. I followed the river back to where I usually start the trail by the main falls. A friendly sight greeted me there:

solstice snow cap
on small secret inukshuk