The Village Squire, 1981-05, Page 9OS
St. Marys
1
•1
Down
The
Avon
Trail
by Dean Robinson
orb
111111 lila lila sal)
It is far easier to talk about the Avon
Trail (AT) than it is to walk it.
But it's not nearly as enjoyable.
Founded in 1973 and completed in
1975, the trail snakes 61.8 miles (almost
100 kilometres) through rolling farmland
and hardwood bush, and along small
streams, rivers and Wildwood Lake.
Officially it begins (or ends, depending
on which direction you travel) in the
village of Conestogo, just a few miles
north of Kitchener -Waterloo in the heart
of Mennonite country. It ends near the
tennis courts and limestone quarries in
St. Marys.
In between, it runs along concession
toads, over bridges, through floodplains
and beside fence lines. Other than
Conestogo and St. Marys there is little
touch with congested settlement. The
trail skirts the northeast corner of
Stratford, crossing Highway 7 and 8 just
west of what are commonly called the
Little Lakes curves.
Until recently, hikers wishing to do the
AT had to go it with nothing more than a
general idea of direction. Now, the Avon
Trail Association makes available a
compact 48 -page trail guide, with a strip
map divided among 25 of those pages.
Along the trail you will find white
blazes, which are patches of white paint
about two inches wide and six or eight
inches long. They run vertically, and
alone, except when there is a change in
direction. Then there are two blazes, one
painted above the other. Generally these
blazes are on fence posts, utility poles,
and tree trunks or branches. Occasionally
however, they are on fallen trees, field
stones or, in one spot, on a decaying Ford
truck.
They lead you around cornfields, apple
orchards and swamps, through cedar
groves, sugar bushes, meadows and
harvested gravel pits. You'll pass the
Kitchener -Waterloo Khaki (horseshoe
pitching) Club, the Waterloo Farmers'
Market, Bimini (United Church) Camp,
the Stratford and Tavistock gun clubs, a
Boy Scout camp and the Wildwood
Sailing Club. There will be a bird
sanctuary, a trailer court, a fresh -water
sprinp,_a white rural church, prize
Herefords, the somewhat eerie shell of a
mid -19th century home, a cemetery, the
remains of a cabin built in the 1930s, an
eaa
abandoned bridge, neat and prosperous
farms.
Overhead, leaning willows sway in the
breeze as the trail hugs portions of
Martin's and Trout Creeks, the Nith,
Avon and Thames Rivers, McCarthy and
Wildwood Lakes, and nameless drainage
ditches.
For the most part the trail is well
marked and easily followed. For the least
part it is not. The association has divided
it into eight sections and it solicits
members to mark and maintain each
portion. Some are better cared for than
others. Too, changing use of farmland
and newness of the trail itself means a
dearly -defined, worn-down path is not
yet a reality. A certain amount of charm
and adventure will be lost when it is.
There are also a few side trips off the
main trail,'markcd by blue blazes. One of
them runs through Stratford's parkland,
past the Festival Theatre and into the Old
Grove.
Sections which have been let slide for a
while can result in a hiker getting lost, at
least temporarily. When blazes just seem
to end it may take more than a few
minutes to scout out their renewal. A
good percentage of the walking, though,
is pleasant and relatively easy. In other
areas there is dense growth that can slow
the pace. _ _ _
The growth, and the assorted flying
critters which may inhabit it, varies with
the calendar. So does the footing. The
VILLAGE SQUIRE/ MAY 1981 PG. 7