It sure is hard to believe that the trails will open for another season in three months.
Have you ever wanted to visit a place but couldn’t find it? That has happened to us a time or two.
This month, I remember an adventure from August. We set out on August 14th to find Fragile Rock. They say the third time conquers. In this case, they were right.
We were a small group. Everyone seemed to have other plans that day, but we decided to go searching anyway. We had been there one other time, years ago, but hadn’t been able to find it since then.
We unloaded at the Pembroke Hall and bumble towards Sheen where we turned left which took us on the trail that crosses Route 104. Following Trail 25, we continued towards the Becaguimec Lake area.
After some discussion, Brian and Clife decided to turn onto a side road, hopefully taking us to Fragile Rock. When we set out, it looked like the road was recently graded. We continued anyway but soon met a grader, so we stopped to ask the operator if we were headed in the right direction. He told us he thought we were, but he did not know how much farther as he had never been there. We were all getting hungry, so we pulled off to a small clearing. We filled the air with the smell of sausages smothered in onions. As usual, lunch was good, and I ate too much.
Soon it was time to bumble on. We eventually came to the trail that narrowed and had overgrown trees. Brian began to recognize some of the trail markings and then there it was – FRAGGLE ROCK. The area looked like tenterhooks or hikers had used it, and what a great spot for it. Gary hiked in behind the rock, and found a way to climb to the top – there’s always one daring person in the crowd!
With this marked off our bucket list, we headed back home. Don’t worry, our trip ws not without hitting some mud and water holes along the way.
Trekking past the base of Ayers Lake, we bumbled to the Lookout, which is always a beautiful site to see. Eight hours and 118km later, we arrived back in Pembroke. It was a beautiful day with temperatures around 25 degrees.
Not long after this bumble, I saw pictures someone else had taken of the trail into Fragile Rock being graded, which I thought might indicate preparations for clear cutting. I hope not. It would mean no more tenting in the area.
As I count down the days to spring, I am looking forward to meeting you back on the trails. Until next time, happy trails, and stay safe.