A new trail was completed just before winter, Midway Hiking and Biking Trails Society members learned at their recent annual general meeting.
The new trail—the View Link—connects the Village View (Flag) Trail to the Red Trail closer to the top of the mountain. This avoids having to backtrack from the flagpole in order to go to the top, said society president and secretary Ross Elliott.
As well as confirming Elliott president, the meeting also found Adriana Goodson installed as vice-president and Diane Essery as treasurer.
The society is now working on improving switchbacks with cribbing. Elliott said anyone who likes to hike and wouldn’t mind putting in a little work with others who enjoy the trail system can give him a call and he will keep them informed when the group has a work bee planned.
This spring they laid gravel along portions of the River Walk Trail.
Elliot said there are quite a few people using the trails. Over 1,000 hikers signed in on the mountain trails last year and he estimated as many as four times that number used the River Walk Trail.
The trails are used for the annual JLB Memorial Run and those running the 21-kilometre route will be using the mountain trail again this year.
With the blessing of village council, the society signed a 10-year agreement with Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (Recreation Branch) last year that sees them oversee maintenance of the mountain trails, with materials being supplied by the province. An added benefit of the agreement is the insurance coverage provided to both trail users and the society’s volunteers if they get hurt while working on it.
The society has a Facebook page under “Midway’s Hiking and Biking Trails”. For more information contact Elliott, Goodson or John Greaves in Midway.