Greetings fellow hikers!
The annual spring hike went well with 10 participants. We had pleasant hiking temperatures with only three hours walking in the rain. There were two hikers from New Brunswick, one from Montreal, three from Ottawa, one from North Bay, one from Sudbury and myself from Temiskaming. The forests are vibrant with many shades of green and wild flowers.
Highway 567 is fine. The Roosevelt road to Friday Lake is the best it's been in awhile. The Rabbit Lake road to the trailhead to Grand Campment Bay is ok but you have to take the hilly south fork at kilometre 37.
The 56 kilometres of the O.T.H.Trail from Latchford to Copper Lake has been cleared except for a few kilometres upstream from the Matabitchuan powerhouse site thanks to the work of Brian, Lisa, Amy, Mike, Victoria, Lynn, Joshua and myself. Les and Marsha have cleared the 5 kilometres from the Sand Spit to the southern trailhead. The Friday Lake and Cliff Lake side trails are cleared as well as the east Lundy trails. Thanks to any one else who has been trail clearing. The crossing of Lowdown Creek was fine in May.
Amy and I did a one day hike from the Rabbit Lake Road to Thorne. My last one day hike of that section in 2022 took 18 hours. This June it took 25 and a half hours. The blowdowns were so bad in some places it was easier to crawl than walk. Our spring hike avoided that section this year because it was already bad in 2025. Don't think hikers with a big pack will want to tackle the south end.
