The Nackawic Happy Healthy Hikers

– Our Year in Review –

The Nackawic Happy Healthy Hikers ventured out 15 times between April and December in 2016. We went from having 12 on our e-mail list to 35 on it. We posted all our hikes in advance on our website. We met at My Gym in Nackawic and all were welcome. We varied the time and day to try and accommodate as many people as we could. Our hikes have varied in number from a half dozen to as many as 25!

We had an early start in late April with a great walk out to the Pokiok Falls. We did 6 hikes before the weather became too hot in July and August. These included trips out the Shogomoc Falls and to Shogomoc Lake which both offered scenic views. We had an invigorating trek up the Maliseet trail to Hayes Falls on a warm, sunny day in June. We hiked across the Shogomoc Suspension bridge and along the trail to Ritchie.

We started up again in September with a guided tour by a local biologist to the Ayer’s Lake Lookout – an amazing view and very informative hike. We followed this with an
adventurous hike into Coac Falls which is located down the 105 below Nackawic. The falls is 20 m (66 ft) high, making it one of the highest waterfalls in the province. We did a fall colour walk on Thanksgiving Monday into Ayer’s Lake as well as back up to the Lookout – incredible colours.

We decided to venture further and drove to over to East Grand Lake where we were joined by three local walkers who took us into the Mud Stream Falls and down to Spednik Lake. We started out at the main road which gave us a good hike. We also had a walk around Forest City and then drove back to East Grand Lake for some local yummy hospitality.

We made 2 trips up to Woodstock to the Meduxnekeag Valley Nature Preserve where we explored and completed the orange, black and purple trails. Some winding, steep climbs with amazing sights at every turn. We travelled up to the Grafton area and had a beautiful hike into Gibson Falls and even down the bank to the base of the Falls – a truly breathtaking experience.

On Nov. 24th we went back to the Shogomoc Suspension bridge, along the St. John River and up through Ritchie to the old church – a frosty but enjoyable final hike for the year. Along with our hikes, we found time to hold a compass reading workshop compliments of two rangers from EDR in Fredericton. Our final act for the year was the purchase of our very own hiking T-shirts – we will all be easy to spot on the trails in 2017 in our bright yellow shirts!