A new section was added to the Voyageur Trail last summer between the town of Marathon and Pukaskwa National Park. The Fall 2002 Voyageur Trail News described an end-to-end hike by Allison Norg and companions on July 20^th to celebrate its official opening. Inspired by this description, I decided to explore the trail myself while vacationing on the north shore of Lake Superior this year in early May. I spent one day along the southern section of the trail starting at the Pic River, and a morning in the middle section near Heron Bay.

After my time on the trail, I am full of admiration for those people who hiked its entire length in a single day. There is no way that my middle-aged bones could manage the rigours of 25 kilometres in 12 hours over such rugged terrain! Because of its newness, the trail did not yet have that well-worn, easy-to-follow feeling that comes with time and the passing of many pairs of hiking boots. And the familiar hiker-icon markers had not yet been put up, so the route was marked with pink plastic flagging, which in some places had slipped off the trees. Extra time and vigilance were required, therefore, to avoid losing the trail.

Despite these minor inconveniences it was one of the highlights of my vacation. The trail had lots of interesting variety – an impressive beach with massive sand-dunes, several small driftwood-littered bays, pretty inland lakes and bubbling streams, forested glens with moss-carpeted paths, barren rocky highlands, cliffs with jumbles of talus to scramble over, and many magnificent vistas. It is within easy reach of travellers staying at Pukaskwa’s Hattie Cove campground and it gives another opportunity for hiking, beyond the short campground trails and the park’s coastal backpacking trail. I would heartily recommend it, and I have put together the following description, with approximate distances and hiking times, for anyone who, like me, enjoys a challenging day-hike with an attractive mix of landscape, lots of photo opportunities and at least one perfect picnic place.

Exit Hwy 17 onto Hwy 627 about 7 km east of Marathon. Continue along Hwy 627 for about 12 km through the town of Heron Bay towards Pukaskwa National Park. Just before the Pic River bridge, turn right onto a gravel road that runs parallel to the river. Park on the side of this road where it curves to the right about 200 metres from the turnoff.

1^st Section: Pic River (½ km, 5-10 minutes). From the roadside parking area, follow the track alongside the Pic River. The first thing one notices is the massive barrier of logs across the track – relics from the river’s human history – the logging drives of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries when the area’s forests yielded trees with diameters of a metre or more! The Pic River was then a major transportation route for timber cut in the interior; now logs are transported by the inland road or rail route instead. The Pic River probably gets its name from the Ojibway word pekatek, which means muddy, and one glance at the river will confirm that the appellation is an appropriate one!

2^nd Section: the beach (1½ km, 30-40 minutes). At the mouth of the Pic River, where it empties its sediment into Lake Superior and turns the water brown, there is a magnificent beach that stretches more than a kilometre along the shore. Behind the beach is also an impressive system of sand dunes, the largest on Superior’s north shore. A fragile environment, held together by driftwood and a few tough grasses, the dunes are in constant motion, advancing gradually inland and leaving spruce trees buried in their wake. This area has been a site of human settlement for two thousand years. The Pic River has been a main passage into the interior, and has provided human inhabitants with access to waterways stretching as far as James Bay. Following centuries of aboriginal occupation, the site was taken over by Europeans, first as a fur-trading post and then as a logging camp. Today it has reverted to its native roots, the few buildings at the river-mouth belonging to the nearby Pic River Indian Reserve. Follow the beach to its northwest end, where the Voyageur Trail markers begin.

3^rd Section: the beach to Channel Island (1 km, 30-40 minutes). As the crow flies, it is just a kilometre from the end of the beach to Channel Island. But hikers (unfortunately, it seems at times!) are not crows, and this section is particularly rough and may take more than half an hour to cover. The trail clambers up and down steep gullies, slithers across mossy rocks, stumbles over twisted cedar roots, and weaves around huge chunks of talus fallen from the cliffs above. Then it emerges suddenly into the open. On current NTS topographic maps, what lies ahead here is called ‘Channel Island’. But the ‘current’ map was published in 1979, based on an aerial survey done in 1976. Even the glacial pace of geology is faster, apparently, than NTS updates. In the intervening quarter-century, deposits from the Pic River have created a sand-and-driftwood tombolo which now solidly connects Channel Island to the mainland.

4^th Section: Channel Island to the three small inland lakes (1½ km, 40-50 minutes). The trail follows what was once the mainland shoreline, and then curves towards the right over a flat sandy delta through which a tiny stream meanders. The stream drains three small inland lakes, which the trail now visits on its way northward. The first small lake is just a few metres upstream to the right of the delta area. To get to the second small lake, the trail scrambles up a cleft in the cliff on the north side of the delta and crosses a barren, rocky highland where the route is marked by cairns. It skirts the western end of the second lake, then clambers over several more rocky outcrops and mossy depressions before arriving at the third small lake. A well-used animal track leads 10 metres from the trail to a lovely rock ledge at the edge of this lake, making a perfect picnic place and turnaround for anyone weary enough to wish to return now.

5^th Section: three small inland lakes to muddy bay (¾ km, 20-30 minutes). From the third inland lake the trail climbs to a sparsely-treed height of land with glimpses out to Lake Superior and then descends through woodland to a shallow, muddy bay with a grassy shoreline. The entrance to this bay is partly obscured by a tiny rocky island, and the smooth rocks on its eastern side make another nice picnic and turnaround place; just walk along the shoreline around the bay to get there.

6^th Section: muddy bay to Prospect Cove (1½ km, 50-60 minutes). A pretty stream flows into the muddy bay. The trail follows this stream up a steep valley, then scrambles up a cliff to the left of the stream. The going becomes easier at the top as the trail crosses over higher ground and descends gradually to lake level, emerging at Prospect Cove. Here it is easy to become distracted by the view and lose the trail, which jogs slightly inland and uphill to avoid cliffs along the shoreline. An animal track appears at first a more attractive path, but it slithers alarmingly along the moss-covered cliffside, and so (speaking from experience!) it is best avoided. The trail descends to Prospect Cove again at a tiny bay with another pretty stream. A smooth finger of rock slides into the water here. Closer inspection reveals some rusting hooks and cables in the rock – anchors for the log booms that once were tethered to the shore. This makes a final picnic and turnaround place for the day-hike. (From Prospect Cove the trail turns inland again for several kilometres over a headland before arriving at Heron Bay, which is still less than half the total length of the new trail to its terminus at Penn Lake in Marathon!)

7^th Section: homeward (about 7 km as the crow flies or 3-3½ hours for the hiker). Return by the same route and enjoy the scenery from a different perspective. After a long day’s scramble over much rough ground, the final stroll along the beach is a welcome conclusion to the hike.