Beaudry Provincial Park

I’m sitting in front of the TV. CBC weather reporter, Marilyn Maki, warns that there’s a blizzard coming tomorrow and southern Manitoba could see up to 20 mm of snow. 2010 is going out with a blast.

But today the sun is out and the temperature is holding around -2° — a gift from Mother Nature I’d say. The challenge is how to take advantage of this gift. It’s a busy time of year; I have commitments, the pantry is bare, leftovers from Christmas need tossing, the house is beyond messy and then there’s the New Years Eve brouhaha to prepare for. The holiday hamster wheel goes ’round and ’round.

Well my friends, I’m jumping off the wheel and going for a quick ski. Don’t argue. I’ve made up my mind. Beaudry Provincial Park is just 10 km west of the Perimeter Highway on Roblin Blvd. I can get out there in a ½ hr, ski for 2 hrs, and be home before I’m hardly missed. The chores can wait.

I see a steady stream of cars turning into the parking area at Beaudry so apparently I’m not the only rebel out there. No worries about overcrowding though, as there are 6 classic ski trails, (totalling about 20 km) traversing the Assiniboine River bottom forest. Until recently, 3 of the trails, the Cottonwood, Basswood and Maple were inaccessible because crossing to the north side of the Assiniboine River was impossible due to open water. Today however, I see Manitoba Conservation’s grooming machine has breached the far shore, and if the ice can support that weight, then in theory, it should support mine.

There’s adventure in the air, so my pal, Ken Porteous, and I decide to mix it up. First we warm-up our gravy-laden legs on the Wild Grape Trail, a novice trail after you make it down to the riverbank in one piece (which I didn’t). From there we shuffle across the Assiniboine River to the Maple Trail, carefully following the two slim ski tracks that wind between the spiky bits of frazil ice. There are no other people on the Maple Trail, yet the track is perfectly groomed. We’re happy to have the oxbow to ourselves so we can ski at our own pace — or rather, my pace.

My wax is misbehaving. I’m fairly naïve when it comes to ski wax and in this case I chose one for the air temperature (-2), but I suppose a person should actually wax for the snow temperature (likely -15). Either that, or I’m just making excuses. On the positive side, I’m getting more exercise than an efficient skier since I work twice as hard — so there’s that.

Midway, we stop for a snack (heaven forbid should I go for more than an hour without ingesting chocolate) and a libation at the new warming hut.

Inside, there’s a stove just begging to be stoked and the Parks folks have provided kindling, split wood, and comfy benches. But outside the sun is warm and the light filtering through the aspen and cottonwood (not a maple in sight) is too interesting to ignore. Besides, I already have sweat trickling uncomfortably down my backbone.

Our last ski for the day is along the Oak Trail, or, as some of us like to call it — the Poop Trail: the only ski trail that allows dogs. Manitoba Conservation has made quite a concession by allowing an off-leash dog area in a provincial park and an even bigger consideration in letting them onto a ski trail. That said, it is also expected that dogs should always be under control. The Oak Trail is actually quite beautiful with its great stands of oak along the route, and to be fair, the dog owners we met were very responsible and considerate. And, there was hardly any poop in sight. I’m thinkin’ that my big lump of a dog, Lucy, could benefit from a run along this 2.0 km stretch of trail, but I’ll save that for another time.
As we were leaving the shelter of the Oak Trail, Ken, once and always an Interpreter, spied a Northern Hawk Owl waiting patiently at the top of an oak tree for the skiers to be gone and the sun to set. These smallish owls, with wings shaped much like those of a hawk, will dive into a snow bank to retrieve an unfortunate vole for their supper. All is fair in love and food, I suppose. The owl looked directly at us and I, of course, took that as a good omen and a sign from above that the New Year would be full of more adventures and unexpected surprises.

Happy New Year!

by Jacquie Crone (posted on January 1, 2011)
Reach me by email jacquie.crone@gmail.com or please leave a comment for all to share.
http://www.unexpectedmanitoba.com/author/jcrone/ December 28, 2010