CRAZY HORSE TRAIL GUIDE - carphills.com · The Crazy Horse Trail (CHT) is a low impact hiking...
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Friends of the Carp Hills Visit carphills.com for more information. 1 CRAZY HORSE TRAIL GUIDE Abridged Version: July 2016 This is a short form of our interpretive trail guide for the Crazy Horse Trail. The full version of the guide has a more detailed description of the geology, plants, and animals found along the trail. This version of the guide and a larger version of the trail map are available at carphills.com. INTRODUCTION The Crazy Horse Trail (CHT) is a low impact hiking trail, intended to allow people to experience the natural beauty of the Carp Hills, while having a minimal impact on the environment. The trail has been developed and is maintained by the Friends of the Carp Hills (FCH), a volunteer community group. The trail is on City of Ottawa owned land and is a 6.2 kilometre return hike from the March Road access. As of the spring of 2016 the FCH has developed new side loops to the main trail that add another 2 kilometres to the trail network. You can access the trail from the north side of March Road opposite Huntmar Drive. The trail is moderately strenuous with occasional short climbs and descents over bedrock and uneven footing in some areas. People using the trail should wear appropriate footwear, preferably hiking boots with some ankle support. In the spring, and after periods of heavy rain, the trail will be very wet in places. The FCH has constructed a boardwalk over one of the wettest areas and will be constructing more in other wet areas later in 2016. In the meantime trail users may want to use rubber boots or other waterproof footwear when the trail is wet. The first section of the trail passes close to a snowmobile track and during the winter trail users should be careful of snowmobile traffic. In the winter the trail provides some opportunity for cross-country skiing, but because of the uneven terrain snowshoes are more suitable. The trail is designated by orange markers placed on nearby trees about 2 metres above ground. Side loops are designated by yellow markers. In some areas the trail will be additionally marked by orange tape attached to tree branches. Blue markers indicate the lookouts along the trail that lead to points of interest. TRAIL ETIQUETTE Good practice while on the CHT boils down to two principles, respect and safety. Respect Give plants a chance! The trail passes over sensitive terrain. The plants growing on rocky outcrops are especially vulnerable during dry periods. Please respect the natural environment you are passing through by staying on the trail and not trampling on, picking or removing native plants. You shall not trespass! While the trail is on public land, all of the surrounding land is privately owned. Please respect adjacent landowners by staying on the trail and not trespassing on private property. Figure 1. Orange Trail Marker
Transcript of CRAZY HORSE TRAIL GUIDE - carphills.com · The Crazy Horse Trail (CHT) is a low impact hiking...
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CRAZYHORSETRAILGUIDEAbridgedVersion:July2016
This is a short formofour interpretive trail guide for theCrazyHorseTrail. The full versionof theguidehasamoredetailed description of the geology, plants, and animals found along the trail. This version of the guide and a largerversionofthetrailmapareavailableatcarphills.com.
INTRODUCTION
TheCrazyHorseTrail(CHT)isalowimpacthikingtrail,intendedtoallowpeopletoexperiencethenaturalbeautyoftheCarpHills,whilehavingaminimalimpactontheenvironment.Thetrailhasbeendevelopedand ismaintainedbytheFriendsof theCarpHills (FCH),avolunteercommunitygroup.ThetrailisonCityofOttawaownedlandandisa6.2kilometrereturnhikefromtheMarchRoadaccess.Asofthespringof2016theFCHhasdevelopednewsideloopstothemaintrailthatadd another 2 kilometres to the trail network. You can access the trail from the north side ofMarchRoadoppositeHuntmarDrive.
The trail is moderately strenuous with occasional short climbs and descents over bedrock andunevenfootinginsomeareas.Peopleusingthetrailshouldwearappropriatefootwear,preferablyhikingbootswithsomeanklesupport. Inthespring,andafterperiodsofheavyrain,thetrailwillbeverywetinplaces.TheFCHhasconstructedaboardwalkoveroneofthewettestareasandwillbeconstructingmoreinotherwetareaslaterin2016.Inthemeantimetrailusersmaywanttouserubber boots or other waterproof footwear when the trail is wet. The first section of the trailpasses close to a snowmobile track and during the winter trail users should be careful ofsnowmobiletraffic.Inthewinterthetrailprovidessomeopportunityforcross-countryskiing,butbecauseoftheuneventerrainsnowshoesaremoresuitable.
The trail is designated by orange markers placed on nearby trees about 2metresaboveground. Side loopsaredesignatedbyyellowmarkers. Insomeareas the trail will be additionally marked by orange tape attached to treebranches.Bluemarkersindicatethelookoutsalongthetrailthatleadtopointsofinterest.
TRAILETIQUETTE
GoodpracticewhileontheCHTboilsdowntotwoprinciples,respectandsafety.
Respect
Giveplantsachance!Thetrailpassesoversensitiveterrain.Theplantsgrowingonrockyoutcropsare especially vulnerable during dry periods. Please respect the natural environment you arepassingthroughbystayingonthetrailandnottramplingon,pickingorremovingnativeplants.
You shall not trespass! While the trail is on public land, all of the surrounding land is privatelyowned.Pleaserespectadjacentlandownersbystayingonthetrailandnottrespassingonprivateproperty.
Figure1.OrangeTrailMarker
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Downboy(orgirl)!Pleaseensurethatyourpetsareundercontrol,especiallywhenencounteringotherpeopleorwildlife,andpleasepickupafteryourpetwhileonthetrail.
Safety
Where am I? It is easy tobecomedisorientedon theCarpHills as the terrain looks the same inmanyplaces. By following the trailmarkersyoureduce theriskofbecoming lost. Ifyoudo losesightof themarkers, retraceyoursteps towhereyou lastsawamarkerandcontinue fromtherewhen you have located the next one. You might also want to carry your cell phone to call forassistanceifneeded.
Ouch!ThereareTicksandPoisonIvyalongthetrail.Bystayingontheclearedpathyoulessenthechancesofcontactwitheitherofthese.Afteryouhavefinishedyourhikeitisagoodideatocheckyourselfandpetsforticks,whichmaycarrytheLymediseasebacteria.
Fire! The CarpHills are very susceptible to forest fires during dry periods. Camp fires are notpermittedatanytime,andpleasemakesureyouextinguishallsmokingmaterialssafely.
Asyoumaygatherfromtheforegoing,thegoldenruleoftrailetiquetteistostayonthetrail!
OVERVIEWOFTHETERRAIN
The Crazy Horse Trail parallels a 20 metre-wide road allowance leading from the March Roadtrailhead for about 750meters, and then continueswest for about 3 kilometres over a 200 acreblockof land. Oneof the interesting featuresof thetrail is that itpassesthroughthreedifferenttypesofhabitat:
• ashadetoleranthardwoodforestforaboutthefirsthalfkilometre,• rockypineuplandsovermostofthe200acreblockofland,and• asignificantwetlandcomplexfoundinmanylocationsalongthetrail.
Each of these habitats has its own distinctive plant and animal life adapted to its differentenvironment.MuchofthereasonforthesedifferenthabitatshastodowiththeunderlyinggeologyoftheCarpHills.
The Carp Hills are an escarpment of mainly Precambrian granitic rock,which is part of the Canadian Shield. The geology of the Hills is notuniform throughout their length, however, and different kinds of rockformationscanbefoundatvariouslocations. ThereisagoodexampleofthisalongtheCrazyHorseTrail,asitpassesovertwodistinctunitsofrock.Thefirstpartofthetrailisoveramarbleunit,whichisdarkincolourandcontains lime or calcium. Because of the lime content of the underlyingrock, the soil here is neutral to alkaline, unlike the relatively acidic soil
associatedwithgranitebedrock. Inadditiontobeingmorealkaline,thesoilinthisareaisdeeperandwetter,andsupportsaforestoflargeshadetoleranttreessuchasBasswoodandSugarMaple.
About a half kilometre along, the trail begins to pass over slightly more elevated and exposedbedrock.Atthispointyouwillhaveleftbehindtherichersoiloftheshadetolerantforestandwillhave entered the second rock formation, a granitic-type rock lighter in colour and visible in themanyrockoutcropsyouwillseealongthetrail.Thethinner,drierandmoreacidicsoilassociated
Figure2.Marbleisfoundatthebeginningofthetrail.
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withthisrocksupportsadifferentkindofvegetation,mainlyconiferssuchasWhitePine,JuniperandWhiteSpruce,andsmallerdeciduoustreessuchasRedOakandRedMaple,whichprevailovermostoftherestofthetrail.
The third typeof habitat,wetlands, largely results from the imperviousnatureof theunderlyingrock. Thewater on the Hills originates from precipitation, and is usuallymost abundant in thespring,aftersnowmelt.Thebedrockdoesnotallowthewatertoseepintotheground,anditpoolsin the low areas between the rocky outcrops. Beavers, which take advantage of these shallowpondsforfoodandlodging,alsoplayanimportantroleinmaintainingthem.Bybuildingdamstoholdwater inponds, thebeaversdelay the run-off thatwouldoccuras thewatermoves throughsmall streams towards the valleys on either side of the Hills. This combination of imperviousbedrockandbeaveractivityaccountsforthepresenceofwetlandsonwhatotherwisewouldbedryhighlands formuchof theyear. Thepresenceofwetlands, in turn, greatlyadds to theplantandanimaldiversityfoundintheCarpHills.TheProvincehasdesignatedtheCarpHillsaProvinciallySignificantWetlandComplex.
Beavers,whichtakeadvantageoftheseshallowpondsforfoodand lodging,alsoplayan importantrole inmaintainingthem.Bybuildingdamstoholdwaterintheponds,thebeaversdelaytherun-offthatwouldoccurasthewatermovesthroughsmallstreams towards the valleys on either side of theHills. Thiscombination of impervious bedrock and beaver activityaccounts for the presence of wetlands on what otherwisewouldbedryhighlandsformuchoftheyear.Thepresenceofwetlands, in turn, greatly adds to the plant and animaldiversityfoundintheCarpHills.
TRAILDESCRIPTION
The followingnumberedparagraphscorrespondto thenumbered locationsontheaccompanyingmaponpage5.
1. As you enter the trail from theMarchRoad youpass through a section ofsmalldeciduoustrees,anddescendasmallrockyridgetotheshadeforest.Thetrail thencrossesthesnowmobiletrackandcontinuesnorthwestacrossawetareaanda small intermittent stream thatdrains towards theOttawaRiver totheeast.Tomakethetailmorepassableandpreservetheterrain,theFCHhasbuiltabout60metresofboardwalkacrossthissection.
2. A couple of hundredmetres past the stream, the trail starts to climb slightly over exposedbedrock.Youhavenowenteredthesecondgeologicalzoneonwhichtherestofthetrailislocated.
Figure3.BeaversplayanimportantroleinmaintainingthewetlandsintheCarpHills
bybuildingdamsthatretainwater.
Figure4.Boardwalk
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The trail travels along this section of exposed bedrock for a couple of hundred metres, thendescendstoalowareanexttothesnowmobiletrail. Thereisalargewetlandontheleftorwestsideofthesnowmobiletrail,andtheCrazyHorseTrailfollowsalongtheedgeofit.
3.Shortlypastthewetlandthetrailturnstotheleft,orsouthwest,overrockyuplandsinterspersedwithwetlandsthatmakeupthe200acreblockofCityownedland.About100metresfromwherethetrailbranchesofffromthesnowmobiletrailyouwillcometoarockyclearing.Toyourleft,orthesouthsideoftheclearing,thereareyellowmarkersindicatingasidelooptrailthatprovidesawalkofaboutahalfkilometre,nexttoawetlandandsmallpond,andafurther loopofaboutonekilometreoverrockbarrens.Eachoftheseloopshaslookoutsmarkedwithbluetrailmarkersthatwillgiveyouaviewofthepondsandanopportunitytoseeaquaticplantandanimallife.Theloopsleadbacktothemaintrail,slightlytothewestoftheirstartingpoint,whereyoucancontinuewesttoacircuitofalargebeaverpond.Ifyouwantashorterwalk,youcanalsoturneastatthispoint,andreturntotheMarchRoadtrailhead.
4.Continuingwestforabout2kilometres,thetrailpassesoversomeoldbeaverdams,asuccessionofrockyknollswherethevegetationissparse,anddescendsintomorewoodedareasofsmallRedOaksandRedMaples.In the last half kilometre before the pond, the forest changes tomostlyWhite Pines and other conifers. Near the large beaver pond, youwillcometothemainjunctionoftheTrail,whichcontinueseitherleftorrightonacircuitaroundthepond. Theentire looparoundthepond isaboutonekilometre.
5.Ifyoufollowthetrailtotheleftofthejunction,youwillsooncometoasmallchannel. The beavers have not obliged uswith a dam here, and the passageoverthechannelisbyatemporarybridgeofsmalltreesandbranches.TheFCHplans to build a small bridge across this channel in the Fall of 2016. In themeantime, if you do not feel comfortable crossing here to continue the looparound the pond, you can return along the trail to the junction and take theright-hand branch, which provides a longer walk around the pond to theoppositesideofthesmallchannel.Thereareanumberofpleasantviewsasyoutravelaroundthepond,andtheFCHhasmarkedsomelookoutsalongthewaywhereyoumaybeabletoseesomeofthepondlifesuchasbeaversandturtles.
Onceyouhavecompletedthelooparoundthebeaverpondandhavereturnedtothetrailjunction,you can take themain trail back to theMarch Road startingpoint. Wehopeyouhaveenjoyedyourwalkalong theCrazyHorse Trail, and have had an opportunity to appreciate thebeautyandcomplexityofthisspecialnaturalenvironment.Wewelcome your feedback, and if you have any comments orsuggestionsaboutthetrailyoucanleavethemonourwebsite,carphills.com,underthe“ContactUs”link,oronourFacebookpageFriendsoftheCarpHills.
Figure7.Theentirelooparoundthelargebeaverpondisabout1km.(photo.A.
Oswald)
Figure5.TrailLoopJunction.
Figure6.TrailAroundBeaverPond.
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CrazyHorseTrailMap
MaintrailisshowninWhiteonthemap,andmarkedwithOrangemarkers.SideLoopsareshowninYellowonthemap,andmarkedwithYellowmarkers.
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