As of August, 2015, the Braighe à Bhaird (Poet’s Ridge) and the Làirig Na Creige (Rocky Hillside) Trails have not been cleared of deadfalls. All other trails in the system are cleared and open. Check the club’s web site for more recent trail updates.

The MacKinnon site on the MacKinnon Brook Trail has been cleared and a sign is present.

New signage on metal plaques has been placed on the trails. The new signage is easier to spot than the wooden signage which, with age, has been weathered enough that it blends into the trees.

The ridge along which the relocated Beinn Alasdair Bhain (Fair Alistair) Trail passes offers fantastic views of Beinn Bhiorach along much of its length. However, recent growth is beginning to infringe noticeably on these views; you should hike this trail soon before the growth becomes more problematic.

The Cape Mabou Trail Club actively maintains its trails, but their resources are limited. If you can contribute funds to keep these trails hikeable and clear, please send them to the address listed here; even small amounts help. And if you can volunteer your time to work on the trails, please contact Nadine Hunt for information on where your efforts would be most useful.

I hiked three sections of the Celtic Shores Coastal Trail (Railway Trail/Trans-Canada Trail) this summer and completed my fifth complete traversal of this beautiful trail. I noticed continuing improvements at two places; they may not have been made during the past year, but they were new since the last time I hiked those sections.

• Beside Allan Ian’s Pond on the Judique Flyer Trail in Maryville Station, I found a new park bench and a fine interpretive panel, with an excellent view of the large pond.
• Just before the trestle over the outflow of Captains Brook, a picnic table and another fine interpretive panel now sit beside a railed fence next to a very fragrant wild rose bush.

It is wonderful to see improvements like these continually being made year after year. These upgrades are done by dedicated volunteers who deserve our thanks for all the planning and hard work that has gone into this trail over the years: it sure has come a long way since I first started hiking it fifteen years ago!

Sadly, however, vandals have also been at work: kilometre marker 36 is missing and I found kilometre marker 23, post and all, lying on the ground at the barricade south of kilometre marker 35. Why anyone would so vandalize this fine trail completely baffles me; it must be very discouraging to those who work so hard to maintain and improve this amazing trail.