Descriptions & Directions:
From the Hurst Lake Road to Moore Lake
the trail will be marked with new yellow
markers and uses an old logging road
which is not difficult to follow.
This part of the trail travels through a
shifting mosaic of hardwoods on the
deeper soils, spruce and hemlock stands
on the cooler, shaded sites, and tall
graceful pines on the drier slopes. Along
this part of the trail, watch for cliffs and
other forms of rocky outcrops, which are
examples of exposed bedrock. These are mostly igneous and metamorphic rocks,
and are examples of the types of rocks
that make up the bulk of the Canadian
Shield. Igneous rocks like granite, and
metamorphic rocks like gneiss
(pronounced like "neice") are the products
of various combinations of intense heat
and pressure, and were usually made
deep underground, many millions of
years ago!
The rocks that form the Haliburton Highlands, a small part of the Canadian
Shield, are very different from the bedrock underlying much of southern Ontario. There, the cities, towns and farms
are underlain by a type of rock called
sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rocks
such as limestone were usually formed
millions of years ago in water, such as at
the bottom of old lakes and seas.
The Northern Forest - As you approach
Moore Lake, you may get the feeling that
there are more and more conifers and
less maples. This illustrates a slight transition to a forest that you might expect to
see further sorth. Balsam fir, spruces and
pines tend to dominate. Even the smell is
a bit different, a bit more "piney".
The
birds are different as well. Look for Red-breasted Nuthatches in the evergreens,
and for Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in
white birches and hemlocks. These birds,
which are a type of woodpecker, drill lines
of holes in the trunks of trees, and drink
the sticky sap that leaks out and eat the
insects that get trapped in it.
Finally, when you get to Moore lake, scan
the water for Loons, one of Ontario's best
known and most cherished water birds. If
you are lucky, and a loon is on the lake
when you get there, you may get
to hear its famous haunting call.
From Moore to Mislaid - The
trail from this point becomes narrower and much more rugged but
you should have no trouble following it. On your way from
Moore Lake to Mislaid Lake, you
will leave the open hardwood forests behind for the cooler, coniferous forests that dominate the landscape of
northern Ontario. Although you will encounter a few of the more southerly hardwoods, the forest on this part of the trail is mostly made up of balsam fir, hemlocks,
pines and cedars, with a few white
birches and red maples mixed in. Besides
having flat needles, balsam fir can be
identified by the small bumps on the trunk
that look like blisters. Each blister is filled
with sticky, strong smelling resin. Try to
identify a balsam fir - one of the common
trees sold as Christmas trees during the
holidays.
In the northern woods, the ground plants
are different from those under the hardwoods. Here there are plant such as wintergreen, blue-bead lilies (named because of their blue, bead-like berries),
bunchberry (the smallest member of the
dogwood family), and a number of types
of clubmosses. The wintergreen is a
small plant with shiny, leathery leaves
that smell and taste like wintergreen
(hence the name). Ask your leader to help you find a wintergreen plant, and try
a leaf! Remember to only pick one leaf
from a plant, so that the other leaves on
the plant help it survive.
Beavers - Nature's Engineers - About
half way to Mislaid Lake, you will come
across Pee Pond, a small lake created by
a beaver dam. Beavers are one of the
most important elements of change in the
forests of Ontario. The others are fire,
which sweeps through Ontario's forests
on a regular basis, and always has, and man, who cuts the trees for lumber and
pulp.
Beavers build dams that flood out large
areas of forest, and cut down all the
young hardwood saplings round their
ponds for food. They are especially fond
of poplar trees, but are quite content with
birch as well! When the pond begins to fill
in, as most do over time, or all the food is
gone, the beavers move on. Slowly, over many years, the pond fills in completely,
changing the pond from a marsh to a
meadow, and back to forest.
This process
has a name, which is "succession". In the
marsh on the right side of the dam forming Pee Pond, this process is under way.
One day, many years from now, when
this area has turned back into forest, a beaver may come back and start the
whole process all over again!
On the other side of the dam, the trail
climbs up and across a rocky outcrop
which overlooks Pee Pond. This is about
halfway to Mislaid and is a good place for
a rest stop. In August this area is usually
covered in Blueberries which make a
great snack!
Mislaid Lake at Last! - The trail arrives
at Mislaid Lake at its southeast corner
and right beside another beaver dam at
the stream which drains the lake. If you
cross this dam (to your left) and climb up
the steep trail on the other side, you'll find
yourselves at the top of our well loved
(and hated!) "jumping" rock. This location
provides a great view and lunch stop
even if you're not going to swim here, but
there are some dangerous drop-offs that
should be supervised.
The main campsite is located about halfway along the northwest shore of the
lake, and also provides an excellent, if less
exciting, place to swim off a large rock
area sticking out into the lake. It's also a
great place to lie and enjoy the sun. A
number of suitable areas for pitching
tents can be found behind and on the hill
side above this area.
After you have had a chance to dive in
the lake to cool off after the long hike, you
may notice that the woods seems to be
dominated by pines. This site, on the
north side of the lake, faces the south and
is exposed to the full strength of the sun.
In combination with the thin acidic soils,
this creates a unique set of conditions
that is just right for certain plants and
trees. Red and white pines like the conditions, as do Blueberries (if it is August,
they may be ripe for picking), and a number of ground plants such as Blue-Bead
Lily, Trailing Arbutus, and wild Lily-of-the-Valley. Watch for a type of fern growing in
the full sun called Bracken Fern.
Birds
like the Pileated Woodpecker like the forest around Mislaid Lake as well. This shy,
crow-sized woodpecker prefers large
trees, located far away from human activities. It is best identified by its large size and by the flaming red crest on its head.
Like most of our lakes, Mislaid normally
has a pair of Loons which nest on it.
Where to from here? - For many, Mislaid
Lake is your destination for a day or overnight hike, but for others its just a stopover point on the way to more adventures. If you continue, northwest along the
shore of Mislaid, you'll reach a small
stream near the end of the lake. Just before it, the Cooper's Loop Trail turns right
up a hill and heads north east to North
Lake and then east to Beaver and Hurst
Lakes.
Across the stream and up the rock
ledges is the northeast start of the JC
Trail which follows around the west end of
Mislaid Lake and then heads southwest
to Drag Lake.
Onward and Upward to North Lake -
Follow the trail uphill where it then wanders through a variety of woodlands in a
northeasterly direction to the very bottom
of North Lake. This particular trail was
built in the fall of 1992 and is a pleasant
hike which should be easy to follow. It
reaches the southern tip and follows up the east shoreline. Shortly you will see
this part of the lake narrow to a point
where it is joined by a beaver dam. Just
before you reach the dam, the Cooper's
Loop Trail takes a 90 degree turn to the
right where it then heads to Beaver and
Hurst Lakes. The trail to the campsite
continues north and rises above the
shore.
The campsite area itself, is located
on a high ridge covered by pine trees, but
the lake can be reached by climbing
down a couple of rock ledges where you
can swim or draw water. This is a
pleasant spot to take a break or have
lunch. Remember to take extreme
care to ensure that any fire you build
is completely out when you leave. An
unattended fire at this far corner of
the reserve, could do considerable
damage before being reported!
Please note that the area north of
the campsite is private property for which
we do NOT have permission to use.
Back to the Cooper's Loop Trail, it heads
in an easterly direction, toward the western most tip of Beaver Lake. The first part
of this leg should be easy enough to follow, but through some of the more open hardwood forest, the trail bed is less obvious and you will need to keep your eyes
open for the markers.
Watch this area for
more Beech trees. Just before you reach the Lake the trail turns
northeast and heads downhill to cross a
small creek which feeds into the north finger of Beaver Lake. Depending on the
weather, the area near this creek may be
a little marshy, but a narrow footbridge
helps you cross the creek. The trail continues down the northeast shore of this
lake. About halfway down, find a point
where you can look out over the water.
Out in the middle of this pretty shallow
lake, you'll see an old beaver lodge.
When you reach the far end of the lake,
you'll find yourself up on another fairly
open area which overlooks the water.
This is another place that makes a good
rest spot and at the right time in August,
is usually covered in Blueberries.
When you're ready to continue, cross this
open area and you'll find still another old
beaver dam that you can use to cross a
creek (although you may wish to cross on
the boulders below the dam.) This creek
flows from Beaver Lake into Hurst Lake.
At one time the trail followed the creek
bed, but now it crosses the creek where it
climbs up to the top and along the top of
a ridge for a short distance, until Hurst
Lake is in sight. The trail continues along
another ridge that runs down the south-west side of Hurst. Although this area
was once logged extensively, watch for a
couple of very large white pines that can
still be seen.
At the end of the lake, trail turns sharply
down from the ridge (this part can be slippery if wet!) and arrives at the lake shore
at the location of the Fred Hurst Memorial
Cairn. This is a great place to sit and sun
yourself, but is probably not the best
place on the lake to swim. Just across the
creek and up the hill is the Hurst Lake Pavilion and the end of the Hurst Lake
Road.
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