Following The Great Trail at Inglis

And just like that, March arrived. The days are getting longer, the snow is beginning to melt, the birds are singing differently… and our thoughts are beginning to roam. But not too far! Andrew and I are very sure we’ll stay in-province for yet another summer.

It’s strange to contrast the first half of my life with the second. In childhood, we didn’t leave Manitoba except to visit cousins in British Columbia (as Manitoba Mennonites do). In adulthood, Andrew and I realized we were free to travel anywhere in the world, and so we did… right up until 2020.

When I was a kid, it would’ve never occurred to me that being “stuck” in Manitoba was a bad thing. It just was. Now with the pandemic and all, I find myself reverting back to that mentality. (I suppose it’s either that or go stir crazy.) We live in a huge province, and I’m eager to see more of it!

The Great Trail (formerly known as The Trans Canada Trail) has captured my attention since I first heard about it in the early 2000s, when it was really beginning to come together — a patchwork of trails knitting Canada together from coast to coast to coast.

Friends will tell you that I can be optimistically delusional about how much I can accomplish when in explorer mode, but apparently I’m not quite so far gone as to think I’d ever hike the length of The Great Trail myself. However, I’m delighted to encounter its interesting highlights in our Manitoba travels.

When Andrew and I visited the elevators of Inglis last summer, we had to wait our turn for a tour… and we easily filled this time by exploring The Great Trail route that goes right through Inglis!

It’s also a Lake of the Prairies Conservation District Marsh Boardwalk and Interpretive Trail.

Such an alluring boardwalk!

It wasn’t long before I left Andrew behind, enticed by the trail.

This is a wonderful little jaunt, that takes you through a Lady’s Slipper Spur (I didn’t see any Lady’s Slippers though, I think I missed their season) and alongside a marsh and wetlands.

I followed the trail all the way to P.R. # 366, and saw a cairn on the other side of the highway, so I had to investigate. Turns out the cairn was a Manitoba centennial award which the R.M. of Boulton received in 1984, and listed all of the schools and churches in the area.

Not far away, I noticed a sign indicating a cemetery. Well, it couldn’t hurt to hurry over for a quick look.

This is the Holy Trinity Lutheran Cemetery… and I did not stay long. It seemed to me that Andrew would likely be wondering what was keeping me.

The abandoned tracks are certainly enticing.

Andrew was waiting for me at the lookout area by the wetland.

From there, we hurried back to the Inglis elevators for our tour.

I wonder which parts of The Great Trail we’ll explore this summer!

Related: 

Last of the Prairie Skyscrapers