Ministik Hike from Mandy Lake to Dorward Lake Over Lake Ice

A hike to a fairly remote fire tower in the Ministik Bird Sanctuary southeast of Edmonton is brought to life with StoryMapJS, software that combines maps with images and text.

It seemed as if I was floating along the Ministik trails today. Of course I wasn’t. Gravity was actually in full force. But during a couple of snowy hikes this winter, even when walking on snowmobile tracks, it was hard going, having to push, sink and sometimes slide in the snow with every step. It wasn’t at all like that today. The snow along the trails was packed down by sled tracks, but more importantly it was crusty-hard and supported my weight with every step.

This recon hike was made and the blog post written early in my explorations of the Ministik Bird Sanctuary. It’s fun for me to relive the experience these days when the area is well-known to me.