Alberta Destinations

Enjoying the trails of Elk Island Park

By Jeannie Chua

There are 11 trails in Elk Island National Park, located about an hour east of Edmonton. Ross and Melva Pennoyer have completed not just a few, but all of them.

Proudly showing a scrapbook that details the couple’s adventures at the national park during a recent interview with Edmonton Senior, Melva, 79, drew attention to a particular photograph. This picture of her worn-out sneakers serves to remind her of the mileage she and her husband covered in the park last year – a total of 93 kilometres and 150 metres over 11 trails, to be exact.

Last year being the 100th anniversary of Elk Island Park, the Pennoyers decided to take up the challenge of completing all the park’s hiking trails.

“We have been retired for about 15 years,” said Melva, “so I said to Ross: ‘Come on, let’s do something different for a change!’ and we did.”

That “something different” turned out to be a series of pleasant walks for the couple, who took their time to enjoy the adventure each trail uncovered.

“Each trail is unique,” said 82-year-old Ross, “You never know what you would find.”

Trail companions big and small

On the Tawayik Lake Trail, which is a long 16.8 kilometre hike that typically takes more than five hours, the Pennoyers were pleasantly surprised by the appearance of an entourage of little companions – cute tree frogs that jumped ahead of them, leading them a great part of the way.

“That was kind of fun, to see the little frogs,” Melva said, beaming with delight as she recalled that particular hike.

The couple was fortunate to spot many other animals on the various trails, including bison, moose, deer, beavers, coyotes, pygmy shrews, a porcupine, and even an elk. Even though the park is named Elk Island, the elusive elk is spotted much less frequently in the park than bison and beavers.

On the 12.1 kilometre Hayburger Trail, they came upon a herd of bison.

“We came round a corner and we could smell them. Then there was the most beautiful view, and a whole herd of bison were there,” described Melva. “They saw us as quick as we saw them. They had babies, and some of the babies were on one side of the hill and the mothers on the other. You know, they can be dangerous. They will attack you if they thought their babies were in danger. When the little fellas saw us, they jumped up and went over to their mothers, so that was good.”

The Pennoyers quickly took some pictures and then left right away.

“These are wild animals,” noted Ross, “so you don’t do anything foolish. You don’t go up and pat them, or do something like that.”

Further on, after they had passed the bison, Melva playfully picked a blade of grass and blew on it as she used to do as a child, making a loud shrill noise. The sound startled a huge bison that had been sleeping in a hidden spot, causing it to jump up, some 20 feet ahead of the couple.

“I didn’t mean to scare him,” said Melva earnestly, “He really gave us an awful look. He didn’t like that at all, because it was a loud noise. But I didn’t know that he was there.”

The couple’s encounters on the various trails also included many friendly companions of the winged kind – Canada geese, pelicans, trumpeter swans, sandhill cranes, a great horned owl, and grouse which, according to Melva, tend to “flap their wings and really startle you.”

Strange finds

The couple often stopped to observe flowers and plants as well. For example, they found a lot of burls.

“These are strange-looking knots on the tree trunks,’ Melva said, showing a picture, and added, almost in a whisper, “They are so weird!”

She particularly enjoyed looking at wildflowers, which were abundant along the trails.

Apart from the beautiful flora and fauna, Ross and Melva also stumbled upon peculiar finds along the way.

Ross discovered a moose antler once, which he left where it was, as you are not allowed to remove anything from the park. Another time, in the dark bog on the Lakeview Trail, the couple came across the carcass of a moose.

Advice for seniors

Having enjoyed all 11 trails at Elk Island, the Pennoyers hope other seniors will have the chance to visit the beautiful park. For beginners, they recommend starting with one of the shorter trails, and for those who are taking young grandchildren, the Living Waters Boardwalk, which is only 150 metres long. The boardwalk starts from the Astotin Interpretive Centre and makes its way onto a lakeside marsh, offering a close look at pond life and great views of Astotin Lake and its islands.

Ross said that early mornings and evenings are the best times for spotting animals.

“Remember, you don’t take chances with the animals,” he emphasized. And you don’t take anything from the park.” He also recommends that seniors take along water, a light lunch and walking stick, and that they rest intermittently whenever necessary.

“You have to really experience what it’s like, because you really feel away off in the wilderness,” said Melva. And although she enjoys being away in the wilderness with Ross alone, she is quick to add, “Walking with friends is doubly enjoyable; you’ll feel safer, too.”

Awed by the natural beauty in Elk Island Park, Ross and Melva are grateful that their fitness level enables them to enjoy this beauty through the hikes. “We are thankful to God every day for the wonderful health and strength he has given to us,” Melva says.

On their plans for summer 2007, she declared, “We will definitely go back again this year.” “But we won’t do all 11 trails this time,” added Ross, with a twinkle in his eye.

Information on Elk Island National Park

Elk Island National Park is called an “island” not because it is surrounded by water, but because it is in an area of small hills and depressions surrounded by flat plains. The forests, wetlands and wildlife particular to Elk Island make it a geographical and biological island in an ocean of parkland.

When the park was created in 1906, it included both bison-dominated plains and forested hills rich in beaver and waterfowl. Canada's only entirely-fenced national park, it is a refuge for the protection and preservation of 3,000 head of hoofed mammals, one of the highest concentrations of big game animals in the world.

The park plays an important role in the re-establishment of threatened species such as the wood bison and the trumpeter swan. The park is also home to the largest land mammal in North America, the bison, and the smallest the pigmy shrew.

For more information, call the Elk Island National Park information centre at (780) 922-5790 or email elk.island@pc.gc.ca.