Iron Horse Trail, Pt. 2: Smoky Lake to Bellis

This trail report is several weeks overdue. I've been on a taper, which is like taking away my ritalin, so I've been distracted. Mostly ski-porn. Yes, I do dream about skiing 12 months of the year. Needless to say many of the details of this run have faded so there are more pictures than text.

I started out at the old train station in Smoky Lake.

To my surprise, Smoky Lake is also home to a strong pumpkin growing tradition. The things I'm learning about Alberta...

This section of trail was much nicer than Smoky Lake to Waskatenau. The folks in Smoky Lake must think so too. They don't even recognize the existence of points west.

The trail passes through more farmland, of course,

but it's not as straight as an arrow

or flat as a pancake (although the trail itself is still pretty flat).

However, the trail also passes a large wetland that was teeming with red-winged blackbirds, black terns, sora, lesser yellowlegs, and several species of ducks. This family of mallards was hoping to go undetected.

And it crosses a protected forested region, the Bellis North Natural Area. A sign claimed it to be 'a public land being protected in a natural state'. The numerous ATV tracks criss-crossing the fragile sandy soil had me questioning what exactly that mean. Still, it was a nice change of scenery.

There was colour on the landscape, too, which also made this section of the trail more pleasant to run. Canola is a popular and colourful crop in this region

and the beautiful tiger lilies were just starting to bloom.

Smoky Lake to Bellis was 24 km. Don't count on resupplying in Edwand. I wasn't entirely sure it existed until I saw this old CN building hidden behind a tree on my return trip.

Don't count on too much in Bellis either, particularly if you arrive past late afternoon, which is when the antique/convenience store closes. Also don't bring any bills larger than $5 or you'll be forced to buy a ridiculous amount of pop just to get a cold drink. It was pretty good pop though. I was told there was a gas station on the highway that was open later and had a better selection of food and drinks but I didn't venture further.

"You ran from Smoky Lake? Why?"
"For fun," I replied to the clerk in Bellis.
"That doesn't sound like fun. Sounds like work."
"Well, it's a different kind of fun."
What was I suppose to say?

The shop closed 10 minutes after I arrived. The departing clerk shook her head at me sitting on the sidewalk working on one of my five cans of soda. I watched her climb into her car, drive to the nearest house, which was less than 100 m away, pull into the garage and walk into the house.

It wouldn't have mattered what I said.