An extra incentive is being introduced to enjoy the Dryden-Atikokan portion of the Path of the Paddle.
Association Chair Ember McKillop says they are in the early stages of placing geocaches along the trail.
The longest route on the trail spans from the White Otter Castle area north of Atikokan to Rushing River near Kenora.
This route has the most portages of any on the Thunder Bay to Manitoba scenic trail.
McKillop says, “We wanted to do something that would not just promote the trail but also enhance the navigation of the trail and hopefully bring some new people to do parts of the trail or the whole trail.”
McKillop notes this is in addition to existing navigational tools including signage and GPS.
She is hoping people venture out to start collecting the geocaches.
McKillop says the geocashes are located in fake birdhouses on a post and are easy to find.
She notes you don’t have to be on the water to locate them as they are easily accessible from the Trans-Canada trail.
McKillop says this is the first stage of a long term plan noting, “Hopefully one day have some way where we might have a passport available and you can collect stamps and when you make it to one of the portages and you find a geocash you can stamp your passport.”
McKillop says they were able to work with a class from Open Roads School in Dryden to begin making 30 geocaches that will be placed along the Dryden-Atikokan route.
The project was stalled this year because of COVID-19.
“We still have 25 of them to build and we have 28 more to put up. So there’s only two actually in place right now. Our next challenge will be volunteers to go out and help us place them. That’s one thing we’re kind of hoping for.”
For more information visit Path of the Paddle Association website