January/February 2002

Did You Know?

DO YOU REMEMBER CAITLIN?

In spite of appearances Caitlin was a friendly Highland Cow who was one of the star attractions at the Children's Farm on Mt. Scio Rd. She was born in June of 1984 and was purchased when she was just a young calf from a breeder in Fraserville Ont. Special buttons were sold at the farm to raise funds to help pay for her purchase. The Highland Cattle Society was established in Scotland in 1884 and H.M. the Queen is their Patron and also the owner of a large herd herself. The Children's Farm operated for thirteen years from 1977 to 1990, for the first 6 years in an old house and barn on Mt. Scio Rd. by the bridge over Nagles Hill Brook. In 1983 it moved into a new metal arch building further west along the road. It was there until it closed seven years later due to lack of funds. The building is now leased by the Commission for a nominal rent to the Rainbow Riders. It is still fondly remembered by the thousands of children and parents whose visit with the animals was the highlight of their week.

KEVIN SPACEY IN PIPPY PARK
I've not yet seen the new movie "The Shipping News" that was set in Newfoudland, but I understand even this has a Pippy Park connection. Certain scenes featuring Kevin Spacey, the male lead in the movie, were shot in one of the tanks at the Institute for Marine Dynamics. Those of you who have seen the movie will probably be able to guess which scenes they were.

STONE FIELD WALLS IN THE PARK
There are a number of old stone walls in various locations on former farm land in Pippy Park. We are trying to locate and record all of them. If anyone knows of walls not included in the list below please let us know. Some of the walls are carefully built with vertical faces on both sides, sometimes with a wire fence on top to keep in livestock, others are not much more than lines of boulders piled up in a row along a field boundary. There are other walls of intermediate sophistication between the two extremes. Many of these walls occur in the middle of what is now heavily wooded terrain, indicating that the original pasture or arable fields have become overgrown many years ago in fact many of these walls may have been built more than a century ago.

We know the location of some of the rock walls at the Shamrock Farm site, there are probably others there we have not yet found; we know of one on the western boundary of the former Squires property on Mt. Scio Road. There are various rock walls separating fields on the O'Brien Farm. There is a combination of rock wall and retaining wall on the lower boundary of the MacDonald Farm on its boundary with Shamrock Farm. There is also an interesting multiple rock wall site on the property no longer in the Park west of Groves Road. Does anyone know of any others?

NEWS

NEW YEAR'S EVE A GREAT SUCCESS
There were two gala events that took place in Pippy Park on New Year's Eve and both were great successes I am told. The de luxe buffet offered at the Golf Course Clubhouse for the very first time was a sight to behold. The building was booked to capacity and the beautiful starry night would have made the whole event seem almost literally "out of this world". The Gala New Year's Eve at the Fluvarium has become something of a tradition now and as always it was a huge success. The setting in that unique building on the banks of Long Pond could not help but addew to the festive mood. Both facilities use top-of-the-line caterers who, I am sure, are inspired to even greater heights than normal by their surroundings. Pippy Park is extremely lucky to have two such exceptional settings for festive events of all kinds. Keep these places in mind when planning something extra special!

The Christmas in Pippy Park event at the Rainbow Riders Barn in late December was also a great success in its own unique setting.

CROSS COUNTRY SKI TRAILS
The bridges over Nagles Hill Brook near the beginning and end of the X-Country Ski Trail starting near the top on Nagles Hill (across from the Golf Course) are impassable. The weight of snow last winter broke them down! They are being rebuilt, but when they are completed will very much depend on the weather. Skiers are advised to use the old entrance which is immediately above Dr. Lockwood's garden fence. There are rocks and stumps along the trail and it takes a good deep snow cover to avoid damage to your skis or to yourself! With only a thin cover of show it is better in the Trailer Park or on a grass surface.

SKI TRAIL MAP
There is a new description of the Pippy Park Ski Trails in the website www.pippypark.com/ski.shtml and there is also another website that has a good map of the ski trails in Pippy Park. This can be found at www.wolverinecom.nf.ca/pippyskimap1.html , but note that the "outgoing" trail is shown in yellow which does not show up at all if the map is printed in black and white! We are grateful to Peter Armitage for the work he is doing for the trail.

PROPOSED NAGLES HILL BROOK TRAIL.
Nagles Hill Brook Trail is planned as a low impact hiking trail that will connect the Grand Concourse walkway system around Long Pond with the "wilderness" area of the Three Pond Barrens. It will follow the course of Nagles Hill Brook from the Fluvarium site up to the gate at the very top of Nagles Hill. The project is being designed and constructed by the Grand Concourse Authority with the Friends of Pippy Park.

In part the project will involve the rehabilitation of the old existing trail and the series of footbridges that were built up to 30 years ago and have now become unusable. Above the Outer Ring Road a new trail is being cut to more or less follow the brook. The Cross Country Skiers will be pleased to hear that the reconstruction of the two bridges that also form part of the ski trail, one of which finally collapsed under the weight of snow last spring, will be part of this project and may be rebuilt before the end of the winter if the weather cooperates.

This is a "trail" not a "walk" and is the only one being build by the Grand Concourse Authority. The route will remain a hiking trail with a narrow cleared path and the fewest possible durable structures. It will have a very low impact on the existing vegetation and will have a low maintenance requirement. It is not intended to accommodate large numbers of hikers and will not be suitable for "street" shoes since most of the walking surface will be unimproved.

There are two reasons for this; one is to cause the minimum of disturbance to this very sensitive area and the other is to introduce hikers to the concept of the totally unimproved trails on the Three Pond Barrens. It is only possible to plan such a narrow trail because it is close to the various sections of Nagles Place and Nagles Hill Road which will provide easy access for the materials for the bridges and boardwalks without the necessity of hauling them along the trail.

When completed it will once more be possible to enjoy a beautiful safe walk from Quidi Vidi Lake all the way to the Three Pond Barrens. Some of you may remember the old trail that was opened in 1972 that led from Quidi Vidi to the Three Pond Barrens by a longer route. The lower parts of this trail have been incorporated into the Rennies River Trail and the upper parts have long been abandoned, partly due to the construction of the Outer Ring Road.