Mary Gregg Lake Trail Quad/Walking

 Mary Gregg Lake is a popular fishing lake for local fishermen, on Hwy 40 just south of Hinton.. Located
within the Luscar Mine lease and the Coal Branch Forest Land Use Zone, the trail in has been a topic of
discussion for local land mangers and users for some time.

The trail into the lake, although designated, has never been properly located or engineered. With a group
effort of a multitude of local clubs and provincial organizations, a plan was put into place to relocate the
trail on to higher and dryer ground. The original footpath located on a steep side hill gave way to ATV
use which ended up braiding down into the bottom of the valley floor. This resulted in numerous trails
that were plagued with muskeg, water holes and severe rutting.

Fortunately, up on the hillside was a reclaimed exploration road from years past. This provided the
perfect opportunity to bring the trail up on to high dry land, utilize an existing disturbance while
removing the multitude of braids from the valley bottom, thereby reducing the footprint.

With the project being lead by Wayne Mayan of the Hinton Fish and Game Association, mid July the plan
went into action. The list of volunteer organizations, donated equipment and material was extensive:

Hinton Fish and Game....... Hinton ATV Club

Edson ATV Club........ Alberta Off Highway Vehicles Association

Millet Fish and Game .......Alberta Fish and Game Association

Safari Club International ......AB Sustainable Resource Development

Donations

Elk Valley Coal: Gravel & large rocks .......Town of Hinton: Quad trailer

Greg River Mine: Piping........... Town of Edson: Quad trailer

Sundance Forest Products: Quad trailer............ George Belter: Front end loader

Edson Midwest Glass: Skid-steer........... Hinton Pulp: Skid-steer

In a note to the group after the project was complete, project leader Wayne Mayan was beaming “I can't
begin to tell all of you how impressed I was with the fantastic volunteer spirit that went into making this
trail such a huge success. It was a real pleasure working with all of you and the extra help you brought
along was amazing to say the least. Everyone seemed dedicated to doing the best job possible.”

With this success under their belts, there group is looking forward to taking leadership in tackling other
trails in the planning zone. In the sights of the group is the A7 Trail, a popular access for sheep hunters
and the Cardinal River Headwaters Trail, a popular destination trail for sightseeing.

Cal Rakach

AOHVA – Technical Director

July 08