Tour of the Cumberland Forest
Tuesday 24 July 2007If arriving in a vehicle, park in the Cumberland Recreation Institute lot at the corner of Dunsmuir and Sutton. Wear sturdy shoes or runners as the trails are not groomed and there are a few steep hills. Allow at least 2.5 hours for the full walk, 1 hour for the alternate route.
Walk downhill (left) on Sutton and through the yellow gate at the foot. Turn right on the logging road then right again onto the trail marked "Mama Bear's Trail of Tears". As you descend Mamma Bear's Trail of Tears, note the hemlocks with dwarf mistletoe, like witches' brooms. Much of the regrowth after turn of the century logging is hemlock, prone to disease. There are very few spruce in the Cumberland Community forest as they were taken first for ships' spars. Watch for brain mushrooms at the side of the trail and the wooden boards across parts of the trail, from an old corduroy logging road. You will see bracket fungus, which indicates that a tree is dead (the fungus lives on decaying cell tissue). False Lily of the Valley, Vanilla Leaf and Yellow Wood Violets abound in this area.