Notes from Bonwill Shelter

 

Notes from Bonwill Shelter

There’s a hiker’s logbook at the Bonwill Shelter on the Rideau Trail.  It’s the only one on the entire trail. 

There has been a book there, collecting hikers’ comments, for the past quarter century.  The old log books are safely filed away in the RTA archives at Queen’s University, except for the last two, temporarily in my possession.   I’ve had a lot of fun recently, reading through the comments, which stretch back to 2006.  Sometimes people had an eye on a future reader when they wrote in the book – other times people definitely did not!  Either way, these comments don’t deserve to languish in the archives, unheralded since the day they were written.

Bonwill Shelter:  a welcome sight on any day

 

You might think that the Bonwill Shelter, tucked away in the Skycroft wilderness between Rideau Trail waypoints 06A and 06B, might be a lonely corner of the trail.  Not so!  According to the comments found in these hiker log books, the open-sided shelter has seen plenty of visitors:  not only by foot, but also, apparently, by bike and on horseback.  And several people have happily recorded an overnight stay, despite it being intended as a rest stop only.

How to summarize fifteen years of hikers’ comments?

The notes left by hikers give us a good idea of the motivation that brought them here:  recently of course, a simple escape from the pressures of COVID, but more generally as a way to bond with friends and family, to enjoy hikes with fellow RTA members, or simply to find a place to reflect alone.

The Bonwill Shelter has been a welcome safe harbour for those caught in an unexpected thunderstorm.  It has been the base for the discovery of plants and birds, and the greater discovery of the joys of hiking itself.  For the campers at the Skycroft campsite it has always been a beacon in the summer months.  Yet the record shows travellers dropping in at all times of year, regardless of conditions.

Clearly revealed is the loving care that the Kingston Club maintenance crews give to the trail and the shelter every year, measured by the appreciative comments left behind by passing hikers.

The shelter is still a source of pride for the descendants of Alan and Ellen Bonwill, who were such good friends of the Rideau Trail.  Bonwill family members drop by from time to time, happy and perhaps surprised to see the shelter in such good condition.  It has been more than thirty two years since the Bonwill Shelter was opened, on a beautiful sunny day in September 1988.  You can read the details in the RTA Newsletter for Winter 1988 (Issue No. 70).  It is good to know that people still take the time to sweep the floor using the handy broom, as they stop for a rest and a snack. 

 

Hikers are inspired to leave a comment in the book and to give the floor a quick sweep!

Next time you pass by the shelter, stop and add some of your own comments to the book.  The very act of writing in a hikers log will take you back to simpler times.  And it’s the only remaining logbook on the Rideau Trail – unless we want to change that.

 

The Passionate Hiker

1 March 2021

 

NOTE:  If you are interested to read a selection of these hiker notes, e-mail thepassionatehiker@gmail.com and I’ll send you a folder I have prepared.