Bhavna and I had so much fun walking the “Pole Farm" loop trail at Mercer Meadows, that we went back the next day. This time we started at the Maidenhead Trailhead. The air was much cooler than the previous and with the gusty breezes, it felt cold. We moved quickly trying to warm up in the sun.
In the early 20th century The "Pole Farm" was once a key site for AT& T's international telephone call network. In recent times, "Pole Farm" at Mercer Meadows has been converted into a natural reserve with scenic trails and wildlife habitats.
We walked up to and ascended to an observation deck, a different one than the one we found the previous day. It was cold and windy. We didn’t stay long. On the way down a strong gust of wind blew my baseball cap into the field below.
We took the northern fork in the trail, walking and chatting but soon turned south taking what, on the trail map on my iPhone, appeared to be a shortcut. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. But it was a mistake. The rain had swamped the grassy field and before we realised it we had no way forward. Bhavna was convinced we could find our way through. We should have turned around. After fifteen minutes of slipping and sliding in the soggy grass and at one point stepping angle deep into watery grass we made it back to a solid trail. But it was too late, my socks were soaked and my sneakers we covered with mud.
At the next fork, we turned east on the trail looping back to the Maidenhead Trailhead. A few metres further down heard a recognisable bird call from the thickets of bushes. As we neared the final fork and the trail back to the trail, we passed more marker signs that documented the historical background of the relics of early international telephone communications networks built by AT&T.
The return trail path was otherwise uneventful. We were just minutes from the local brewery and a cold beer would have helped me feel less annoyed that the "shortcut" had mucked up my sneakers.
