At the end of summer we hiked a loop route starting at the southern boundary of the Lac du Bois Grasslands Conservancy, following an old double track to Stony Lake.    These lands were homesteaded more than 100 years ago, but there is not much to see now, except for rock piles which designated pasture/field boundaries.

We hiked along the grown-over double track past a few ponds.  Some of the smaller ones were dry, but a couple receive some runoff from the hills above. 

These stone piles were created by homesteaders as boundary markers, collecting the rocks off the slopes

We hiked across the 1000 acre lease under Clapperton Ridge to the shores of Stony Lake.

Stony Lake had the remains of the Scott homestead on the west side until the 19990s.   We went around the southwest side of the lake following a game trail.  

From the west end of the lake, we climbed the hill for the views.    To the west, Lac du Bois lay below, less than 1 km away.  

We followed a line of ridges back to where we parked, completing a 4.4 km loop route.  

We will be back to snowshoe the area again in winter…