Time to get moving
P.E.I. man invites everyone to take part in Islanders Walk on June 1
An Island man is encouraging Islanders to take a hike on June 1.
Bryson Guptill, an avid hiker and board member of Island Trails, invites everyone to lace up some comfy shoes for Islanders Walk.
“People can walk wherever they happen to be, they don’t have to walk on a trail necessarily. If they’re walking around their yard or hiking on one of the trails, let’s just get out and be active on June 1st. That’s what the idea is about.”
Guptill sees it as a chance to celebrate the lifting of pandemic restrictions while encouraging outdoor activity – one of Island Trails’ mandates. Island Trails is a non-profit corporation that looks after several woodland trails on P.E.I. and promotes active living.
“We’ve noticed that our trail use since COVID has started to increase quite dramatically. People were a little stir crazy and getting outside is not only safe, but it’s a healthy thing to do,” said Guptill.
Most of the hiking trails are remote, and users don’t bump into each other often, making them ideal for physically-distanced exercise, he said.
Guptill says the trails are popular in the winter for snowshoeing, but this year, interest has remained steady as the snow faded.
“Every week the number of people checking on trail conditions just keeps increasing so that, in the last 30 days, we’ve had an almost 70 per cent increase in people going to our webpage to check on trail conditions,” said Guptill.
Trails are ready for hiking now that the snow has gone and the ground has dried. Check https:// www.islandtrails.ca/ for locations and conditions. More details will be announced on the group’s social media.
The Islanders Walk grew from Guptill’s round-theIsland jaunt last fall where he and a few close friends traced P.E.I.’s perimeter on foot, using the Confederation Trail, side roads, Island Trails paths and even a few beaches.
For his June 1 constitutional, he hopes everyone will have a route in mind, find a buddy, maintain physical distance (if needed) and take a walk.
“I don’t know how it will unfold, but I think it’ll be great to see a whole lot of people out walking,” said Guptill.