Treadway October, 2014 Worth knowing

Bruce Trail Conservancy
TREADWAY
Richard Pomeroy 212-­‐100 Bronte Road OAKVILLE, L6L 6L5 rpomeroy2@cogeco.ca Worth Knowing Don Cangiano When Don and
Eileen
became
empty
nesters
they finally had
time
to
start
walking the trails
in the area. One
Sunday in 1997
they
were
walking in the
Rattlesnake Point
area
and
discovered
the
Bruce Trail. The
Photo by Graham MacCallum very next day
they completed a membership form and Don
volunteered to do Trail Maintenance even
though he had no previous experience. Anyway
what would you expect a Hudson Bay Company
executive to know about trail maintenance?
When he retired, Don joined the Iroquoia Trail
Maintenance crew to build and improve the trail
and structures. No experience, no problem, Don
is Italian and construction is in his D.N.A. Soon
Don was involved in all aspects of trail
construction especially working with rock, rock
steps, rock walls anything rock has Don’s
signature on it, he even carried his rock hammer
on his Tool belt on every Tuesday and Thursday
work party. Don modestly admits to almost 5000
hours on the trail. This does not include the
hundreds of additional hours fulfilling other
Iroquoia and B.T.C. Responsibilities he
generously accepted.
There are a number of memorable projects
which standout in Don’s memory and which
remain significant features of the Iroquoia Trail.
The ½ km causeway through the swamp on
the Walker’s Line road allowance between
Crawford Lake and Rattlesnake Point,
which took 5 years to complete
October, 2014 UPDATES
EVENTS
IDEAS
NEWS
The 150 m boardwalk through the swamp
at the Calcium pits west of Twiss road,
built during the winter.
The two bridges and 300 m side trail to
Tiffany falls
Rerouting of over 2 km of main trail before
and after construction of the Red Hill
expressway.
The construction of the 48 foot bridge over
Stoney Creek, in Battlefield Park
Conservation area
The 50 foot extension to the bridge at
Grindstone Creek which used a zip line to
get tools and material 300 feet down the
escarpment to the worksite
The 40 foot bridge and trail improvements
at Sherman Falls
The 150 m replacement of the Leech-Porter
Boardwalk on the side trail between
Crawford Lake and Rattlesnake Point
Conservation areas
Some of the responsibilities Don has assumed
are: -
Trail Captain for Mount Nemo
section since 1998
Member of the Iroquoia Board of
Directors: - 2 years as publicity director
and 3 years as land owner relations
Director
B.T.C. Landowner relations Director
from 2001-2004
Assisted Treadway Editor in 2002
Editor of Treadway 2003 - 2014
Member – at large of the Iroquoia
Trail Maintenance Committee, meeting
monthly since 2003
He organized, trained, and equipped
a crew of volunteers who in 2009, reblazed the entire 125 km of the main trail
Bruce Trail Conservancy
TREADWAY
Richard Pomeroy 212-­‐100 Bronte Road OAKVILLE, L6L 6L5 rpomeroy2@cogeco.ca Worth Knowing Don Cangiano October, 2014 UPDATES
EVENTS
IDEAS
NEWS
in Iroquoia and the 40 km of side trails in
2010
In 2011 Don established a grass
cutting crew to cut as required, large
grassy sections of the trail both on private
and public lands in Iroquoia.
Don also initiated the construction of
log benches at lookouts and rest area
along the trail in Iroquoia
One of Don’s goals was to hike the entire
Bruce Trail which he did TWICE. The first
time was in the fall of 1999 and fall of 2000
as part of a Centennial Project to see what
the rest of the trail was like.
The second time was in the fall of 2009 and
fall of 2010 and spring of 2011 to celebrate
the 10th Anniversary of his first end to end.
We can only speculate what he is planning
to celebrate the 20th Anniversary.
Don’s many contributions over the years have
not gone unrecognized and have been
acknowledged by the following awards
Named Iroquoia Trail Captain of the year in
1998
Named Protector of the Escarpment by the BTC
in 2002
Awarded a 10 year service recognition by the
BTC in 2007
Don has been both a leader and inspiration to
those who have worked with him over the past
17 years.
His contributions have been many and
significant and we look forward to working with
Don on the ongoing construction and
maintenance of our great trail many years ahead
Paul Beneteau
Don m oves large rock for Step Don loading the ZIP Line
-­‐
Don b uilds dry stone wall