2026 Oct 04.
Clear skies for the Mississippi-Madawaska Land Trust Fall Colours Walk at cliffLAND, warm for an October day, with little cloud or breeze to speak of. The timing seemed arranged in advance with the reds, oranges, tans, and browns of the leaves, the kind of coordination no one could take credit for but everyone was glad to accept. Fall colours often peak around Thanksgiving, is typically peak colours.
Volunteers and staff met people at the trailhead, directing cars, pointing out the trail, and generally making the business of arriving seem simple for a large event. Local craftspeople had set up nearby, several neighbours running for office among them, out of politics for the afternoon and simply neighbours again.
The trail tunnelled through young forest, with the path littered by the round, trembling specks of aspen leaves catching light and shade in close to equal measure. With hundreds of people moving through, there was no keeping track of who had arrived with whom. People stopped along the trail to talk, and some of the conversations I heard went well beyond weather and leaves, into plans, half-formed ideas, and matters that had little to do with fall colours. A dog or two slipped its lead long enough for a tumble with another, and for a few minutes their owners appeared to have other things to discuss.
Toward the lookout, a few more people stood ready to explain a plant or a view, sometimes for the second time. Every rest-stop bench was occupied. Gentlemen and the generous gave up their seats anyway, while others stood and talked. Cameras came out repeatedly, for other people’s views of the same colour everyone had come to see.
The day went off without incident, apart from the car trouble that turns up most years. A flat tire this time, with help close enough that it barely qualified as trouble. Some of the hikers had come from well beyond the usual radius, including people from Cornwall, a two-and-a-half-hour drive for an afternoon among the reds and oranges. Community.