Height of Land Challenge

Them Days is joining in the ParticipACTION Community Challenge. We’ve been inspired by the physical achievements of the Height of Land trappers who canoed from Lake Melville to above Grand Falls (now Churchill Falls) and walked back, hauling their furs, on the frozen Grand River. In previous years, we held a challenge to track kilometres, but since ParticipACTION has changed their competition rules, we will be participating through our community walks.

ParticipACTION’s Community Challenge is challenging Canadians to get active and support their communities. The community that’s crowned Canada’s Most Active Community will win $100,000 towards physical activity improvements! There are also many secondary prizes to be won. Let’s get a winner here in Labrador!

Participants should pledge to get active on the ParticipACTION website. This will make sure your participation will get added to our communities final score.

 

We’ve scheduled a short walk each day and we’d love to have you come out and walk with us. We’ve designed them so they’re all short (3 km or under) and on roads or well-travelled paths, so they’re as accessible as possible. We want everyone to be able to come out and join us! We’ll be talking about the history of the area and sharing memories along the way–we’re Them Days, after all.

ALL WALKS START AT 2:30.

Walk Descriptions

Mondays – Birch Island Boardwalk (3.0 km)
Monday is our longest walk, but do not worry, there are benches along the way if you need a break and please, enjoy the restored wetlands on the boardwalk put in there by Healthy Waters Labrador along the river’s edge, as we go deeper into the boardwalk, experience the budding season of soon-to-be summer and marshland life. Meet at the parking lot next to the park boardwalk entrance at the riverbank.

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Tuesdays – Happy Valley Pioneer Walk (2.0 km)
You may know this as the tour we developed several years ago that tells the story of early Happy Valley. Leave Them Days office, walk down to Grenfell Street, Strathcona, and then join the path along the Birch Island creek, down to Birch Island, and then returning along Grenfell Street back to Courte Manche. Meet at Them Days.

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Wednesdays – Birch Island Boardwalk to the Beach (2.0 km)
Birch Island was a community unto itself in the early days of the Hamilton River Settlement (now known as Happy Valley) before it was resettled in 1967. Enjoy the newly restored wetlands on the boardwalk put in there by Healthy Waters Labrador along the river’s edge. Meet at the parking lot next to the park boardwalk entrance at the riverbank.

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Thursdays – Bunker Walk (2.2 km)
Now a popular dog-walking spot, this loop just behind the soccer fields near the entrance to the Base houses many semi-buried bunkers. These Bunkers on the Base have stored many things throughout the years…maybe even more than what we ever knew! Meet where the road meets the loop-or add an extra 1.2 km if you park at the soccer fields.

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Fridays – Riverbank East (2.4 km)
Another walk around historic downtown Happy Valley. We’ll leave Them Days, walk down to Grenfell Street, to Grand Street and then along Hamilton River Road to the path’s entrance near Corte Real Road, and then come back via the path along the riverbank. Before Hamilton River was the name of the main road, it was the best way to get around in your boat or canoe! Meet at Them Days.

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Walks repeat every week in June:
Monday – Birch Island Boardwalk (3.0 km)
Tuesday – Happy Valley Pioneer Walk (2.0 km)
Wednesday – Birch Island Boardwalk to the Beach (2.0 km)
Thursday – Bunker Walk (2.2 km)
Friday – Riverbank East (2.4 km)

Want to do another route? Here’s another walk we did the last time we did the ParticipACTION Community Better Challenge:

Around the Block (1.25 km)
Start or end your week with an easy walk around the local neighbourhood. This is our shortest walk. There are also benches in the park on Grenfell Street if you need to rest a moment. Go to Them Days and walk around (soon-to-be) leafy Kessessaskiou Street, Cabot Crescent, and Grenfell Street, one of the main roads in the heart of downtown Happy Valley.

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