Adventures for Wilderness – Weaselhead Flats walk with Lori Beattie

October 24, 2025

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• Adventures for Wilderness

As fall lilted into its later stages, the yellows and oranges of South Glenmore Park were fading to browns, any greens that remained were faint, and leaves were littering the pathways where frost glittered on their edges. We ventured down into the Jack Rabbit Trail towards Weaselhead Flats. Lori Beattie was leading the way, an expert on walking trails within Calgary, and she eagerly led us into a quiet and stunning forest walk on the southern edge of the Glenmore reservoir.
A small group of 6 of us walked together, listening to the chickadees, kinglets, and nuthatches that flew overhead from tree to tree. Some of us stopped to capture the scene, and others spoke of how warm the morning had become. And they weren’t wrong, it looked like fall but began to feel a bit more like spring again.

We continued along the undulating trail for a few kilometers, taking in the morning light coming through the foliage, eventually reaching Weaselhead Flats where we were greeted by two Pileated woodpeckers. They were hammering away at a few snags, perhaps looking for bugs and other morsels, and the sun shone brilliantly, making me miss my sunglasses.
We then looped up the hill and made our way back towards South Glenmore Parking lot. We walked along the main path, enjoying the warmth of the fall sun still hanging low on the horizon. The group chatted along the way; connections were made, and discussions about birds broke out as we progressed back to where the walk began.

As we reached the parking lot, Lori gave everyone a few tips on some outdoor concerts hosted at the park. We listened to me say my piece about what the Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) stands for and distributed AWA’s most recent Wild Lands Advocate. Lori spoke about and sold a few of her books, and everyone went on enjoying their beautiful Thursday afternoon in the sun.

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