The Duff Rollin Parkway Trail is 45km/28 miles long, it starts at St. Mary’s Road in Winnipeg and ends in Lockport, Manitoba. The trail is groomed with gravel, perfect for hiking, jogging and cycling.
Our goal today was to walk from the starting point of the trail at St, Mary’s Road to St. Anne’s Road. We hoped, this would be the first leg of our adventure to complete the Duff Roblin Parkway Trail. There are no rest stops on the trail and the trail is very exposed. On our walk it was partly cloudy and we had a nice breeze near the end of the walk. This was our first time on the trail and Brandy found lots to explore. The are some pretty good views to take in from the trail and no shortage of wild flowers to provide colour. We didn’t know what to expect for other hikers, we passed a couple of joggers, a cyclist and a few dogs walking their humans. My wife advised me to stay on the leash while we were on the trail. I’m not sure if she was worried I would get lost or attacked by coyotes.
We hadn’t planned the walk very well and underestimated the distance we would be covering this morning. Unfortunately we didn’t make it to our goal today. Even though we didn’t set any land speed records today and with taking time for several breaks, the distance we planned on going was more then these two somewhat run-down bodies were going to manage today. We had ended up walking further than we had planned and much further then we normally do on our morning walks.
Just over the berm was a road, so a short cross country walk got us to the road and we contacted the ride that was waiting for us at the end of our hike. A friendly neighbour and his wife noticed us coming over the hillside and offered us some water and shade while we waited for our ride. While we sat, he told us about his past two shepherds and the long walks they enjoyed along the Duff Roblin Trail. We all shared our stories on how our injuries had slowed us down.
This first attempt at the Parkway has changed our plans on how we are going to tackle this 45k trail. It is most definitely going to take longer and more visits to the Duff Roblin Parkway Trail then we had first thought. Two seniors dealing with arthritis, my bad knee and brain injury are limitations, not barriers, we will make it to Lockport. For now it’s ice packs and naps and then we will plan our next visit and finish our first goal.
Looking back at where we started. 
Another look back at the starting point 
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