Happy Trails
by Ray Ford

How a well planned path takes you from here to there quickly, safely and treading lightly.

Unlike city side walks, cottage pathways seldom follow the straight and narrow. Some twist like a jack pine, or undulate like a northern pike. More than mere links between points A and B, cottage trails are transitions between workaday grind and weekend grin. Done correctly, they safeguard water, wildlife, and landscape-the things that put that smile on your face in the first place.

Toronto environmental consultant Steve Stockton realizes this every time he walks the winding route into his family's Bancroft-area cottage. "On the way to the cottage, you come around a corner and it's one of the most beautiful vistas," he says. Ahead lie the spring-fed waters of Salmon Trout Lake. Herons stalk
the wetlands on the far shore. Stockton feels his body exhale. "It's a good walk to come in on."

But it's easy to go down the wrong road. Cottagers can spend big bucks on a walk that heaves and buckles under winter's assault, beats down neighbouring trees and plants, and even erodes the shoreline or sullies the lake. The good news: More and more people are asking for woodland paths that work with the environment, not against it, says Robert Allen of Northway Gardeners, near Windermere, Onto "We use bark mulch, a few nice stepping stones, a rustic stone stair that looks like it's part of the bedrock. When we're done, it looks like it was always there."

The good that paths do

Paths limit environmental damage by concentrating traffic. Plants growing beside the path are spared the death of a thousand Birkenstocks, and for that they thank you. But if the path's not built right, that gratitude is premature. "One of the golden rules is to keep the user on the trail and get the water off the trail," says Mark Schmidt. As a trail specialist and Canadian director for the International Mountain Bicycling Association, Schmidt works to limit the impact of bike tires,hiking boots, and even bare feet. Even occasional traffic compacts the earth, creating depressions and squeezing the soil so water can't
percolate through. When it rains, water will pool and traffic will churn, turning the path into mud.

Cottagers sidestepping the morass make the situation worse. "You just end up with a wider mudhole," says Bruce van Staalduinen, manager of operations and development for Ontario Parks. As puddles grow, the trail acts like a river valley. "When water runs downhill, the path of least resistance is your trail."
Heavy rains wash away path surfaces, erode banks, and push contaminants toward the shore. Once in the water, a deluge of silt can smother fish-spawning beds, bury sediment-dwelling insects, and choke out water plants. And because nutrients such as phosphorus like to hitchhike on eroding soil, your path could be fueling everything from weed infestations to algae blooms.

Problems are almost inevitable when pathways are born without planning. "Even if you're building a new cottage, by the time the electrician has run up and down X times, you've already got a path, because they always take the shortest route," Allen says.

It may sound like a paradox, but if you want your path to work with the landscape' you've got to guide it.

First, assess the surroundings

Traffic survey Think about traffic volume and travel frequency at your cottage. If you own the lake's Party Central, with big crowds every weekend, you'll need sturdier paths. A cabin that's a reclusive getaway for a few weeks a year merits more modest constructions. Most cottages will need different sorts of paths for different destinations.

Primary routes-from car to cottage, and cottage to dock-are your highways. They should be smooth and firm for maximum safety, at least a half-metre wide, and well drained. For snow-clearing, hard surfaces (stone, brick) are easier to shovel than soft ones (wood chips, gravel).

Secondary and tertiary paths are like your sideroads and cottage roads. Paths with regular but light use (the trail to the composter or the hammock, for example) might be well served by a combination of stepping stones set into pea gravel or wood chips for wet weather. Occasional hiking trails may need little more than trimming of plants and shrubs.

For utility paths, consider when and how they'll be used. The trail to the woodpile should be firm and wide enough to handle a wheelbarrow. Avoid stubbed toes and other accidents with an outhouse path that easily allows direct and speedy access even if it's dark, wet, or snowy.

Lot survey Good trailmaking comes from knowing the lay (and underlay) of the land. To start, stand at your cottage and imagine dropping a bowling ball. Its downhill route is the "fall line" -the same route runoff will take. In order to prevent erosion, the path must avoid that route. Then, scout for other slopes that will likely erode, and areas that tend to stay wet after spring snowmelt and summer cloudbursts. Be prepared to route paths around these trouble spots.

Consider your soil types. Do you have lots of white pines? They like sandy soil - good for drainage but bad for erosion. White birch like rocky areas. Cedars warn of damp soils. For a closer look, take some topsoil, add a few drops of water to form it into a ball, then make it into an oblong shape, like a sausage that's thicker in the centre. Break the sausage in half. If both sections hold together, you've got a good surface (perhaps augmented by wood chips or stepping stones) for a lightly used path. If the dirt clod crumbles, so will your path, particularly on slopes. Better to reroute (especially if the area is wet), harden the surface with stepping stones or gravel, or build a boardwalk.

Route survey Make a map, sketching your lot, including contour lines and landmarks (trees, gardens, rock outcrops, the septic). Mark destinations (cottage, dock, outhouse, and parking area), then shade in likely corridors. From there, you can finesse the details.

Rather than marching up slopes, take a "contour design," or "curvilinear," approach. Follow the landscape's contours-a route that wends along the side of a hill encourages water to drain across a path, not straight down it.

With the map in one hand and a roll of orange flagging tape in the other, walk your corridors. Flag good vistas and promising routes. Take advantage of natural clearings and work with contours. Avoid fall lines, wet areas, and other problem spots.

Use switchbacks and steps on erosion-prone, hard-to-climb slopes that are steeper than roughly 10 per cent. (Calculate slope by dividing rise by run and multiplying by 100; a one-metre rise over a 10-rnetre run is a 10 per cent slope.) A combination of steps, paths, and landings "breaks up your climb and makes it less imposing," says Brian Kelly of Gravenhurst's Muskoka Stone & Garden.

A gentle "cross slope," the side-to-side grade across the path, aids drainage. A grade of three-per-cent (where, for example, the uphill side of a 50-cm-wide path is 1.5 cm higher than the downhill side) will keep a hard path dry, while a soil path needs five to eight per cent. On cross slopes over eight per cent, walkers will feel as if they're listing to one side.

Close to the water's edge, remember that shoreline plants and shrubs form a protective zone, so help your path punch the smallest possible hole through the buffer. On small, sheltered lakes, take the most direct route for the last 1.5 metres of trail. On large lakes or coastal areas (where waves driven by prevailing winds can eat away the shore), run the last section of path at a 90-degree angle to the wind.

Back at the cottage, look up at the roof. Water pouring off the eaves onto a path can boost erosion. Consider installing eavestroughs and rain barrels or using percolating surfaces (such as flagstones or permeable pavers) beneath the eaves.

Don't forget the "doormat." Trails with soft surfaces (dirt or wood chips) should link to a harder surface (flagstones, paving stones) at the cottage. This pad acts like a doormat, preventing debris from being tracked indoors.

Take your time, scouting prospective routes in a range of weather conditions and during different seasons. Brainstorm with friends and family, hire a landscape architect, or talk to the staff at your local garden centre. "Rough in" a trail with wood chips before opting for a costlier option. Going slowly means fewer pathway mistakes will be set in stone (or gravel or interlocking brick).

Build on a good foundation

The busier the path, the more likely it requires a foundation, typically including sand, screenings, washed gravel, or a combination of aggregates, to improve drainage and reduce frost heaving. In rare circumstances where topsoil extends deeper than 10 cm, a layer of geotextile filter cloth provides a weed-resistant base for the foundation. The key is to remove organic material, especially duff, the forest's spongy, natural cover of leaves and decaying material. Left in place, duff will rot and compact, causing the path's surface to slump and collect water.

Do it yourself or hire a contractor?

Path construction is a big job, often requiring specialized equipment and lots of muscle. "With the size of some of these jobs, it can be tonnes and tonnes and tonnes of stone," says Robert Allen. He estimates a crew of three, backed by a mini-excavator or skid loader, could lay about 50 square feet of "dry set" flagstone per day. Costs, all in, are typically $35-$40 per square foot. "Wet lay" (flagstones in concrete, with full foundation and steel-mesh reinforcement) runs about twice that rate.

That's not to say determined cottagers can't do their own work. While elaborate concrete pavers can be persnickety (if the frost heaves a few out of place, the problem looks obvious), dry-set flagstones and stepping stones are more forgiving. Gravel or wood-chip paths are easier and can be built without heavy machinery - good for remote or water-access cottages. If you're planning your own path, the garden or landscaping centre where you're shopping for supplies should offer advice and coaching: If the centre also offers a landscaping service, compare its price to your DIY cost. You may be able to do easy jobs yourself and contract the big ones, or do the work in stages, starting with primary and utility paths.

However you tackle it, remember this is your cottage, not a concrete throughway that requires straightening every curve, filling every valley, and leveling every hill. Take off your engineer's hard hat. Eschew the path of least resistance. Reject the straight and narrow, and the hard and fast. Instead, amble by the areas you love, focus on the views you cherish. You're not just trying to get somewhere-you're already there.

7 SURFACES AND THEIR VIRTUES

DIRT, SAND, SILT, LOAM, CLAY
Cost Free with most cottage lots (except on parts of the Canadian Shield). Permeability Sand is permeable but prone to erosion. Other soils may compact with traffic and allow puddles to form. Wear factor Improve the permeability and longevity of clay soil by mixing crushed rock or sand into it. Dig and loosen the earth to a depth of about 15 cm, dump 3/4"-dia. [2-cm] crushed rock on top, and work the two together. A 5:1 or 4:1 soil-to-gravel ratio is good for firm, dry clay. Compact with a tamper or roller. (Avoid making paths on waterlogged clays, or the gravel will sink into the mire.) If you can't reroute a path around very sandy soil, you could try to give it more staying power by mixing in clay. (And where do you buy clay? At the grocery store, in the form of inexpensive kitty litter.) An 8:1 sand-to-clay ratio will add stability, but a longer-term option may be a hard surface (stepping stones or a boardwalk).

WOOD CHIPS, BARK, MULCH
Cost Free with your own chipper, or from a friendly neighbour/ township/Hydro One crew. Bulk commercial mulch and nuggets retail starting around $45 per cubic yard, or $8 per three-cubic foot bag. Permeability Good. Absorbs moisture and slows runoff. The look Good fit for wooded areas. Traffic factor Secondary or tertiary trails. Wear factor Easy to kick off trails. Prone to washing away in heavy rain. Will slowly become part of forest floor, so expect to top up every two to three years.

CONCRETE PAVERS, INTERLOCKING BRICK, PAVING STONES, PERMEABLE PAVERS, ENVIRONMENTAL PAVERS

Cost $10-$15 per square foot, installed. Budget more for elaborate designs or "tumbled" pavers with a rough-edged look. Permeability Poor, for conventional pavers, good, for permeable pavers and environmental pavers that allow water to infiltrate rather than run off. The look Ranges from rustic stone or cobble-like "tumbled" pavers to Yellow (or red) Brick Roads more at home in Oz. Traffic factor Primary paths. Wear factor Pavers themselves are almost bombproof, but a good foundation is the key to resisting frost heaves.

NATURAL FLAGSTONES, STEPPING STONES
Cost Retails around 49 cents per kilogram. Cheaper from quarries or in bulk. Free if you can scrounge them from your own lot (be sure to stockpile stones unearthed during construction projects). Permeability Good, if used as occasional stepping stones. Moderate, if packed into a walkway on a permeable base. The look Blends in with existing rock. Exotic stone (such as slate on the Canadian Shield) may look out of place. Traffic factor Primary trails, stepping stones for secondary paths. Wider and thicker stones (30-45 cm wide, 8-10 cm thick) are more stable. Wear factor With a good gravel or sand base, will survive everything but glaciers and heavy earthmoving equipment.

BOARDWALKS
Cost About $9 for 12 feet of 5/4 x 6 pressure-treated decking. Cedar is about twice as much; composites, such as Trex, are nearly five times as much. Permeability Good. The look Ranges from rustic "puncheon" design (resting directly on the ground) with log stringers to elaborate post-and-deck structures with railings or lips for wheelchairs. Traffic factor Primary trails, wet or sensitive areas.
If built with boards perpendicular to path, boardwalks are ideal for people who require a wheelchair or walker. Wear factor Requires frequent upkeep (setting nails, replacing decaying decking, leveling posts and stringers) for safety and longevity.

PEA GRAVEL, BEACH PEBBLES, PEA STONE
Cost Retails for about $60 per cubic yard. Prices vary widely, so shop around. Permeability Good. The look Strewn by retreating glaciers. Traffic factor Use for secondary trails, or in combination with slightly raised stepping stones or concrete pavers on primary routes. Warning: Small, round stones can be slippery (think ball bearings) on hard surfaces. Wear factor Easy to kick off trails. Rake strays back onto path, or replenish occasionally. Also hampers snow-clearing.

GRAVEL, CRUSHED BRICK, CRUSHED QUARTZ
Cost Brick retails around $100 per cubic yard; quartz, $80 to $100; crusher-run gravel, $35. Less for pit-run gravel and bulk orders. Shop around. Permeability Good. The look Tends to stand out. Crushed brick and quartz can look showy, while gravel is more utilitarian. To blend your path into the landscape, buy local gravel that matches the bedrock. Traffic factor Primary or secondary trails. Wear factor Good stability, although stones can be kicked off paths.

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