This article appeared in the Bruce Trail Magazine, Spring 2010

At the 2008 BTC AGM, the Sydenham Club received the Tom East Award for the year’s best reroute, in recognition of its building of the almost 70 km-long Bayview Extension, the longest single trail addition since the Bruce Trail’s creation. Then at 2009 AGM, Sydenham was awarded the Philip and Jean Gosling Award for its Rocklyn Creek bridge and boardwalk project that protected a sensitive environment while opening up trail access to its beauties.

If it takes “a team to build a trail”, that team needs a person to provide the passion for the Escarpment, the enthusiasm to motivate people, and the organizational skills to do the job. Ron Savage as Trail Director for Sydenham has demonstrated those qualities over the past 11 years.

When asked how he first became interested in the Bruce Trail, Ron tells that as an Owen Sound resident, he had known of its existence. Then some friends invited him to join them for a hike and they headed out to Bruce’s Caves. “I was hooked from that first day”, he says.

Soon he became interested in trail work. A veteran Sydenham member, Merle Gunby, tells the story of that first meeting:

It was early morning: a group of Bruce Trail workers were gathered at the designated meeting place. The usual greeting and bantering of familiar friends was concluding, as they prepared to depart for Kemble Mountain to re-establish the main Trail across that area.

The clatter of a small motorcycle detached itself from the white noise of Tenth Street traffic and … the diminutive vehicle claimed a parking spot beside the various SUVs. The rider was outfitted with a backpack bristling with handles and blades of axes, saws, loppers and who knows what else – a complete trail-building kit. He had everyone’s attention….Before day’s end Trail Director Dave Taylor had accepted his offer to be Trail Captain of the new section just completed.

Soon Ron had become the Trail Director for Sydenham. Although one of the smallest of the clubs, in the past decade it has been one of the leaders in establishing new trails and in achieving a higher standard of trail care. The credit for this success must go directly to Ron.

When asked about his most memorable achievement for the Trail, Ron inevitably tells stories of Bayview. For example, we had two groups of volunteers from the Canadian military at the nearby Tank Range. Ron asked one why he had volunteered. The response was “Volunteer, hell! My other choice was to sweep the parade square!” But at the end of the day, the recruit had enjoyed himself so much that he asked the date of the next project. Plans for the following day included a reroute at Centennial Tower, and a group from the Tank Range joined, this time without the coercion of a threat from their officers!

One trail captain for the area was a general and the commander of the Range. His rank was that of a general but he said he would take the demotion to become merely a “captain.” He is now assigned to England but will return to Ontario in three years and says “I want my trail back.” That is the kind of loyalty and dedication Ron builds!

Ron has generated a lot of community support. Last year’s Rocklyn Creek project utilized volunteers from the Church of the Latter Day Saints who were holding a youth weekend. I still remember their enthusiasm and work ethic that day, and they will be back next spring for another challenge.

Just this fall another corporate group, Edwards, from Owen Sound, sent fifteen employees out for a half day. The company was encouraging more community involvement, and they tackled a tough chore of building new trail at the “Palisades”, a new property just acquired near Inglis Falls. This will be a spectacular addition to the main Trail.

Ron states that his goals now are to achieve more of the optimum route. When the Bayview Extension opened, there was ten km of Trail on road west of the Nature Reserve. This summer the on-road distance was reduced to eight, and two new handshake agreements just being concluded at this time should bring that number by next spring down to six. Ron is having so much fun that although he has held the Trail Director post for eleven years, he is looking forward to “eleven more years!”

Credit must also go to Ron’s wife Pat for all her support. She too is a Bruce Trail loyalist and sits on the executive, currently as the club archivist. On a typical fall weekend this past year, the two of them spent Saturday at the Meaford Volunteer Festival to publicize the club’s programs, and then on Sunday they organized the Sydenham AGM, looking after everything from hall rental, to hike leadership, to the pot luck dinner….just a normal weekend of Bruce Trail involvement!

The essence of the Bruce Trail is volunteerism, and it is support such as this which is our strength. Sydenham members and indeed all of the BTC should be very thankful for all the contributions of Ron Savage.