Happy 58th to Me

Another trip around the sun, another mile post passed, time keeps ticking on, and it was time to flip the hourglass over again.

Note: my birthday is in late September. I’m a little slow in posting this…

I try to do something a little special on each birthday. In past years, I’ve been in Europe, ventured on the CP Keewatin sub, and on my 50th, we went on an epic trip through Alberta and British Columbia (and I wrote a book about it). I definitely try not to work on my birthday.

For my birthday in 2025, I decided to go hiking in the Whiteshell area of Manitoba. This is an area on the east side of the province, bordering Ontario, and features the start of the Canadian Shield, with lots of rocks and trees and water.

My plan was to drive to Rennie, then walk the Trans-Canada Trail to Brereton Lake and back. It’s no coincidence that Rennie is on the CP main line and Brereton Lake is on the CN main line…

The day started with a lovely sunrise near Dugald. As I drove through the town, I noticed a headlight to the west, indicating an eastbound CN train. I set up just east of Dugald to catch the train passing the grain elevator.

The morning sun lit the train and the elevator nicely.

CN 2926 and 3981 led this intermodal train, with CN 8331 tucked in the middle.

Since the train and I were going in the same direction… maybe there was an opportunity for more shots.

Long-time readers know my fascination with CN’s automated inspection portals. I thought I had time to get to Vivian and I managed it, with a good minute to spare.

I had to use a long lens from the crossing to make sure I was far enough away from the tracks.

One more location? Sure!

Lewis has a couple of houses, a siding (6,252′, pretty short for today’s trains), and a short back track.

The last possible location to photograph this train was Elva and I knew I wouldn’t get there before the train, so there was no rush to get there or to Rennie.

These SD75IACC locomotives look nice, mostly since they were repainted when they were converted to AC.

I made my way to Rennie, and left my car at the little roadside park. Loaded with snacks and water, I set off.

As trails go, it’s not too difficult.

The path is well maintained. There is some up and down – Manitoba is not always flat – and Strava told me that I had an elevation gain of 113m.

It took me two and a half hours to walk the 14 km round trip.

I emerged from the woods at the highway near Brereton Lake at 11:04. I walked over to the CN main line, intending to take a few photographs before heading to the lake itself.

Was that a train?

Yes, yes it was.

Less than five minutes after I emerged from the trail, CN 2904 West came rolling by.

I guess that was my birthday present from CN!

Brereton Lake is quite pretty. We’ve camped in the Whiteshell area before, but not on the lake. I think it would be wonderful.

Heading back to Rennie was a little anticlimactic, since I was just retracing my steps on the same path.

My average pace was around 11.1 minutes/km, which is approximately 5.4 km/hr.

However, just as I was about to arrive at Rennie, I heard another train – a CPKC train.

It turned out to be train #100, a hot intermodal train racing east.

I was definitely on the wrong side of the sun at this point, but you do what you can.

That was a great way to spend the first part of my birthday!

The rest was spent with my family. Another great way to spend a birthday.