After hiking the Bailey’s Chute,  Marcus and Myanth Falls, and West Lake loop, I chose to do another hike in Wells Gray Park on the way back.    The Murtle River Trail follows the south side of the river from an area above Dawson Falls up the river to Pyramid Rapids.    There are connector trails to the Blackwater River or McLeod Hill.    The first part is a single track, but it joins a double track that is used for the Wells Gray Loppet (nordic ski race), which I have done some years ago.    I have also snowshoed this section of the trail.    It is not used much in the summer, and when I hiked it, there was no one else around.

I was looking for a shorter hike, and I thought I would explore the Majerus Farm property.    Mike Majerus homesteaded by the river, running trap lines over a large area.

The 1.5 km upstream route is flat, continuing above the river.

The route winds through mixed forests, with birch, cedar, hemlock, and pine with dense undergrowth.

A sign notes the old farm site.

A small roofless building (a root cellar) still stands next to the river bank.

The old farmhouse is out of sight, away from the river, with forest growing in on three sides.

I hiked around the old homestead, but there is not much of a trail.    This was easier to do in winter.

After my exploration of the site, I returned back, taking the double track back to the Wells Corridor Road, completing a partial loop route.

It started to rain a bit near the end and the mosquitoes appeared, as they do when it gets wet.     This was a pleasant and quiet hike, but not a destination hike.  Some of the moments on the trail are captured in a YouTube video:

(video to be published soon)