Hiking the Cup & Saucer Trail: REMIX

If you’ve taken our past advice and managed to make your way to Manitoulin Island, there’s a really good chance (we hope) that you went and hiked the Cup and Saucer trail. In the early days of the blog, Gen wrote a wonderful piece about the best way to hike the trail. Unfortunately, a couple years back, the trail had been shut down because those who were taking care of it, couldn’t keep up anymore. In a moment of outrage and solidarity, the community got together to make sure that this iconic trail could stay open. 

So here I am today to walk you through the Cup and Saucer trail: remixed! Please remember that whenever you go on a hike, that you stick to the rules of the trail and respect them! It's the best way to ensure that we'll always have great trails to travel.

• Make your way to the trailhead. There's a new parking lot with extra space and decent signage. You might come across people who park on the road (which means that the lots are full) so if you want your shot to hike the trail, make sure you get there early or pick an off day to trek the trails.

• Once you've got all of your gear, decide on what trail you want to do. You can choose to do the Saucer portion (which is a crowd favourite). It comes with less trail and a whole lot more breathtaking views. The total part of that trail adds up to roughly 4km. It is also the portion with the most accessible lookout points. Your other options is to do the full loop or the Cup, which is an additional 5km, and it brings you to the Saucer portion so that you don't have to choose between the full trek or the views.

• The trail is well marked, though I should mention that should you decide to do both the Cup and Saucer portions of the trail, since the Cup is less popular than the Saucer, it isn't as well maintained in certain spots, so its best to keep a good eye out for the blue markers. The indicators will be red once you rejoin on the Saucer portion, and eventually head back to the parking lot.
  
• At the beginning of the trail (before you get to the fork of the trail that signals the start of the "Cup" portion), you will come across a part of the original trail where many other hikers have left their mark by way of building a small inukshuk with pieces of the cliff. It's a sight to see and a rightful way of passage!

• On your way back to the parking lot from the lookout point, you also have the option to do the Adventure trail. This is an additional 0.5km trail that brings you alongside the cliffside as you look out onto the Boreal Forest below. We recommend that you be cautious and have appropriate footwear because they don't call it the adventure trail for no reason! 
• The views and lookout points you'll encounter throughout the trail are truly remarkable. We simply advise that you hike responsibly and don't do anything reckless to get that perfect Instagram shot. The view itself will give you that in a heartbeat! 

• Once you've finally seen the sights and strutted along the gorgeous trails the island has to offer, the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy will mail you a certificate of completion of the trails you trekked as long as you send them the trail name you completed, your name, the date you hiked as well as your mailing address at info@escarpment.ca. Our certificate is in the mail as we speak! 

Most of what Gen recommended in our past Cup and Saucer article still applies to the existing trail, but now you know where to start, and what to pick from. Enjoy the amazing views and don't forget to order your certificate as proof of being another happy hiker of one of Northern Ontario's famous trails. 

Kyla