Have you been to the Souris River Bend and not been all the way to
the bend? Now you have a reason to go there. The Souris River Bend
WMA is a 2196 hectare tract of land covered in natural vegetation,
woodlands and mixed-grass prairie. Trails crossing the southern end
of the WMA give views of the portion of the Souris River where it
bends, changing from southeast to northeast in direction.
Lang’s Crossing is in this part of the river. This ford was
an important transportation link before ferries or bridges were
available. Even with the high water on the river this spring, it is
easy to see where the water ripples over the shallow portion that
provided the ford.
James Lang settled here in 1880. The crossing and the valley
bear his name because he always stocked extra supplies for others
traveling through.
The WMA is east of PTH 346 and you can drive in on a road about
650 metres north of the bridge across the Souris River. How far in
you drive before you pull to the side and park will depend on what
you are driving. A horse or quad can get you within 2 metres of the
cache. We park our station wagon a lot sooner and walk further.
Today we walked about 2 km in. As you walk, you notice that the
ruts of the trail are so deep in places that you can imagine wagon
wheels under a heavy load being pulled by straining oxen. Then you
spot some quad tracks and are transported back to the search for
the cache. Stick to the trail until GZ is very close at hand.
