The International Appalachian Trail Newfoundland and Labrador recently honoured the memory of Dr. Barry May by dedicating one of the physician’s favourite spots in the hills above his Humber Village home.
May died suddenly at the age of 62 while attending a medical conference in Montreal in November 2005.
Well known as an avid local outdoor enthusiast and conservationist, May especially enjoyed the hills behind his home in the Humber Valley and would hike to the lookout that now bears his name in all seasons and all weather.
During his lifetime, May served on the executive of the Humber Natural History Society, of which he was a long-time active member. He was involved with establishing the Tuckamore Club — the forerunner of the Humber Natural History Society — and the hiking club in Corner Brook. He was also a founder of the Blow-Me-Down Cross-Country Ski Park.
In the early years of the province’s Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Advisory Council, May served as member and chair of the committee for more than a decade. He also sat on the board of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.
The sign erected at the very spot May often stopped to admire the Humber Valley’s natural beauty contains an image of him, a brief description of who he was and a map of the International Appalachian Trail Newfoundland and Labrador’s route through the area.
It is the second sign in a series of interpretive panels on the Humber Valley Trail’s lookouts. The first one is at a location known as Scott’s Lookout, just west of Wild Cove Road.
That lookout is named after Scott Datwyler, an American Mormon elder stationed in western Newfoundland who volunteered his time with International Appalachian Trail Newfoundland and Labrador until his sudden death two years ago due to an illness.
