The passionate hiker

The passionate hiker
Early days in the outdoors

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Famous Quotes

Fri./Sat. 24/25 February:  Famous Quotes


Smiths Falls was the hub for our hikes this weekend
Note: click on pictures for full size view.

What use is a trail that isn’t used?

This echo of Yogi Berra has a point.  Perhaps he did know something about hiking.  After all, it was he who said: “If you come to a fork in the road, take it”.  The point is this.  If it wasn’t for energetic and passionate folks like the winter end-to-enders, and other keen walkers year-round, long sections of the Rideau Trail would remain unused for months at a time.  Then the trail might easily start to be lost altogether.  So to those kindred spirits, with whom this author has shared the trail over the past couple of months, THANK YOU. 

This weekend, we completed the last part of the 68.9 km Central section of the Rideau Trail, finishing our walk a split second before the heavens opened and the thunder rumbled.  We earned that lucky break.  

The snow has been melting steadily, and the unseasonal temperatures have brought early sightings of geese and robins and red-winged blackbirds, just to name a few of the birds on view today.  And the snowshoe hare that crossed our path will need to lose its white coat earlier than normal.

These few pictures will tell the story of these past two days on the trail.  Much of our journey was on road or through the streets and parks of Smiths Falls, but no less enjoyable for that. 

It has been a mild winter.  Not every winter end-to-end will be as easy.

Friday:  Smiths Falls to Stone Road (14.5 km):

 
Starting out along the Rideau Canal and River

Beside  Poonamalie Side Road

Now wearing snowshoes

On the section between Poonamalie and Port Elmsley

Luckily the track is frozen but the swamp isn't

Hwy 43 at Port Elmsley - enjoying the walk

Stone Road - last stretch for today



Saturday:  Wood Road to Smiths Falls (13.2 km):


Starting off from Wood Road - note loose formation of geese in sky

Wood Road

Entering Central Club section of trail at Rosedale Road

Beside Matheson Drive

Passing the marijuana factory in Smiths Falls

Rideau Canal, Old Slys Lock

Canal, Rail and Trail:  Ottawa to Toronto passenger train
crossing the Rideau Canal and Rideau Trail

Rideau Canal looking towards Smiths Falls

The Lock Master's house

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

The Wednesday Workout

Wed. 22 February:  The Wednesday Workout


Kindred spirits on the Rideau Trail in downtown Perth
There’s a lot to be said for these Wednesday walks. 

By the middle of the week this author, for one, is ready to get out of the house and stretch the legs.  And thanks to the presence of an amazing group of kindred spirits in our small town, there is always a friendly bunch of people to join up with, for a good workout on the trails.

Beside the Tay Canal
One of my favourite sections of the entire Rideau Trail is the towpath along the Tay Canal, leading into the town of Perth, right past the Town Hall, through parks and over bridges, to the other side of town at Conlon Farm.  Our 6.6 kilometre journey, starting at Rathwell Road, took us almost exactly two hours.  It doesn’t matter whether it’s a warm sunny day in July or a snowy winter’s morning – it’s always an enjoyable route.

Perth Town Hall and Crystal Palace from Rideau Trail
Today we struggled a little through the wet snow along the edge of a field, before reaching the towpath.  Here our pace picked up.  The unseasonal temperatures, reaching to plus eight degrees Celsius,  were turning the ice to slush and mud.  It seemed a little early for a spring break-up, and it wouldn’t surprise this writer if we didn’t pay for it in March or April.  But we’ll take what we can get.

Naturally the best way to end a pleasant stroll would be to share a snack in the local coffee shop, and we did just that.  

Are we ever lucky to live in this corner of the world?


Sunday, February 12, 2017

The Winter Walkers

10-12 February:  The Winter Walkers



The winter walkers
Note: click on pictures for full size view.

There’s something different about these end-to-enders, steadily making their way along the Rideau Trail in the depths of winter.  This particular weekend, we travelled over thirty six kilometres.

The snow was falling briskly, coming in at an angle that fogged up my glasses every few seconds.  Our snowshoes plowed through the soft snow cover, hitting the frozen crusty surface below.  The temperatures were around minus 12C.  We had already done five kilometres and had twice as much ahead of us.  One of my fellow hikers turned to me with a large grin on his face:  “Isn’t this wonderful?” he exclaimed.  I did a double-take, but he was serious – no question about it.  “What better way” he added “to appreciate this country than to travel through it on a snowy day”. 

And indeed, we all agreed with him.  We may have looked like a strange group, making our way along the Rideau Trail on a Sunday morning when most people would still be tucked in their beds, but we, like our colleague, were glad to be there.

Our weekend adventure had started on the Friday night with a so-called “moonlight hike”, under cloudy skies and a light snowfall.  So much for the moonlight.  But as we headed south out of Perth, leaving the last street lamp behind us, we immediately knew we were on an adventure. 

This was a short hike of 6.7 kilometres, from Conlon Farm in Perth to Ferrier Road, passing through fields, alongside roads, and into the woods.  It might have been quite easy to have strayed off course through the trees in the dark, but we were on the lookout for the orange trail triangles, which led us safely to our destination.

The following morning we were on the trail promptly, heading south through more rugged countryside to Long Lake Road, on a journey of just less than sixteen kilometres.  A light snow, almost a freezing rain, drifted down, but there was no wind and conditions were ideal for a winter walk.  We were glad of our snowshoes today.  The nine hikers had settled into a rhythm, and we made steady progress through the woods, across a swamp, up and down the rolling terrain.  The middle stretch along roads allowed us to pick up the pace.  Nevertheless, we stopped to admire a group of Shetland ponies which came to the gate to greet us.  And so day two quickly passed, and we had already travelled twenty two kilometres.

It was an even earlier start on the Sunday for our final stretch of 13.6 kilometres.  Heavy snowfall was forecast.  The snow was soon falling steadily as we raced to complete the first unappetising few kilometres beside Highway 43 – thankfully fairly quiet this early on a Sunday.  The fields and woodland were almost totally flat – a change from the previous day – but there was plenty to see:  wild turkeys nesting in the trees, plump robins busy feeding on the berries, footprints in the snow:  deer, hares, other less common wildlife.  The previous day someone had seen a fisher darting silently across the trail behind us. 

Arriving on the banks of the Tay Canal, we felt that we were almost home, but this stretch of trail is longer than you might think.  By the time we arrived in Perth, we were glad to rest as our resident photographer captured our group posing in front of Town Hall on a quiet, snowy street.

And then it was all over.  We arrived at Conlon Farm where several kids were enjoying the new snowfall.   A pet dog whizzed down the slide.  We weren’t the only people enjoying the Canadian winter experience.  Unlike the kids, however, some of us ended up in the local pub for a well-earned refreshment!


This had been an energetic weekend, but there is plenty more ahead of us when we tackle the final stretch of trail later this month.  And the enthusiasm just keeps growing.  These end-to-enders are a special breed.

Our favourite tree

Setting out on day three

Several stiles: required good snowshoe technique to cross safely

Our resident photographer beside the Tay Canal

Taking a break beside the Tay

Snowy entry into Perth

At Perth Town Hall
This excellent photo courtesy of Howard Robinson

Central Perth

Crossing one branch of the Tay River

Stewart Park, Perth

The rainbow bridge