Under the Arch

Tues. 28 November:  Under the Arch

A Chinook in Eastern Ontario?

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

A Chinook Arch in Ontario?  Not very likely. 

But how else could you describe the weather this morning?  The strong westerly winds were causing the clouds to bunch up together, above a clear blue sky, as the temperatures were soaring from minus 9C to plus 10C in just a few short daytime hours, instantly melting the thin layer of snow.  Sounds like a Chinook to me – and it looked like it too.

Taking advantage of this break in the weather, a chainsaw was put to good use in clearing several obstacles along our hiking trail.  Best to get it done before winter arrives. 

And how pleasant it was to be outside today, especially since we don’t get to enjoy a Chinook here in eastern Ontario as often as we used to do in Southern Alberta (of course!).

Before.....

...and after

More debris....

...now removed (and so on, as we walked down the trail)

Undeterred

Sun. 26 November:  Undeterred

Poonamalie from the Rideau Trail

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

It’s been a wet year.  And we’re racing into winter with waterlogged fields and over-flowing creeks.  The snow will soon cover this frozen landscape, and then all we can do is to wait for floods in the spring.

Sounds depressing.  But despite the wet trail, and a biting northwest wind, our energetic group of fourteen hikers made record time along this 8.8 kilometre stretch of the Rideau Trail between Smiths Falls and Port Elmsley, enjoying every minute of the soggy experience.

The photos show a determined group who weren’t in the slightest way deterred by the terrain.  It was an adventure.  And we all emerged onto the road amazingly dry.  The carnage in the final field was quite a sight.  Deep muddy ruts and water-filled trenches had turned the fields into a quagmire.  Some crazy person had tried to drive a car into the field, and there it sat, buried up to the axels in mud which will freeze solid any day now.  What was the driver thinking? 

In the meantime we had picked our way carefully through the minefield and were congratulating ourselves on yet another splendid walk. 

“Undeterred” would be the right word for our team today:  a characteristic common among those who are to be found exploring this amazing Rideau Trail.

A  determined group of walkers heads west from Poonamalie Side Road

A light dusting of snow under foot

Plenty of soggy patches

Navigating the flooded cart track

Quagmire in the final fields approaching Port Elmsley

Now (what) was this person thinking?

Old Bob

Fri. 24 November:  Old Bob

A grand viewpoint above Westport Sand Lake

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

I don’t know who Old Bob was, but he has a fine viewpoint above Westport Sand Lake named after him. 

Unfortunately someone keeps taking the sign down at the lookout point.  Every time I stop here, I end up reattaching the sign to the tree.  Not that you need to be told there’s a view here.  It stares you in the face – a magnificent rocky outcrop from which you can enjoy a bird’s eye view of the lake and, off to the left, the spires of Westport village.

So once again I applied some spare duct tape to the sign – but I hope someone might make a more permanent fix.

This ten kilometre circuit of Westport Sand Lake is worth the effort.  The first seven kilometres follow the route of the Rideau Trail, climbing steeply from Lions Beach up onto the top of the escarpment, and along an often waterlogged route to the western end of the lake, then dropping down onto Concession Road 9 heading southwards. 

Apart from Old Bob’s Lookout, the best view is just before you drop down off the escarpment onto the road.  Here you get an enticing glimpse of rural Eastern Ontario stretching away to a distant lake, framed by the trees. 

Of course, I wouldn’t particularly recommend County Road 12 for a quiet stroll. But today there was hardly any traffic on it, and it made for a speedy three kilometre, mostly downhill, journey back into Westport, the wind at my back.  It worked for me.  For hikers with just one vehicle, looking for a nice circuit, this is it.  Why not try it out before the snow flies?

A sunny November morning 

Ice is forming very quickly now

Lively stream 

Lions Beach, Westport

My 10.4 km journey was mostly on the Rideau Trail (7.0 km)

Escaping the Hunt

Tues. 7 November:  Escaping the Hunt

Lake Ontario from the waterfront trail

Where to go during hunting season?  Try the City of Kingston. 

Today I biked thirty kilometres around the city, seeing only scattered other trail users.  It may have been a cool day, temperatures just reaching five degrees Celsius, but the sun appeared out of an early morning cloud cover, and there was hardly a breath of wind. 

Kingston City Hall on a cool November morning

Perhaps the reader might already have stored away their bike for the winter.  But there are often perfect cycling days in November such as this one, and it was certainly safer than hiking into hunting country.

The route

In Search of Perfection

Sat. 4 November:  In Search of Perfection

Big Rideau Lake from Murphys Point Park

In a bygone age, I would sit in the back of the car with my siblings as my dad drove down yet another bumpy side road on the search for the perfect picnic site.  We would call these trips “walks in the car”. 

Today we hiked a unique eleven kilometre loop around Murphys Point Provincial Park.  This route was inspired by the vision of the perfect hike.  And perhaps we came close to succeeding.  Woodland avenues with a carpet of leaves, lakeside viewpoints, beaches and even a small island, and (on a more practical note) convenient rest stops and picnic tables!  

Eleven magical kilometres

The sun shone through the bare trees and turned the waters silver.  The seventeen hikers were kindred spirits in this magical landscape.  

There may be more spectacular places on earth, but this corner of Canada came close to perfection today.