A Howling Success

Sat. 28 November:  A Moonlight Stroll:  Mica Mine and Homestead Trails

Today's moon.
This great photo was taken by Andrew Hannah.

 Note:  Single-click on each picture to enjoy a full-size view.

Some of the shortest trips are also often the sweetest. 

This was the case tonight, when an enthusiastic group of hikers assembled at Lally Homestead, intrigued by the idea of a stroll in the dark.   

Our well-organized hosts had even timed the event to coincide with the most perfect evening one could possibly devise for such a trip:  cloudless, just a few degrees below zero, no wind.  The moon rose later in the walk, giving us the opportunity to enjoy the stars in a dark pre-moon sky.

As we walked up the road to the mine, we saw several shooting stars.  The Milky Way arched overhead, a bright band.  Back at Lally Homestead, the wood stove gave welcome heat, as we enjoyed the cookies and hot chocolate. 

A magical shot:  Orion reflected in the lake, a rising moon.
This amazing picture was taken by Andrew Hannah.

The highlight, for this author, was on the second walk, where we stood in silence beside a lake.  The orange moon was climbing up above the bare trees to the left.  On the eastern horizon, directly in front of us, was Orion, lying on his side, his three-star belt, and super-bright Rigel, and the red giant Betelgeuse, reflecting in the still water.  Some noisy geese flew overhead, unseen.  And off in the distance, several packs of coyote were howling loudly in the night.  It was a haunting moment, enjoyed in total silence by the group.

Then, all too quickly, we were back at our cars.  But as I said, short is sweet.  And so was the chocolate!

NOTE:  The Passionate Hiker in indebted to Andrew Hannah for the two photos attached to this blog.  Andrew has a great gift for taking photos, which eludes this author, and these pictures so perfectly capture the scene today.  Thank you Andrew.

Statistics:

Total Distance:                2.5 km (hike)

Height Gain:                    Say 30 ft.

Max. Elev:                       149 m (489 ft.)

Time on Trail:                  Approx. 1 hr. 

Temp:                              Minus 5C

Weather:                          Clear, ¾ moon.

Reward

For those of you who may be hesitating at the thought of hiking over one hundred kilometres simply to get a new badge, think again!

Here is the beautiful reward, which arrived in my mailbox today, marking a successful end-to-end trip along the Cataraqui Trail.

Compressed within this little badge are countless memories of a beautiful and fascinating trail, hiked in good company, and I recommend the journey to everyone.

See you out there!

The Passionate Hiker

Note:  The 2000 refers to the date the trail was  officially opened

The Meisel Woods

Wed. 25 November:  The Meisel Woods

And we certainly did enjoy this trail today

This was short hike along a rugged trail.

Yet, looking at the actual GPS contour map afterwards, I could see that we only varied between a low point elevation of 181 metres and a high point of 208 metres, a difference of only 27 metres (89 feet).  What made it rugged was that we never walked on flat ground.  The trail rose and fell continuously all the way from end to end, like a roller-coaster.

But we had expected this, and so we chose a measured pace that suited all of the team, giving ourselves plenty of time to enjoy the scenery along the way.  The Meisel Woods Conservation Area, which encompasses Beaver (or Bass) Lake, sits just above the shoreline of Crow Lake.  It’s about a forty minute drive west of Perth, along quiet country roads which roughly parallel the route of the Tay River.  Not many of our team were familiar with Meisel Woods, and so it was with an adventurous spirit that we set out on our hike.

The trail does not follow the edge of the lake.  It climbs above the opposite shoreline, in the forest, to the far end of the lake.  Here we found ourselves standing at an impressive viewpoint above the Canadian Pacific railway line. Unfortunately, there were no trains, at least until we were almost back at our cars and no longer in sight of the line.  There must be a “Murphy’s Law” which covers this!  We agreed that on our next visit we will take lunch at the viewpoint and wait for the trains.

Today’s lunch stop was at an ideal picnic area just above the lake.  At exactly the right time, the sun appeared, bringing out the late fall colours of the woodlands and turning the lake to silver.

It seems that not many people visit Meisel Woods.  It’s another of the hidden gems of Eastern Ontario.  There’s another trail along the eastern shoreline, and an enthusiastic group of hikers is ready to explore it.

Note:  single-click on the first picture above to scroll through the photos separately.
Also note that some of these photos were taken two days previously on my pre-hike.

Statistics:

Total Distance:                5.0 km (hike)

Height Gain:                    Say 160 ft.

Max. Elev:                       208 m (682 ft.)

Time on Trail:                  2 hrs. 21 mins.

Parking Lot:                       9.43 am

Far end (CP line):            10.45 am

Ret. to cars:                     12.04 pm

Temp:                              +3C rising to +6C

Weather:                          Cloudy, sunny spells. 

Nice parking area

Our kind donor

We did the left-hand loop (which is more than 3.5 km!)

Sturdy footbridge across the outlet to Beaver Lake

Good example of a beaver dam - water freezing over

A rugged trail...

...easily negotiated today

Good signage at key locations

Above the CP main line

Some of our team above the rail tracks

An enjoyable woodland walk

Good vantage point for Beaver Lake

A perfect picnic spot - where the sun came out

Tree art

Beaver Lake from the footbridge

Curiously designed private residence by the trail

Surprising colour in the woods

Magnificent Meisel Woods

Crow Lake

Our route in dark blue.
The other trail is shown in light blue.

Hiking at its Best

Sun. 22 November:  Frontenac Park:  Tetsmine Loop

Beautiful Tetsmine Lake,
which gives its name to this rugged trail in Frontenac Park

This was hiking at its best.  

It was my third trip around this loop of just over eleven kilometres – and the fastest so far!

All across Canada, winter is closing in.  A few days ago, our own forecast was for snow flurries.  But somehow or other, we had a patch of perfect weather overhead today.  Strong, cold winds in the treetops, but lots of sunshine and a mostly dry, leaf-covered trail.

With the trees bare, we could clearly see the contour of the land as we travelled through the trees, crossing over ridges and down into valleys, past lakes of shining silver; a surprise around every corner.

The reader can see my earlier blogs for more details and pictures of this rugged trail at the northern end of Frontenac Provincial Park. 

Here are a few pictures.

Note:  single-click on the first picture above to scroll through the photos separately.

Statistics:

Total Distance:                11.2 km (hike)

Height Gain:                    Say 500 ft.

Max. Elev:                       201 m (659 ft.)

Time on Trail:                  3 hrs. 51 mins.

Kingsford Dam Rd:           9.41 am

Snack stop:                     11.01 am

Lunch:                             12.28 pm

Ret. to car:                        1.32 pm

Temp:                              +5C

Weather:                          Sun, cloud, sun, cold SW wind in treetops

Today's team of strong hikers

Shafts of sunlight herald a day of perfect hiking weather.
Approaching Kingsford Dam at start of hike.

Contours of the land seen clearly through the bare trees

"Elevenses" in the sunshine

By Tetsmine Lake

Load testing this bridge

A walkers' paradise

Lunch above Clearwater Lake

Sausage roll heaven

Swamp crossing in style

Kingsford Lake from campsite #11

The Tetsmine Loop

End of the Line

Wed. 18 November:  Cataraqui Trail from Indian Lake Road to MacGillivray Road

Plus Ten Celsius, but a biting wind

I’m always up for a walk along an old railway line! 

Today two of us joined a third colleague who needed this one last section of trail to qualify for his end-to-end badge.  Twenty two hikers had started the challenge back in April, and eight have now completed the job of walking the 102 km Cataraqui Trail from Smiths Falls to Strathcona.

The interested reader can view the June 6^th blog entry for details of this fascinating section of the trail.  Today, with bare trees, we were able to appreciate the huge task facing the builders to carve out a route through the Canadian Shield.  There was very little naturally flat ground.  Rocks had to be blasted out to make cuttings, and long sections of rubble placed to raise the line above the swamps.   

Not far to the west of our starting point at Indian Lake Road, we passed over a series of high embankments, which would originally have been wooden trestle bridges, later filled in with earth and rocks.  When you’re on the lookout for the “lie of the land”, and it’s clearly visible through the bare branches, you will see what a staggering achievement this railway line was.

The temperatures may have been around plus ten Celsius, but the wind was biting, and despite a good pace, we needed several layers to keep warm.

Here are some additional photos to enjoy.

Note:  single-click on the first picture above to scroll through the photos separately.

Statistics:

Total Distance:                12.7 km (hike)

Height Gain:                    56 ft.

Max. Elev:                       161 m (528 ft.)

Time on Trail:                  2 hrs. 52 mins.

Indian Point Rd:                9.20 am

Lunch:                             10.46 am

MacGillivray Rd:              12.12 pm

Temp:                              +8 to +10C

Weather:                          Cloud, sun, cold wind

Cataraqui Trail  trestle bridge

Now it's an earth embankment

The Rideau Trail weaves its way on and off the Cataraqui Trail

Rugged, lonely country

Plenty of lakes and swamps

Secret lunch spot around the half-way point of the trail

Warning sign...

...for a good reason

Unexpected encounter

The only other human being seen on today's trip

Beautiful scenery

Frank's Culvert.  Perhaps Frank was an engineer....

...because the ingenious culvert drains this whole section of valley

My hiking colleagues today

Our route