Sat.
23 September: Meeting in the Middle
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| Perth: meeting in the middle |
Note: click on pictures for full size view.
This year’s
theme for the Rideau Trail Association has been to “Meet in the Middle”. What this means is that all three clubs –
Ottawa, Central and Kingston – have been scheduling their hikes so that we meet
in Perth to celebrate the town’s 200th anniversary and to host the Hike
Ontario Summit next week.
Today’s hike
completes this mission, as we walked just over sixteen kilometres into Perth
from Port Elmsley. Eighteen hikers
completed the walk, at a good pace.
This section
of the Rideau Trail has everything that’s
both good and bad about this trail: There’s
a stretch of Highway 43, the busy road between Smiths Falls and Perth, which we
had to endure, with the speeding Saturday
morning traffic. But there was also
plenty of refreshingly cool woodland, and open fields. In several places the trail was a bed of fallen
apples – and there were some ripe apples still on the trees here and there. Then there was a beautiful stretch of trail
beside the Tay River and Canal, the sky reflecting in the calm water as a
single canoe glided past. And of course,
as a final climax, we walked right through the middle of Perth on beautiful pathways through shady parks, to reach our destination at Conlon Farm. Good triumphed over bad today.
We stopped
for a special photo opposite Town Hall, where a kind lady insisted on taking
the photo for us. And the traffic
politely stopped as we stood at the crosswalk.
Yes, this was Perth!
And now that’s
done, we’re ready for the Summit meeting next weekend. Please come join us.
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| Stone Road, a new diversion off Hwy 43 |
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| Halfway down Stone Road - great improvement on the busy highway |
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| But we couldn't avoid Hwy 43 altogether |
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| Usually a very wet section - bone dry today |
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| Meandering through pleasant fields |
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| Free snacks along the way |
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| Ideal hiking country |
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| Alternate mode of transportation at Rathwell Road |
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| Beside the Tay River/Canal |
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| The Rainbow Bridge in Perth |
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| A green paradise |
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| "The Middle": Conlon Farm |
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