Magic Carpet

Wed. 19 October:  Magic Carpet

Like a painting

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

I took a ride on a magic carpet today.  It whirled me around Frontenac Park on a route that I bet not many of the Frontenac Challenge hikers have done this year.

The Moulton Gorge Loop is shown as an alternate to the more well-known Little Salmon Lake loop.  It’s well worth the extra effort.  Not only does its route coincide with more of the loops than any other (five), it also travels along an exciting highline to a grand view over Birch Lake.

September and October have been set aside for the Frontenac Challenge.  But what a pity it would be to rush in and do it all before the Fall colors arrived.  If I had a choice I’d do it all this week.  The colors, despite the strong winds on the previous day, were breath-taking today.  There were pockets of stunning reds, yellows and golds beside a remote lake, or along the edges of a gorge, or just randomly in the woods.  I should have learned by now that a photograph of such a scene hardly ever does it justice.  But that didn’t stop me from snapping away.

I set a good pace around this sixteen kilometre circuit, not that I was in a hurry, with temperatures in the high teens, and every step a joy.

I can’t count this trip towards my Challenge – but who cares?  This was the most spectacular of them all, and thanks to yesterday’s winds, the path was a magic carpet of colorful leaves.

Sunrise over Upper Rideau Lake from Westport

Sunrise

Heading out on Arkon Lake Trail

First splashes of colour 

Moulton Gorge (southern end)

Highlight of today's trip (photo doesn't do it justice)

Glimpse of Lynch Lake

Contrasting pathways:  woodland

...a grassy section...

...ridge, dropping off steeply to the right

Colorful hillside

Moulton Gorge (northern end)

Climbing up onto the highline...

...through the woods...

...past some very tall trees...

...to an open viewpoint (Birch Lake just out of picture left)

Beside Birch Lake

Typical scene today

The Moulton Gorge Loop