The Passionate Hiker: September 2017

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Cataraqui Cycle

Fri. 22 September: Cataraqui Cycle

No photos today! Perhaps I should leave my camera behind more often. It would not have done justice to the typical scenery along the route of the Cataraqui Trail, with kilometre after kilometre of tree-lined, grass-covered pathway, sprinkled with newly-fallen leaves: a multitude of subtly changing colours and shadows.

I travelled fifty kilometres in four hours, starting at the well-positioned Lombardy Fairgrounds and heading south all the way to Forfar – for a well-earned ice cream (of course). On the return journey I side-tracked into Portland to relax in the idyllic Hanna Park beside Rideau Lake, a picture-postcard setting.

Make the best of this amazing early Fall weather and travel the Cataraqui Trail - and don't bother with a camera.

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Echoes of the Past

Fri. 15 September: Echoes of the Past

It's that time of year again

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

You can never have too much of a good thing – so they say. And so, early today, I was back in Tichborne, heading south on the K&P Trail on my bike. It was a familiar journey through the woods, beside lakes and swamps, across green fields, past farms. I turned around at Godfrey, a wide spot along Highway 38 at the Westport Road junction, where there’s a gas station and general store.

Returning northwards, I noticed a twisted rusty metal post beside the trail, with a diamond shaped top which had a faded capital W marked on it. Perhaps many passers-by would not even notice it. But here was an echo of the past: this sign indicated to the engine-drivers of the steam trains that they should blow their whistle. Somehow, while all other traces of the old railway line had long since been swept away, this one sign had survived. It didn’t take a lot of imagination to hear the sound of the train whistle carrying across the fields.

I had seen no other people on my travels today, apart from a speeding quad driver who came round the corner at top speed and had to slam on his brakes, before disappearing ahead of me in a cloud of dust. Sorry, but I’m not a fan of speeding ATV’s on a joint-use trail. But nearing Fish Creek, I met a man on a bike. I asked him where he was heading. He replied, to my surprise, that he had started off in Kingston in the early morning mist, and was about to return there, a round trip of 120 km or more. Judging by the speed with which he accelerated away, he’d be home by early afternoon.

Biking at my own steady pace, I caught a heron unaware (not easy to do) as it sat beside a lake. It quickly took off across the water. I watched a small turtle cross the trail and hide in the grass, and I followed a colorful green frog hopping into the ditch. In no hurry, I stopped for lunch on a slab of rock beside Fish Creek – a tiny tumbling stream.

Continuing north past Tichborne, I followed the route of the old K&P line north from Bradshaw Road to see if any progress had been made yet on the new trail. It still lay untouched, a forgotten, enchanted pathway through the woods, leading to the flooded section which last time I had christened “the canal”.

Beside the line, hidden in the trees, were the old telegraph poles, many still with their glass insulators on them. I hadn’t noticed them before. Here was another echo of the past. I enjoyed the challenge of finding each post, well camouflaged by the woods which had grown up along the route since the closing of the railway decades ago.

There’s always something new to discover, if you give yourself time to find it.

Spot the heron...

...which quickly takes to the wing

Godfrey and a friendly general store

Beside Hwy 38 heading north

The forgotten whistle sign

A scenic trail

One of several rock cuts

Small turtle trying to hide

Nice new bridge across the swamp

ATV disappearing in a cloud of dust

Speedy biker from Kingston

Lunch beside Fish Creek

Fall colours north of Fish Creek Road

End of the dry trail north of Bradshaw Road

Old telegraph poles hidden in the trees

Eagle Lake, north of Tichborne

Fox cub having a good scratch

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

To Paradise - by Bike

Tues. 12 September: To Paradise – by Bike

The Paradise Portal? On the Cataraqui Trail

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

Chaffeys Lock is quickly becoming one of my favourite destinations. And a lot of that is due to the resurgence of the Opinicon Lodge hotel with its ice cream parlour.

But it is also due to Chaffeys Lock’s unique location on the edge of the Canadian Shield, a land of lakes where the most interesting sections of Rideau Canal intersect with the Cataraqui Trail. And there’s also a magical section of the Rideau Trail (actually a blue side trail off the main Rideau Trail) which winds its way across the canal and right past the entrance to the hotel. All points seem to meet right there.

If you are looking for a pleasant bike ride in this part of the world, then start, as I did, at the old cheese factory in the tiny village of Forfar, join the Cataraqui Trail, and follow it southwards to Chaffeys Lock and beyond. The hard-packed, often grassy, trail is perfect for a hybrid tire. You don’t need a heavy mountain bike.

You can return along the same route, or partly on quiet side roads. It allowed me to travel over thirty five kilometres (round trip) in less than three and a half hours, through enchanting and ever-changing scenery.

Then of course, at the halfway point, the Opinicon Lodge awaits. They are friendly there, wanting to make sure that you are truly enjoying this newly renovated paradise under the trees beside the shimmering lake. I biked away already planning my next visit.

I started at the tiny village of Forfar

Making good time southwards on the Cataraqui Trail

Little Lake shining in the sun

Chaffeys Lock: a boat passes beneath the high level bridge....

...heading north up the Rideau Canal

Kilometre 44 south of Smiths Falls,
at a point southwest of Chaffeys Lock

Here the Rideau Trail leaves the Cataraqui Trail
on its journey west and then south to Kingston

Chaffeys Lock

The Opinicon - my definition of Paradise

Racing back north past Little Lake

On the trail

Forfar Community Centre

35.7 kilometre journey today by bike

Sunday, September 10, 2017

The Place to Be

Sat. 9 September: The Place to Be

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

It’s Frontenac Challenge time again!

See https://www.traversing.ca/blog/2017/9/1/the-2017-frontenac-challenge-starts-today

Not that I’m attempting it this year. But some members of today’s party have already completed several loops, and we’re only a week into September. On the trail we met a couple of guys who, some years ago, started the challenge at the earliest possible time: one minute past midnight on September 1^st, and they completed all the loops in three days, sleeping beside the trail to avoid wasting any time. Not for me!

Today we hiked 15.8 km around the most remote northeast corner of Frontenac Provincial Park, starting at the Kingsford dam. Although they call this the Gibson Lake Loop, you only get the very slightest glimpse of this small body of water through the trees. But there was plenty to see.

We were on the lookout for turtles and owls and the rare red-headed woodpecker. We saw one small turtle on a distant log, heard the sound of a pileated woodpecker, and admired the bright red colours of the cardinal wildflower. And we enjoyed the perfect cool, sunny weather for our walk. Pockets of early colour were to be seen, a prelude to the crazy golds and reds of October.

In the far northeast corner of the loop is a bright green swamp which, on my previous trip here, I had christened the “grimpen mire”. Others know it as the “pea soup”. Not a place for a casual bathe.

We were not alone. Several other hikers were enjoying these ideal conditions. It’s not surprising. At this time of year, for those who enjoy the outdoors, Frontenac Park is the place to be. And as you can see from the pictures, we were having a great time!