The Winter End-to-End

Sat./Sun. 3/4 February:  The Winter End-to-End

The Winter End-to-End challenge

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

Unless you’ve done it, you will probably not truly appreciate it.

Each January and February, determined groups of hikers will be found making their way along the Rideau Trail, on a mission to complete the entire 328 kilometre trail in three winters.  There’s a special badge for this – and it’s well earned.

This past weekend, the travelers were making good progress through perhaps the easiest section of the entire trail, heading north from Richmond towards Ottawa.  The first day they crossed prairie-like farmland with a biting wind in their faces.  Next day they navigated complex forest trails in the falling snow, through Ottawa’s vast greenbelt.  By the end of the weekend they were over twenty kilometres closer to their goal:  the heart of Canada’s capital city.

This short photo narrative will allow you to decide how simple this challenge really is.

SATURDAY

Saturday morning at Fallowfield

Stepping out on a cold morning (minus 14 degrees C)

Fallowfield church

Steeple Hill Road

A biting wind in our faces

Prairie-like scenery

The group heads out across the winter landscape

This is why you need a decent camera, not a point-and-shoot:  snowy owl

Tomorrow's weather on its way

SUNDAY

Should we get out of the car??

Snowy gathering at Corkstown Road

Our team has grown since Saturday

Suitable graffiti beneath Hwy 417

Robertson Road bridge

Into the "green"belt

New snowfall made this picturesque

Signs of the approaching city:  a fat-biker

Some of the prettiest woodland along the entire trail

Final few yards on Richmond Road:  NOT an "optimum route"!