Nine Hundred

Thurs. 27 December:  Nine Hundred

End point for my hike:  here the Rideau Trail turns away
from the Tay River heading East and North to Ottawa

Nine Hundred kilometres on the Rideau Trail – this year!   And still one or two hikes planned before January.

Today I broke the 900 km barrier on a stroll along the Rideau Trail through the beautiful Town of Perth.  It was a sunny morning, with “feels like” temperatures around minus 20C, and a light covering of snow.  

The Rideau Trail is only 400m from the house, and so it was a short stroll down into Stewart Park in the town centre to pick up the trail.  From there I travelled east along the trail, following the banks of the Tay River/Tay Canal. 

At the point where the trail turns sharply left away from the river, I turned around, to return the way I had come, clocking up 4.3 kilometres in each direction, enough to get me over the 900 mark.  It may have been sunny, but it wasn’t a day to hang around.  I headed home for a hot drink. 

And there will be no break, since the Rideau Trail winter end-to-end hike series starts in just over a week from now.

Stewart Park, Perth- my starting point today

The Rideau Trail follows the Tay River/Tay Canal

Perth Town Hall and the reverse side of the Rideau Trail sign

The North Shore

Sun. 23 December:  The North Shore

Here’s a great section of Rideau Trail for those who want to stretch their legs.  It’s mostly on a roller-coaster cottage road, but there’s a 1.4 km woodland section of pure magic.

North Shore Road

I parked beside Narrows Lock Road at a handy pull-off place just big enough for one car, a few metres from the Lanark County sign.  Here the Rideau Trail heads into the woods.  But instead of taking the trail I walked up the road to the junction with Merkley Road, then on to North Shore Road.  There had been a fresh dusting of snow overnight, and it all looked very scenic – and there was no traffic.

After hiking three kilometres from the car, I met the Rideau Trail coming out of the woods.  For the next four and a half kilometres the trail follows the road westwards towards Foley Mountain.  It’s a quiet cottage road, with many beautiful homes overlooking Upper Rideau Lake.  The water was starting to freeze over.  I could see the curved line across the lake where the ice was rapidly advancing on the open water.

Trail markers!

It was an enjoyable stroll along the road, with plenty of ups and downs to give the legs a good work-out.  I saw just an occasional vehicle and one set of dog walkers to break the silence of a peaceful Sunday morning.

Finally the trail heads into the woods again, and I followed it for a couple of hundred yards to an ideal lunch spot in a clearing, facing the sun.  The fresh snow showed that this was a busy place for deer and other smaller wild animals.

I returned along the same four and a half kilometre section of road, before heading out onto one of my favourite short sections of Rideau Trail.  Leaving the road, the trail drops down through the trees to a valley floor then climbs an open hillside to a viewpoint above Duck Bay.  The next kilometre is a random wander through undulating woodland, past a lake, over rocky ledges, twisting and turning. This short section of trail has so many of the features that make the Rideau Trail such a special experience.  And it’s a good test of one’s ability to find the next sign and not get lost in this magical kingdom.

The route to Foley Mountain

The fresh snow lay on the bare tree branches and bushes as in a Christmas card setting.  I made new tracks through the snow.  All too soon, I emerged onto Narrows Lock Road at my starting point. 

This makes a perfect fourteen kilometre round trip.  And if you are looking for a much shorter version, including my so-called magical kingdom, then see the map and follow the obvious circle route, which measures only 4.6 kilometres.  And don’t forget your MICROspikes – there’s lots of ice along the road.

This sign warns of a Hidden Entrance!

The line of ice and open water on Upper Rideau Lake

Signs point to the magical kingdom...

...via a stile off North Shore Road

Up the open hillside to a view of Duck Bay

On the trail

Nature's decorations

A hidden lake

Frozen creek crossing

Back at the car, on Narrows Lock Road

The King of Spain

Wed. 12 December:  The King of Spain

It was a cold, overcast mid-week morning with the thermometer hovering around minus 9C.  A biting breeze from the northwest made the “feels like” temperature closer to minus 16.  Who would want to show up for a walk on a day like this?  Well, four of us did, and we were rewarded for our effort.

This roughly eleven kilometre section of the Rideau Trail between Miners Point Road and Narrows Lock makes an ideal one-way trip, with good parking at each end and an ever changing terrain under foot.   

Although there is a cottage road running through the woods above Big Rideau Lake, the Rideau Trail only partly uses the road.  On seven occasions the trail branches off the road into the woods to carve out a much more rugged route between these two milestones.

Especially in winter with bare trees, there is plenty to see.  The major feature is Big Rideau Lake, to our left the whole route, sometimes in sight, sometimes hidden.  At Red Rock we dropped down to the edge of the lake for a dramatic view across to the far shoreline, with several islands dotting the surface of the water – which is not yet frozen over. 

Some of the so-called “cottages” beside the road looked more like palaces, and many were closed up for the season.  We crossed a dangerous beaver dam on a brand new structure, which the RTA Kingston Club had just installed a week or so ago.  We followed woodland tracks, beside hidden lakes, and crossed a couple of tumbling streams.  Along the way we passed two blue side trails, one leading to the ghost town and the other to the plateau loop – journeys for another day.

Finally we dropped down onto Narrows Lock Road and were soon at the end of our journey.  Early in our walk, we had agreed that we had not seen much of the sun in recent weeks.  The cloudy skies today gave no hope for sunshine, so we were taken by surprise when the sun broke through the clouds, lighting up the woods and the snowy trail.  By the end of our journey the clouds had miraculously disappeared.

I think I am now to be known as the King of Spain, thanks to my earlier predictions about the chances of seeing the sun today.  And I was happy to have been proved wrong.

Red Rock, Big Rideau Lake

Animal prints in the snow

North Shore Road (no traffic at all)

Skies miraculously start to clear

Magnificent new crossing (many thanks to RTA Kingston Club)

Lots of prints in the snow: 
Some animals used the crossing, others ignored it

Ghostly sign to the ghost town

Hidden gems

Junction for the blue plateau loop

Narrows Lock Road and blue skies