Alternative Facts

Sat. 28 January:  Alternative Facts

View from Spy Rock

No, Donald Trump doesn’t get ALL the Press coverage. 

Today a reporter from a local newspaper joined us for an enjoyable hike around Foley Mountain.

Finally I think I may have worked out the ideal hiking loop around Foley Mountain conservation area.  This escarpment above Upper Rideau Lake, which was formed over five hundred million years ago as a result of a meteorite strike at Holleford, not far southwest of here, is always a delight to visit.

Our party of thirteen strong hikers made a seven kilometre figure-of-eight journey around the park, up and down steep snow-covered woodland trails.  We covered all the key features:  the swimming beach, the interpretive centre and Rideau Trail plaque, and - of course - Spy Rock, with its spectacular view down to Westport.

At the swimming beach, we saw a coyote racing across the snow-covered Upper Rideau Lake.  Earlier we had seen two young bald eagles.

But why am I telling you all this?  With any luck, you will be able to read about it in the local ‘paper.  And what a nice break that will make from the current flood of news from other sources.

The ideal route around Foley Mountain
(excellent map courtesy of David Allcock)

Some steep sections down, then up, the escarpment

A Toss-Up

Sun. 22 January:  A Toss-Up

St. Anthony the Great

We were in no danger today of getting lost.  For we had St. Anthony on our side, patron saint of lost things!   Or so we thought.*

But we still had a bit of a dilemma at the start of today’s 13.7 km hike.  Would it be snow-shoes or just icers?  It was a toss-up, and we were about equally split in our choice.  In the end, either selection worked.

This is mid-winter in Canada.  Yet temperatures were two or three degrees above freezing, and the snow was starting to get slushy.  How crazy was that?  Luckily we were still able to walk across the ice as we threaded through the swamps and across beaver dams.

Our walk took us down the Rideau Trail from Long Lake Road in the north to St. Anthony’s Coptic Christian Monastery, hidden in the trees neat the end of an icy Miners Point Road.   This was the continuation of the “Winter End-to-End” adventure.  Since I had last joined this hardy group, they had progressed a further twenty eight kilometres, all the way from Westport Lake up to Miners Point Road, in two long stages.  For logistical reasons, we walk each leg in a north-to-south direction.

Today’s journey took us through snow-covered, rolling woodland, into Murphys Point Provincial Park, where we enjoyed lunch in the luxury of the Lally Homestead warming hut – although it was warm enough today that we didn’t need to light the stove.

There were no ski tracks through the Park due to the poor snow conditions. Black Ance Road was a sheet of ice - easily navigated with icers.  Our final leg, through the mysterious land of frozen swamps, was a great way to finish off yet another successful day on the Rideau Trail.

And as far as I know, nobody lost anything!

*religious scholars will correctly point out that this particular St. Anthony is actually St. Anthony the Great, while the patron saint of lost things is another St. Anthony,  of Padua - but we didn't know that on our hike - and it made for some good conversation.

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

A toss-up:  snow-shoes or spikes?

Setting off from Long Lake Road

Through a beech grove

The end-to-enders

A favourite landmark on the trail

This grouse was a little more than just ruffled!

Swampland north of Lally

Approaching Lally Homestead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INKnnZ2Gu1g

Black Creek

McParlan House (1814)

Threading our way through the swamps

Gnarled trees and icy reflections

The final beaver dam

Reaching our destination

Our route

Contours

The End-to-Enders

Sat. 7 January:  The End-to-Enders

The End-to-Enders:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZYa_KfLTtM

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

Don’t confuse these energetic hikers with the characters in the long-running British soap opera – except perhaps that we ended up at the local pub for a few drinks afterwards!

If you are looking for a challenge, try the winter end-to-end.  This month and next, hikers will be walking or snow-shoeing for over a hundred kilometres along the central section of the Rideau Trail in eight stages, regardless of the weather.

It started today in Westport.  On a crisp, sunny morning, with temperatures below minus fifteen Celsius, thirteen strong walkers assembled.  You can imagine that the early pace was brisk, as we headed southwards up Concession No. 9 road from our starting point on the west side of Westport Sand Lake.

The road walk was fast and easy.  Then we turned off onto the trail.  Here we had expected to need snow-shoes.  But we completed our entire walk, of over thirteen kilometres, without them.  The freezing rain of the past week had made the snow hard and crusty, so we simply walked on the packed snow.

This section of Rideau Trail not only has quiet side roads, remote woodland, and lonely farms.  It also has a ferry.  Of course, at this time of year, our three-person ferry was encased in ice, so hikers chose to step carefully along the beaver dam, or stride boldly across the frozen lake.  Luckily either route worked.  Our final stroll beside the old stone house at Bedford Mills was a scenic end to what had been a surprisingly straight-forward walk.

But that’s easy for me to say.  I wasn’t planning to get up early the next day to do another long hike in sub-zero temperatures along the rugged Westport Mountain – which is why we consider the Winter End-to-End to be the ultimate Rideau Trail challenge.

A frigid morning

Crossing west end of Sand Lake

In a frosty hollow

Striding down McAndrews Road

The frozen ferry

Ups and downs

Another up!

Sun already past its peak

Bedford Mills

Our 13.4 km route

Statistics

Porcupine Path

Thurs. 5 January:  Porcupine Path

Anyone at home?

On our trail today were two luxury porcupine mansions, with plenty of signs that the residents were at home.  Both sites were located in very old maple trees, where the leaning trunks had been excavated to create a large entrance.  No doubt inside there was plenty of room for the whole family.

Our 4.5 km snowshoe adventure today was a newly created circuit around our friend’s woodland, crossing swamps and ridges – a route only possible when the ground is either dry – hardly ever – or frozen and snow-covered – as today. 

The crusty snow showed signs of passing animals, but we saw none.  Even the porcupines were staying indoors – at least until dinner-time I suppose.

Making a Start

Mon. 2 January:  Making a Start

Making a start on 2017

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

It’s not that easy.  New Year’s resolutions are made to be broken.   

Making new tracks along the Rideau Trail

But a start had to be made on this year’s hiking adventures – and what better day?  Cloudless, no wind, an untouched snowy trail.  We snow-shoed for about four kilometres along the Rideau Trail northwards from Long Lake Road to Powers Road, a mixture of woodland and open fields, then through the mica mine area, full of dangerous holes partly hidden by the snow. 

The friendly farmer, who invited us to park in front of his home, told us that he had seen nobody on the trail for a long time.  The unbroken snow was proof of this.  We added to the enjoyment of the day by stopping at regular intervals to hammer new signs into trees, or to heft a few icy branches to the side.  We knew that, in a few weeks, the speedy end-to-end winter hikers would be travelling this way, and so wanted to clear the tracks ahead of their path.

Off to a good start

A couple of hours in this magical winter world was the perfect way to get things started this year.  After another stellar year in 2016, with over 1,270 km travelled, there are no predictions for the current year.  We’ll just see what happens.

Going Round in Circles

Sun. 20 November:  Going Round in Circles

First signs of winter on the trail

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

If it felt like we were going round in circles, it was because we were!  But by design.

There are several loops available to the hiker at Foley Mountain Conservation Area, and we explored three of them today.  They’re not really circles, but more like irregular loops.  They all pass through this spectacular escarpment country above the Rideau Lakes. 

Today we started out on the Rideau Trail, stopping at the plaque where, exactly forty five years ago this month, the Rideau Trail was born.  From there we continued eastwards down to the swimming beach.  This was no day for a swim.  The snow was quickly settling on the ground, and the waters of Upper Rideau Lake merged into a swirling misty back-drop.

We climbed the escarpment through the bare trees on a narrow, slippery trail, making two more loops before returning to our cars.  Along the way we stopped at Spy Rock, where somewhere below us in the mist lay the village of Westport. 

The wind was gathering pace in the treetops above us.  It was time to drive carefully home and settle down in front of a warm fire with a hot drink.  Winter seemed to have arrived a little early this year.   

The Rideau Trail at Foley Mountain

Woodland pathway

The Rideau Trail plaque:  celebrating 45 years this month

No day for a butterfly

The swimming beach

Climbing the escarpment

Westport hidden in the mist below Spy Rock

Going round in circles!

Charleston Lake Trails

Sun. 13 November:  Charleston Lake Trails

Perth on a beautiful November morning

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

It was a busy scene at the Park gates:  cars arriving, hikers meeting each other.  Finally we had a group of around thirty walkers, mostly from Kingston, but also Perth and Ottawa.  There were too many of us for one group, so we divided into two teams, heading in opposite directions around the Tallow Rock Bay Trail.

Charleston Lake Provincial Park is a popular summer camping destination.  The lake is huge and has several islands and bays to explore.  At this time of year, the gates are closed, but the trails are still open for hiking.  This trail is the most demanding one, heading north through rugged woodland, not far from the lake, before looping back, further inland, to the start.  There are a couple of side trails leading to wilderness campsites beside the lake, and one exciting floating bridge.

It takes more than a stroll.  There didn’t seem to be any flat sections, until the meadows near the end.  We were either climbing wooded slopes or scrambling down through rocks.  The elevation contour tells the story.

For mid-November, you couldn’t imagine a more perfect day for a hike:  sunshine, southwest breeze, temperatures around 10C and dry under foot.  The trail was often a deep carpet of leaves.  Despite our group numbering around twenty, we were well matched and made steady progress along the roller-coaster route.  Our lakeside stops at Bob’s Cove and Tallow Rock Bay were highly scenic.

But of course, for the Passionate Hiker, the highlight was the Slim Bay Bridge.  It might have been about a hundred metres across, on a series of floating pontoons, strung together to cross the entrance to a long, narrow inlet of Charleston Lake.  This bridge had been closed for over a year, but was now open and safe to use.  The breeze caused ripples across the surface of the lake, which shone brightly under the low sun.

As an encore, we took a detour up to Quiddity Lookout, with fine views across the lake to the low ridge of Blue Mountain to the south.

The Tallow Rock Bay Trail takes more effort than most of the Frontenac Loops, which we had been tackling over the past two months.  It is worth that extra energy.  And if you’re lucky enough to walk it in the company of a group of experienced and friendly RTA hikers, and on a day such as this, then you’ve created another special hiking memory. 

Charleston Lake Provincial Park

Echoes of a busy summer on the lake

Our hike leader describing an interesting tree

Following a ridge northwards

Bob's Cove wilderness campsite

Charleston Lake from Bob's Cove

The Slim Bay Bridge (designed to allow canoes through)

Looking back up Slim Bay

Silver waters

On the trail

Tallow Rock Bay

Returning south through the woods

Quiddity Lookout

Waiting for that first snowfall

The route

A roller-coaster thirteen and a half kilometre trail

Returning to Perth after another great trip