The Passionate Hiker

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Discovering Richmond

Wed. 9 August: Discovering Richmond

Exploring the village of Richmond

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

That’s it! The final Rideau Trail side trail completed. And all it took was a gentle stroll around the village of Richmond on a glorious summer morning.

Each blue trail has had something unique about it. Today I discovered the enchanting parks which border the Jock River, as well as two beautiful small churches, and a secluded “quiet garden” where a person can go to sit and dream.

The streets of the town are more like country roads, with unpretentious homes, many full of character. Bus stop signs along several streets are a reminder that, however unlikely it may seem, the big city is just over the horizon.

Perhaps most exciting was the discovery of Royal’s Restaurant, the best breakfast destination in Eastern Ontario as far as I’m concerned. They deserve a special mention in this blog.

This was a great way to finish my exciting quest. Now I just need to get the message out to my fellow hikers so that more people can discover the magic of the Blue Trails.

Note: The installation of a new sewer line south of Jock River caused closure of the SE portion of trail last fall. RTA created a “diversion” through the streets north of the river. The construction work will apparently be completed later this year.

We started at St. Philip Catholic Church on a perfect morning

Here the two blue trails diverge

Entering Jock River Park

The McBean Street bridge over the Jock River

The main Rideau Trail passed this way until a few years ago

It's now a beautiful side trail

Protestant roots evident

More riverside parks

Here the trail comes to an end
due to major construction on a sewer line

Reflections from McBean Street bridge

One man's junk.....

Wilderness trails so close to the centre of town

Some wonderful homes

THE place for breakfast. It's on Hwy 10 at Lennox St
There was quite a "dinn" today at this popular eating place!

The Quiet Garden

St. John's Anglican Church

Back to the start at St. Philip Catholic Church

Monday, August 7, 2017

Richmond Blue Trail

Mon. 7 August: Richmond Blue Trail

Part One of a two-part exploration
of the Richmond blue trails

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

Almost done! Just the Richmond blue trails to do.

There are actually several blue trails (Rideau Trail side trails, marked by blue triangles) in the area of Richmond. It is more complicated to work out than one might think – and especially due to some major construction work creating trail closures and diversions in the village. This will take two separate trips.

So today we started with the easy bit. A fairly simple road walk, with a squelchy mosquito-infested section of the main Rideau Trail in the middle, creating a nice circuit of 15.6 kilometres.

Richmond is a small town on the southwest fringe of Ottawa, with limited bus service and new housing areas for commuters. It was founded in 1818 as a military settlement, on the old road from Perth to Ottawa. At one time, the Rideau Trail came right through town, but has since been diverted to the north. These blue trails are a legacy from the original route.

Personally I would vote to have the main trail rerouted through Richmond again, as it would open up some good opportunities for partnering between the RTA and the village.

I would guess that, these days, few people deliberately set out to explore these side trails. They should do. There was plenty to see, as we strolled along the quiet streets of town and out into the countryside – as these pictures will show.

And at the end of our walk, how could we resist a tempting donut at the strategically positioned Tim’s?

This diversion will be explored on our next (and final) blue trail adventure

A historical village

One of four denominations sharing the burial ground
(others being Baptist, Presbyterian, and Catholic)

Leaving the village behind and heading westwards
towards a lonely Canadian Legion building.

Now northwards along Joy's Road - only traffic being this tractor

Some people park their cars in front of their homes.
This guy is into tractors

This little dog had a very noisy bark!

End of the road, approaching the main Rideau Trail

A wet section of the main Rideau Trail, heading eastwards

Almost a painting.
Beside Shea Road heading southwards.

The skies looked a bit weird but it stayed dry.

A reward at the end...

...consisting of a nicely balanced diet.

Sunday, August 6, 2017

Defying the Odds

Sat. 5 August: Defying the Odds

Eleven kilometres along the beautiful Rideau Trail

There was no escaping a drenching today – or so we thought.

The strong westerly wind was whipping up the waters of Upper Rideau Lake as we stood at the trailhead at Narrows Lock. Not a good day for a boat cruise on that stretch of the Rideau Canal. The skies were full of racing clouds, the trees were swaying in the wind, and heavy drops of rain started to fly in the air. We quickly put on our raingear and expected a soaking.

A stormy Big Rideau Lake

But this unpredictable summer weather changed once again and by some miracle we were soon able to put our rain gear away.

Our eleven kilometre journey along the Rideau Trail was an enjoyable mix of lakeside cottage road and wilderness trail. In summertime, there’s not much of a view of the lake, or of the large homes, hidden in the trees. Today, many of the cottage owners were out along the road busily trimming back the undergrowth. This was their “maintenance day”.

Crossing the beaver dam

The only potential obstacle along our route was the beaver dam. Here was another opportunity for a soaking. There were some slippery logs to negotiate, but all seven of us managed it safely.

There is just one place where you can get down to the edge of Big Rideau Lake. It is called Red Rock, and it’s a spectacular setting beside the sparkling waters of the lake. Although only a few steps off the Rideau Trail, its presence seems to be unknown to many walkers. It’s a “must see” for anyone travelling this section of trail.

Red Rock

We arrived at our parking spot on Miners Point Road, where the tree branches were still swaying in the wind. But we had stayed dry. Just a few hours later, another stormy squall raced through town – but it was too late to catch us!

Sunday, July 30, 2017

The Blue Yonder

Sun. 30 July: The Blue Yonder

On the Blue Trails today

Note: click on pictures for full size view.

Two blue loops in one busy day! Now I only have one blue loop to go.

These Rideau Trail side trails, marked with a blue triangle, have been a focus for me this year. Now I’m close to having hiked every one of them. Today, a colleague and I walked over twenty kilometres – and rode an Ottawa city bus!

Our first hike required some logistical planning. This blue trail starts in the middle of the Ottawa greenbelt, and so we had to access the trailhead from the main Rideau Trail. Our start was a shopping mall parking lot on a busy city road (Robertson Rd.) but we were immediately swallowed up in the woodlands that surround the city. The trail had some muddy wet patches at the start, a reflection of this rainy summer.

The so-called Bells Corners blue trail heads generally northeast for eight kilometres, skirting residential areas, crossing over the busy four-lane Toronto-Ottawa highway, with one nice viewpoint across to the Ottawa River and the Gatineau Hills beyond. Down in the fields below us, people were busy picking strawberries. The path was quiet, with the occasional bikers or dog walkers passing by.

A short walk from the end of the trail at Holly Acres Road brought us to the futuristic Bayshore bus station, although most of the buses arriving at the station seemed to have “Out of Service” on their signs. Bus 97 took a scenic route across the western neighborhoods of Ottawa, bringing us back to our car.

It was just a short drive to the trailhead for our next hike. The Lime Kiln loop is a roughly circular walk of nine kilometres. We soon reached the ruined lime kiln, over a hundred years old, which gave the trail its name. The path wandered through an area of new growth forest, which was burned in a fire five years ago, and through pleasant woodland and swamp landscape. The well-marked trail, mostly a wide forest pathway, was quite dry, with just a few wet patches. We saw very few people, but plenty of mosquitos.

It was hard to believe that we were within the capital city of Canada. Distant traffic could occasionally be heard, but our journey took us along enchanting woodland pathways for kilometre after kilometre. We may have been in a city of over a million people, but it felt more like the blue yonder to us.