The Passionate Hiker: The Rideau Trail: Skycroft Access (06A) to Bedford Mills (06D)

Thurs. 2 October: The Rideau Trail:

Skycroft (06A+) to Bedford Mills (06D)

Surrounded by the falling leaves (fish-eye shot)

Although the journey on Day Two of this adventure was much shorter than the previous day, it was equally full of challenges and contrasts.

It was another misty morning as I enjoyed a bowl of hot porridge, then set off up the trail through Skycroft campsite. The first section of my route followed the well-marked Skycroft trail system. An odd-shaped building loomed out of the mist. It was the Allan and Ellen Bonwill Shelter, a wooden shelter, open along one side, and equipped with benches along the walls and a handy broom to sweep the floors. It was built in conjunction with the Rideau Trail Association in 1988, but is obviously well-cared-for. A visitors book sat on the bench. What a great idea – there should be lots more such books along the trail for travelers to write in.

I carefully followed the numbered trees, passing trees # 33, 32, 21, 20, 18, 17, 16 and 15! Along the way, lakes and swamps loomed out of the mist: Two Island Lake, Sunken Pond, Allan’s Pond. It was a rugged, almost hilly, wooded countryside, and worthy of a separate visit to explore the many side trails.

Dropping down through the trees, I found myself once again on the Cataraqui Trail, the old railway line. The mist made this an entrancing walk, and with a little imagination one could picture a steam train emerging from the foggy avenue of trees. I had seen several herons, one rapidly disappearing deer, and a few other smaller creatures, but no other people, and sadly no railway engines.

After only a kilometre and a half, I turned north into even more pronounced hill country. The path was damp in places, passing a lonely lake with a modern cabin perched on a hillside above it. The path then climbed towards a high point, reached by a short side trail. Perhaps on a clear day, there might have been a view from the top, above the treetops. There was no view today, just a small cairn on an exposed rock slab.

For the next few kilometres the trail wandered up and down, through thick stands of low bushes, past huge trees and rock outcrops. Finally it dropped down to a more rural valley and turned onto a private track leading to a hidden farmhouse. I felt as if I had just negotiated a lonely mountain range and had come back down to civilization.

The rest of my journey today was along gravel roads: Taggarts Lane, Massassauga Road. On the latter, a few vehicles passed me, but I had it mostly to myself. I passed fields with cattle, above lakes and beside swamps. Finally I heard the sound of speeding traffic. I was back on the Perth Road, just thirteen kilometres north of my starting point the previous day.

Crossing the highway I followed a grassy path to the pretty Anglican church of St. Stephen, where I had left my car. I continued on foot past the ancient grist mill through the tiny hamlet of Bedford Mills, to the point where the trail turned westwards into the woods. This was the end of my hike today.

Two more days will see me completing the southern section of the Rideau Trail. And at the end of the next section, in Westport, is a small bakery which makes very good sausage rolls – not that I needed any incentive to travel this amazing countryside.

Statistics:

Total Distance: 14.5 km (hike)

Height Gain: Say 400 ft.

Time on Trail: 4 hrs. 9 mins.

Skycroft Camp: 7.37 am

Skycroft Access (06A): 7.58 am

Leave Cataraqui Tr (06B): 9.10 am

Buck L Loop Jn (06C): 10.36 am

Bedford Mills (06D): 11.46 am

Temp: Rising to +17C

Weather: Misty, sunny later

RT Completed to Date = 62.6% (= 206.7/330.4 km)

Note: The 1.0 km between Skycroft Camp and Skycroft Access is included in the above total distance, but not in the overall Rideau Trail total distance.