The Cataraqui Trail (2): Lombardy to Portland

Sun. 3 May:   The Cataraqui Trail (2):  Anglican Church Road, Lombardy to Cedar Valley Road, Portland (The Last Spike)

An appropriate discovery on an abandoned railway line

What could be more fitting than finding a rusty spike on an abandoned railway line?   Given that this line was closed over thirty five years ago, it was an unexpected discovery by one of my observant hiking colleagues.  This may well have been literally the “last spike”!

Walking along a flat rail-bed might sound a little ordinary, but when you can chat to someone who remembers the time when trains rumbled down this line, everything comes alive.  Two of my fellow hikers shared their memories of walking the rails by their cottage, which shook as trains passed by.

The pictures will tell the story of today’s walk.  It was a beautiful spring day, with the leaves popping out as we travelled along.  As usual, there was plenty to enjoy.  We saw a few red trilliums as well as small white-petalled flowers whose name I cannot recall.  Someone called them “spring beauties”, which sounded appropriate. 

This section of the Cataraqui Trail was mostly straight, passing through the woods, beside fields, paralleling the busy highway for a while, across swamps, through low rock cuttings.  The scenery changed all the time.  The one slight right-hand bend in the trail came almost as a surprise.

It was a warm day for a stroll, and a lunchtime stop in a shady corner was welcomed.  We hiked just short of fifteen kilometres today, and were now over twenty three kilometres from Smiths Falls – but a long way to go yet. 

As we travelled towards the Canadian Shield country, the anticipation was growing.  What other relics of the old railway might we discover along the way?

Note:  single-click on the first picture above to scroll through the photos separately


Statistics: 

Total Distance:         14.8 km (hike)

Height Gain:             30 ft.

Time on Trail:           3 hrs. 43 mins.

Start:                           9.51 am

Blanchards Hill Rd:   10.38 am

Bass Road:               11.35 am

County Road 5:        11.59 am

Km 19 (lunch):          12.17 pm

Cedar Valley Rd:       1.34 pm

Temp:           +19C rising to +25C

Weather:       Cloudless, warm SW breeze

Setting out from Anglican Church Road

Posts every kilometre mark distance from Smiths Falls

Spring has arrived in a hurry

Signs of a battle

Trailside geocache

This is also the Trans-Canada Trail

Summer-like scene

Otter Lake, right beside busy Hwy 15

A low cutting

Turning point for a recent Wednesday hike

Striding southwards

Chipping away at the kilometres

Crossing a swampy lake

Terrible photo of a beautiful red trillium

On track

Someone called these "spring beauties", but they must have a real name?

At Cedar Valley Road, looking back up the trail

Cedar Valley Road: our end-point for today