The passionate hiker

The passionate hiker
Early days in the outdoors

Thursday, December 31, 2015

A Record Year

Thurs. 31 December:  A Record Year


Near Narrows Lock, south of Perth 
Note:  single-click on the first picture above to scroll through the photos separately.

It was a record year!

During 2015 I went on 153 separate outdoor trips.  Statistics for the year were:
Dist. hiked:              796 km
Dist. biked:              658 km
Dist. XC ski:              21 km
Dist. snowshoe:        62 km
Total Dist.:            1,537 km
Total height gain:   18,800 ft. (est.)
Time on Trail:        362 hours

I surprised myself this year by easily beating my previous record for distance travelled.  Perhaps it should not have been a surprise, since I now had “free reign” of my time.  If the winter had arrived a little earlier, I might have set a new record for snow-shoe and ski, but I was pleased enough to have smashed the previous figures for hike and bike.

What a great year it had been in the outdoors.  There were many highlights, a few of which are captured below.

Cataraqui Trail:  This trestle bridge
is now an earth embankment
With an enthusiastic team of fellow hikers, I walked the full length of the 104 km Cataraqui Trail (the old rail line), from Smiths Falls to Strathcona, in eight legs, between April and November.  During the year I made several other journeys along this trail, by bike or on foot.  Total distance travelled on the Cataraqui Trail was 236 km.




A tricky stretch of the K&P
I biked the entire length of the old K&P railway line, between Kingston and Renfrew, in nine stages – and since this was a solo adventure, I did the journey there and back, a total of 345 km.  It was not all plain sailing.  At one point, north of Tichborne, I waded for over a kilometre through a murky swamp, the bike wheels under water.









Enjoying the Rideau Trail
There were fifty-two separate hikes along the Rideau Trail, forty of them for maintenance purposes.   Every trip along the Rideau Trail reminded me how fortunate we are to have this delightful resource right on our doorstep.






Algonquin:
Rock Lake from Booths Rock

I made good use of Ontario Provincial Parks, particularly Murphys Point (eleven trips, at all times of the year), Frontenac (three trips), Charleston Lake, and three busy days in Algonquin, where I went on ten different adventures by bike and on foot, totalling 79 km.








Bruce Trail:  Old Baldy lookout
In October with our hiking friends we stayed at a resort on Georgian Bay and explored parts of the 890km Bruce Trail, clocking up 37 km on four enchanting hikes in the Blue Mountains, clambering up escarpments and down through crevices in the cliffs.







Calabogie:  skiers and hikers
 (Gatineau Hills on far horizon)
Less than an hour’s drive north of Perth are the Calabogie ski hills, and these made for some good rugged adventures by foot or snowshoe on five separate occasions during the year.  Who says Eastern Ontario doesn’t have any hills?



Tay River in Perth
There is plenty of good walking in and around the Town of Perth, and I enjoyed exploring the streets of the town, the wildlife reserve, and the Tay Valley, on fourteen occasions.





Striding out onto Lower Rideau Lake
In addition to all this, I visited many other places to walk or bike during 2015.  Closer to home were trips to several wonderful Conservation Areas, including Mill Pond, Foley Mountain, Goodwood Marsh and Meisel Woods.  Further from Perth I hiked in Gananoque and Ottawa, and biked the Long Sault Parkway along the St. Lawrence River.  During the winter months I joined organized hikes on Otter Lake, and Lower Rideau Lake, striding far out onto the ice. 

Montreal from Mont Royal
Finally, the year was capped by a walk up beautiful Mont Royal above the city of Montreal on Christmas Day - a repeat of a hike I did forty-six years ago on my first visit to that city as a young student.





At Wheelers sugar bush
Joining the Rideau Trail Association (RTA) has transformed my outdoor experience.  In previous years, I would mostly travel alone, it being difficult to find fellow hikers.  Now, thanks to the RTA, most of my hiking has been in the company of many kindred spirits, making the whole experience that much more enjoyable.  We have had a lot of fun on the trails in 2015.  Even trail maintenance can be enjoyable when you are part of an organized “maintenance day”, and the hiking trip to the Wheelers sugar bush proved to be an excellent reason for a gigantic plate of freshly cooked pancakes and maple syrup.  And for the moonlight hike in November, an enthusiastic group of hikers was treated to a cloudless sky with a rising moon, Orion reflecting in the dark lake…..and hot chocolate!

After seven years of keeping statistics of all my outdoor adventures, I have decided not to continue doing so.  This had been a record year, and therefore a good time to stop measuring every trip.  It has been an amazing seven years, as the table below will show.



Never fear!  The Passionate Hiker plans to continue to head outdoors for many more adventures, as long as he is able to put one foot in front of the other.

See you out on the trails.


A younger Passisonate Hiker
Forty years ago on Hallival, Isle of Rhum, Scotland


Monday, December 28, 2015

Winter Storm Warning

Mon. 28 December:  Murphys Point Trails


Murphys Point ski trails all ready for the first winter storm of the season

Everything’s ready for winter.

The signs are in place, with the trails marked to show the different routes for classic and skating skiing.  There are even signs showing the separate snowshoe trails in the park.  And the temperatures are now firmly sub-zero.  But so far there’s no snow.

This will all change in a few hours.  A large winter storm is heading our way from the US mid-west, and there’s a warning issued for heavy snow overnight.  So by the time the reader sees these pictures, the scene will look very different.

I strolled around Murphys Point Provincial Park today on a roughly clockwise, but largely random, route as the map shows.  A biting easterly wind was blowing across the lake, and temperatures were around minus nine Celsius.  The hazy sun was gradually being swallowed up as the clouds started to build from the southwest. 

The ski club has done a great job preparing for the season, and this beautiful campground with its thick carpet of leaves will be transformed overnight into a spectacular winter paradise for cross-country skiers. 

Grab your skis and head out there tomorrow.  The trails are ready.

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

Statistics:
Total Distance:         7.5 km (hike)
Height Gain:            Say 60 ft.
Max. Elev:               158 m (518 ft.)
Time on Trail:         1 hr. 39 mins.
Access Gate:          10.42 am
Point Trail:              11.42 am
Ret. to car:             12.21 pm
Temp:                     Minus 9C
Weather:                 Hazy sun, clouds moving in, snowflakes

Minus 9C and a cold wind across the lake

Ski trail signs all set

This scene will look very wintry 24 hours from now

Clouds building from the southwest

Eve of the storm
My route wandered through the Provincial Park


Wednesday, December 16, 2015

A Dam Nuisance

Wed. 16 December:  The Rideau Trail: Ghost Town and Red Rock


Following blue and orange routes today

This was our final “official” hike of the year – and what an enjoyable short trip it was.

The Big Rideau North Shore Road is narrow and twisting, and luckily at this time of year free of any traffic.  It made an exciting access route to the start of our hike.  There’s a handy place to park cars at the lonely Cooper Drive junction.

We followed the Rideau Trail along Cooper Drive - a leafy track - before taking the overgrown side trail to the “ghost town”.  One of the two buildings still stands – just.  It’s a two-room farmhouse open to the elements, its roof draped with fallen tree branches.  It might make a shelter from the rain, but it’s a mess inside.  Nevertheless the tumble-down building made for a good group photo by the front door (or doorway)! 

Someone spotted the remains of a doormat.  At one time, long ago, this was, we think, a working farmhouse.  Beside the house is a swamp which may have once been a lake.  It felt more forlorn here than ghost-like.

Returning to the Rideau Trail, we continued eastwards to the large swamp, where, as feared, the beaver dam was not safe for a crossing.  The water was flowing through a gap in the middle of the dam, which was soft underfoot.  This particular dam has become a bit of a nuisance to Rideau Trail hikers, and seems to be getting harder to negotiate every time we visit. 

Making a note to return in January or February when we should be able to cross the ice here, we turned around.  But given the unseasonal weather this year, even that might not be a safe bet.

We enjoyed the conversation and the company as we strolled through the woods.  In no time we were back at our cars.  As an extra bonus, we drove further along North Shore Road to Red Rock.  This large granite rock, sitting beside Big Rideau Lake, is a “hidden gem”.   It has been protected for all time under the Rideau Waterway Land Trust. 

A few snowflakes drifting by, and temperatures inching towards zero, were a reminder that winter cannot be very far away.  Bring it on – we’re ready!

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

Statistics:
Total Distance:         4.9 km (hike)
Height Gain:            Negligible
Max. Elev:               153 m (502 ft.)
Time on Trail:          1 hr. 29 mins.
Cooper Dr.:              9.36 am
Ghost Town:           10.03 am
Beaver dam:           10.29 am
Ret. to cars:            11.05 am
Temp:                     Zero rising to +2C
Weather:                 Sunshine, clouds, fleck of snow, no wind.



Ghost Town Gathering

Impassable beaver dam

Recent beaver activity beside the trail (the tree-trunk has been dragged away).

Big Rideau Lake and Trout Island from Red Rock

Red Rock looking more green than red

Our route

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Summer in December

Sat. 12 December:  Foley Mountain Lookouts


"Summer in December"

In Australia they have a custom called “Christmas in July”, which I guess celebrates the coldest part of their year.  Here in Canada this year, we seem to be celebrating “Summer in December”. 

Today we took advantage of this unseasonal weather to explore the various lookouts along the Foley Mountain ridge.  We saw four lookouts along our path, all very different. 

Beaver Pond Lookout is a short stroll from the parking area, and is a low, rocky promontory above the small lake, surrounded by the trees.

Crossing the Westport-Perth road we followed the Rideau Trail westwards along the escarpment and down to Lions Beach on Sand Lake.  From here we climbed up the steep slopes, through the woods, back up onto the escarpment.  Along the way we stopped to admire an active beaver pond, hidden in the trees.  Behind the pond, rising above the forest, was a tall metal tower with a tiny platform at the top, which might be used, we supposed, as a fire lookout.  It was not on our route and it would not have been accessible anyway.

Old Bob’s Lookout is a rocky clearing in the trees, just below the top of the ridge, and gives superb views southwards across Sand Lake.  We basked in the warm sunshine, enjoying our lunch, taking full advantage of this unseasonal weather.

Retracing our steps back to Foley Mountain, we stood high above Westport on Spy Rock, the most spectacular of the Foley Mountain lookouts.  There was a large flock of ducks on Upper Rideau Lake. 

Spy Rock is geographically the high point of the Rideau Trail, and a magnificent place to end our “summer stroll”, with Christmas now less than two weeks away.

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

Statistics:
Total Distance:         8.4 km (hike)
Height Gain:            Say 600 ft.
Max. Elev:               215 m (705 ft.)
Time on Trail:          3 hrs. 37 mins.
Foley Mtn parking:         9.36 am
End Beaver L. loop:       9.55 am
Lions Beach:                10.33 am
Old Bob’s L/O:              11.17 am
Lions Beach:                 12.15 pm
Spy Rock:                       1.01 pm
Ret. to cars:                    1.13 pm
Temp:                      +6 rising to +9C
Weather:                 Hazy cloud, sunshine, no wind, warm

Warm-up  loop on Foley Mountain

Beaver Lake lookout

Heading west from Foley Mountain along the escarpment

Dropping down to Westport Lions Beach

Lions Beach beside Sand Lake

Westport from Old Bob's Lookout

Balancing act

Possible result!

Warm, sunny lunch spot above Sand Lake

Watercolour reflections

Beautiful woodland trail below Foley Mountain

Spy Rock

Westport from Spy Rock

Sand Lake and Old Bob's Lookout up to the right




Sunday, December 6, 2015

Woodland Wonder

Sun. 6 December:  The Rideau Trail: Ferrier/Mackler Loop


One-eyed guardian of the woodland

This section of the Rideau Trail contains some of the grandest woodland and tallest trees along the entire route.

There’s a beautiful Christmas carol whose first line is: “I wonder as I wander out under the sky”.  This was actually written as a folk hymn in 1933 by American composer John Jacob Niles.  One day while in Appalachian North Carolina he had heard a young girl sing the melody, and thus the tune was born.

On such a perfect day for hiking, we wondered whether Christmas could really be only nineteen days away.  There might have been a cool wind in our faces, but the sun shone warmly and there was no snow or ice on the leaf-packed trail. 

We stopped to admire the many large trees along the way, and wondered how old some of them might be.  There was the well-known guardian of the forest, with his one long arm held perfectly horizontal.  There was also a huge double-trunked tree which had fairly recently toppled.  One trunk was being held up by nearby trees, and the other trunk lay on the ground, forming an ideal seat for several hikers.  Here we enjoyed our “elevenses” (early!).

While crossing the swamp on the long boardwalk, we saw stacks of newly cut tree branches, and wondered whether the beavers had once more returned to the area.

This might be the finest loop walk in the Perth area.  Even the road portion is a pleasant stroll along silent country lanes.  Our small party of four also wondered what had happened to all our hiking friends today!

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

Statistics:
Total Distance:         9.0 km (hike)
Height Gain:            Say 60 ft.
Max. Elev:               173 m (568 ft.)
Time on Trail:          2 hrs. 26 mins.
McLaren Road:         9.14 am
Ferrier Road:          10.54 am
Ret. to car:              11.40 am
Temp:                     +6C
Weather:                 Clearing, slightly hazy, cold S. wind


Crossing the ford on McLaren Point Road

The RTA footbridge below the hunters camp

Magnificent woodland trail

Our Country Seat (elevenses!) - plenty of room for our small team

Admiring the trees in the heart of the forest

"I wonder as I wander out under the sky"

At the boardwalk...

...where it seems that the beavers have returned

Deer jawbone

Green grass and sunshine in December!

Approaching Ferrier Road through the trees

Low sun and long shadows...

...and some friendly neighbours

Striding down McLaren Point Road at a good pace



A wider perspective of this 9 km hiking loop, showing nearby Otty Lake