We had not been looking forward to this hike considering
most of it was along the road and we were concerned about the heat. Three of us started out at just past 9:30 (our
fourth, Nancy was absent as she was feeling under the weather). As it turned
out, the day was quite warm, but not overly humid, and there was a cool breeze off
Georgian Bay in the distance that kept us comfortable. Thanks to another re-route we hiked along quiet
gravel roads instead of Hwy 26. The benefits
of a road walk became apparent when we finished the 14 km in a quick 3 hours
and 25 minutes including a snack and lunch break!
We were in the bush for a short part of this stretch and it
became apparent that the mosquitos had finally arrived. We doused ourselves in bug spray and Valerie
and Karen donned their bug nets. I toughed
it out as the mosquitos were not pestering me overly much.
The views along the way were lovely. Fields that stretched
for miles and beautiful blue skies. After
we finished, we treated ourselves out to an early supper (2nd lunch) on the outdoor patio at MudtownStation. Afterwards, we walked along the
waterway reading the plaques along the way which provided some information about
the history of Owen Sound.
Although we prefer the forest walks, we were pleasantly
surprised by how enjoyable this hike was.
A good lesson as we really do not know what lies ahead – stay present!
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It is difficult to take a distanced selfie! |
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Long road ahead |
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Blue skies and sunshine |
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Chicory |
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Escarpment in the distance |
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Finally into the woods where it was cooler, but lots of mosquitos! |
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Through the long grasses |
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Leopard frog |
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Musk Mallow |
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Freighter - Owen Sound |
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Big propellor |
