Hike # 17: Hockley (Hilly) Valley

Hike # 17 -May 7, 2016 - 16.7 km 

After being delayed starting our hikes by ice storms and a gallbladder problem (me) we were anxious to get out on the trail and I was determined to not let my Achilles tendinitis delay us any further.

As our drive to the starting point is taking us longer now we decided to head out a little earlier than normal leaving at 6:30 am.

It was a beautiful May morning with sunshine and warm temperatures.  It did not take long before we were peeling off layers.  Normally chilly I spent almost the entire walk in a t-shirt.  Luckily enough there were no bugs, but I think the black flies will most likely be making an appearance very soon. Hopefully we can avoid the worst of them.

I was happy to see the Trillium's popping up over the landscape along with a wild bleeding heart and several other varieties of early spring wildflowers.  The birds were happily chirping away and the trail was a peaceful place to catch my breath and let the stresses melt away.

It was a hilly hike through the Hockley Valley trails, and our muscles were burning at the top of each hill. We were out of breath but noticed that our recovery time after each incline was faster than it used to be.  Though we were tired at the end of the hike it was a good kind of tired that only fresh air and activity can bring.

Tonight we are three tired but happy hikers glad to be on our journey once again.

Off we go on the trail

Hills and valleys

A walk down the road

Cedars along the creek

 A little waterfall

A big ole tree stump

Hiking through rock crevasses 

Trees damaged from the ice storm broken like matchsticks

Valerie blazing the trail

Millions and billions and zillions of Trilliums

Pretty pink flowers

Red Trillium

Wild bleeding heart

Pussy Willow

And finally a well deserved glass of wine  - Bruce Trail style

A Twosome on a Side Trail

Post by Valerie Smith

Sadly Allison was ill and unable to join us on our first hike of 2016. Despite her urging us to proceed on our own, Karen and I agreed that we didn't want continue our planned hikes without her, but we were anxious to get into the bush.  So we decided to walk one of the many side trails that branch off of the main white-blazed Bruce Trail.  Our choice was the Hilton Falls Side Trail, north of Milton on maps 11 (Kelso) and 12 (Speyside).  We added about 6 km of main trail, which we've previously walked, in order to form a full loop, about 21.4 kms. The day was beautifully clear.  We started our hike at 7:50 and ended at 3:00.  We got a close look a turkey vulture perched in a tree, then later tearing at some carrion on the ground, and also a partridge that came banging up from the ground about ten feet from us.  We heard some woodpeckers, and were happy to see a couple of mourning cloak butterflies, as well as some tiny little blue ones!  We loved the signs of spring.  There lots of little white and yellow flowers, which I will leave to Allison to identify from the photos, if possible.   Hilton Falls, the site of a former mill, was stunning.  At Hilton Falls, a campfire was set up and monitored for hikers to warm up by or cook food on as they reach that point -- so welcoming!  Here's hoping Allison is feeling better soon so we can pick up our walks in Mono Mills.

We regret that the pictures I took with my Canon SureShot aren't up to the usual calibre of Allison's photos. 

Note:  I greatly missed being able to hike yesterday.  It was perfect spring weather and  throughout the day I thought often of my two  hiking mates and how they must have been totally enjoying themselves.  I am crossing my fingers that I will be out on the trail as planned next week.  

Off we go!  Missing our partner!

Nice white flowers

Karen looking at a calm pond

Sixteen Mile Creek sparkling

Campfire area at Hilton Falls

Hilton Falls with mill ruins on the left

The main trail runs right through a crevasse

A woodpecker did a number on this tree!

Hike # 16 You Are Here

Hike # 16 - December 6, 2015 - 10 km (more or less).

Today we reached our goal of 300 km for this year after hiking a mere kilometre,  but our intention for the day was to have a nice short hike followed by a celebratory lunch.  Indeed we did just that.

A gorgeous December day had us peeling our layers not too long after starting out.  The only wind was at the top of the hills that we climbed up and down all morning.  The Hockley Valley area is aptly named.

The forest was very quiet today.  Even the birds seemed scarce except the occasional chickadee in the distance.  We did hear a strange sound far off - a deep howl of some sort.  We imagined many a thing that could make this noise.. maybe a bear?  We saw deer tracks but no deer, horse tracks but no horses, but we did pass a few fellow hikers taking advantage of the good weather.

The hike finished quickly being half of the distance we normally walk.  Once finished we found our way to Mono Cliffs Inn for a delicious lunch.

Thank you to Valerie and Karen for being wonderful hiking buddies and cheers to our success on a wonderful hiking season!  More adventures await in the Spring.

The beginning of of the end

Hoses on the maple trees ready for syrup making

Interesting sun flares in these photos

Over the stiles we go

Reaching the peak

Looking at this map we see we have walked a long way since April.
One third of the total distance.

Beautiful birches

Large tree down

Hike # 15 : Hills and Valleys

Hike # 15:  November 15, 2015 - 18.2 km.

During this hike we once again covered three maps - Caledon East, Glen Haffy and Hockley Valley.

We were blessed with a pristine November day. We started out with layers of sweaters plus hats and gloves, and hour by hour shed our layers until we were just in one layer. The trails through this area are lovely and wide without too many rocks to navigate around. The leafless trees allowed us to see far in the distance surrounding us. There were plenty of ups and downs - we would reach the top only to be lead back down to the bottom. Up, down, repeat.

As we set out I knew it was going to be a tough day for me. I was reminded of the importance of being properly hydrated and eating the right foods the day before for stamina. My legs felt like lead the entire way, but I mustered on, drinking all of my water, and grazing on snacks along the way. Physically my body was not cooperating, but I was able to overcome/endure by focusing on the the trail, the beauty that surrounded me and telling myself that I could do it, one step at a time.

We came out of the trail 0.9 km short of our 300 km goal for this season. We will be hiking again (and celebrating) next weekend. Stay tuned!

I am so bad at taking selfies!

Carpeted forest

Karen, can I have some of your energy today?

Lone apple tree

Apples left on the tree

Grand old Oak

There is a good message in the lower left hand plaque :  "Make Today Matter"

Hike # 14 Hills and Horses

Hike # 14: November 1, 2015: 21.9 kms 

This was Valerie's note to Karen and me about the hike she had planned for us this week:

"We'll start at km 6.5 (Creditview and The Grange) and end at km 28.4 on Escarpment Sideroad, between St. Andrew's Road and Mountainview Road. That will be a total of 21.9 km. It will be a 3-map walk -- 14, 15 and 16. Apparently there will be a lot of hills on this hike -- eek!"

Valerie was right.  It was hilly.  My quads and glutes are reminding me of that today.   It was a hike of constantly changing scenery and weather.  There were steep inclines and declines.  One such decline through the Forks of the Credit was steep enough to have a permanently attached wire rope attached to the face of the escarpment.   We enjoyed sunshine in between periods of rain and wind.

For the first time we came upon a closed section of the trail that had not been marked with a suggested re-route.  If you  have ever hiked 20+ km in a day you will know that backtracking is not something taken lightly.  Thankfully Karen's "nothing is stopping me" personality had her looking for a way through the closed off section.  With just a little slipping and sliding (and Valerie learning the splits) we were back on the blazed trail without having to backtrack.

During the long parts of this hike that were along the road I found myself longing to be back on the trail with it's twists and turns.  For some reason I don't like walking along the road where I can see the trail (road) stretch out far in front of us.  I like not knowing exactly where we are going to end up.  I like the changes in the landscape. From open fields, to narrow trails along a deep valley. Up hills and into dark pine and cedar forest to suddenly come in to another forest of nearly bare maple and beech trees with a carpet of wet decaying leaves.

Unfortunately I do not have many pictures that I am willing to share this time. As we set off on our hike and I proceeded to snap pictures as usual it quickly became obvious to me that something was wrong with my camera settings.  Too impatient (and busy walking) to try and find out what was wrong I continued on and only managed a handful of decent shots. The camera will be going in to Henry's for a checkup.

There are a lot of farms with horses in this area.  Of course we had to say hello

This was at the beginning - not a good picture but I couldn't leave it out.