Toronto Section - Appleby Line/Kelso (0.0 km) to Speyside (11.3 km) - November 28, 2024.

 Toronto Section - Appleby Line/Kelso (0.0 km) to Speyside (11.3 km) - November 28, 2024.



Hiking With Friends was back in action this past week, enjoying a "White Thursday" prior to "Black Friday" in the Toronto Section, where we started from the start on Appleby Line just north of Kelso, and finished up at the popular Pear Tree parking property pursuant to our prearranged planned program...with side trail access (and a small backtrack), our total distance was just over 13 km...





After morning introductions, instructions, and maybe some introspection, we shuttled over to the parking lot at Hilton Falls Conservation Area and prepared for our journey, which is our inclination...there's myself, Barbara (H.C), Doug, Annette, guest hiker Nick, Claudia, Marion, Rhonda, Marleen, Georgia, Bett (hiding?), Faryde, Ivan, and Sandra (Sweep)...









An overnight dusting of snow has provided a quite magical outlook to our initial foray into the frosty forest...transforming the drab, brown November landscape into a shimmering and shiny wonderland...we were shivering a bit at the start, but we shipped off along the famous Philip Gosling Side Trail to access the main trail and then headed southward across Campbellville Road...









I always find it fascinating how this pretty little forest exists mere meters from one of the busiest urban corridors in Canada, Highway 401...we reach the designated border of the Iroquoia and Toronto sections (no tariffs here), and then do a "180" to retrace our steps and start our journey to Speyside...





There's time for a quick bridge photo (the only other span today will not be nearly as picturesque)...and then a pause to contemplate the significance of this seemingly random wooden medallion attached to a tree...a quick internet search shows that it is likely a reproduction of a Mayan calendar, so by my interpretation, we were hiking on...


(the "inca" wasn't quite dry in this photo...)





Some more familiar landmarks further up the path that commemorate the famous founder of this great trail, Dr. Philip Gosling, and the genesis of the B.T in this area...











 It has been a good start to our hike today and after crossing Sixth Line, we are looking at a long stretch of escarpment edge walking with its typical assortment of rocks and roots...there's a quick stop to adjust clothing and take on liquids...













Reasonably nice vistas over Milton (can there ever be enough monster warehouses to keep all our stuff in?) are contrasted by the dystopian view of the immense Dufferin Aggregates Quarry...all construction requires destruction I suppose...










It's time for a short refreshment break as soon as we are far enough away from the noise and mayhem we experienced from that bridge...back to nature...ahhhhh...











Reaching the top end of St. Helena Road means that we have only a few more kilometers to traverse today...







We finish up by travelling through the pretty Speyside Resource Management Area and arrive at the BTC plaque adorned area at Pear Tree Park...and our dropped cars. It's been a very enjoyable November day on the trail and we are grateful to have had a safe and memorable day together Hiking With Friends!


The End



How my feet felt after not hiking for a month...
 


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Peninsula Section - Series #1 Covering from the Start at Wiarton (0.0 km) to Jackson's Cove Rd. (52.0)...with a visit in Sydenham Section to the Bruce's Caves

Image
  Peninsula Section - Series #1- Covering from the Start at Wiarton (0.0 km) to Jackson's Cove Rd. (52.0 km)...with a visit in Sydenham Section to Bruce's Caves - May 27-30, 2024. ---------------------   Day One - Colpoy's Bay (6.6 km) to Bruce's Caves (163.7 km) - May 27, 2024. The Hiking With Friends group was back up north for four challenging days of Bruce Trail adventure as our spring plan to tackle the Peninsula Section got underway...the first of the four hikes was planned from the parking at Colpoy's Bay, through the start of the section in Wiarton, with an added Sydenham Section walk to Bruce's Caves... This 5 hour journey over almost 16 km involved a modest 162 meters of climbing, and was a great introduction to peninsula hiking to those who were up here for the first time, with a chance to meet Wiarton Willy (the concrete statue version) and topped off by a visit to the iconic Bruce's Caves...the weather was threatening, but in the end, we had nar...
Read more

Peninsula Section - Series #3: Covering from Cape Chin South (98.4 km) to The Northern Cairn (163.1 km) - June 23 - 27,2024.

Image
Peninsula Section - Series #3: Covering from Cape Chin South (98.4 km) to The Northern Cairn (163.1 km) - June 23-27, 2024. -------------------- Day One: Little Cove Road (156.4 km) to The Northern Cairn (163.1 km) - Sunday, June 23, 2024. Hike #1 of 5. It was a damp and miserable start to our first hike of series #3.  Joining the hike from Little Cove to the Northern BT Cairn were Andrew, Peter, Muris, Georgia, Barbara (HC), Rita, Laura and Nancy. The sun was shining as we finished the hike at the Northern Cairn. Then off to the ice cream shop for the end of hike treat! The rest of the HWF group arrived for dinner at Ship Wreck Lees.      End of Day One -------------- Day Two : Crane Lake Road (125.4 km) to Dyer's Bay (113.0 km) - Monday, June 24, 2024. The weather was beautiful.  Cloudless, moderate temperature, light breeze.  Perfect for hiking. While the End-to-End group hiked the Main Trail, Michael and Marlene hiked the side trails shown on the Map. ...
Read more

Iroqouia Section - Guelph Line (81.6) to Grindstone Falls (71.2) - April 18, 2024

Image
 Iroqouia Section - Guelph Line (81.6) to Grindstone Falls (71.2) - April 18, 2024.      Thursday's hike was originally posted as a 10.5 km hike, and as you know most of us won't get out of bed for less than 10 km. So, luckily our hike was increased by 3.5 km due to the Dundas Street roadworks expansion.   Stats for the hike say we hiked 13.7 km., with a 250 m. gain in elevation, in 4 hrs and 15 minutes.       We assembled at roadside parking along Guelph Line in front of the stile. Joining in are Steve R. (photos and sweep), Andrew (photos), Frank, Ron B., Nancy, Andrea, Josie, Marleen, Lesley (H.C.), Rita, Laura and Peter.  Travelling to our meet point at Grindstone Falls along Mill St. meant queuing due to road works... We set off at a brisk pace and encounter one of many streams we need to cross. Thursday is bracketed in between rainy days, but we are encouraged as the trail is not too muddy and has pretty good footing... Anothe...
Read more