Hiking with Friends

  The hike this week was #7 in the Iroquoia Section from Guelph Line to Grindstone Creek. 20 keen hikers joined the hike with balmy temperatures of minus 4 degrees. Lesley (photographer), Georgia, Rita, Frank, Andrea, Dom, Nancy, Donna, Dave, Sandra (sweep), Doug, Rhonda, Barbara (HC), Catherine, Steve (photographer), Frances, Marleen, Renu, Ivan (photographer), Faryde The hike coordinator sets the direction and off we go! There's a fair bit of road walking with the new reroute which found us walking on the sidewalk south on Cedar Spring then down Brant Street and west along Upper Middle to reach the forest trail. We were glad to be back in the shelter of the trees! Shodding in progress!   Doug gets some help putting on his icers! Elevensies rest stop in the warm luxury of the City View Park pavillion.   Perfect spot on a cold winter day! Apologies to Doug for the decision to walk into the SW wind.   Hopefully all is forgiven and the warm indoor eleven...

  Iroquoia #5 -  (Group 2) Sherman Falls to Sydenham Lookout - Jan. 16,2025. So many of us signed up for this hike that Annette, this week's coordinator, split us into two groups of twelve, starting at opposite ends of this lovely hike.  Of course, Annette , leading her group and exercising executive privilege, started at the Sydenham Lookout and descended its monster hill to Dundas, leaving twelve of us to stagger up that hill at the end of the hike.  Hard words were heard. Milling about at Arbatan Road before the official start. Here we go, from left to right, Andrew (photographer), Faryde, Domenic, Doug (Group 2 coordinator, photographer), Ivan (photographer), Nancy (photographer), Brian, Andrea, Rita, Frank, David, and Grace. My ungainly crouch was so that Frank could get something I wanted from my backpack.  I can't remember what.   Frank had just told me that he had seen his first Pileated Woodpecker a week before when this specimen arrived with a lou...

  Iroquoia #5  (Group 1) -Sydenham Lookout to Sherman Falls This week the HWF hike was hike #5 of the Iroquoia section in the Dundas Valley with twenty-four enthusiastic HWF hikers signed up to brave the winter trail.   Annette (HC) split the hike in two groups, starting at opposite ends Group 1 at Sydenham,  and Group 2 at Sherman Falls. Car shuttling was organized at both ends and a rendezvous for elevensies for the entire group in the middle.  Thanks Annette it was a fun hike!  Busy week! Two groups, two blogs! Group 1 hiked from Sydenham Lookout to Sherman Falls, just a little over 12kms.  Lesley (Photographer), Frances, Renu, Barbara, Rhonda, Catherine, Steve, Marlene, Sandra (Sweep), Annette (HC), Donna. Welcome, to those we haven't been on the trail in a while, and to the new hikers joining us for the first time. A bit of dawdling went on  at the coffee shop in  Dundas. Doug and his group of twelve HWF hikers approaching the rende...