Hike #48 - October 30, 2021

I took last week off. And then immediately regretted taking a week off. I just wasn't feeling great in the week leading up to the weekend. Muscles were achy, belly was churning. By Saturday night I was booking a COVID test for Sunday morning (negative result emailed the same day). 

(I've figured out that the physical issues I've had as of late are related to The Depression. FFS)

I've also done the math and realized that I'm going to run out of trail in just a few more hikes. I will finish up Iroquoia and I can't tackle Sydenham during the snowy months, since it's a 2 hour drive, I don't have snow tires and weather is unpredictable. It will be there in the spring, waiting for me. 

I think I'll then tackle the Toronto side trail badge. I can plan some shorter hikes and invite the folks who have been asking to hike with me. Then I'd like to do the Toronto section again, this time to get the non-winter badge. 

So I'm back to Iroquoia. I started it in early February, then picked it up again in late March and hiked here in April before the big lockdown. I did some more trail in August. Now I'm back to it to finish it in the fall. 

For this hike, I put out a call on FB to see if a Hamilton-based friend could shuttle me and someone volunteered. I haven't seen MMT since March 2020 and it's good to see her and her kiddo again. They meet me at my end point and shuttle me - not without Google maps sending us in circle - to my start point. 

And then, I do the same damn thing I did at this section of trail back in August. I go off the paved trail too early and end up heading down this steep hill that is NOT the trail. And this time I fall, rip my pants, and then have to scramble back up the hill in the mud. 

From this angle you can't see that my ass cheek is fully exposed. I figure my backpack will cover enough, that I have a bandana on hand that I can drape over from the waistband, etc etc. Fuck it, I keep going. 

Next up...more mud. Puddles and puddles of trail. And then into a small conservation area where I'm on paved trail. I look over and see this deer friend! You can see how close we were to the highway. As I moved, she took off and when I watched her leave, a stag came out of nowhere and joined her. I'm aware that I should be wearing my orange hat as I hear gunshots in the distance. 

This entire hike will feature water and mud. I'm hiking through Hamilton, known at the City of Waterfalls. I pass by some without taking the extra time to check them out. The trail is soggy and at one point, one appeared to have turned into a waterfall. 

I am laughing at this point, and wishing I had someone to share this moment with. 

Here's Canterbury Falls

This brings me into Dundas Valley Conservation Area. And I am aware that there are people and my ass is hanging out of my pants

Fuck it. I keep going. I know my pack sits low. I know few people are going to be walking behind me. 

If you think my ass was muddy (my underwear were crusted with mud), check out my legs and boots and pack. 

In my excitement to get back on the trail, I had neglected to check for trail changes. And this is a big one, because it makes me off the empty trail and through the suburbs, and then into quaint Dundas

It's not ideal, but it's not a busy road. There aren't very many people out. And Dundas is adorable!

Back on track, I've got a hill to climb to get back to my car and one more waterfall. Oh, but first more soggy trail. 

Back to the car! It's still there (yes, this is a frequent thought...wondering whether the car has been stolen or towed from where I left it). I'm at the top of the hill and snap a pic. I know that I'll be at this spot again in a week and will want a comparison shot. 

I throw my stuff in the car, switch my shoes and mutter about not having a spare pair of bottoms in the car for the first time in 6 months. I wrap my hoodie around my waist to cover my ass and go do some errands, including picking up a bottle of bourbon. 

Documenting the damage is hilarious. I have a large welt on my ass, but also dried mud. I do love some nice bruises on my ass, but this is not my preferred way to receive them. 

Later in the week I end up scrubbing my pack, jacket and hat in the bathtub. And then tackle the boots a few days later. Messiest hike I've done and I loved it. Life is meant to involve getting dirty. 

Stats:

starting near marker 40.5

ending near marker 59.8

total hiked today: 19.3 (plus the re-route)

total Bruce Trail hiked since starting: 518.3 km

Hike #47 - October 17, 2021

 I do enjoy writing about my hikes. I need to find a better way to carve out time a few days after the hike to write about it, so I don't forget the little moments I want to capture. 

I had been looking at 2 more out-and-back hikes to finish Dufferin Hi-Lands, but JC offered to join me, so I was able to finish off this section on a gorgeous fall way with a 20.8 km hike. 

Our end point was the Lavender Cemetery, and we had met here before, as it is close to the Blue Mountain section starting point. Hoping into his car, and setting off, only to have a red fox trot across the road. I hadn't seen a fox since I was a teenager living in the suburbs!

Then at our start point, JC pointed out a juvenile bald eagle. Shortly after, I saw a pileated woodpecker fly by. Such a good day for nature spotting. 

This hike had us alongside water to start off, which is my favorite. I like putting my hands in the water. It's grounding. I just think about the absolute fucking miracle of water, keeping us all alive. 

It's been a month since the Autumn Equinox and it's been a slow move into the fall colors. 

JC is good company, as always, and we end up talking about how we want to go out. We have never talked in depth about our mental health "stuff" but grief and loss are frequent topics. I don't seem to be able to have those convos with anyone else. N turned 16 just a few days before this hike and I'm feeling raw. I'm in a very depressive state that set in in late July and I just can't shake it. When I hear that someone has un-alived themself by jumping off a waterfall on the Bruce Trail, I think...yes, that's the way to go. 

It's raining as we have this convo. Just a drizzle but we had started with blue skies and are now walking under grey sky and clouds. 

Lots of great terrain on this hike. After some dry roads, then into forests with cedars and rocks and roots, we end up on a mud road. So much mud. 

MUD

At the end of this muddy road the trail dips back into the forest for a bit, over a bridge where water runs underneath. We trek back to the source of the water and the water is shallow enough to walk thru it to check out the old bridge foundation that used to be here. 

I have to appreciate a friend who will also take time to play in the water with me, to redirect leaves and rocks to see how it changes the flow of the water.

The blue skies are back as we wrap this up, with a slow walk up a rural road back to the cemetery. It's a slow climb but the sun is glorious and with this, I've finished the Dufferin Hi-Lands section. 6 sections done, 1 half-finished, and 2 more to go. 

Oh hey look...sky mushrooms

Stats:

starting near marker 34.9

ending near marker 55.7

total hiked today: 20.8 km

total Bruce Trail hiked since starting: 499 km!

One Year Anniversary - October 11, 2021

 posted to FB and cross-posted here for the memories

It's my Bruce Trail anniversary! Here's some math!

I did 46 hikes in 52 weeks. Even with stopping for the spring lockdown, there were times I did 30+ km total over a weekend.

I have hiked 473.8 km. I've started hearing that the trail is now 911 km long, in which case I have completed 51.9% of the trail. As the trail moves (land is secured through conservation efforts, property owners rescind permission for the trail to cross their property), the total length could get longer, but probably not shorter.

I have hiked 669.8 km total. Out-and-back hikes means I do the trail, and then I have to get back to my car. This is where side trails come in handy, because you can shorten your return hike. I've taken about 3 dozen side trails.

I hiked on the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox and on my birthday. I have done shirtless hiking in all four seasons. Sorry to the folks who passed me and didn't know where to look.

I have finished 5 of 7 sections: Niagara, Toronto, Caledon, Blue Mountains and Beaver Valley. I have done 63% of Dufferin Hi-Lands and 61% of Iroquoia. I could finish these off in 5 shuttle hikes.

I did 28 out-and-back hikes and 18 shuttle hikes, 4 of those in cabs (once with Annie), and twice where folks picked me up/dropped me off.

Annie joined me for 2 hikes. She set off with me on hike #1 from km 0 and did 10.6 km. She did another 4.9 km with me a few weeks later. Big big thanks to Julian for keeping Annie company while I was off hiking.

I have done 23 hikes (half!) solo, and 23 hikes with friends (thanks Jaye, Meredith, Lindsey, Katherine, Kate and Rob). Thanks for the deep talks and for listening to me swear at hills and stopping to look (and sometimes poke) at nature with me, even/especially the dead stuff. Thanks to the podcasts and playlists that keep me company on those solo hikes. Shout out to Terrible, Thanks for Asking The Moth NPR's Code Switch Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting Criminal: A Podcast This is Love and Sex Outside

I've gotten 3 blisters, 4000 mozzy bites, and have 5 toenails that are just going to be weird now. I've fallen 4 or 5 times and would like to blame being top-heavy. I've gone to 5 physio sessions and 'forgotten' to do the PT home exercises 101 times.

Thanks to everyone else who has cheered me on and told me I look great in photos when I was clearly covered in sweat/grime and had likely cried on the trail at some point. You are all my accountable buddies; I told y'all I was going to do This Thing and because I'm stubborn as fuck, I am continuing to do This Thing

All of these hikes took place on the traditional land of the Wendake-Nionwentsïo, Mississauga, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Ho-de-no-sau-nee-ga (Haudenosaunee), Petun, Attiwonderonk, Anishinabewaki, Wendake-Nionwentsïo and Odawa (no particular order) Source: https://native-land.ca/ #LandBack

#brucetrail #brucetraile2e #ITookMyGriefToTheTrail #fuckinghills

Hike #46 - October 10, 2021

More solo, but there is interest from JC in joining me, so I can potentially finish up this hike in just 1 more shuttle hike. 

I worked this route backwards, since there was a big hill at the end point and I didn't want to have to climb it at the turn-around point. This way I got it out of the way at the beginning, and it would be a downhill as I wrapped up. 

It totally gave off a Sunday Drive in the Fall vibe. 

The dirt road led me to another dirt road while led me to this rural highway. In hindsight, I wish I had been wearing my orange hat, or high-vis vest. Especially when I stopped to snack and pee and a hunter in camo with a crossbow stepped out of the woods. He might have been me pee standing up and would have been pretty confused when I turned around to say hi. 

I hit this portion and thought about JC doing this section on his own, with his fear of these crevices. 

It had rained the entire previous day, which made for wet leaves, squelchy mud and slippery boardwalks. 

It wasn't until the next day that I learned how to switch my phone up so it would capture reds. 

Halfway done and pretty dirty. I will get even dirtier on the way back, hiking thru the mud on the Moss Haven side trail. 

My head gets pretty sweaty. I'm still 2+ weeks way from my bi-monthly haircut. 

Views!

So, I didn't realize how fucking awkward my boobs are with a chest clip. I need these fuckers gone already. 

Had to stop to check out the cemetery. 

Back down this road. This time with traffic, with people looking for the changing leaves.

All done. Dirty, sweaty, stinky.