So I make plans for this hike. I intend to drop Annie with KB, hike with a friend and then spend the night with R in Hamilton.
Except he dumps me the night before. Friday the 13th. Just what I needed.
Feelings are inconvenient. I might now have to process the emotionally abusive end to a previous relationship now that I don't have R to distract me.
I decide to go along with the plan to leave Annie with KB, but warn her to hide her dog's kibble this time. Annie is happier where people are and this way she gets to hang with KB and her household.
When I ended my last hike, I didn't think about where I would park to pick up the trail next time. I just hit a road, realized I needed an Uber and got out of there. So with this hike, I need to park close to where I ended last time, hike back to where I left off, and then hike back along the trail.
L has joined me for this hike and we meet at the trail end where she leaves her car and we shuttle (wearing masks because fuck 2020) to the start point. Along the way we figure we've known each other for 12 years and that hardly seems possible, but our kids are 15, so the math works out. It's really hard for me to hear about my friends' kids at times, especially the ones close in age to N. It just highlights the giant loss in my life. This giant tree is beautiful, even/especially bare. I imagine it has seen so much from its spot on the banks of Twelve Mile Creek.
L amuses me as I tell her we need to hike out and back and then join the trail again. I manage to trip going UP a hill and this hurts! Walk it off. Walk it off. Might as well be a life motto. Feels like I've been walking things off since I was an upright human.
All the falls we come across today are dry. It's been dry in Southern Ontario for a few weeks now and all those waterfall chasers are disappointed. A few months previous, at Balls' Falls, I had the honor of explaining to some dude that the reason the falls are dry is because it hasn't rained. He didn't know that rains feed rivers which feed waterfalls. I don't know how we end up losing connection to nature to the point that we don't even know how an ecosystem works.
Yes, this looks like a vulva. #lookslikeasnatch
It's great to have L along as a distraction, as she has a lot going on and is happy to tell me all about it. I think I would have cancelled on myself if this was going to be a solo hike, as I don't really want to be inside my head following being dumped. Even listening to podcasts is hard when my brain just wants to pick apart everything I ever did.
The days are getting shorter and I realize that I'm going to have to start having earlier mornings in order to get in some decent time on the trail. But since I won't be overnighting in Hamilton any longer, at least I know I'll have one weekend morning to laze about in my own bed. Bright side, right?
I'm up to marker 43.6. The Niagara section is 73.5 km. Roughly 33 km to go.
The pandemic is...out of control? I'm looking at a long lonely winter but this project is a good distraction. I have to plan a route, check weather, etc etc. I'm still hiking in just a hoodie and waterproof shell, but I've got thermals ready to go. Really hoping I can be out doing this as long as possible.
After the Niagara section comes Iroquoia. I haven't yet checked out the terrain on the maps, but I expect a lot of hills and I know there are stairs involved. I might skip over this section and do the Toronto section over the winter months and return to Iroquoia in the spring. I realize I also need to collect with the clubs in these areas, as I've been doing this solo and that just isn't a great idea during the winter when there are less people who would find my frozen body because I fucked up along the way.
starting near marker 36 (estimate)
ending near marker 43.6
total hiked today: 7.6 km
total Bruce Trail hiked since starting: 43.6 km
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