Hike #39 - August 8, 2021

I am having big grief. My hiking partner isn't available on the weekends right now, so I returned to the Iroquoia section to have feelings in the woods while distracting myself with podcasts. 

I can see a difference in my face these days, with the Big Grief happening. I don't know if anyone else notices, but there isn't really anyone around *to* notice. I'm very much working on Fake It 'Til You Make It and it's exhausting. 

LJ meets me at my end point to drive me to my start point, where I left off in *checks notes* April. She walks with me for 10 minutes or so, but I'm glad when she leaves so I can be alone. 

This hike takes me through all sorts of Hamilton. 

Some of the scenery reminds me of my lockdown hikes, since I'm going in and out of forest, onto a rail trail, and then on busy roadways. At one point I have to crawl thru fallen trees that are blocking the trail. 

It's a bit confusing at times on the rail trail portions, as blazes are few and far between. When I poke my head into the forest on each side, I can see trails, but no blazes. At least there is some good moss along the rail trail. 

Eventually I come to the Wentworth stairs, which I had been dreading. 

At the top of the stairs I meet some people who are preparing to head down them. We chat and I learn that he is training for the El Camino trail and has signed on to write a book about it, as someone with chronic disability. In the few minutes we chat they both tell me they're queer and they are both really cute, and I get his name. I have zero game when it's 29C. Or at any temperature really. 

This is probably the weirdest portion of the hike. I have a 17th edition of the guidebook and I should look up to see how this section has changed over the years. 

Back into the forest, I can see evidence of encampments and party spots. One spot has the remnants of several naloxone kits. Later on, I come across needles and I don't have anything on me to dispose of them. I shove one off the trail and cover it with a broken bottle. 

This is a good hike for mushroom spotting, and I find ones that I haven't seen before, including oyster mushrooms and this raspberry slime mould. 

There are also a number of waterfalls on this hike but some have been fenced off. 

I overshoot where I've parked my car because I get distracted on a phone call to MEG, who I call to keep my company in the last 10 minutes. It's hot and I'm lonely and have been thinking too much and I know she's always up to distract me. 

In a brilliant move a few weeks ago, I had thrown my swim gear into the car, since the Beaver Valley section is close to Lake Eugenia. Once I get back to my car, I drive down to Van Wagner's beach, awkwardly change in the car (so sweaty!) and go for a quick dip. It feels incredible. I haven't been swimming yet this season and after all the swims last summer, I realize just how much I've missed being in the water. 

This lifts my mood a lot, as does the stop at SAIL on the way home to buy new water bottles (my Nalgene cracked, and my water bladder leaks) and a glasses strap, since my glasses have been sliding off during hikes due to sweat. 

Bonus: Home is only an hour away. Plus this felt like an "easy" 17 km hike, given the amount of pavement. 

Stats:

starting near marker 23.2

ending near marker 40.5

total hiked today: 17.3 km

total Bruce Trail hiked since starting: 361.5 km