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. 

Hike #45 - October 2 2021

From IG: Hike #45 20-ish km in Dufferin Hi-lands, including some sidetrails and accidentally going the wrong way after I stepped off trail for a snack. I recommend checking for organized hikes in the section you're doing, otherwise you might end up sharing the trail with 100 people. Did I mention that I really needed this to be a solo hike? Snacked beside Boyne Creek on a side trail: blue blaze tattoo featured. Lots of birds - jays, hairy woodpeckers and a lone grouse as I crested a hill, barefoot and shirtless. Hills aren't getting easier, dammit. Went wading in the Boyne River. I make a point of putting my hands in each river, creek or stream to say thank you to the water.

Back to solo hikes. My hiking buddy is in a new relationship and my attachment style tells me to write him out as a factor. I'm trying to heal but it feels impossible. 

Again, a sunrise start. When I first get out of the car in shorts, I start shivering, so I pull on my post hike leggings for warmth and tie a bandana around my neck. This is the last time I'll see this bandana, as it will get lost in the laundry within a few days. I'm unnaturally sad about it; I remember buying it for Nathan. I remember putting in around Annie's neck. 

4 km total of road walking on this hike. 

And then into Boyne Valley Provincial Park.

The video of this is incredible and it's on my tiktok.

Look, farmland!

Here's the side trail snack spot, featuring side trail tattoo. I keep on putting positive messages on my body in the hopes I'll start believing them. You'll see my new tattoo at the end of this post. 

My phone is shit at picking up the red in photos. This is more beautiful than it looks. 

The greens are really good. 

Here's me shirtless, trying to remember how I used to wink before a dude made a big deal about it. I need to reclaim winking, and I said so much in a FB post lamenting that I did not talk to the cute person at the No Frills, even tho we smiled at each other under our masks, and then with our actual faces out in the parking lot. I have ZERO GAME. 

Oh, I went barefoot. I figured out that the part of my foot that was bothering me was a piece of glass from a kitchen incident 6 weeks previous, and I dug it out of my foot when I got home. 

Hey, I'm all done and I'm back at my car. Tired but good

Ok, from IG: Tagless underwear is great until you're 3 km in and realize they're on backwards. Stripped down on the trail to reverse them. Came home and labelled them

Here's that tattoo I mentioned

Stats:

starting near marker 13.3

ending near marker 23.8

total hiked today: 10.5 km x 2-ish since I did the Boyne Valley side trail, Boyne Creek Side trail, Mulmur Lookout side trail

total Bruce Trail hiked since starting: 467.1 km

Hike #44 - September 19 2021

From IG:

Hike #44 Back to Beaver Valley to finish it off and get 3 km into Sydenham. Just 4 C as I drove north but a perfect temp by the time we were an hour in, warm enough for shorts and a tank. An easier hike than the rest of Beaver Valley in terms of hills, but gets pretty technical with what I think of as 'puzzle rock'. Stellar find of a scattering of porcupine quills! Webwood Falls! Cows! Hit the milestone of 450 km on this hike, so 50% complete. 5 sections done, with 2 more in progress.

Big Day! We're finishing Beaver Valley today! And I figure I'm passing the 50% mark on this hike as well.

We had to stop and talk to these cows, of course. 

The falls are perfectly protected from people. I think it makes a difference when they are located in nature reserves. There's been an effort to protect the nature from the people. Either that or we just didn't see anyone because of the early hour. 

Just a shot of a shadow of a fern on a rock. You know, Very Bruce Trail. 

Here's that puzzle rock. It makes you slow down and consider where you place your feet and your poles. 

This was a pretty spot at the edge of farm marked with a headstone. 

Finished Beaver Valley at this point.

Porcupine quills. I brought home a clump of fur and quills. Hope the little friend made it out alive. 

My best guess at the half-done spot!

Still not rushing to get home. Rolled into the closest town for gas, which put me on a different route home. I pulled over to admire the sunset and to cry. 

The delayed return had me chasing the moon rise. 

I think I yelled OH WOW when I first saw it. It was a gorgeous sight and made the lonely return home less lonely. 

Stats: starting near marker 102.5 (Beaver Valley)

ending near marker 119. Beaver Valley and 3.1 Syndemham total hiked today: 20.5 km total Bruce Trail hiked since starting: 456.6

Hike #43 - September 10, 2021

I've fallen so far behind in writing these. Focus is at an all-time low. So of course I'm stoned and going to try and catch up on a month's worth of hikes. Will copy and paste from IG and try and round things out a bit. 

"Fall is here. I'm driving in the dark again, and the temp read just 9 C as I headed north to Beaver Valley. Just 17.5            km today and it felt like an easy one with no hills, except a little side trail to the base of a spring. I'm approaching my BT anniversary; I started this on Oct 11/2020. I wondered aloud whether I could hit 50% done by then and turns out I'm just 20 km from the 450 km mark. The Bruce Trail length changes with every re-route but it's about 900 km so I'm just 1 hike away from 50% done, as the plan is to finish up Beaver Valley and start Sydenham with the next hike of...20.4 km. I started this because I wanted to prove someone wrong. Am I winning?" 

Right. Someone said to me that he didn't think I like to be uncomfortable, that I only do small things. Dude. I have whitewater rafting on two continents, travelled solo to the US, South and Central America, and travelled and hiked solo in BC. When I finally realized he was cheating on me and learned that they planned to do the trail as a thru-hike, I remembered that his follow-thru is about 20%. I absolutely intend to roll up to that Northern Terminus (where he lives just 2 km away), take a photo and mail it to him as a postcard. 

Anyway, this started off with this wicked ladder/staircase that I had prepared JC for by sending him photos. I am a good friend who only teased him a little in the lead-up. 

There were mushrooms to poke and moss to pet. 

We made our way down a hill and snacked by a spring. 

I had to shit twice on this hike. That makes it three times total. I don't track this in my spreadsheets, but I should. 

There were good views 

I went swimming afterwards. I didn't notice the 'do not swim - gross water' warning until after I'd gone in, so I went back in for good measure. 

I was in no rush to get home. No Annie there. I could have driven off in any direction and no one would be waiting for me at home. 

Did I think about it? Absolutely yes. 

So I went back to Hoggs Falls to get right down to the base. There's a rope/rock ladder and I went down in sandals on wet rock. Not the smartest, but I have stopped caring. If I'm taken out while on the trail, it would be perfectly appropriate. 

Stats:

starting near marker 85

ending near marker 102.5

total hiked today: 17.5

total Bruce Trail hiked since starting: 420.6 km