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!