Day 10 on the Oak Ridges Trail

Day 9 on the Oak Rdges Moraine Trail

Well Skylar and I walked into our favourite county so far..... Hamilton Township. No relation. I have wanted to get to this section for some time and I am excited to do so.. however not on the hottest day of the year so far. Thirty nine on the humidex is a little too hot but in for a penny and in for a pound. Maybe the dog pound.

 

Skylar excited to get started as always.

 

 

A great view and miles to go.

 

 

Birds and bird songs everywhere.

 

 

To the right I thought I was on the set of Teletubbies

 

 

At every turn there was something to notice.... especially for a painter

 

 

 

Red pine and Scotch pine everywhere and blown by the Westwind.

 

 

Rich dark wild Lilacs.

 

 

On February 14, 1791, Hamilton Township was named for Henry Hamilton, who had been lieutenant-governor of Quebec from 1782-85. John Graves Simcoe, lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, advertised in the Philadelphia papers of 1791 offering 200 acres to each emigrant who would take a loyalty oath to Britain and perform settlement duties. Some of these immigrants were loyalists.

Thanks Henry!

 

 

Start to come along the farm fields and rows of spring plantings that only 200 years ago were forests like the ones I have have already come through.

 

 

Skylar and I continue past more fields and vistas but it just keeps getting hotter for Skylar .. she is panting too much for my liking so at the next road I decide to cut it short for her but not before a few more scenes.

 

 

Another great path that invites you to explore.

 

 

Hedgerows of trees shelter you at times from the heat.

 

 

Skylar is done and we have one last look down the road and head back earlier than expected but it leaves more to see for the future.

 

 

On the way home we come through the little hamlet of Baltimore where this mill sits enchantingly off to the side of the road.. Skylar and I go to investigate.

Ball’s Mill began as a carding mill and sawmill in 1842. It was owned and operated for three generations of the Ball family until it was purchased by the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority. In 1988 Paul Rapati bought the mill, saving it from being torn down due to a lack of funding for restoration projects. He is currently working on restoring the mill ....

 

“People go to Europe to see the castles. These old mills are our castles. It’s important for communities all over, not just Baltimore, to keep and restore buildings like this. When things are changing all around us, it’s important to have some continuity.” -Paul Rapati

 

Time to head home water Skylar and soothe the Poison Ivy.

Day 8 on the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail

Today I awoke to rain once again and a half hour drive in that driving rain to find the trail where I left  it the day previous. This tract of forest had close contour lines showing on the map and I was expecting a repeat from the day previous.

 

 

Today I decided to keep it to 5-7 kilometers as I felt a little tired from the long day in the Northumberland Forest.

As I started down the road to the trail it started to clear but mist remained hovering in air.
 

 

Looking north.

 

 

 

Here we go ... tight turns and lots of these markers to keep you on the track.

 

 

Can you see the trail... neither can I

 

 

Again lack of use made it interesting but the trail is well marked... you just have to keep your eyes open for the markers on the trees.

 

 

Patches of sunlight keeps streaming through into a glade.

 

 

Keep at it and you come upon some great trails.

 

 

The rain starts again and puddles form in the tracks ... makes for great reflections.

 

I startle a deer but I am too slow to capture it on film.

 

 

 Artsy shot of the day

 

 

Today is all about taking it real  ....

 

 

Totem!

 

 

Another wildflower ... so small I almost missed it.

 

 

The sun pops out yet again and then quickly disappears.

 

With everything so wet it feels like a West Coast rainforest.

 

 

Out of death springs new life.

 

 

Loved the colours these pine cones made when wet.

 

 

It started to come down in buckets again.. time to move on.

 

 

Soaked and loving it. Natalie asked  me to wear my rain suit but I always found sweating in a rain suit was worse than getting wet from just the rain.

 

 

Natures protection.

 

 

A trail marker that heads me back towards the car.

 

 

This trail has been on my bucket list for a few years .. and hey ... look what I found at the end of the trail..

 

 

The sun pops out one last time to show this blockage clearly on the trail.

 

 

Grassy path along the hedgerows and fields.

 

 

One last view and back to the car.

This hike today on the Oak Ridges Trail was rejuvenating and I ended more refreshed than when I started.

Day 7 on the Oak Ridges MoraineTrail

Well this was a soaker from start to finish. Worked all day with Gerd Untermann  http://www.gerdart.com/Gallery.htm

who is an amazing sculptor who works mostly in wood. When I was at OCA I took sculpture courses but again with most courses there you were teaching yourself. I decided to go and learn from a master.

 

 

Thanks Gerd!

Raining buckets out on the trail today and decided to go on the Uxbridge section since I was in Claremont

 

 

This photo was taken after the run..today I decided to run the trail not sure if it was a big mistake.

 

 

Sheets of rain looking down the trail.

 

 

Keep moving and stay under the canopy of trees was the order of the day.

 

 

Even the wildlife is looking for shelter.

 

 

This section of the forest is my favorite part of the trail so far. Running through the woods it was a mix of hardwood trees within a tract of a pine plantation of mixed bush and fairly open . Here they are allowing the forest to return to it's natural state .... and again so far no fellow travellers.

 

 

Long straightaways and a sheltered canopy of trees.

 

 

Just the right amount of hills which means just the right amount of downhills and then you pop out on Brock road.

 

 

Moving south on Brock Road you follow the hydro poles which gives you some great views of the countryside.

 

 

 

Then you pop back into the forest again for some great scenery.

 

 

Stumbled on a little verdant pond... great reflections and showing the raindrops.

 

 

Everything is so green .. and the rain keeps coming down.

 

Things are so rich and green and the smell of the forest is dank, wet and full of cedar.

 

 

This tree laying down looked sculptural.

 

 

Loved the fungus growing on this dead log... returning it to nature.

 

 

 The forest floor as far as the eyes can see is covered in trillium's... now this is what I have been looking for.

 

This area is a trail reroute and am I Glad it takes you off the roads.

 

Time for the Artsy shot of the day!

 

 

Oh great ... now which way...

 

 

I think it is time to head back.

 

 

Got back soaked, tired and knobbly kneed but had a great time. This section is right around Coppins Corners and is called the Clubine and the Norton tract. I realize as I climbed the stile I crossed the watershed from Duffins creek flowing south to lake Ontario and Pefferlaw brook which heads to Lake Simcoe.