Hike # 16, October 23, 2011

Hike # 16

Date – October 23, 2011
Location – Map 14, Boston Mills
Distance – 14.7 km
Total Trail Distance – 150.8 (743.2 to go)
Hikers – Steve, Simon, Dean, Marlene and Benjamin (Annette and Sean join us for the first part – and Roxy)
Start – 38.4 Toronto Club - Walking Fern Side Trail, Terra Cotta
End – 3.2 Caledon Hills Club - Caledon Trailway Link Side Trail
Direction – North
Weather – Warm and bright.
Details – We sleep well, and wake up late. There is frost on the ground but the sun is shining. Ron comes to say good-bye before he leaves for work. We have bacon and pancakes for breakfast, and then join Annette and Sean at the house for coffee. Sean and Annette decide to accompany us for the first part of the hike.

According to the map, we expect to head north through the Terra Cotta Conservation Area, but a re-route means we end up heading in a more easterly direction along the Terra Cotta side trail on the converted rail line. At Brick Lane, near the abandoned brick works chimney, Annette and Sean realize their return vehicle is now a long ways away, so they decide to strike off for home along Brick Lane where they will use Sean’s motorcycle to retrieve Annette’s car. We munch on Chudleigh’s apples (thanks Ron!) and bid them a grateful farewell for their kind hospitality and good company.

The weather is warm, the terrain is easy, and we make good time for the rest of the hike. Ben and Simon find a fallen log that makes a perfect teeter totter. Steve and Dean try it out too – much to Ben and Simon’s delight.

Because it’s a beautiful weekend there are tons of people on the trail, and we are disappointed that a pair of re-routes to avoid a quarry mean that we don’t get to hike through the Cheltenham Badlands. Steve and Dean decide that they’re worth a stop when we next resume hiking in the area. Dean, who cares a lot about these things, says in the future he will always check for re-routes online – before we head out.

We arrive back at Leslie Hill and pack up the trailers to head for home. We are all glad that we can successfully manage 25 kilometres on back-to-back hikes, because if we are going to make it all the way to Tobermory by 2015, we still have a lot of ground to cover.