Iroquoia - Mount Nemo (87.3 km) to Grindstone Falls/Smokey Hollow (72.2 km) - Dec. 16th, 2021.
Our "Hiking With Friends" experience this week was in the Iroquoia Section. It began at the base of Mount Nemo and took us to Grindstone Falls at Smokey Hollow in beautiful Waterdown, for a distance of 15.1 km (on the map) or 15.65 km (by my Garmin which includes all my wandering).
Our bird's eye view of the route from the NW and its associated elevation profile reveals no major climbs but still required us to "raise our game" by 442 meters from start to finish so we did fight gravity for significant portions of the day. This hike took us roughly 4 hours and 20 minutes to complete, for a decent average pace of 3.6 km/hr.
My selfie skills were put to the test this week to capture all 13 of us in this group photo. The list of friends that gathered together included myself, Muris, Brian, Doug (contributing photographer), Marlene, Barbara, Laura, Steve (our leader), Ron J. (more on him later but finally justifying my use of the surname initial of the other Ron in previous blogs!), Sandra (our sweep), Arpi, Alex, and Ron B. (contributing photographer).
This pre-hike photo (the "milling about" phase of the morning) shows a much larger group than last week and begs the question,
"What circumstances would naturally account for such an increase?"...
We can speculate and choose from a number of reasons:
(a) The unusually warm (+15 degrees) weather on a mid-December morning
(b) The close proximity of this hike to most participants
(c) The opportunity to spend a few hours in nature with good companionship
or
(d) The chance to ultimately appear in a well respected and highly regarded hiking blog posted on a renowned pathfinder website
Decide amongst yourselves...you know my choice...
Before we start off our adventure, we need to officially welcome back this amazing, talented gentleman, Ron Jackson...his cheery disposition and vast knowledge of all things growing in the forest and fields has been greatly missed...he is a role model for perseverance and the benefits of a positive outlook on life!..nice to see you "gliding" over the trails again Ron (do his feet ever actually touch the ground?)...
Ok...enough milling about!..we have a few thousand steps ahead of us so let's get hiking!...well, road walking at least...Sandra already has her sweeping head working...
Alex strides by the home of those souls who no longer "walk" this earth...
...and turns south onto "Walker's" Line...
About 4 km of asphalt lie ahead on a breezy, warm December morning...not much of a shoulder allowance for hikers here I have to say...
We pass the "dream haven" of Larissa...I hope she slept well last night...in one of her eight bedrooms...
Brian eyes some horses enjoying breakfast...
Our leader guides us around the bend onto No. 1 Side Road...we are now "head 'n" into the wind my friends...
Mount Nemo looms in the distance...did you know:
Nemo is a Latin word that means “no one”. When a post office was opened at the corner of Base Line and Guelph Line no one could think of a name for the community and so Nemo was chosen. The post office and community are gone but since 1971 there has been a conservation area called Mount Nemo that carries on the name...
(source: Hiking the GTA)
As the wind was blowing, we looked for one answer in it...where was some actual trail?..
Let's just stop here to discuss our situation...
The moment you've been waiting for...we set foot on a real forest trail!
OK...that's far enough...we're off the road now...we can stand around and no one else will know...oh, and it's also a good time to take off a layer in the ever increasing warmth of the day...
Back on (the) track...
We head along the edge of a field towards Guelph Line...
With no protection from the trees, the wind is a force to be reckoned with...Sandra salutes the day...
Yeah, I'm enjoying this day as well...
We cross Guelph Line and encounter our first stile of the day...
A chance to pause and, for Brian, check out a potential hiking stick...
Putting in the effort...trail conditions were "mostly" good, with the frequent muddy patch to keep us honest...and muddy...
Followed by some fording of a small stream...
Did I mention about the climbing we did?..
Even though the trail blaze clearly indicates a right turn, something to the left has obviously caught the eye of the group ahead...scroll down to reveal the object of their attention!..
A perfect spot for "Elvensie's" of course...
Doug appreciated the view of Burlington/Dundas and beyond...
Refueled, and back at it for the second half of the journey...
Past Fisher's Pond..
We emerge onto Springer Crescent in a small residential enclave...
A left turn onto Cedar Springs Road...
We encounter the most dangerous segment of the hike...
the dreaded "Highway 5/Dundas St. crossing"...
...we all survived and tried to put some distance between us and the swath of urban mayhem...
A fallen tree provides some respite for our weary group...our pace has been good...and spirits remain high despite the challenge...
Overlooking Kerncliff Park...
Across Kerns Road and back into the forest...
New friends are made on the trail...
We traverse King Road and a chance to hydrate for the final few kilometers...
In Case you were wondering, and I know it's been in the back of your mind since you began this blog, "will there be a bridge picture this week or not?"...
well folks, we have TWO bridge pictures (well, same bridge, two different perspectives)...this is version one...
...and version two...which is better?...answer: All bridge pictures are good!..
Alex tests out the boot brush installation while learning about native species...
Our last stile of the day...we're almost done and you can get on with YOUR day...
One last fallen soldier to negotiate...
We arrive at Smokey Hollow and look forward to a short drive home after another excellent day on the Trail...thanks for viewing and see you again soon!
The End.
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