Many years ago (2001) I was fortunate enough to move on to a street full of wonderful people, many of whom are close friends. At the time I was newly separated and navigating the life of single parenthood. Our awesome street is comprised of a group of women of similar age, many with children of similar age; some single, some happily married. As soon as I moved in my new neighbours welcomed me and made me feel at home right away. We have seen some friends go and made new ones along the way. I feel lucky to be part of such a lovely group of people. Lucky more still to be with two of them on a wonderful adventure as we hike the Bruce Trail. Below, Karen writes of our first hike and Valerie shares some of the pictures she took along the way.
While I’ve always loved to hike, there is a difference when you hike with a purpose. Ours is a lofty one, considering each of us is over 50 – to hike the Bruce Trail from start to finish. I’ve always ensured that my children continually sets goals for themselves and, in setting this goal for myself, I am reassured of how important it is to do so. It keeps you focused so that when you fall down or fail, you are able to get back up and start again. Goal setting provides you with a purpose and having a purpose is a powerful motivator.
This whole endeavour came about after we read the book “Wild” and then watched the movie. We were truly inspired and decided this would be our adventure. Listening to us planning, you would have thought we were heading out into the barren wilderness for a month, instead of a day of hiking!
We all ensured we had solid, comfortable hiking books with ankle support. I can’t stress enough how important proper footwear is. No matter how careful you are, you trip and stub your toes constantly on tree roots and rocks. We would all likely be missing toes without our hiking boots!
Next, we all bought comfortable hiking pants. Not knowing if you’ll be squatting off the trail somewhere to relieve yourself, you’ll need something you can pull up or down in a hurry. My worry was that my family always complains that I have a bladder the size of a dried pea, so I figured that with all the water I anticipated drinking on the hike, I would be rushing off into the bushes every half hour or so. Surprisingly, not the case. Although all of us had plenty of water, it was a relatively cool day so we probably didn’t drink more than half a litre each. Foregoing my extra-large morning coffee also played a factor. I would say, however, that it was the hiking itself that used up the water we were consuming. Only one of us had to stop once to go to off into the bushes…and it wasn’t me!
Since we were just out for the day, I packed some fruit, some granola bars, a fruit bar and some olives for lunch. I didn’t want to weigh myself down too much since my hydration pack was heavy enough. I also ensured that I ate a huge helping of oatmeal with chia seeds and cranberries before we left for the hike. I had to laugh though when Valerie pulled out her lunch sack. It likely weighed more than my whole pack combined! I mentioned to the girls that we should design a lunch sack that could be attached around a person’s ankles, to double as ankle weights. Carrying lunch this way could actually tone your thighs and buttocks at a substantially quicker rate. Of course, the tripping hazard would likely cancel out any toning benefits!
Another surprise thrill along the trail was looking for the trail markers. It was like a treasure hunt that never ended. I was reminded of a hike I had a number of years back with my children. They loved rushing ahead on the trail, each of them wanting to be the one who spotted the next marker. Embarking on our hike allowed me to appreciate their enthusiasm all over again because I felt the same thrill as we located marker after marker. Some things obviously never cease to amuse.
This hike also provided a wonderful hands-on history lesson. I wasn’t aware of the feeder canals associated with the Welland Canal until we happened upon one while hiking this section of the Bruce Trail. It was truly fascinating and eye-opening. I love learning knew facts. Reading up on the history of the Welland Canal is now on my “to do” list.
~ Karen Goncalves
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| Abandoned |
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| Karen and me at the start of the trail |
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| At the Welland Canal |
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| Unidentified wild flower |
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| Trail marker (too bad we didn't find any chocolates on this trail!) |
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| Not-so-wild life |
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