The Ganaraska Trail starts in Port Hope and 500 km later it ends near Collingwood. This morning, 29 hikers walked the section between the 4th line and 5th line of Hope Township. They even humoured me and stopped so I could take their picture.
The trail follows an abandoned rail line. I love the picture below. It looks like our hikers are playing hide & seek behind the trees.
This section of the trail traverses over the new bridge that was constructed this past fall.
We were given a short talk about the history of this part of the trail and how the bridge came to be by our president, Jay. Nothing like a little background history to make a hike extra interesting.
A hiking buddy and I had pre-hiked this route 3 days ago. The picture below shows how conditions can change in a short timespan. You couldn't get your boots wet if you tried last Wednesday. Thursday's rainfall filled little streams that criss-crossed the trail, creating good opportunities for gentlemen to shine as they helped hikers across.
Nothing like a smile and a helping hand to make one's day and keep one's boots dry.
Our hiking poles got a good workout as we made our way back up to the rail bed.
You might be wondering why are these hikers smiling?
Nothing like steaming hot chocolate and treats to bring out smiles and good conversations.
Old friendships were renewed....
.... and new connections were made.
Not only were connections made with new hikers but...
... connections were made with land owners. The gentleman on the left and lady on the right own some of the land that we hiked over. They have graciously allowed the hiking trail to traverse their property. Friendly neighbours creating a space for community to flourish.
And, I learned something today: hikers don't sit.
“Thousands of tired,
nerve-shaken,
over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity”
John Muir
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