You Take the High Road...

...... and I'll take the low road. Today's hike was a slight modification of that old Scottish song, The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond.

It was more like You take the Long Road and I'll take the Short Road or You Take the Fast Road and I'll take the Slow Road.

I love hikes where you have a distance option. Today's hike included 4, 6, and 8 km options. Ted and I planned on taking the shortest one because he'd had very little sleep last night.

The hike started going south on Gilmour Rd., north of Newtonville. You might even think it is late fall when looking at this picture. The first section of Gilmour Rd. is unmaintained.

Our hike leader informed us that we would be hiking at a 4 km/hr rate. That's pretty quick, so there is very little time to lallygag and take pictures. I caught this fleeting glimpse of an ice formation and promised myself I'd slow down on the way back. Isn't ice amazing?

This is a fairly wet area. In some areas there was very little snow left and in others....

.... new obstacles had popped up since the pre-hike. This group won't let a little pop-up stream slow them down.

Or pop-up puddles.

The snow was an interesting temperature this morning. It looked like it wouldn't be slippery but it was.

The road got better the further south we walked.

What a happy bunch!

When we reached the 3rd line, a dozen people continued on to do the 6 or 8 km options. Club rules state that no one is allowed to hike on their own. We are responsible for each other. Ted & I turned around and began the short and slow route back to the car.

We found an art show on the way back.

It looks like the ice is practising making triangles. Nice.

This morning was the second time I've ever seen needle ice. So interesting!

To continue our art show: another lovely triangle.

And some interesting texture variations.

Our hike leader had thought of everything. He'd even brought along a bridge for a particularly wet spot. Ted picked up the bridge along the way and carried it back to the cars.

I thought that it might be getting a bit too warm to see many more ice formations. But, I was wrong!

The triangle challenge had been met and the ice had moved on to the next one: birds' wings.

Nice job, ice. Nice job.