Oops I did it again, I left my water bottle in the car. Going up to 22 degrees, and I felt a jacket and long pants were more important than water. Thankfully I did pack some shorts, by halfway through, it was forget the bugs, forget the ticks, jacket and pants are off. I was seriously thinking about jumping in the lake. Unfortunately it was a long way down and I was done. The picture below is the halfway mark. lol

The other thing I thought I did a good job of was looking up this trail both on google and AllTrailMaps. I thought it was a 3.5 K walk loop. At the 3.5K mark, All Trail Maps said we still had 14K to go, lol. That’s when Jim said enough too. I am a little worried that my Brownie Leader, Tawny Owl is going to appear at my door to remove my Orienteering badge and also remind me of our Girl Guide motto “Be Prepared”. lol

Like everyone in Ontario, we are all still talking about the weather. It’s May 2 and cold, it’s May 3 and wet. Guess what May 4 was glorious. I was so excited to see colour in the forest I would have stopped to take a picture of every flower. Then I felt Jim scowling, another one. Any time Lynne. lol I finally said to him I’m coming golfing with you next time so I can say, “do you really have to hit that ball again, can’t you pick it up”. Or how about “Surely you have other balls in your bag, do we really have to look for that particular one”. I did at one point tell him he wasn’t being invited back as I was bending over trying to get one more pic. I was thankful he was there, I don’t think it would be a good hike to do on your own. Too many ravines and rocks to climb over and through and a good possibility I would have got lost.

As I was driving home from the cottage today, I stopped at Bradford Nurseries and popped $250 worth of flowers into the back of the car. Surprise Jim lol

The forest was so quiet, we only ran into a few other hikers and surprisingly I never heard any birds. They do have a big sign up about bears (which I saw at the end of the hike). Chipmunks were everywhere, I think they are taking over the world. It truly is a wondrous eco system, constantly giving back. Old trees are just as important for the health of the forest as the young saplings (which can grow anywhere). From homes, to food, to enriching the earth, we really need to start taking better care of them.

Today was no exception to the magical mystical forest, this rock to me looks like a dragon cooling off in the lake. Right beside it is a huge beaver dam, you would need an excavator to break it up, so well built.

Another magical moment was turning and seeing what I thought was Nessie from Loch Ness out in the middle of the lake. There was also a log where it looked like is a favourite lunch spot for the chipmunks lol.

Finally Turtles, and not just one, Jim counted a dozen. I love it when they sit on these logs and one moves the wrong way and they all start to fall off. Bonus was getting the reflections of them as well.

Everyone who knows me, knows I love water and rocks. The Canadian Shield might be the biggest rock I know. At our cottage we keep clearing the moss and dirt off, so I now have a fun little pathway over the rocks from the front to the back. The idea is not to step on grass. Even when I’m there alone I will walk along the rock face as it is so good for your balance and your muscles. This part of Georgian Bay might have some of the most beautiful rock faces in Southern Ontario and well worth a visit.

I would have to say only the Shadow knows why I am almost killing myself on these hikes, it has nothing to do with my sense of adventure, accomplishing something or pushing myself (one of my major downfalls lol). Note to self – bring water bottle, don’t do 2 big climbing hikes in a row. Even as I say this I am scouring my Ontario Trail pages looking for the next one. Maybe a suspension bridge or a tulip farm :).