Back to the City one day, Hiking Trails the next

Tuesday was my day to drive into the city for a double dentist appointment and to run some errands. Arriving in the city, I was somewhat overwhelmed by the noise, the construction, and the general hustle and bustle. At the same time, there is a familiarity with it all, that I don't yet have here.

I ran my errands, comfortable in my route, and knowing where to pick up what I needed. Where to park, where the entrances are. However my grocery store had totally revamped it's interior - a reminder that nothing ever really stays the same!

Coming home almost 12 hours later, I was tired and tense, until I pulled off the highway and onto the back country roads. I could feel myself begin to relax and unwind and I was happy to be back at the cabin before the sun set. It was wonderful to sit out on the porch, enjoying the quiet, and talk about each other's day. I don't really mind driving back to the city, but I think I will be happy when we can do it less often.

On Wednesday we woke up to cooler temperatures. It was 6 degrees in the cabin, and we dressed in layers as we headed out to meet up with our friends Bob and Judy, as we had agreed to go on a hike together for the morning. The Calabogie area has a number of trails that Bob and Judy had already explored and they were pleased to be able to show them to us.  There is an area for parking at the side of the road so we all met there, and then we headed up the Manitou Mountain Trail . Bob and Judy went first and scrambled up the steep trail like little mountain goats, and I had a few minutes where I wondered if I could follow, but they assured me this was the steepest part. Sure enough, the trail levelled off to a gentler climb, and we stopped and caught our breath and carried on. We were heading for an area called the Eagle's Nest, which boasts a marvellous view, but even before we got there there were numerous places with sheer rock faces that I tentatively stood on with views of the valley and trees below.

As my camera is in for repair, I had brought along my older camera, but unfortunately brought only my telephoto lens, so couldn't get back far enough to take any panoramic photos! We will have to go there again. It would be beautiful in the fall too, although due to the drought, they don't think we will see our usual spectacular fall colours this year.

At Eagle's Nest they say you will often see Ravens, Hawks and Bald Eagles. Sure enough, we could hear the Ravens even before we got there.

There is a beautiful sign that tells you a bit about the Eagle's nest. It's a very spiritual place and I would love to go there again and sit for a while. There is a huge rock outcrop that you can sit on, and the sound of the wind was lovely. We watched the ravens soar below. It would be a great place to just sit and meditate.  We didn't see any bald eagles but Bob picked up a lovely big feather that we should try to identify. Although later on we passed a few people on the trails, we hadn't seen anyone else at this point.

Judy and I are both a touch nervous about heights, so while Bob and Rob got close to the edge and looked at everything far below, I retreated back a bit!

Bob wanted to explore further along the trails to see if we could get down to a river, so we carried on, chatting and walking, and admiring the woods. These trails are apparently great for snowshoeing in the winter . We did see a couple of ATV's as they are allowed here as well.  Due to the bit of rain we had on Sunday, there were still a few areas that were deep and muddy, but we could always get around them easily enough. Some of them still held water, and I was surprised to see frogs hanging out in them!

Hopefully they survive when the ATV's go through. As we passed they all disappeared but if you stood quietly they would all surface again.

We eventually did make it to the river, but couldn't find access, and with Jet back home in his crate, we knew we had to turn around and head back so that he wouldn't be in it for too long.

A few people were now out on the trails, and everyone passed with a cheery hello. I noticed that a lot of people bring walking sticks, and Judy herself had one as well. They would be pretty useful on some of the steeper and rougher bits, but most of the time we were on more of a road type trail.

The trail loops past a swampy type area, that was beautiful. I was sure it was the perfect place to spot a moose, but didn't see any! It would be a nice place to plop a little kayak in and paddle around to look at the plants and wildlife. While I was looking at frogs, Bob discovered a snake practically at our feet, and I was pleased that I could say with pretty much certainty that this was a Northern Water Snake!

There are a few area where trails branch off, and they aren't marked so we aren't really sure where they lead to. But over time I hope to explore more of them. Both Bob and Rob of course showed up with their GPS in hand, and they had fun using them and trying to figure out where we were, and how far we had gone.

You want to be careful not to be looking at the GPS when you go back down that steep trail though!
Between their GPS's and Judy's pedometer, we figured we had walked about 13 km in about 3 and a half hours.
I have to say I could feel it in my knees and hips, and we walk a lot every day. It would have been nice to go have a leisurely lunch somewhere, but it was about a 40 minute drive back, and we knew Jet would be waiting, so said goodbye with promises to go on another hike soon! We drove back through some gorgeous twisty back roads, past pretty lakes and cottages and arrived home tired but relaxed and happy.

Today the concrete gets poured at the shed, and we know that we are going to have to step things up in order to get things done before winter arrives, so we are glad we were able to take some time with friends, on a beautiful sunny day, while we had the chance.